2019 Bimini Trip ( Unofficial Thread Until Admin Puts Official One Up)

[Amar Nanduri]

@Amar Nanduri if want to do this in 2020 I can see us joining you.....

I would like that @Berrie
I am in a tearing hurry to hit Exumas in 2020 and whole of Caribbean in 2021-2022 followed by the South America loop after that (if my boss allows it). If I can’t make it to Abacos next year, it will be 2020 for sure.

 

[Berrie]

I would like that @Berrie
I am in a tearing hurry to hit Exumas in 2020 and whole of Caribbean in 2021-2022 followed by the South America loop after that (if my boss allows it). If I can’t make it to Abacos next year, it will be 2020 for sure.

@Amar Nanduri is that as in going around the entire South American continent? That’s a 13,500+ mile trip.
But not in the Chap 270 right?

Anyway, I don’t think it would take too much to convince us to do Exumas in 2020 as long as we can keep it under 12 days or so.

 

[Amar Nanduri]

@Amar Nanduri is that as in going around the entire South American continent? That’s a 13,500+ mile trip.
But not in the Chap 270 right?

Anyway, I don’t think it would take too much to convince us to do Exumas in 2020 as long as we can keep it under 12 days or so.

@Berrie I think 12 days might be doable. The Chap 270 is limited to Bahamas. Beyond Bahamas will be an entirely different story. I have a feeling that once I wrap up Exumas I will be on the hunt for something different that can sustain long distances (like a trawler or a sailboat).

 

[Betik]

I would like that @Berrie
I am in a tearing hurry to hit Exumas in 2020 and whole of Caribbean in 2021-2022 followed by the South America loop after that (if my boss allows it). If I can’t make it to Abacos next year, it will be 2020 for sure.

Amar this is how I summarize your posts. For every 10 post for 5 of them I say, " that makes sense", 1 of them " that was funny" for 3 of them I say, " that was impressive" and 1 of them I have nothing to say because I am scared shitless .
if you need to spend time in the water, can you please start by doing parts of the loop? The Chap will do great for such a trip and you can do different parts. Say you have a month vacation you tow it to where you need left last time and just go. Pull out and then go home. when you are free you go back to where you left off.
Besides the logistical nightmare of south america loop, I cannot picture Anu living in tight quarters for months. There is reason why you refer to her as "Gorgeous Anu" and not " Adventurous Anu". Pretty girls usually are used to amenities and a life in the water rarely provides that.

 

[Amar Nanduri]

@Betik A man can dream but reality bites harder than a shark on a surfers leg

If I plan on going in the boat for more than 2 days it will usually be by myself as the missus prefer the comforts of home. And I have no qualms going by myself. So all the wet dreams of boating

 

[Amar Nanduri]

The loop sounds like a good idea @Betik I will research more on it.

 

[Berrie]

The Great American Loop is on my to-do list as well. Not sure if the Monterey is the right boat for it. We may need a little more room. My wife prefers a 40-ish aft cabin for the loop. It's still at least 14 years out, so we'll see.

 

[Betik]

The loop sounds like a good idea @Betik I will research more on it.

the second link is more informative. At least from my point of view

https://www.greatloop.org/
http://captainjohn.org/

 

[Berrie]

the second link is more informative. At least from my point of view

https://www.greatloop.org/
http://captainjohn.org/

I've read both links back and forth. The 2nd one is definitely more informative. The boats for sale on the first link seem mostly overpriced to me.

 

[robert843]

The loop sounds like a good idea @Betik I will research more on it.

@Amar Nanduri I’m currently working on the loop now. I’m taking it on in small sections at a time when I can. I have currently cleared all of GA, SC and parts of NC. I had a trip planned to clear NC this year as well but this last hurricane killed that. Next year it’s either the NC to NY stretch or all of Florida and the gulf stretch. You are welcome to join us on any of runs to complete. For me they will almost all be weekend trips till I get to some of the further away sections and of course the Erie Canal.

 

[Berrie]

To me the charm of the Loop is to do it either all in one swoop (for 8-10 months), or in at the most 3 sections. Yes it takes us away from home for a long time, and living on a boat has its challenges.
But - as they say - it's not about the destination, it's all about the journey.
That's why it is a retirement activity - 14 years out.

 

[Amar Nanduri]

@Amar Nanduri I’m currently working on the loop now. I’m taking it on in small sections at a time when I can. I have currently cleared all of GA, SC and parts of NC. I had a trip planned to clear NC this year as well but this last hurricane killed that. Next year it’s either the NC to NY stretch or all of Florida and the gulf stretch. You are welcome to join us on any of runs to complete. For me they will almost all be weekend trips till I get to some of the further away sections and of course the Erie Canal.

Thanks @robert843 . You mentioned that you do mostly weekend trips. Do you decide to go to a specific place and do a weekend loop of the area and go back home for the week, and next weekend do the same in a different destination ? That to me sounds interesting and doable as it will not disrupt normal week life. I would definitely be interested in trying out a portion of it next year just to get my feet wet and experience it. Please keep me in the loop.

 

[Amar Nanduri]

To me the charm of the Loop is to do it either all in one swoop (for 8-10 months), or in at the most 3 sections. Yes it takes us away from home for a long time, and living on a boat has its challenges.
But - as they say - it's not about the destination, it's all about the journey.
That's why it is a retirement activity - 14 years out.

It is a catch 22 @Berrie Either do it in short hops when young and virile, or in long satisfying hops when old and retired.

 

[robert843]

To me the charm of the Loop is to do it either all in one swoop (for 8-10 months), or in at the most 3 sections. Yes it takes us away from home for a long time, and living on a boat has its challenges.
But - as they say - it's not about the destination, it's all about the journey.
That's why it is a retirement activity - 14 years out.

I hear this one all the time but I have watched way to many people tell me what they were going to do in retirement just for them to never do those things or worse never make it to retirement. While I agree that doing the loop in one shot would be awesome I just don’t believe in putting off doing anything I can do today till tomorrow. I may still do the loop in one shot when I retire but by doing it now I know I won’t have any regrets about it later if something changes and a I physically can’t do it in retirement.

 

[robert843]

Thanks @robert843 . You mentioned that you do mostly weekend trips. Do you decide to go to a specific place and do a weekend loop of the area and go back home for the week, and next weekend do the same in a different destination ? That to me sounds interesting and doable as it will not disrupt normal week life. I would definitely be interested in trying out a portion of it next year just to get my feet wet and experience it. Please keep me in the loop.

So far basically we pick a stretch we want to run and plan the weekend around it. Our last run was Jacksonville Fl to Hilton Head SC. We towed to Jacksonville Friday night launched early Saturday morning went to Hilton Head spent the night and returned to Jacksonville Sunday morning and towed home. Next year I will be able to do the same for the NC stretches but do to distance the other stretches will take a little more work. One trick I have though is I know enough people with boats that I plan to do some of this trip on other peoples boats some of them don’t even know it yet lol. Like I may have @1948Isaac or @DieselCamel do the gulf portion with me so I can just fly in and fly out and ride on there boat. When I get to the end of the Great Lake section I may hit @swatski up to do part of the river on his boat so once again I can fly I and fly out. I gave my brother in law in NY my old boat so I may fly in and use that boat to run from the city to the Erie Canal. Lots of options to get this done that’s for sure. @Amar Nanduri heck maybe @Andy S and I will hit you up to do the VA portion on your boat so we don’t have to tow a boat up there and you can meet us in NC to do a the NC portion on one of our boats so you don’t have to tow yours down.

 

[Amar Nanduri]

So far basically we pick a stretch we want to run and plan the weekend around it. Our last run was Jacksonville Fl to Hilton Head SC. We towed to Jacksonville Friday night launched early Saturday morning went to Hilton Head spent the night and returned to Jacksonville Sunday morning and towed home. Next year I will be able to do the same for the NC stretches but do to distance the other stretches will take a little more work. One trick I have though is I know enough people with boats that I plan to do some of this trip on other peoples boats some of them don’t even know it yet lol. Like I may have @1948Isaac or @DieselCamel do the gulf portion with me so I can just fly in and fly out and ride on there boat. When I get to the end of the Great Lake section I may hit @swatski up to do part of the river on his boat so once again I can fly I and fly out. I gave my brother in law in NY my old boat so I may fly in and use that boat to run from the city to the Erie Canal. Lots of options to get this done that’s for sure. @Amar Nanduri heck maybe @Andy S and I will hit you up to do the VA portion on your boat so we don’t have to tow a boat up there and you can meet us in NC to do a the NC portion on one of our boats so you don’t have to tow yours down.

Totally agree. Hit me up anytime and I will gladly show you guys around and possibly discover a few places in VA.

 

[swatski]

So far basically we pick a stretch we want to run and plan the weekend around it. Our last run was Jacksonville Fl to Hilton Head SC. We towed to Jacksonville Friday night launched early Saturday morning went to Hilton Head spent the night and returned to Jacksonville Sunday morning and towed home. Next year I will be able to do the same for the NC stretches but do to distance the other stretches will take a little more work. One trick I have though is I know enough people with boats that I plan to do some of this trip on other peoples boats some of them don’t even know it yet lol. Like I may have @1948Isaac or @DieselCamel do the gulf portion with me so I can just fly in and fly out and ride on there boat. When I get to the end of the Great Lake section I may hit @swatski up to do part of the river on his boat so once again I can fly I and fly out. I gave my brother in law in NY my old boat so I may fly in and use that boat to run from the city to the Erie Canal. Lots of options to get this done that’s for sure. @Amar Nanduri heck maybe @Andy S and I will hit you up to do the VA portion on your boat so we don’t have to tow a boat up there and you can meet us in NC to do a the NC portion on one of our boats so you don’t have to tow yours down.

ANY TIME, @robert843 !
I love boating the confluence area/Pool 26 (Mississippi and Illinois Rivers), and beyond. Really, I don't care who you are, boating here will just make you feel like Huck Finn!

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[Betik]

No clue who Fuck Finn is but I am game for a Chicago to st Luis stretch and can take up to 1 week of for that. I can tow my boat to Chicago for launch and then have my dad bring the trailer to st Luis. That way we don’t have have drive back and forth.

Should I start a Loop thread ?

 

[swatski]

No clue who Fuck Finn is but I am game for a Chicago to st Luis stretch and can take up to 1 week of for that. I can tow my boat to Chicago for launch and then have my dad bring the trailer to st Luis. That way we don’t have have drive back and forth.

Should I start a Loop thread ?

read this first: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn
The book is an amazing read, really. It is no longer taught in schools, which is a shame if you ask me because it should be.

--

 

[Speedling]

So far basically we pick a stretch we want to run and plan the weekend around it. Our last run was Jacksonville Fl to Hilton Head SC. We towed to Jacksonville Friday night launched early Saturday morning went to Hilton Head spent the night and returned to Jacksonville Sunday morning and towed home. Next year I will be able to do the same for the NC stretches but do to distance the other stretches will take a little more work. One trick I have though is I know enough people with boats that I plan to do some of this trip on other peoples boats some of them don’t even know it yet lol. Like I may have @1948Isaac or @DieselCamel do the gulf portion with me so I can just fly in and fly out and ride on there boat. When I get to the end of the Great Lake section I may hit @swatski up to do part of the river on his boat so once again I can fly I and fly out. I gave my brother in law in NY my old boat so I may fly in and use that boat to run from the city to the Erie Canal. Lots of options to get this done that’s for sure. @Amar Nanduri heck maybe @Andy S and I will hit you up to do the VA portion on your boat so we don’t have to tow a boat up there and you can meet us in NC to do a the NC portion on one of our boats so you don’t have to tow yours down.

That sounds so cool! Do the parts on other people's boats and really see it like a local!
I could grab you somewhere on michigan lake michigan side and if you time right in fall we could do the starved rock to peoria run with the midwest/shelbyville group. Great loop is one of those want to do things so i probably would get permission from wife even!
From south haven to peoria is around 270 miles according to very quick estimate on draft logic.