MacGregorSailors.com

As Ray said . Yep "chinook" is one of the most experienced sailor,s on here & so his advise should b respected & learn from his mistakes can save u a lot of grief & hardship , take advantage of it & as many other,s on this site as I have also

J

I took a v222 to grand exuma and back to Fl.
I’d been there before on a heavy keel boat.
I upgraded the rigging on the venture as well as all the centerboard handling gear. Fixed all the little leaks those boats are notorious for. Installed a brand new Honda 5hp. Beefed up the transom where the motor well is. Redid the electrical and Inside a bit. I built removable wood panels to take the place of the fabric side curtains.
My opinion on getting there on a mac.
Don’t cross at night. Just leave at like 3 am. Don’t plan on exceeding 6 knots. If you can, fine. Don’t plan on if. Ever. Anywhere. I plan on 4.5 to 5.
The boat must sail. And you must know how to sail it and in less than great conditions. If it won’t do a 20 mile stint dead up wind under a reduced sail plan then fix it so it will. if the Motor bits the dust you’ll be glad the boat can sail. Heavy air ability is the order of the day. You’ll need real reefing setup and probably after Market sails on the M model at least. All the rigging should be inspected.
Make sure the down below Is secure. Chase down all the leaks. I’m still finding them. On the M make sure the steering system is good. Rudders all that junk.
Fuel filters oil and plugs. I took a gallon of polyester resin and some fiberglass, but tried to pare down tools to save weight.

I’ve had a couple good shake down cruises on my M. Last years tour of islands below key west was close to Bahamas cruising. Boat performed well with the running backs but leaked. I think through the hull to deck joint. All the stuff in the lockers now had waterproof storage containers and bags. I sailed the boat hard when I’d normally motor out of lazy ness to make sure she’ll do it if she has to.

Ground tackle. Min 25 lb anchors. Plenty of chain. I have three anchors, and had three on the v222. You’ll be parking in shallow water but you’ll still need plenty of line too.
Obviously choose your crossing time. I’ve waited several weeks for nice conditions and motored or motorsailed over. I’ve always been able to sail back from Gun Cay to government cut on the easterly winds.

Ix

Another suggestion when starting out on a crossing to the Bahamas. Since it's advisable to set out at 3am or so (to allow arrival in the Bahamas when the sun is still high, enabling a good look at water color and depth), I found it helpful to make a trial run from the starting point (either anchorage or marina) out to the cut entrance and then through the cut and a couple of miles out to sea during daylight on the day prior to departure. Everything looks different at night and, even with GPS, it's easy to get disoriented. Also, those unlit navigation markers can be hard to spot in the dark. By doing a trial run out to open water you put a nice track onto your GPS screen. Those "breadcrumbs" are very reassuring to be able to follow when heading out in the dark.

All of this sounds like very good advice. It is in my plan to travel down and do some sailing around the keys in South Florida just to familiarize myself with the area also. I was very interested in the trip that the Conch Crusiers made to the Dry Tortugas via Marquesas Keys. 70 miles seems pretty doable with an overnight both directions in Marquesas Keys. 3-4 am departure, With a good weather window of course!
Buck

On the old Mac site, there was a tab where there were a few owner stories posted. One of them was about a trip to the Bahamas by a new X owner and his son. They ended up dragging anchor a couple of times, and running the full range of emotions from "Sell the boat now" to "boat was best purchase ever".

I wonder if the admins can revive those stories? And maybe post some links?

Yes that would be Great! I have been scouring the net trying to find as many of those stories as possible. All that I have read so far have been pretty good, and very informative. It has left me asking to question.
“Why did they quit”??? Did they just all get to old!
From what I have read it sounds like they had a rocking good time!
I know there are a lot of “nay sayers” these days that think anything under 40’ is not seaworthy! And that would be easy to accept, until you start looking into history.
Curious Buck

Buck said:

“Why did they quit”??? Did they just all get to old!

Members have left for a variety of reasons. Some have moved on to larger boats. Some got tired of the inconsistencies of the site under the old ownership. Some passed on, and some, a very few, did just grow old. By the way "Did they all get to old!" should be "Did they all get too old ?

Some of us long time, older members, can still kick aft, so watch it


Ray.

Hi Ray ,
U can only kick arft once u convince the young Fricker,s to bring lots of Pizza extra hot pepperonis ,extra cheese & anchovy,s , extra hot Chicken wings Beer & Scotch & then tell them u wanna hear some good stories,& adventures start serving us that food & booze & sit down & listen to all the B/s

J

Cause u know when the booze kicks in so doe,s the hype, no offence to the guy,s who,ve done this trip & more , but I,ll tell u what ever u wanna hear for free food & beer & then sadly tell u at the end of the night u have just been dooped

any body buying dinner ! , I know I,m bad

J

From what I have read about the Conch Cruisers, the stories seemed very true to life. So much so that silly mistakes along with gross errors were wrote about with a definite air of honesty. I think I enjoyed it because in most instances it showed me what mistakes to avoid. And more often that not what works and why! Maybe I’m just easy, I’ve been told that before: )
But I’m old enough that I have “seen the elephant”
Buck

buck_justice wrote: ↑Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:51 pm But I’m old enough that I have “seen the elephant”
Buck

I'm old, but not that old,... I had to Google it!

"seeing the elephant" signified a quest for satisfactions in disreputable quarters."

Um... it might mean something else.

K9Kampers wrote: ↑Mon Jan 27, 2020 5:38 pm

buck_justice wrote: ↑Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:51 pm But I’m old enough that I have “seen the elephant”
Buck

I'm old, but not that old,... I had to Google it!

"seeing the elephant" signified a quest for satisfactions in disreputable quarters."

WOW, You can look up anything on google!
Google makes it hard to BS about anything these days. So when the old men are spinning their yarns. Youngsters are looking it up on their phones and sorting the fact from fiction.

“Seeing the elephant” is indeed a term that has taken several meanings over the past couple centuries. Me being a history buff, I used it here and thought that no one would understand what I was saying! Then google saved the day well almost! In my post I was saying that “I was born at night, but not last night” or not easily duped. I have “been around the block” a time or two. Yea, there’s a thousand of them!

Point being that people’s perceptions change over the years, but, that don’t necessarily mean that it is fact. Such as the perception that small boats can’t cross blue water. That sir has been proven wrong way to many times to count. Lin and Larry’s exploits aside. Capable sailors can do much with a little boat and a lot of experience and determination! One of the Wright brothers said that realizing the risk and preparing for it made all the difference (not a direct quote)
I am still laughing though.
Buck