Steveoe37
Trip Time Estimator
Having committed to the journey, the overall time involved had to be estimated. It was clearly apparent that I would have difficulty pulling this off with only three weeks of vacation! I was laid off from a job in August '00 and took off sailing for 8 months. I had plenty of time to plan, prepare and travel, and on no one else’s schedule other than my own. How ideal! Not yet time for me to quit a job and go sailing again! The only way to make this trip in three weeks was for all the stars to be aligned, 10 days to Isla M., 4 days to Galveston. This assumed that the boat held up and could go non-stop, the provisions would hold out, and equally as important as the boats sailing condition, the disposition of the crew for such a long, non-stop voyage. Logistically, it just made sense to break the trip up into two pieces, with Isla Mujeres making the most sense, and Grand Cayman and Jamacia as candidate stops. So it was decided that the best thing would be to put together two separate crews. Due primarily to the size of boat, length of the trip, 3 is a good number of crew for each leg. I would lead the first leg to Isla Mujeres, and recruited fellow sailor, friend, and Portofino Marina neighbor, Jeff Aufill. Jeff and his wife Darla has spent many years living aboard and sailing their Tayana 37 sailboat. I recruited Captain Rob Sherrill, sailor, friend, and neighbor at Portofino Marina to skipper the second leg from Isla M. to Galveston. Though Rob had never seen the boat, his philosophy was that if I could get the boat to Isla Mujeres, he could get it to Galveston/Houston. We agreed that he was to recruit his own crew. Of course, with only three crew, it would be prudent for all to have offshore sailing experience. About a month prior departure, still looking for a third to round out my crew, it was suggested to me to contact Eddie Havlice. I didn't know Eddie very well, but he came by good offshore references. Eddie is a Captain in the Houston Fire Department, sailboat owner, with plans of his for taking off and sailing one day. His wife Lisa, also a Houston firefighter, encouraged him to take part in the trip, building up his offshore sailing time. They have two young children. Jeff Aufill’s wife Darla and my wife Elizabeth were great support and encouragement in participation, planning, and execution of the adventure.
Shown is the trip estimator I made in February, from which to guesstimate. Distances to major stopping points are on top. The middle shows daily possible sailing distances for a range of assumed speeds of travel. The daily possible reasonable minimum and maximums on the water are 14-19 days. With front end travel, island preparation of the boat, and layover in Isla Mujeres, 3-4 weeks was a reasonable estimate. The single most important factor in making this time would be the boats speed on the water, directly related to the boat and crew’s condition and ability to maintain speed to our destination.
Trip Time Estimator
Having committed to the journey, the overall time involved had to be estimated. It was clearly apparent that I would have difficulty pulling this off with only three weeks of vacation! I was laid off from a job in August '00 and took off sailing for 8 months. I had plenty of time to plan, prepare and travel, and on no one else’s schedule other than my own. How ideal! Not yet time for me to quit a job and go sailing again! The only way to make this trip in three weeks was for all the stars to be aligned, 10 days to Isla M., 4 days to Galveston. This assumed that the boat held up and could go non-stop, the provisions would hold out, and equally as important as the boats sailing condition, the disposition of the crew for such a long, non-stop voyage. Logistically, it just made sense to break the trip up into two pieces, with Isla Mujeres making the most sense, and Grand Cayman and Jamacia as candidate stops. So it was decided that the best thing would be to put together two separate crews. Due primarily to the size of boat, length of the trip, 3 is a good number of crew for each leg. I would lead the first leg to Isla Mujeres, and recruited fellow sailor, friend, and Portofino Marina neighbor, Jeff Aufill. Jeff and his wife Darla has spent many years living aboard and sailing their Tayana 37 sailboat. I recruited Captain Rob Sherrill, sailor, friend, and neighbor at Portofino Marina to skipper the second leg from Isla M. to Galveston. Though Rob had never seen the boat, his philosophy was that if I could get the boat to Isla Mujeres, he could get it to Galveston/Houston. We agreed that he was to recruit his own crew. Of course, with only three crew, it would be prudent for all to have offshore sailing experience. About a month prior departure, still looking for a third to round out my crew, it was suggested to me to contact Eddie Havlice. I didn't know Eddie very well, but he came by good offshore references. Eddie is a Captain in the Houston Fire Department, sailboat owner, with plans of his for taking off and sailing one day. His wife Lisa, also a Houston firefighter, encouraged him to take part in the trip, building up his offshore sailing time. They have two young children. Jeff Aufill’s wife Darla and my wife Elizabeth were great support and encouragement in participation, planning, and execution of the adventure.
Shown is the trip estimator I made in February, from which to guesstimate. Distances to major stopping points are on top. The middle shows daily possible sailing distances for a range of assumed speeds of travel. The daily possible reasonable minimum and maximums on the water are 14-19 days. With front end travel, island preparation of the boat, and layover in Isla Mujeres, 3-4 weeks was a reasonable estimate. The single most important factor in making this time would be the boats speed on the water, directly related to the boat and crew’s condition and ability to maintain speed to our destination.