Going to the Bahamas!!!!

[Ytmsn]

Yeah well, this time Tusc I'd have to say I'm in A7's camp. If I lived down there I'd be all over that too. But then I plan on riding a motorcycle to Alaska in the next few years and around the world when I hit 65, so I'm kinda into adventures!

No doubt I'd do it. Probably not alone though. And living on a coast would have me wanting to skim along the coastline in both directions for two or three days or a week exploring and staying overnight in different places.

That being said, I'm not a beach person. My wife loves it, but to me it all looks the same in both directions, and far enough out it looks the same all the way around. Kinda like standing in west Texas, or westernern Oklahoma or Kansas. The lakes have more scenery too look at! A place like Table Rock would keep an avid boater busy for a loooong time exploring all the cove and nooks and offshoots. Shoot, even on my little lake we still discover new place as from time to time! But you have to be looking..

Shawn I think about your original plan of taking your big boat to Hawaii, and MAN that would bave been freakin awesome!

Do you think you'll ever get to eventually make that trip? How far would that have been in comparison to the Bahamas? On a trip like that do you use your radio when you come into a port to find a slip or do you call ahead to reserve a spot? Are slips or moorings always available or what do you do if they aren't?

[Tuscany]

The trip wouldn’t bother me, especially with other boats. It’s the world we live in today, and the threat of being out in the middle of the ocean all alone with the threat of piracy.
Paranoid, I know.. but I’ll take a plane to travel to an island🛩

[Ytmsn]

Oh I gotcha! Yeah I think about that in some of the situations I get into from time to time. Good point. I train with various equalizers all the time, but you never know what kind of a predicament a guy might get into. On a trip across big water like that I'd probably carry a Saiga with a 12 round clip of 00, slugs and extra mags, along with a couple other choices. I have no idea what the laws are out on the water, but it seems like the bad guys don't pay much attention to the laws either. But any scenario like that has no good ending, so I see your point.

I probably wouldn't worry about that as much as I would about weather and water conditions! Shoot, big waves on my own lake freak me out, let alone the waves y'all get on Erie or out on big saltwater! I'd want a bigger boat for sure...

[Tuscany]

Oh I gotcha! Yeah I think about that in some of the situations I get into from time to time. Good point. I train with various equalizers all the time, but you never know what kind of a predicament a guy might get into. On a trip across big water like that I'd probably carry a Saiga with a 12 round clip of 00, slugs and extra mags, along with a couple other choices. I have no idea what the laws are out on the water, but it seems like the bad guys don't pay much attention to the laws either. But any scenario like that has no good ending, so I see your point.

I probably wouldn't worry about that as much as I would about weather and water conditions! Shoot, big waves on my own lake freak me out, let alone the waves y'all get on Erie or out on big saltwater! I'd want a bigger boat for sure...

I wouldn’t think twice about it going with you YT. I’m sure you would bring the right toys..
https://goo.gl/images/a6C8IF

[Bfun220]

I've been thinking about making a trip across lake Michigan but always thought I would want twins or a buddy boat. Now you have me thinking about doing it without a buddy boat with my single.

[sailor55330]

For me, I struggle with this one. I would love the adventure, BUT, having been in water with 5-6 rollers in a 30ft displacement hull sailboat in the gulf of Mexico, I don't think I would try this in one of our boats. I know you can pick your weather window and that can help greatly, but things can also change in a heartbeat and the gulf stream is a fickle lady. Too many friends I know have started on that crossing only to find themselves in 5ft seas, 30-40 knot winds and downpours in the blink of an eye. Our boats, while fantastically built, aren't built for the open ocean. Most, if not all off-shore boats (using that term generically) have scuppers that drain directly overboard, or at least into a separate bilge, not into the open engine compartment. I'd think that if you got into some heavy stuff, sloshing saltwater would play havoc with our semi-exposed electrical systems that reside in our hulls. Besides that, for a boat to to be rated as "off-shore" capable, I believe there is a standard for the self bailing cockpits with regards to time it takes to clear itself. If you happened to catch a crazy wave wrong, our bow riders/runabouts aren't designed to clear hundreds of gallons of water in a matter of seconds/minutes.

Don't get me wrong, I love Cobalts, but this one is common sense.

[liquid]

Here ya go Nauti. Same thing happens when BB boards your boat. Just axe Thunder!
SZ3zLo7kfP1yE.gif

Actual photo of BBP stealing my boat...luckily the fuel pump died and the engine quit before he could get away.

IMG_20180117_142702.jpg

That's what happens when it's not a Volvo

[Ytmsn]

Sailor, all good, valid points. But...

Caution be dammed. GOFORIT!!!

[liquid]

This.

As usual the sailor's have a far more cautious approach to the sea. I love adventure. I love the ocean. I love boating in the ocean. I've also been dead in the water in the ocean and waited for sea tow for hours. I've fished until I puked from rollers from every angle. I also have little kids and a wife I want to spend a TON of time with for as long as humanly possible.

Bottom line is the sea is a different animal and deserves to be feared and respected. I'm at a point in my life that I need to be cautious with myself because I have too many other people depending on me. Too many variables & too much danger inherent.

I did thoroughly enjoy the comment about us lakers driving around in circles all day

[Ytmsn]

Oh I gotcha! Yeah I think about that in some of the situations I get into from time to time. Good point. I train with various equalizers all the time, but you never know what kind of a predicament a guy might get into. On a trip across big water like that I'd probably carry a Saiga with a 12 round clip of 00, slugs and extra mags, along with a couple other choices. I have no idea what the laws are out on the water, but it seems like the bad guys don't pay much attention to the laws either. But any scenario like that has no good ending, so I see your point.

I probably wouldn't worry about that as much as I would about weather and water conditions! Shoot, big waves on my own lake freak me out, let alone the waves y'all get on Erie or out on big saltwater! I'd want a bigger boat for sure...

I wouldn’t think twice about it going with you YT. I’m sure you would bring the right toys..
https://goo.gl/images/a6C8IF

Here you go Tusc. I own one of these and the firepower is amazing! With two drums mags and plenty of 12 round sticks.. It's pretty formidable.

https://youtu.be/zxslOcJ9M3s

For some of y'all that don't care for firearms, just move along. There's nothing to see here.

[Tuscany]

This.

As usual the sailor's have a far more cautious approach to the sea. I love adventure. I love the ocean. I love boating in the ocean. I've also been dead in the water in the ocean and waited for sea tow for hours. I've fished until I puked from rollers from every angle. I also have little kids and a wife I want to spend a TON of time with for as long as humanly possible.

Bottom line is the sea is a different animal and deserves to be feared and respected. I'm at a point in my life that I need to be cautious with myself because I have too many other people depending on me. Too many variables & too much danger inherent.

I did thoroughly enjoy the comment about us lakers driving around in circles all day

And of course, there is this lesson..
https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/23/world/fl ... index.html

Liquid, our lakes are a little different than most. I can leave Buffalo and boat to BB's neighborhood, and on to Duluth, Minnesota if I wanted.. all along the shoreline to boot!
On your Lake, you can boat to the Atlantic. Plenty of safe adventure..
On a small boat, the open ocean would freak me out..

[nolaboater99]

Open water boating is truly not for everyone. You have to develop confidence and possess 2 things....common sense and a healthy respect for the sea and Mother Nature. As I said, I have had my 1985 23' Cobalt to Catalina Island (26 miles one-way) countless times. But I always picked my days. The rule of thumb for that trip was....if you can see the Island, don't go. If you can see it that means the strong winds have blown the haze away and you don't want to be out there. We also rarely went during the famous Santa Ana Winds. In this situation the wind blows strongly OFF shore and Avalon harbor is in the direct path and in past years has created a new level of havoc. But on those days we stayed inside the breakwater and cruised the 30 minutes to The Yardhouse in downtown Long Beach for lunch and a brew. As I said....common sense is required. I have gone over in the morning when calm and had the afternoon winds come up in the channel making the return a bit questionable. In those cases I either got a hotel room and stayed, or slept on the boat, and left for Long Beach just before dawn getting me back in time to still be to work on time. Plus the sunrise on the Pacific is spectacular.

In the right conditions, let me say that again, in the right conditions....ocean boating is incredible. I have seen Humpback Whales, Dolphins, Orcas and watched a phosphorescence one after dark runs, from the prop wash so bright you'd swear there were underwater lights. I'll take the ocean, please
Shawn

[liquid]

Open water boating is truly not for everyone. You have to develop confidence and possess 2 things....common sense and a healthy respect for the sea and Mother Nature. As I said, I have had my 1985 23' Cobalt to Catalina Island (26 miles one-way) countless times. But I always picked my days. The rule of thumb for that trip was....if you can see the Island, don't go. If you can see it that means the strong winds have blown the haze away and you don't want to be out there. We also rarely went during the famous Santa Ana Winds. In this situation the wind blows strongly OFF shore and Avalon harbor is in the direct path and in past years has created a new level of havoc. But on those days we stayed inside the breakwater and cruised the 30 minutes to The Yardhouse in downtown Long Beach for lunch and a brew. As I said....common sense is required. I have gone over in the morning when calm and had the afternoon winds come up in the channel making the return a bit questionable. In those cases I either got a hotel room and stayed, or slept on the boat, and left for Long Beach just before dawn getting me back in time to still be to work on time. Plus the sunrise on the Pacific is spectacular.

In the right conditions, let me say that again, in the right conditions....ocean boating is incredible. I have seen Humpback Whales, Dolphins, Orcas and watched a phosphorescence one after dark runs, from the prop wash so bright you'd swear there were underwater lights. I'll take the ocean, please
Shawn

Fine points. As I said, I love the ocean and I'll drive a boat in the ocean... see the March pics. I'm just not in a position to take any risks... except with OPM

[liquid]

This.

As usual the sailor's have a far more cautious approach to the sea. I love adventure. I love the ocean. I love boating in the ocean. I've also been dead in the water in the ocean and waited for sea tow for hours. I've fished until I puked from rollers from every angle. I also have little kids and a wife I want to spend a TON of time with for as long as humanly possible.

Bottom line is the sea is a different animal and deserves to be feared and respected. I'm at a point in my life that I need to be cautious with myself because I have too many other people depending on me. Too many variables & too much danger inherent.

I did thoroughly enjoy the comment about us lakers driving around in circles all day

And of course, there is this lesson..
https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/23/world/fl ... index.html

Liquid, our lakes are a little different than most. I can leave Buffalo and boat to BB's neighborhood, and on to Duluth, Minnesota if I wanted.. all along the shoreline to boot!
On your Lake, you can boat to the Atlantic. Plenty of safe adventure..
On a small boat, the open ocean would freak me out..

Very true. Our lakes make some Sea's look mild.

[Bfun220]

Not sure how small the great lakes look. If I decide to cross Michigan it's 60 miles each way. That puts me 30 miles off shore at mid point. And the weather/waves not the same as the ocean but get pretty nasty.