Cruise to Belize

S

Scott & Malina

Guest
Good day all,
Has anyone cruised to Belize from the Keys in a 40-45'? It seems to me that one would need to get into Cuba (for fuel reasons) and then take the westerly course and then bounce over to Cancun, fueling again before of course. Just curious if there was anyone here who has at least thought of it or am I the only adventurist? If so, what marinas were visited/stayed at and what part of the year you went. Did you cruise with a floatilla or a couple of cruisers.
All responses welcome...I'm prepared.


Scott & Malina
 
Its 404 miles from key west to Cancun... 40/41 DA with diesels gets about 1.1 miles per gallon at cruising speed, so max woud be approximately 250 miles without add on fuel tanks. The 40/41 DA are the best Sea Ray gets in fuel economy in the 40-45' range. If I were making the trip to Belize, I woul buy a tawler and go directly to cancun, and skip Cuba. I would then go from Cancun to Belize...

I would buy a PDQ 41 trawler which holds 360 gallons of diesel... Her is the burn rate chart for the 41 PDQ:

http://www.pdqyachts.com/power/pdf/PDQ41triplog.pdf

Here is a picture of the 41 PDQ:


41plan.jpg


41perform.jpg
 
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wow...big range.
At 18 knots (assuming knots) and 300G is 540 miles.
At 10 knots.....300G is 770 miles
Have you ever seen on in person? How are the finishes (exterior and interior)?
 
Whatever you go in, take some heavy duty bug spray!
 
Scott & Malina said:
Thank you BritLady, I was beginning to think my thread was hijacked.

Scott & Mallina
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Have you tried central and southern Bahamas(Exumas, Eleuthra,Paradise Island) That's quite ambitious to go to Central America in a 40 ft boat. I did the Bahamas(central and southern) in June this year in a 48DB and its just beautiful. One leg of the trip was 225miles of open water(Nassau to Stewart), and it can get bumpy. Going across the Gulf can get nasty as well and doing 400 miles. ???? Not sure this boy would do that in my boat.
 
Scott & Malina said:
Good day all,
Has anyone cruised to Belize from the Keys in a 40-45'? It seems to me that one would need to get into Cuba (for fuel reasons) and then take the westerly course and then bounce over to Cancun, fueling again before of course. Just curious if there was anyone here who has at least thought of it or am I the only adventurist? If so, what marinas were visited/stayed at and what part of the year you went. Did you cruise with a floatilla or a couple of cruisers.
All responses welcome...I'm prepared.


Scott & Malina
Click to expand...

In respect to the range it usually comes down to two things:

going slow = time
going fast = money

When you're exceeding the fast cruising range, which is usually around 250NM for a lot of diesel boats 40-45'ers, you have no choice but go slow. At displacement (hull) speed you can do 400NM with ease and still have 1/3-1/2 fuel left. For this, obviously you'll need a lot of time.

In regards the comfort level, it goes without saying that it all depends on the weather. Your profile says "searching...", so considering your ultimate plans you might want to lean toward 50'er range boats.

I don't know your experience, but you always have to remember and be prepared for the worst. When traveling long distance, in a single day I've experienced a roller coaster weather conditions when we felt that we went from hell to paradise, then back to hell and ended up finally in a paradise. I guess, it's not unusual when you're cruising for 10-12hrs. Now imagine what it's like when you're 100NM offshore and can only go forward (oh well, unless going back is closer).
 
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I did not post this before as did not want to dampen your enthusiasm, but the only way we would go to Belize again is how we went the first time, on a cruise ship and we have no hankering to go there again. I assume you have been there before but............ there are other much nicer nearer places IMHO. Plus I hear so many scary reports of the SAR cases our son, who's in the USCG, has to fly on when they are searching for small boats out there. Even a 50' is a small boat 100 miles off shore. One time he came home after searching for a 100' plus luxury yacht that had broken up do to heavy seas. It is dangerous out there and it can get VERY NASTY very quickly! Like somone else said I would consider the Bahamas and only go across there on a good day, as it can get NASTY too. I don't want to "rain on your parade" but for safety's sake I would choose the Bahamas or somewhere nearer instead if I were you. That said, good luck in whatever you decide:)
 
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Scott, what's your position on going to Cuba? Are you a US citizen? If that's not an issue, I think it's doable.....

Getting to Cuba on a nice day should be easy..... Pick another to head to Cancun..... Doable.... Pick another to get down to Belize....

I would have some backup plans to pull in somewhere if the weather turns.

Honestly, I'm pretty adventurous..... But I'd probably consider doing this in a sailboat with another boat.
 
Boat Guy said:
Scott, what's your position on going to Cuba? Are you a US citizen? If that's not an issue, I think it's doable.....
Getting to Cuba on a nice day should be easy..... Pick another to head to Cancun..... Doable.... Pick another to get down to Belize....
I would have some backup plans to pull in somewhere if the weather turns.

Honestly, I'm pretty adventurous..... But I'd probably consider doing this in a sailboat with another boat.
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Boatguy,
Absolutely I would go to Cuba! That's some beautiful cruizing, but yes, the stop/visit would be necessary to say the least due to fuel, especially after running from Key West. The trek over to the Yucatan penisula is only about a 100 miles once you round Cabo San Antonio (at the POE). As for the plans to pull in once the weather changes, when you commit to the run from either Key West to Havanna or from Cabo San Antonio to Cancun...well...there aren't a lot of choices to turn back to. It's certainly doable in my book too. I'm again, just curious if anyone here has done it and what their tips/experiences were. Cuba is not loaded with marinas and I was just wondering if anyone had been there to validate some of the published places.
 
wetpaint said:
I am not sure you can go to Cuba as a US Flagged boat........
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You absolutely can travel into Cuban territorial waters under US Flag. There are just a few things you need to do/have. 1) Valid passport which contains a entry visa from Cuban govt. (this must be pre-arranged/purchased through the US Embassy). 2) Always carry Cuban cash (CUC), US credit cards or US dollars are rarely accepted. This is an important note because you will need fuel and services and will/may encounter repairs bills that must get accomplished.

Scott & Malina
 
You can actually fly to Cuba from Tampa on scheduled flights now (probably Miami too). BTW have you considered a Catamaran for the trip, easier on fuel etc?
 
My 390 with old fashioned diesels at 1000 rpms burn 2.5 gallons total per hour and nets me 8 mph. So a slow trip in a 40 footer with diesels is very doable. I routinely do 300 mile fishing trips in the gulf at 1000 rpm and burn about half my 300 gallon tankage including generator use.
 
I was on a cruise a few years back. We left oct 10th in the same area. Miami to cozumel to raton to belize and we got caught out in 20-30foot seas. I had fun with it but that was on a ship. Just some food for thought. Sounds like an amazing trip to. Best of luck
 
Xplicitlnck said:
I was on a cruise a few years back. We left oct 10th in the same area. Miami to cozumel to raton to belize and we got caught out in 20-30foot seas. I had fun with it but that was on a ship. Just some food for thought. Sounds like an amazing trip to. Best of luck
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We did the self same thing a few years ago too and we also experienced 20-30 footers (according to the Captain's brief next day) which was okay when you're on a big cruise ship but...........
 
I wouldn't say minutes in between but ever 35-45 seconds the bow would crash hard enough to knock glasses over. I gauged the wave height by having my friends balcony on the 4th floor and the waves were crashing into the window. The crew had to come down and take the furniture off and lock the door so we couldn't go out. My room was on the top floor and I would get tossed out of bed and onto the floor. But everybody was sick so I had the whole cruise to myself. I just kept drinking so I stayed umm not sick?and it was very interesting watching cg try to airlift a stroke patient in those seas. But they got it. It was a very eventful cruise
 
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