Boat Owners.....Caravan to Bird Island??

Eric

Guest
We are looking for another boat to caravan with us to Bird Island.

We have a nice, newer reliable boat that we want to take to Bird Island soon on a nice calm day. We are looking for another reliable boat that would like to follow us there at the same time. We figure with 2 boats if either boat had a mechanical problem 10+ miles off shore then there would be a backup boat to help out.

On nicer water our boat will cruse at apx 40mph so getting to Bird Island would take apx 45 minutes but we will go slower if that's what other party wants to do. Our boat holds 12 w/ 18 feet of double bimi top shade. If a few people want to put this caravan together and ride along w/ us in our boat that would be ok. We would like to spend apx 3 hours at the island snorkeling w/ the sea life.

Let us know your thoughts or ideas.

Eric
 

dmcauley

Guest
With a reliable boat , a good marine radio and telephone, you shouldn't need a safety net but if you head out that way on a nice day there are sure to be other boats nearby. Chances are I might be one of them
 

flicks

Guest
Had some friends a few years back that went to bird island and had engine trouble and had NO RADIO< idiots..... They floated out there overnight!! The next day there were rescued by a ponga that saw their flare... Very scary for them and us worrying about them all night...
 

Stuart

Aye carumba!!!
Staff member
A VHF radio is your best friend in Mexican waters! I have one mounted on the boat, but also carry a handheld for backup.

This time of the year, the prevailing wind pattern is out of the north/northwest. That's no issue going to the island, but can be a real pain heading back if the afternoon breezes build because you'll have a head sea the whole way back to Penasco. Years ago, a local captain told me that if the wind comes up suddenly, head directly east to shore and follow the coastline back up. Takes a little longer, but nowhere near as rough in the shallower water.
 

jerry

Guest
A VHF radio is your best friend in Mexican waters! I have one mounted on the boat, but also carry a handheld for backup.

This time of the year, the prevailing wind pattern is out of the north/northwest. That's no issue going to the island, but can be a real pain heading back if the afternoon breezes build because you'll have a head sea the whole way back to Penasco. Years ago, a local captain told me that if the wind comes up suddenly, head directly east to shore and follow the coastline back up. Takes a little longer, but nowhere near as rough in the shallower water.
Reminds me it happened this time of year "
Holland, Brinke and three other fisherman – Carl Hopper, 42; and Randy Howard, 47, and his son, Joshua Howard, 21 – left Puerto Peñasco in Hopper’s catamaran Oct. 25 and were due to return that night. The overturned catamaran was found Oct. 28.

Joshua Howard’s body, recovered Nov. 2, was the only one found after more than a week of searching."
 

mexicoruss

Lovin it in RP!
Those guys were all friends of mine, except Carl who thought he was a better captain than he was. His boat was ill prepared for the trip, the boat should have never been launched. It had bad batteries and was top heavy due to a tower that Carl had installed........bad bad times for all of us that day!
 

dmcauley

Guest
The people on the catamaran are a prime example of what not to do. If any one plans to go more than a few hundred yards offshore they need to have some good experience along with the items Stu and myself mentioned. I carry a hand held waterproof radio and gps along with my ship board mounted ones.
The poor souls lost at sea on this catamaran didn't have much of a ch
 
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