I think you are a bit late in the season for going to the Bahamas aren't you? Everyone usually comes back to the States by June because of hurricane season and insurance requirements. But I have no experience with this.

Todd T.

On Fri, Jun 4, 2021, 12:04 AM Allyn Baskerville <allynb at adsne.com> wrote:

> Last post for the night. We've been wanting to take the Rhodes somewhere
> this summer, and we were wondering if there were any other events like the
> Texas 200. I just learned about that, and it's probably too late to sign
> up, plus I don't think my boat will be ready to sail by then because of the
> forestay breaking. We live in Oklahoma, so that location would be ideal,
> plus I'd like to get out in the gulf. Our little lake is a circle with
> about a 9 mile circumference.
>
> We have close to 0 experience sailing in the ocean - I've been out with my
> son (lives north of Miami, FL) a couple times on his Bayfield 32, but
> that's been it. Is it too risky to pull the Rhodes to Miami and sail to the
> Bahamas? What about sailing around the Florida mini-loop?
>
> I've been working on a project that I think will be useful for some trips
> like these.  I recently installed a depth transducer, a radio with AIS
> receiver, and a VHF antenna on the top of my mast that supports AIS. I have
> a wireless NMEA 0183 multiplexor that still needs installing (sitting in a
> closet), and I need to purchase and install a GPS antenna with the NMEA
> interface. This won't take long to wrap up, but ultimately it will connect
> to my iPad running Navionics. I think it should work, and this has been a
> fun project to design. We have a lot of projects going on at the house, so
> I work on this when I can (meaning early weekend mornings). Is there any
> other electronics or hardware that I need to consider? The boat is pretty
> basic - no frills, and I don't have the mast crutch or winch yet, but that
> will happen soon.
>
> Good night all. Allyn
>