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Bimini in c250 WB review

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britinusa
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Initially Posted - 06/27/2008 : 20:43:45

Bimini & Back
June 13th. - June 17th. 2008

We had been planning our trip to Bimini for months (ok, since we bought JD in 2005), but most of the enthusiasm was on my part.

Last minute mods to JD included adding an electric bilge pump with new thurhull.
I posed the question to the forum members that have a lot more experience than myself.
However that took up several hours of my prep time and consequently we were 4 hours late departing home.
With JD firmly strapped down on her trailer, we set off on the 60 mile trip to our frequent launch site Black Point Marina in Biscayne Bay.
On the back of JD was our new Nissan Marine 9.8HP outboard, only 3 hours on the clock, ran up during sea trials a week before, looking nice and shiny!
Two hours of boat prep in the staging area and all looks good.
For some reason I decided to flash up the engine (out of the water) just to make sure it turns over.
We had an expensive launch a few weeks ago that cost a new engine, I didn't want to be at the ramp and find out the engine would not turn over.
Good decision!
After sea trials the last week I drained the fuel by running the engine dry, however I had disconnected the fuel line from the engine rather than my normal method of disconnecting the fuel line from the fuel tank.
Result was not good.
I had pumped the fuel line bulb while it was disconnected.
After connecting, the engine failed to start.
I disconnected the fuel line from the engine and depressed the none return valve in the end of the line to see if fuel was coming out.
It was, but not a nice almost clear fuel, instead a gunk! Yellow, sludge like mixture.

I'm guessing it was ethanol water mix. Not a clue how it got contaminated.
Practically all fuel sold in south Florida is 10% ethanol.
I only had to leak out a few cc of fuel to clear the line.
Remember, we're at the staging area, not on the water! I would have had to pull the boat to service the engine as it would involve some amount of fuel leaks.
Removing the carb drain screw, I pumped the fuel bulb until clear fuel came out of the drain, not even a half cup of fuel.
Next I pulled the plugs and cleaned them off.
Cleaned everything up. Still no start.
Fortunately for me, another forum member had an almost similar problem a while ago and his engine just needed to rest awhile.
We decided to put the boat in the water, that would give the engine a break from constant attempts to start.
As we lined up the boat on the ramp, Peggy noted that we might have an issue with one of the trailer tires.
There was a bubble in the sidewall near the tread about 2" dia. That was going to blow for sure.
The least stressful plan was to launch and then replace the wheel. No big deal
Of course, with the tire changed and the trailer in the parking lot, back at the boat the engine didn't start in the water either.
Time for dinner at the restaurant, that would give the engine at least a hour.
You can imagine the cheery mood during dinner!
Persistant start attempts after dinner proved to be the trick. Sweet sounds purring from the engine.
Boat is kinda dirty up top due to the number of times climbing from the ground/dock to the cockpit/cabin.

Finally we set off before sunset. There's not a lot of traffic in the channel this evening and not a lot of wind, so it's going to be a motor down to Pumpkin key.
We were in the transit channel from Biscayne bay to Card sound after dark, but we have done this many times, it's an easy transit, made easier by the lack of power boats plowing the field for us.
Modifying the plan slightly we decide to anchor north of Angel Fish Creek on the bay side rather then head down to pumpkin key.
There's little wind and we don't need the shelter that Pumpkin key provides.
Easily dropping anchor, we turn in for a good nights sleep. Our day started at 5am and it's now 10pm, we have a crack-o-dawn start.

We did a really good job of packing the cooler! Everything was frozen! Eggs, OJ, Ham.
So breakfast was a few slices of bread, cheese and preserve plus Carnation Instant breakfast and coffee.
Not a big deal, we normally have several snacks in the morning once under way.
Spent a few extra minutes checking all was well with the rigging before pulling anchor and heading into Angel Fish Creek.
Glad we had the GPS because the creek is poorly marked, but we soon saw the Ocean side and it looked really good.
As expected, 1' to 2' seas greeted our departure from the creek.
As anticipated, winds were coming from the north east, due to shift towards the east later in the morning.
With the gulf stream only 2 miles offshore and pushing 3+ knots, we took a heading of south east with the intent of staying south of our route to north Bimini Island.
Our estimated trip time was 13 hours, less if the winds were favorable.

Winds were really not in our favor, so we decided to motor until they picked up later, this would give us chance to take a snack.
Our buddy Chris and his family were going to check on us later that morning in their 24 fisherman.
Seas climbed a bit as we hit the gulfstream, but within our tolerance.
I was happy that Peggy had not pulled the trump card and ask that we turn back, we pushed 5+ knots vmg.

Gradually the waves grew, we were certainly in 3' to 5' seas but I was surprised how well JD managed them, our speed dropped, only because I didn't want to push the engine as we had not ran it 10 hours yet.
By the time Chris was out of sight fishing, things were getting interesting. Then the storm hit.
Peggy manages to be ahead of the weather and suggested we put on the foulies. It was probably less than 2 minutes after we put jackets over our auto inflatable life jackets that the sky fell in.
Visiblity dropped to nothing, I could barely see the compass on the pedestal let alone the seas ahead. Peggy had gone below to ride out the storm, I just tried to avoid going broadside to the seas.
This was ugly, the worst weather we had ever experienced on JD, but within 20 minutes the storm passed, the seas stayed active and I found I could see better if I removed my specs.

Peggy stayed below as the rain continued to wet the decks, and we were well on our way, still no cries to take us home.
I was figuring out the best route to head back.
Our plans included a get out heading west but off by what the seas dictate.
They were coming from the north east and I didn't fancy running from them.
So if we did turn back, our route would be almost due north west, broadside to the waves. We were making only 3 knots now, it would take about 5 hours to get out of the gulfstream, putting us 20 miles north.
The get out at that time was not much better than staying on track, so we forged on.

At the helm alone for several hours, the dramamine hit me and drowsiness became a problem. But it was not reasonable to ask Peggy back on deck.
Lots of water, constantly shifting position at the helm and whistling my favorite tunes.
Chris met up with us again later in the day, Peggy still below, sun was out, seas were down a bit to 3' to 5', and we were making good time. Still no suitable sailing conditions though.

We missed lunch too. Snack bars and green tea kept me going. Peggy was trying to stop.

North of us I could see the comforting sight of a US Coast Guard Cutter and within a few minutes Bimini was on the horizon.
Holding to the south of our planned track worked out great, the gulf stream had been nearer to 4 knots, so now, in calmer waters we motored up to 6 knots and pointed nearer to the route.
Peggy put on a brave face and came back up on deck, scored big points.
The sun was setting as Chris came out to meet us and escort us to the entrance and Bimini Bay Marina.
In the dark we would never have found the slips, daylight - easy, nighttime? Not unless you have been there before.

Tie up was sweet. Very nice slips, all we wanted to do was eat and sleep.
It was 10pm as we checked in and found there were no dinning facility available at that time of night.
10 minutes later Penne Pasta & Chicken was almost ready on board JD.
I don't remember putting my head on the pillow that night.

Happy Fathers Day was a beautiful day. Chris went fishing, we loafed, snoozed, loafed.

The marina has their own Customs & immigration facility, however not on Sundays. So we shared a taxi into town and paid our $150 for customs and completed immigration.
While there we visited a few of the local stores and purchased a bimini cap and a shirt to wear at the next 'worst shirt party'.
The folks were really nice, cheerful and down to earth.
Our cab driver knew everyone and everyone knew him.
He shared a lot of local history including the demise of Gary Hart's presidential run after enjoying a bit of the local scenery.

We needed fuel, it cost $6.00 a gallon which I didn't feel was too bad. Of course we had to take another cab ride for that. (should have done it in one.)

We paid a couple of kids to wash the salt off the boat, they needed guidance, I thought they were expecting to wave a brush at the boat and hold out their hand.

The pool at the marina is really nice, food is pretty reasonable too, the pina colada was just right.

Early turn in for our early start back on Monday.
The alarm went off at 4am, coffee was quickly brewed and a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, tomatoes, cheese, toast, preserve and OJ.

Leaving the slip in the dark we motored quietly to the south inside the island bay along the clearly marked channel.
Memories of Sunrise over Bimini is another keeper.

As soon as we were past the islands entrance marker, we turned briefly into wind, raised the main, then killed the engine. Under sail at last.
The next few hours were excellent sailing, we hit 6.8knots through the water but heading south west to keep from heading north due to the gulfstream.

Sadly the conditions didn't last. The wind dropped to less than 4knots so we motor sailed for a few hours until the wind lessened and turned on our nose.
The wind didn't return all day except for a brief shower that was gone in 5 minutes, so we motored all the way.
We managed to stay on track and arrived at the Florida Channel just south of No Name Harbor before sunset. Just over 13 hours for the day.

Both of us were exhausted. I called in to the local customs office with our LBO info and we were quickly cleared without need to report in person.
So after dinner on board we turned in, an easy day tomorrow sailing in the Bay.

4am and we're bumping the side. I climb out to see that the sea wall juts out and we're now below the 'jut'.
Got out my flash light and made adjustments. Something was nagging my mind. I walked down to the state park notice board and read that 'Overnight mooring on the seawall is prohibited'.
Dang, we'll just anchor off.

Twenty minutes later we were at anchor outside of No Name harbor. Back to bed, no alarms to set.

Tuesday morning we listened to NOAA and the local Tv station, it was not going to be a nice day.
Looking to the south west were storm clouds dumping rain, North more clouds dumping on Miami, the city kept disappearing in the downfall.

We could have stayed put and just hid in the cabin, or we could motor back.
Foulies on, we motored down the ICWW transit line in storm after storm, we were soaked, my hands and feet looked like anemic prunes, it was a long 15 miles motoring back to Black point marina.

As got near the black point channel dogleg, I pointed out the guy fishing to Peggy... "What guy?" ... That guy! ... "What guy?", the guy standing up to his neck in water fishing! I guess he was warmer in the water than out in the rain.
The storms had not passed when we got to the dog leg in the black point entrance channel, so we decided to tie up at the Grill and have dinner before pulling the boat out.
Good decision. We tied up into wind, during dinner I went back to the boat and hoisted the sails to dry out. Half an hour later we pulled the boat.
2 and a half hours later we were ready for the road.
Longer prep time than normal, but that was due to missing the chance to do some of the prep on the water while in the channel and that we were pretty tired.

The drive home was easy.

What would we change.
Get all the prep for departure done before the day of departure. (not an easy issue as we both work long hours)
Plan to stay at least 3 days in Bimini.. way too much work for 1 day of R&R.
Buy new foulies that keep us dry.
Pull out the frozen breakfast items before going to bed.
Add a couple of feet to NOAA's predictions
Always drain the fuel from the fuel hose!
Purchase a fuel siphon kit to make it easier to refuel from the jerry cans while on the water.
We only took a few short videos, and no pictures!!! Plain too tired!

Would we do it again?
Probably not in JD only because of the time. It's 56 miles which is going to take at least 11 hours. Add to that if weather does not cooperate.

We found that the Catalina 250 Water ballast is up to bigger seas than we expected.
JD was surprisingly nimble when I was trying to climb down the bigger waves without crashing into the next.

The advise on many subjects from the forum over the past 3 years proved invaluable. I try to read every thread, even those that are not relevant to our model boat. People like JimB that sail single handed often, provide insights that probably would be difficult to find outside of the association.

Chalk this one up to experience, happily a good one!

Paul and Peggy

Joint Decision. (Sold)
PO C250WB 2005 Sail # 841.

Moved up to C34 Eximius

Updated August 2015

Edited by - on

johnsonp
Admiral

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USA
606 Posts

Response Posted - 06/27/2008 : 21:37:20

Paul and Peggy

Top drawer story, very interesting and easy to read.
Thanks for taking the time to post it.
I'm glad you made it back safe and sound.

paulj

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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4479 Posts

Response Posted - 06/27/2008 : 21:44:01

Paul,
Nice write up, it's too bad you didn't get a chance to take pictures, but it sounds like you were pretty busy. I didn't understand that you were only going for one day in Bimini, I'd have wanted to stay at least a week. I can hardly imagine how tough it must have been to de-rig the boat after you got back. I know that was one of the reasons we got a slip, we got very tired of spending 5+ hours rigging & unrigging the boat just for a day sail or even the occasional overnighter. Glad you guys had a decent time, learned a lot, and got back OK.

Edited by - on

frog0911
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Response Posted - 06/27/2008 : 22:05:16

Great story telling Paul, enjoyed it immensely. I don't think the General would ever consent to the trip unless it be on a cruise ship.

Edited by - frog0911 on 06/27/2008 22:05:50

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 06/27/2008 : 23:20:50

Paul, I'm counting on you to do that trip again with us in a few years. Shake it off!

Edited by - on

britinusa
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Response Posted - 06/28/2008 : 07:56:49

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Nautiduck
 Paul, I'm counting on you to do that trip again with us in a few years. Shake it off!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Only in the company of other boats and there has to be time for weather window and several days on the Island.

Edited by - on

britinusa
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Response Posted - 06/28/2008 : 09:32:02

Here's a short video of us flying the Association Burgee at Bimini.

[url="http://ravenas.razorstream.com:80/eve-service/player.jspx?enc=0bXtwDJb3qEkJW6dyrFgMA%3D%3D"]Bimini Bay Video[/url]

Paul

Edited by - on

redviking
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Response Posted - 06/28/2008 : 10:03:19

NICELY!!!! I would say that if greater weather had been an issue, your schedule would have been way interupted. At 5 knots it's a full day. Always! Great job! Love it when someone goes somewhere!

"I love to sit around the yacht club bar
and talk about the things we're going to do.
I love to sit around the yacht club bar
because it doesn't move.
The swells are big and the winds are high
but that don't bother me.
Cause I never get lost and my tummy doesn't toss
It's a wonderful life on the sea."

I'll buddy boat with you there in the fall if the stars align et al...

sten

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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Response Posted - 06/28/2008 : 10:16:50

Paul,
I notice that JD is the only sailboat in the marina, was it that way the whole time?

I'm envious, we need to get out & do some trips like this. We don't have the Bahamas to go to, but there are the San Juans, and some nice places in south sound that are well within the same range you guys did. I feel a bit inspired.

Edited by - on

britinusa
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Response Posted - 06/28/2008 : 11:47:55

David, as you can see in the video, there were several sailboats tied up in slips as we left at dawn. There were none at the Bimini Bay Marina at all.
We only saw a couple of boats under sail/motor during the entire trip. When we were motoring through the storms back to black point marina, we could see perhaps 1/2mile at most, during one of those periods another sailboat, motoring in the opposite direction, turned towards us and we circled one another just to ask each boat if all was well.

Paul

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
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Response Posted - 06/28/2008 : 16:19:11

Paul, I admire the fact that you made it there and back safely. That is a feather in your cap. Not a lot of 25'ers have made that voyage. Well done!

David, the San Juans and other areas nearby are like heaven to sail. Not the tropical cruise like Bimini but heaven in its own right. Some day I'd like to get a group of West coast sailors to do a group trip in the PNW waters of USA and Canada.

Edited by - Nautiduck on 06/28/2008 16:20:32

JimB517
Past Commodore

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Response Posted - 07/01/2008 : 15:36:48

Those of you following this thread might enjoy some pictures from my trip to Bimini.

Bimini was pretty tired in those days (2001) so I don't have too many pictures, but many more of the other Near Bahamas.

By the way, great story, and this was an epic voyage in a C25. Obviously it's too far to go there and back in a weekend!

http://www.indiscipline.org/cruise2001/NBahamas/nbahamas1.html

Edited by - JimB517 on 07/01/2008 15:37:34

Stardog
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Response Posted - 07/02/2008 : 10:40:52

Paul and Peggy,

Very nice story, sounds like you had a good time of it. I would have to agree that spending more time at the destination would be good, as getting there and back takes a bit of an effort. Nicely written, by the way, I hear there is a position open for a technical editor...

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
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Response Posted - 07/02/2008 : 12:55:59

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I hear there is a position open for a technical editor...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Have I been fired?

Not so fast there, fella. Joint Decision is a C250 and its the C25ers who can't get a Tech Editor.

Edited by - Nautiduck on 07/02/2008 12:56:30

britinusa
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Response Posted - 07/02/2008 : 20:03:29

It's Jim's post that I grasp the most. Jim has posted some very inspiring tales of his exploits. They were very much the force that kept me thinking of possibilities of longer trips than 'Day crusin'. His trip to the Bahamas is awesome... wanna do that!

Anyway, Randy is doing a stainless job!!!

Paul

Edited by - on

pwhallon
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Response Posted - 07/06/2008 : 14:51:09

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Those of you following this thread might enjoy some pictures from my trip to Bimini<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Nice report Jim.

Your stories always inspire me to get my big arse back on the water.

Paul

Edited by - on

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