50 Mile Sail Marathon to Key West + Coast Guard Ep. 3 - MacGregor 26x
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- In June of 2017 we start in Marathon and sail 50 miles past the 7 mile bridge to Key West over a two day period. We stop in Bahia Honda, then head to Key West where the Coast Guard runs over our fishing line when approaching our boat. Then we get boarded by the Coast Guard. Then we head out to Sand Key lighthouse for a 7 mile sail to get some video of the reef and the lighthouse.
Music:
Life Inspired by EDM Royalty Free
Holiday Ukulele by EDM Royalty Free
Melancholic Swing by EDM Royalty Free
I tuned in because I've had a Mac X for 17 years ( plus 12-14 other boats in Michigan and Florida) I learned a long time ago the boat attracts (repels?) a large number of critics who know nothing about the boat at all. Looks like you and family are maxing the intent of and thoroughly enjoying a truly unique multi-use boat. There will be nay-sayers no matter what you choose. Ignore them...they know nothing.
What a great kid! ....and a wife who is ready and willing to take the helm!....you got it all, my friend!!
A genuine happy family. Love MacGregor boats especially the 26x
What a wonderful family trip. Your children will have great memories. Thanks for sharing.
Ok... that was wholesome. Great video and that looked like an awesome adventure for the little guy!
Very nice family video. So good creating family memories that you will treasure for a life time. Wish you good wins
Nice family adventure...nice MacG 26
I the same boat. Mac 26X. Great to see this video on Florida water.
Love seeing the team sailing
This is what life is about! fun with family
I want to be the crazy uncle that tags along. Man that was fun to watch.
Excellent quality time with the family
Thanks for sharing! Lovely family, adorable little guy! Fun to watch.
Very nicely done :)
Very cool. But such a police state with the Coast Guard boarding!
Great story, thanks for sharing your journey
great video !!! , good and diverse images and takes , lovely story ... keep going !
Been looking at those boats and it looks like I'ma have to watch your stuff to figure out a few things
Awesome sunset!
Great videos. Keep em coming!
Thanks Jared, our next trips are Clearwater, FL and then a big trip to Bimini Bahamas! Will definitely be sharing that this summer.
That's awesome. My wife and I love the Clearwater area as well. I am definitely awaiting your Bahamas video. We have a Tattoo 26 and are planning that trip as well. You guys have beautiful family and make excellent quality videos. We're still in the 30's here where we live so the vids definitely help keep me motivated.
Fun video, thanks! I am actually looking at getting a Mac 26 as well. But considering a few others, so we will see. My only requirement is that it is trailerable with my jeep truck (so sub 5,000lbs) and has a steering wheel. Ha. But my question is, do you know off hand what the coast guard checked? I would be curious. I have no issue being stopped by LE; good for them! But as I am new to sailing, I have no idea what requirements there even are! Don't worry though, I am signed up for a real proper sailing course this winter, so I will come away plenty competent to get a small boat and start sailing. But as of now have no clue what rules there are and am curious what they checked! Thanks!
Wow just watched your video, what a fantastic time you must have had. Wow. Been looking now at these boats. I live in 🇬🇧. Not sure whether I will go sailing in it
I plan to river and canal cruiser .
Хорошая прогулка.
В Ки Весте (Key West) заглянете в бар Sloppy Joe's ?☺
Я иногда смотрю веб-камеру из этого знаменитого бара, неплохая музыка там.
Wow, the coast guard hassled you in Key West, that is WHY I left Key West, every day it was something. I could almost swear it was them stealing my life vests just to give me tickets. Not even once did they fail to show up when some idiot cut the strap which was LOCKED on my dink. The marine store could also have been the culprit, they made a LOT of money selling me life vests. It just got to be such a routine thing (life jackets were not the only ticket worthy thing) but after 12 days of constant tickets for things I replaced MANY times I finally took my sailboat, dinghy, AND my $36,000 vacation budget up to Key Largo. I was not hassled by the coast guard, marine patrol, or the local police. Key West is cool as long as you only stay 3 days, get a beer at Sloppy joes and a T-shirt, and get the HELL out!
now this is boater safety info im searching for ,, all the legal shit the youtubers dont talk about.. any other good advice for future boaters..lol
DONT
Hello Your video is always fantastic to me.
I'm a Korean. It is not easy to meet mac in Korea.
It is true that there is a lot of worry about the resilience of mac's ballast.
Is it possible to sail on the ocean with mac? My goal is to go from Korea to Guam.
Enjoy a safe voyage
This boat is a cruiser, no for open sea waters. Need a bue water boat. And training
While we have taken this boat 52 miles across the Gulf Stream from Miami to Bimini in the Bahamas, it's not recommended to go long distances over open water in case of bad whether. The short 52 mile run for us was fine due to the fact that we knew the weather ahead of time. But for days in open water with unpredictable weather, this is not the boat. We have pushed this boat to it's limits.
I've solo-ed across Lake Michigan, circled South Florida, circumnavigated the Keweenaw Peninsula but for open ocean water i think you need a different boat. The MacGregor is a tremendously versatile boat but like all boats there are comprises. You'll never run out of fantastic places to go with a Mac but skip the passages, out there you'll need a bit more beef.
did ya'll know that, at least in Michigan, half of the small craft deaths are parents (without life jackets) trying to save their children (with life jackets)? (that statistic is dated, yet has had been a trend for many years. Please wear your life jackets for you and your childrens safety in small craft power boats (dingy's included).
Hallo, nice video, and your Mac Gregor is very fast... I have the same boat and is very slowly when Is sailing ( max 4 mph) , have you some advice for me, how to make it more quick? Thank you....
The best thing you can do is trim the sails and your angle to the wind. Waves slow it down quite a bit. Sailing in a smooth water environment that has good wind will be ideal for this boat.
It's a sailing boat, not supposed to be fast... unless you fit a big engine, which they can ;)
You need a puppy!.. nice vids...
Was that a ice cream boat at the end of the video and key West Florida?
Jacksonville Florida don't have a ice cream boat but we do have a lot of boats here in the water come to Jacksonville Florida sometime in the future
They were some people that live on their boats nearby in Key West that were being neighborly.
I'm shopping for my first boat. There's one of these for sale a few hours away. Would you recommend the 26x. I'm kinda wanting to do similar to what you're doing , but with just the wife and I. We plan on staying on the lake for long weekends. Any advice would be great. Thanks
I have a 26M and love it. In fact, I stayed at Bahia Honda marina for a couple weeks last year with it. Great time. People make fun of this boat a lot but you can do so many things with it. It is very comfortable for a couple people. It sails ok and powers ok. If you want to be out there doing max sailing or max powering this isn’t the boat for you but if you just want a nice, comfortable floating home for a couple weeks and would like to move around without fuel and power around in shoal waters nothing beats it. These boats make excellent lake and coastal cruisers, especially for the Keys where depths often get into 2 or 3 feet. You can even pull it right onto a beach if you want. They also make the trip to the Bahamas on a well timed weather window. If the seas start to disagree with the forecast you can just drop sail, empty the ballast and motor at 12+ knots to get there fast. They are totally safe boats. There is foam concealed throughout the boat to allow it to float even when completely full of water should the worst happen. The tip of the mast can be pulled down to the water and she will pop upright when released. We experienced a weather front on our local lake that produced straight line winds of 60+ miles per hour. With the 50hp motor I was able to turn into the wind and hold position until the storm passed. Several sailboats and low lying power boats were swamped but we came through fine. High freeboard helps keep the water out. We have all the comforts of home on our Macgregor since it is fitted with DC and AC distribution panels with outlets throughout, dual batteries and a 200W solar system. I even have a small air conditioner with a canvas shroud I use at the forward deck hatch when at a marina on shore power. It can be 90 degrees outside but the boat is 68! Really the only negative are all the ‘purists’ out there that say she isn’t a sailboat or a powerboat. Ignore them and make some very nice memories is my advice.
Great comments!
Do they allow you to park your truck/trailer at the marina?
Enjoyed your trip. Excellent video. That trip is on our bucket list. We have a 1998 MacGregor 26 X and really enjoy it. Will have to trailer the boat from Knoxville, TN. We do a good bit of sailing in the Pensacola, Fl area and just finished a trip in Biscayne Bay south of Miami. One quick question. Where did you get your cockpit cushions? They look really nice. Looks like you are really enjoying your boat.
Sam Ruple
Hey Sam
I live in Memphis TN and I plan to tow my Mac26M down to Homestead FL in June and sail to the Keys
Sam Ruple
I also tow my boat down to Pennsacola and Destin in the summer, I am off in the summer from work.
Hey Sam, the boat came with the cushions, so I'm not sure where the previous owner got the cushions. We do enjoy them though!
Sam Ruple z
You guys rock!!!! cant wait for more vids. You guys have the boat I am looking at for my adventure I noticed you have a 20 hp motor how is that working out for you? Also what is its top speed and fuel consumption? Please keep posting!!! I am 38 now and plan on getting my mac 26 before I am 42 that's when my youngest will be 18 and there mother and me can finally start are long overdue adventure!!
Hey Matt, the 20hp is fantastic. We don't use it much as a motor boat. We try to sail whenever possible. When we do motor, it just sips the fuel. Great fuel economy. It came with the boat when we bought it, no complaints. We are going to cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas next month, so we'll be getting a ton of video of that trip. Best of luck to you and the family getting a Mac. They are fantastic!
@vertex2100 . Great information, thanks for hav8ng the time to share it.
What's that about? The coast guard can just randomly pull you over,trespass on your private property to "check your safety"? I don't like that "AT ALL" but you guys are absolutely beautiful!
Haha, thanks Michael. We were fine with the Coast Guard pulling us over. We looked at it as an experience for our son, and a video for everyone else. They are there to make sure people are being safe on the water. It made us feel comfortable crossing to the Bahamas last year seeing the coast guard traveling up and down the Gulf Stream. They were hailing every boat they saw, and getting their credentials, but not stopping anyone unless it seemed suspicious.
Yup! No such thing as rights at sea. I believe within 12 miles of Coast the Coast Guard has jurisdiction. The law stems from the late 1700s. Smugglers weren’t paying taxes and pissing off the king for not getting his cut. Ironically one of the exact reasons the Colonists sought freedom from Britain!
All in all, Coast Guard are brave folks doing a tough job.
Great video.
What kind of small boat is that ? What size it ? Thanks
This is a 26ft motor sailor called a MacGregor 26X.
@@SailingwiththeMurph I think they meant the dinghy ;) I was going to ask myself.
Hi, earlier today I 've watched your videos and decided to go check a macgregor for sale. Unfortunately it was an old boat with some issues and i found a bit smaller than i want. Until i buy a boat i look forward to see your next episodes. Have fun. :)
Awesome, thank you! The next video will be this summer in Bimini Bahamas! :-)
Take your time, buy the best you can afford and get someone with Mac experience to have a look over it, while other may knock the Mac for "Not being a real sailboat" ask a Mac owner, we all love our boats, I have never heard of a Mac owner that was unhappy with their boat, join the Macgregor sailors forum, the people on there love to help with any questions you might have www.macgregorsailors.com.
I know our Mac is not the perfect boat BUT she is the perfect boat for us
👍🏼
is this the same boat that Ryan(?) from sailing freestyle has?
Where did you leave your truck and trailer overnight. The ramp said it’s not allowed. I would like to do the same route with Macgregor. Can you share the route ?
Faro Blanco marina let us park at a small lot on their property during the time of the trip, however we only paid for one night of a slip. I doubt they allow this anymore though. I'd call to ask ahead of time.
Have you ever crossed the gulf stream? I'm considering a Mac. but really want to be able to sail from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas.
Yes, we have crossed the Gulf Stream 4 times in our MacGregor 26X. The key is to pick your weather day. Don’t plan to sail only. Motor/sail instead. If you have wind good enough to sail at 5 knots, it’ll be too rough out.
Hobies, windsurfers (in the 90s) crossed regularly. I did it early 2000s in a Compac-16 pick a SE-S wind day easy peasy.
North wind it could be a nightmare.
Where did you park your car and trailer in marathon?
We parked at Faro Blanco marina on this trip. They have a very small parking lot right off the main highway. Because I got a slip for the night, they let us park there for free. We were able to keep it there the whole time during this trip. I am not sure if that is the same policy anymore, as parking in the Keys is very difficult to find. Generally when we would drive straight to Key West, we'd park at City Marina at Garrison Bight @ $20/day ($10 truck + $10 trailer). That is better than sailing 50 miles from Marathon, then having to sail all the way back. Best to just drop her at your destination. We figured this out when one of our shrouds broke on the way back to Marathon. We had to take a bus to Marathon to get the truck/trailer, and drive it to Key West to get the boat.
Love the video, it's great watching family fun! I'd like to know your thoughts on sailing the 26 to the Bahamas? Would that be wise, is it sea worthy, or is it a bit much for boat this size?
We took our 26X to Bimini in June 2018 for 3 weeks. We watched the weather via the WindAlert app, plus various other apps. We are going to make a video of the trip hopefully soon. Just trying to find the time :-)
@@SailingwiththeMurph Wow, thats awesome!!! I can't wait for the video! So I'm assuming the rest of the islands can be navigated as well. That's awesome, maybe I can make a dream come true with this boat. What are some of the upgrades you would suggest?
@@SailingwiththeMurph How long did it take, did you sail from Miami?
@@robertalexander2478 we left south Biscayne Bay around 5:30am, and got to North Bimini around 2pm. We motor sailed since the wind was kind of light that day. We made sure to leave on a calm day with the wind at our back since the wind is generally coming from the east. Once you check in, you can go all over the Bahamas. We stayed in Bimini the whole 3 weeks, but traveled to all of the islands there. Our favorite remote spot was North Cat Cay where there is a massive sandbar southeast of the airport. The depth fluctuated from 1ft to 4ft, so it was perfect for the Mac 26. The water and sand was breathtaking. Can't wait to share the video.
@@SailingwiththeMurph I can't wait either, that's so awesome! I'm here in Tampa Bay. Thank you so much for the response and maybe in the future I can pick your brains about the 26, seems like a relatively inexpensive entry into sailing, for me at least.
thats a 26m with a rather small outboard?
This is a 26X, and we made along just fine with the smaller outboard. We never really had the need to plane. We were dragging a dinghy as well, so planing would not have worked out so well. I imagine if I wanted to pull a skier that might make sense to have a bigger motor.
Hello boat
What type of dingy is that ?
I also plan on towing my Mac 26M from Memphis TN in June down to Homestead FL. and sail down to the keys.
Hey Mark, it's a WEST MARINE WaterTender 9.4 Rowing Dinghy
Did you anchor on the back side of wisteria island?
Yes, it’s a little quieter over there, and less waves. Plus you get great sunsets :-)
It looked a little like they were northeast of wisteria but its been awhile since I've been there. In fact "sunset key" was still "tank island" when I lived there!
what dinghy did you have?
In this video we had the 9.4 West Marina rigid dinghy.
@@SailingwiththeMurph is it a wet ride with spray?
Coast guard just can’t leave people alone. Without incident they have no legal right for a stop and board. Ever
Yes they do. There is No right for prohibition of illegal search and seizure. Old late 1700s law dealing with smuggling never stricken from books. The King did and still wanted/wants his cut.
Ironically this is one of the reasons the Colonists sought freedom from England.
What kind of dinghy
9.4 West Marine rigid tender