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USA trip to the Caribbean, Venezuela, Haiti, Panama, Mexico..

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Chrome Paper

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This idea popped into my head a few days ago after a little bit of research and thought had to post this on the forums...

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Leave from Miami...

Bahamas

Turks and Caicos

Haiti

Jamaica

Dominican Republic

Puerto Rico

British Virgin Islands

make the way all the way down to Trinidad and Tobago...

Venezuela

Colombia

Panama

Costa Rico

Nicaragua

Honduras

Guatemala

Belize

Mexico up to Cancun

Cuba

... and hit Key West and the Dry Tortugas on the way back to Miami

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Quite a few people have done the Miami to Bimini run, along with some that have traveled pretty far south in the Bahamas so this would just be a very large extension of that type trip...

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I would like to stop at ALL of the mid to large sized towns exploring the land, the culture, the people, food ETC.

Was thinking a mix of couch-surfing, cheap hotels, maybe camping on various islands along the way.

Packing safe but light with all of the necessary safety gear including extra gas.

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After the concern of safety and blue water travel here are a few initial thoughts of concern...

Hours and reliability to make this trip even possible?

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Any and all feedback greatly appreciated!?
 

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While I find your idea intriguing I think it would be impractical if not impossible with PWC's and even the largest Seadoo boats. It would be very difficult to carry enough fuel and provisions for a trip of this magnitude. I think you need to scale back your idea.

Please fill out the rest of the member information, location and watercraft owned.

Lou
 
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Only way I would do this, buy a brand new ski. Put 20 hours on it to make sure all is good, then do the trip. It sounds too dangerous tho
 
I have no confidence that I could out gun all the third world crazies I'd meet along the way that want my ski worse than I do.
 
My initial thought was buying a brand new SeaDoo Spark for gas efficiency and yes it does have a small fuel tank so I would be bringing extra with and there are plenty of marinas with gas to fill up and also buy food.

I would load up on fuel, food, and water.

The locals could present a problem but there are plenty of privately owned sailboats through most of the trip.

My first thought is reliability of the ski and not being able to cleat out the salt for months at a time? How many salt water hours could a ski handle on a trip like this?
 
ya, right, a spark 30 miles offshore, great idea....NOT.....

Pair's of RXTX, FXHO, or maybe (best) F15X's but please... a Spark ?

Have you ever been offshore on a ski ? Really offshore ? Like 30 miles ?

You need to take a step back into reality son.
 
Well personally even if I have the money and the time off from work, how in the hell would you explain this to your wife or GF. So you would take here with you? I don't know about you other guys but my wife's idea of camping out is at the Holiday Inn. Big obstacle to overcome. We'll probably continue to visit these places on a cruise ship.

Lou
 
Ever since I saw my first video of PWCs from Miami to Bimini, I've wanted to do it. First island is about 55 miles from Miami. Some of these other places span out 100 miles plus from island to island. Most skis average about 75-80 miles (correct?). It's too far-fetched for doing this on PWCs. I would be game for a Miami to Bahamas and back.....nothing more.
 
I would anticipate a 3-6 month trip so there would be no rush and only wait for optimum weather conditions to do crossings. So with decent to good weather and wave conditions even at 20mph it would only take 4-5 hours for some of the larger crossings?

There is no wife of GF and yes I would probably only consider doing the trip with someone else as it would be somewhat dangerous.

I would be bringing plenty of extra gas, water, food and most of the islands have roads so I am assuming there is gas as well as marinas or if I have to walk my gas can a few blocks into town then that will be part of the adventure.
 
This just sounds like a purely bad idea. So for three to six months. Your going to rely solely on your jet ski for a mode of transportation?? Who's going to maintain it? Where are you goin to stay? How will you fit six months of stuff on a jet ski? It's a terrible idea man. Sounds like a blast, but you gotta really think about this and take everything into consideration
 
The maintenance is my biggest question about the whole trip actually if you have more input on that?

I want to camp on private beaches, do some couchsurfing.org, and stay in some hotels as well.

I would pack a pair of swimming trunks, water shoes and land shoes, a pair of shorts, a few shirts, weather gear, tent, some food, water, gas. Most of the trip will be around civilization so food would be available.

The ski would be the transportation but would like to spend the days on land exploring different sites and small and big towns, seeing everything along the way, not just the top tourist spots that everyone goes.
 
personally i wouldn't attempt that circle alone, let alone on a pwc of any size. IF i were going to make a trip that epic on a budget i would do it on a sailboat and maybe bring a small seadoo along as a dinghy for exploring around the islands. i dont' know if the newer skis with the closed loop system can handle being towed better than the open systems can, but i'd look into that.
 
There are plenty of great sailing opportunities in the Caribbean or rest of the world for that matter if anyone is looking, you can literally sail around the world for around $250-$300 a month if you know where to look as there are plenty of people who own boats looking for others to join them for a week to a year at a time.

Just looking for something different is all and this popped into my head so getting ideas to see if is something I may consider trying, especially if someone else was serious about doing it with me.
 
you may have already seen it but check out kevin and corrie's epic miami to the bahamas trip chronicle on youtube. they recently posted the final leg where they had to blast through a tropical depression/storm to get back to florida in time to be back at work. they pretty much soaked everything, ruining some electronic gear and even losing a gopro that was on a head mount. i can't imagine trying to do that alone. plenty of people haven't made it across even setting out in good weather that turns bad that i'd want a bit more stable platform.
 
Yes I did see their video as well as many other great Florida to the Bahamas trips on YouTube and with my trip there would be no timelines which would be essential for safety especially since there would be many 50 mile runs so waiting a few days or a week for the right weather and wave window.
 
Strizzo said:
you may have already seen it but check out kevin and corrie's epic miami to the bahamas trip chronicle on youtube. they recently posted the final leg where they had to blast through a tropical depression/storm to get back to florida in time to be back at work. they pretty much soaked everything, ruining some electronic gear and even losing a gopro that was on a head mount. i can't imagine trying to do that alone. plenty of people haven't made it across even setting out in good weather that turns bad that i'd want a bit more stable platform.
Click to expand...

I missed that one ! I will go look for it...

fwiw.. i've been in some unexpected blowups 500 yards from shore where I was scared as hell ! And all it takes is a local isolated thunderstorm to pop up out of nowhere on an otherwise clear day and all hell breaks loose.

I've had times on a perfect day where it took us 40 minutes to make it the last 10 miles back to the ramp in 3-4 foot sea's, driving rain, severe headwind, and water coming over the top of my head on nearly every wave. It took all the experience and strength I had to make it back w/o incident and if I had been less experienced I very likely could have capsized my ski and been FUBAR.

In all seriousness, many of us, myself included, think it would be pretty dam cool to make some distance runs that include offshore (which I define as not being within sight of land) riding, but we also are experienced enough to realize the level of risk involved. Even the relatively "simple" runs by kevin and corrie are good examples where large amounts of pre-planning and redundant safety gear are involved to make sure they make it there and back in one piece (not to mention chase boats)

I would suggest first getting the proper pwc for the job, which means a newer, well maintained 4 stroke, preferably a 3 seater, such as the RXT,FHXO,F15X,Ultra models, buy or make some solid equipment/fuel racks and test them carefully. Then find an adventurous buddy with the same type of ski, and begin with a few shorter, safer runs of 50 miles or less with float plans, safety gear, etc into some offshore "conditions", (ocean riding but within sight of land) and gain a sufficient amount of offshore riding experience, say 100 hours for example as an acceptable minimum. (any time spent in smooth water doesn't count, i'd say 100 hours of 2'-3' chop or worse)

I've been riding for years, probably have 600 hours+ riding experience with 150 of them in what I would consider questionable offshore conditions, and honestly, I doubt I'm really ready myself for any real serious offshore run. I could purchase the right PWC for the job but i'm really in good enough shape to attempt a long distance offshore run where true endurance might come into play in a life/death situation.

You need to be experienced, have the right craft, the right equipment (which includes a pair of brass balls), be properly funded, and be in excellent shape, to actually do distance offshore runs (more than 3 miles offshore) right with a high chance of a safe return.

98% of the regular recreational riders are not ready for one reason or another, and 90% of those will never be. Maybe 3-5% of all riders should actually consider serious offshore riding, the rest of us should say within sight of land at all times, enjoy the water, and return home safely to our families after a nice day on the water.
 
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Bad idea in evey way! Very dangerous to even drive a ski that far of the coast. Not to mention you better be armed with a long gun as well as a handgun and loads of extra mags.
 
All you guys peeing on this guys parade!!! Come on and let him try. By the way, where can I get in on that million dollar life insurance policy? Seriously, these guys are the best of the best Chrome Paper. You would be a wise man to listen to them and heed their advice. It's a noble idea but not a very smart one. :cheers:
 
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