Don Jones said:
For the record I am game with the appropriate precautions, however the wife and others on the trip are shying away from it.Don
I'm gonna join in this discussion, mainly because I flew the Cayman Caravan 3 years ago for the first time. IFR from Key West, over Cuba, and on to Grand Cayman. Being able to take the trip was one of the primary factors that finally prompted me to get my instrument rating. The first leg is 105 NM over water to Cuba. The longest overwater leg is about 160 NM from southern Cuba UCL (Cayo Largo del Sol) to MWCR in Grand Cayman. I had such a blast that I begged the organizers to let me on staff. They did, and we are preparing for the 2005 Caravan, my wife's and my 3rd, which takes place in June 14-20. More on that in another thread.
The overwater trip is a bit nerve-racking the first time out, because it is such an unknown, and you hear so many strong opinions about the risks. My wife was nervous about going, but knew it meant a lot to me, so she went. What a blast, and what a sense of accomplishment. Now she loves it. But we wear our SOSpenders (inflatable life vests, very comfortable) which makes her feel better, and we both carry signal mirrors and whistles and a small first aid kit in our pockets. Also, we each have a few sealed packets of water on us. Just having the life vests on makes her feel safe. The caravan has taken a low of 35 to a high of 125 planes per year on this trip, with only one incident in 14 years, and that happened just off departure at Key West. IIRC, Amy's article about the incident (which I cannot locate at the moment) joked that she was trying to find a clear spot on the water to land, there were so many boats around.
From an AvWeb article in June 2000 said:
Amy Laboda was forced to ditch her Cessna 210 in the Florida Straits shortly after takeoff from the Key West (Fla.) International Airport (EYW). The episode was a testimony to training, quick decision-making and the need to keep an airplane under control. Laboda and her two daughters Rose, 10, and Leah, 9, plus their babysitter, Kim Luebke, 15, and 31-year-old passenger Lauren Jackson (a Caravan staffer) all escaped the ditching with physical injuries amounting to nothing more than cuts and bruises. That cannot be said for the airplane, however.
Laboda had just departed EYW for Grand Cayman as one of the last planes out and was only about four miles offshore at 1,500 feet MSL when the event occurred. At that point and without warning, the 210's engine suffered an as-yet-unexplained catastrophic failure, losing all power. Laboda immediately turned the Cessna around, declared an emergency and was able to glide the aircraft to approximately two miles off Key West before being forced to ditch in some 30 feet of water. Despite some difficulties exiting the airplane -- which sank quickly -- all five occupants escaped and were rescued, within about five minutes, by a passing boat. In short order, they were transferred to the care of the U.S. Coast Guard and then to a local hospital before being released later that day. On Thursday, passenger Lauren Jackson (who, after the accident, caught a commercial flight to the Caymans) discussed her experience with Caravan participants. The Cessna has already been retrieved and, at last word, was being trucked to a maintenance facility where its engine can be removed and sent off for examination to determine the cause of the failure.
Last year we had everything from a musketeer to a Citation I make the trip with us. About 80% of the aircaft last year were singles. I think that is fairly typical of the mix we have.
For Kim and I, the life raft is at hand when we take overwater trips, as is the "ditch kit", a well stocked Pelican case that can sustain us for at least a week and handle most medical emergencies that are not life threatening. We have an evacuation plan in place, and we have practiced it on the ground. It is said that in a ditching you most likely will take only what is on your person, but we have the advantage of two doors, so the plan is if the engine fails, she climbs into the back of the Lance, braces in a rearward facing seat, opens the rear door just before touchdown and when the plane stops forward motion, she tosses the raft out and dives in after it. I toss the ditch kit out the front door and dive out after it, we inflate our vests, inflate and enter the raft, then go after the ditch kit. If I can manage, I will tow the ditch kit with me to the raft.
I feel the odds are so remote that my engine will fail during the one single hour or less I am out of gliding distance to land, that I will take my family with me. We also keep constant lookout for ships around us, so we always know roughly where the last one was, and we will head that way if need be. This year we are taking our son with us, which obviously changes the plan a bit, but the key factor is that we feel it is safe enough to take him with us. Be prepared, be aware, maintain your plane, and enjoy the trip. Like someone said, Dave I think, the plane does not know it is over water, and if you don't look down, neither do you!
Now the fact I live in FL, fly often to the Bahamas and Grand Cayman, as well as down to the keys, the overwater part does not frighten me. Why? Because it is no longer the great unknown - and things almost always seem worse in your imagination than they do in real life.
The other advantage you have is 5 planes travelling together. Use 123.45 for interplane communications, and stay in touch with each other. If someone has problems, you can set up a S&R to keep track of the distress aircraft, one plane to watch the distress aircraft at a lower altitude, one higher up on scene "command" plane to radio and coordinate rescue until the coast guard or someone arrive for help.
Just my .02 worth.
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