Bobthebuilder

This will be the 16th consecutive year that I will have made the trek down to Key West by boat for the so called World Offshore Championships. I am wondering if there are other FL west coast offshores that would like to join us? We plan on leaving Marco at 11:00 AM on Thurs. Nov. 9th and return Monday leaving KW about 10:00 AM.
I would recommend that your boat be a min. length of 36ft , capable of cruising at 50 MPH and be in excellent mechanical condition. If you are interested you may contact me or make a posting. I can answer your questions here for the benefit of all.
The sooner you decide the better, as hotel rooms and boat slips are already getting tight in Key West.
Bob

Airpacker

Tell ya what Bob, I'll fly down to meet ya and just bunk on Predator's swim platform for the weekend

Bobthebuilder

It's happened before Sean, well not on the platform but bodies pretty well everywhere else on the boat !

jayboat

I'll bet that ostrich skin is cool at night.

gene stokes

I am a new 42 fountain owner and live in Sarasota. My wife and I would be interested in some of the details (accomodations/marina) of the trip if you were to invite us. She is originally from Key West and we are going to the Ocean Key house this week by car. She has talked often about the world Championships and was once involved with this event (have old posters that she designed). Please stay in touch.

Bobthebuilder

Hello Gene,

You and the wife would be most welcome to join us. It is about a 2.5 hr run down to Marco from Sarasota. You may want to come down to Marco the day before and I can help you arrange overnight slip and hotel room. There is 91 octane fuel available here. Some from Sarasota have joined us in the past. The late Steve Simon made a trip with us to KW and back that I will never forget. Also Red Reynolds in his 50 NT and Ron and Pam in their 39 NT have done some fun runs with us last year.
Follow the thread for awhile and we will see how this comes together. When you are in KW this week you may want to enquire about a hotel room/ boat slip. I am going to do some work on that shortly.
Bob

gene stokes

Thanks for the invite. We would probably trailer down to Marco. I will look for a Marina/hotel in Key West. Be back in Sarasota on August 4th.

Bobthebuilder

Sounds good Gene. We have a good ramp here on SR 951 about a mile before you get to the bridge to the Island on the south side. Can't miss it. Lets keep in touch and enjoy your time in KW this week.
Bob

gene stokes

Bob, thanks for the ramp info-need all the help I can get. Do I need a some type of navigation electronics? What do you use? I don't want anything real sophisticated and expensive. What kind of boat do you have?

Bobthebuilder

Gene,

I have a Nor Teck 5000 Vee. Trip 850's. Has been a very reliable package. We are in Ontario for the summer months and will be back to Florida by late Sept. Will do Poker Runs America run out of Sarasota on October 7th and am thinking of doing their new Indian River Plantation run on Sept. 23rd.
I have a Garmin 2010 Chart Plotter as I do a lot of trips and love the navigation side of boating. Also have a Garmin 172 C on another boat which is much smaller and has most of the features. A handheld will even do the job. We will all stay together as a group on the run to Key West and back. Sometimes some of the faster boats will run on ahead and that is OK but I will see that no one will be left behind.
Bob