Perspective

DO NOT DO THIS. I AM A PROFESSIONAL AND I SPENT ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS PREPARING FOR THIS TRIP!!!!

In the same area between North Carolina and Bermuda during the same time we were on this trip four much larger vessels had to call in for rescue. Only three crews were rescued. Three professional sailors lost their lives.
DO NOT DO WHAT WE DID.
P.S. In the middle of the trip the Coast Guard sent me an email stating the rescues going on. My wife read the email. She was not a happy camper. Your wife will not be either.

Many people have a little trouble realizing just how far Bermuda is from North Carolina and back to New York Harbor. We thought the picture might put it in perspective. Bob and I trusted this 21 ft Flats boat (Intruder 21) to get us there and back. In the boating community large areas of shallow water are called "Flats." Boats designed to run in these flats are called "Flats boats." The Intruder 21 handled the waves perfectly. The pictures below are leaving North Carolina weighted down by almost two thousand pounds of fuel as well as equipment and food stores. As we burned our fuel off the boat got quite a bit lighter and rode much higher.












This is what an Intruder 21 rides like without all that weight.

Your friends will enjoy this discussion.

Dream Boats, Bermuda Run

Some call it suicidal, others call it proof.On April 30, 2007, two Tampa Bay men, Ralph Brown and Patrick McMunn will depart the coast of North Carolina in a 21 ft flats boat, headed for Bermuda, and then to New York Harbor, 1,400 miles of perilous ocean to prove the seaworthiness of this unique boat that is also comfortable operating in less than six inches of extremely shallow water, and by God's Grace hopefully set a new world record for unescorted oceanic crossing in a flats boat.

Thanksgiving weekend seven years ago, Ralph and his two boys were boating with Larry Strong and his kids. They hit a rock and broke the lower unit of the motor. A few months later, Ralph’s wife Anne was in a car wreck and had to have extensive hospitalization. His income went down considerably as he had to take many days off work, taking her to doctors. His best friends became bill collectors. Ralph found himself hiding from his problems in a boat design. He gradually became consumed with the concept of making boats that would be able to go over the rocks in shallow water without damage and still be very seaworthy.

After two and a half years, his wife had all she could take. You could not talk to Ralph about anything else. She demanded that he either do it or “shut up.” She thought he was going to shut up. Little, did she know? That night he incorporated as Dream Boats, Inc. He was broke, actually closer to bankrupt, with nothing more than a dream, and by God's Grace a boat load of sheer determination. His first plans did not work well.

He spent four and a half years chasing investors, developing, testing, and rebuilding boats. Over one million dollars later, the finished product is unbelievable; a small extremely seaworthy boat with a simply magical ride. Proving that it runs in shallow water is easy, just ride in it. People who have never ridden in it find it hard to believe how seaworthy this boat is. Now he is putting his life where his mouth is and taking one to Bermuda and back. Some call it suicidal; Ralph calls it proof.

Suicide or Proof

We are attempting to set what we believe will be a new world record for the longest unescorted oceanic crossing in a flats boat. We will be leaving from Atlantic Beach, North Carolina crossing over to Bermuda, then continuing on to New York Harbor, over 1,400 miles of open ocean. The Intruder 21 boat can be viewed in detail at http://www.dreamboats.net/. This is a super shallow running boat that can be configured as a deck boat, or as a fishing boat often referred to as a flats boat. The Intruder 21 is produced by Dream Boats, Inc. Dream Boats, Inc. claims that this boat is the World's most seaworthy flats boat and is seeking to prove it by this trip.We are planning to leave Atlantic Beach, N.C., at 8:30 a.m., April 30, 2007, from the Day's Inn Boat Ramp, 602 W. Ft. Macon Rd, Atlantic Beach, N.C. There will be a chase boat for media to run out for 5 - 10 miles. After going to Bermuda we will continue on to New York Harbor, and dock at the Liberty State Park, (Statue of Liberty State Park), in Jersey City, New Jersey at approximately 8:30 a.m., Friday May 4, 2007. Ralph Brown, can be reached for comment at 352-346-2365 or you may go to http://www.dreamboats.net/ There will be downloadable broadcast quality video after 1:pm April 30 at that website.

The Suicide Challenge Begins

The two Brown brothers began their first leg of the perilous journey to Bermuda and back to New York Harbor, 1400 miles of open ocean. Bob Brown is accompanying his brother Ralph Brown... At 6:00 am Monday morning, the continued preparation began. At around 7:00 am, Ralph and Bob went to fill up four gas tanks totalling nearly 300 gallons of gas. That's 2000 pounds of fuel. An hour and a half later they were at the dock and ready to go. After meeting with the Mayor of Atlantic Beach and making some final arrangements, the Intruder 21 was in the water and all systems were go. A chase boat followed Ralph and Bob out for almost 10 miles, to allow for some photographs and media video. And then just like that, the were off in the horizon. We later received our first satellite phone call from Ralph with a report that everything was going as planned. Due to the extreme weight of the fuel, they were travelling at a slower speed then originally intended. Ralph hopes this will change when they burn off some fuel. More updates to come when we next hear from Ralph. Leave Ralph a comment to encourage him on his journey.

Half way there

We arrived in Bermuda on Wednesday at about 1:00 p.m. There was no small commotion. No one could believe that we had made the crossing in a 21 ft. flats boat. Everyone seemed to believe it was the first time anyone had ever done that. We got to meet a bunch of government officials. They turned out to be very helpful.
The crossing actually went quite well taking 51 hours including a lot of down time on the phone. My Brother Bob, who had never been on the boat until we started for Bermuda, was surprised the first time we went over some six footers. He then realized why I was so confident in the boat. That turkey, later told me that he thought I would turn back at the first big waves. The boat handled the waves beautifully. Most of the waves were 3-6 ft in size. For about 100 miles or so they were larger ones. We thought they were 6 - 8 footers. We found out later from the government that they were nine and ten footers. We only had five waves come over the bow and only two as far as the wind shield. None of them were real bad. Unfortunately the wind was up most of the way 10 - 25 mph, maybe even a little faster than that and blew alot of water back on us. There was nothing dry on that boat.
It looks like there is a front comming through from N.Y. and we will have to wait here for a day or two to sit out the weather, life is rough, stuck in Bermuda, but somebody has to do it. I want to remind everyone, that I am the builder, and this is not something I would recommend to do at home. If you are ever in Bermuda stop in at Triangle Dive Shops and Blue Hole Water Sports. www.trianglediving.com and www.blueholewater.bm

Bermuda at Grotto Bay

We arrived in Bermuda on Wednesday at about 1:00 p.m. There was no small commotion. No one could believe that we had made the crossing in a 21 ft. flats boat. Everyone seemed to believe it was the first time anyone had ever done that. We got to meet a bunch of government officials. They turned out to be very helpful.
The crossing actually went quite well taking 51 hours including a lot of down time on the phone. My Brother Bob, who had never been on the boat until we started for Bermuda, was surprised the first time we went over some six footers. He then realized why I was so confident in the boat. That turkey, later told me that he thought I would turn back at the first big waves. The boat handled the waves beautifully. Most of the waves were 3-5 ft in size with occassional larger ones, even up to eight foot. We only had five waves come over the bow and only two as far as the wind shield. Unfortunately the wind was up most of the way 10 - 35 mph and blew alot of water back on us.
It looks like there is a front comming through from N.Y. and we will have to wait here for a day or two to sit out the weather, life is rough, stuck in Bermuda, but somebody has to do it. I want to remind everyone, that I am the builder, and this is not something I would recommend to do at home. If you are ever in Bermuda stop in at Triangle Dive Shops and Blue Hole Water Sports. www.trianglediving.com and www.blueholewater.bm

Heading for New York

We have been here in Bermuda for two days waiting out the front. It appears that we will be able to leave today, Friday, May 4, late afternoon. We added a new wave brake to the front of our console in case we have to go through waves bigger than 10 ft. We have already been through a few 8 ft waves. The wave brake is absolutely perfect in what we wanted. The wonderful folks at Ocean Sales St. Georges Bermuda built it for us. They did an excellent job on short notice. www.oceansails.com If you are ever in Bermuda see Steve, Suzanne, and Rod. The stay has been fun. The people excellent, and very helpful. Everything here is a little expensive. Our Suzuki 115 four stroke has run great.

We have also met two different people in Bermuda who have expressed an interest in investing in Dream Boats, and two seperate individuals who have expressed an interest in opening up dealerships in Bermuda, and one in N.C. Details will have to be worked out.

The people at Bermuda, Radio have agreed to track us back to N.Y. on radar. We will be reporting to them Six hours. The Royal Gazette has updated articles if you want to read them.

Still in Bermuda

Last night we were supposed to leave, pending one last weather report. It showed 18 ft waves 100 miles off of N.Y. That means they would have been 20 -30 ft in the gulf stream. While Bob and I might be a little gutsy we are not crazy. It looks like we are going to have to wait until Tuesday night or Wednesday morning to leave. That should put us in at about noon Friday, in New York Harbor.

While the people in Bermuda have treated us like royalty, we were even given honorary membership in the St. George's Boat and Dingy Club, this trip would not be possible without the four greatest people in my life: Anne, my wife, Phillip, Heath, and Brittany, my children. Anne has gone way beyond any expectations to help me. She even volunteered to accompany me across the Atlantic when my first mate, had to back out due to unforeseen circumstances. That is a pretty brave woman.

As far as we can tell no one has ever made the crossing in a single engine flats boat before. Most of the men, we met in Bermuda says they would not do it. (They have more common sense than I.) Most of them have been across in much larger boats. All kinds of Government officials, even the American Consolate have been trying to talk us out of going on to N.Y. Even the newspaper reported that the Bermuda Radio strongly recommends we abandon the rest of the trip. Some even called Bob and I crazy idiots, I still call it proof. After they realized we were not going to be persuaded to cancel they became very helpful in planning the rest of the trip.

I know in the beginning she was rightfully sceptical as any responsible woman would be when her crazy husband took much needed money and started a boat company. She has put up with me for five years while we struggled to get this started.

Lord Willing we shall arrive in N.Y. Harbor on Friday.

The Perfect Storm

From North Carolina to Bermuda, (675 miles of open ocean),
From Bermuda to New York Harbor, (775 miles of open ocean).
in an UNESCORTED FLATS BOAT. By definition a flats boat is a single engine,
low profile, open fishing style boat, that can run in less than one foot of water. This Intruder 21 can run in 4 - 6 inches of water.

****NEW READERS SHOULD START AT THE BOTTOM*********

Currently there is a major storm off the coast of N. C. and another forming near N.Y. some people have called them the perfect storm. We are waiting out this situation. I flew back to Florida to take care of some business issues while Bob stayed with the boat, to make some preparations. My temporary cell phone number is 352-346-2365.

I will be flying back to Bermuda on Tuesday, May 8 and planning to slip out the back behind the storm either late Tuesday or early Wednesday to be in New York Harbor about noon Friday.










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From North Carolina to Bermuda

From North Carolina to Bermuda, (675 miles of open ocean),From Bermuda to New York Harbor, (775 miles of open ocean).in an UNESCORTED FLATS BOAT. By definition a flats boat is a single engine,low profile, open fishing style boat, that can run in less than one foot of water. This Intruder 21 can run in 4 - 6 inches of water.

*********New Readers should start at the bottom*********

The US Coast Guard called me today to emphasize that this kind of project should not be done at home. They currently are involved in several search and rescue attempts that were related to the storm mentioned earlier. Thank God the Intruder will not sink. Of the four boats that went down between North Carolina and Bermuda in the last month, only three crews could be saved. One professional crew of three sailers perished.

On the way to New York Harbor

I received 2 satellite phone calls from Ralph today (Tuesday May 9th). They seemed to be doing very well. They were both very excited, and looking forward to the venture. Ralph said that they were expecting 5 - 9 footers today with 2 to 5 footers the rest of the trip, hopefully. They were approximately 70 miles off the coast of Bermuda when the engine oil light came on. They immediately turned the engine off, dropped in their sea anchors, called a boat mechanic, and did some investigating. Ralph said that they now have a tether system (which you can see in the pics) that they devised, so they tied themselves to the boat before leaning over to check out the engine. Come to find out the light came on to notify them to do an oil change, which they had just performed before they left. They were told by the mechanic that there was no problem, so they fired it up and kept on going. Some of the pics show some of Ralph and Bob's new friends, that they met in Bermuda. Their friends have really helped them out a lot, from building a wave brake, and giving advice, to charting their every move by radar. Stay posted right here for the latest up to date info on the trip. I'll be sure to let you know what's happening when I hear from Ralph and Bob next.

Almost to New Jersey

Ralph called just a few minutes ago stating they were 112 miles from New York Harbor and that they would coming ashore sometime this afternoon. I am sure that they will be glad to get their feet on dry land. I know that their family's will be glad to have them home safe & sound.

It has been a long journey and they have accomplished their goal. To prove that the intruder is a sea-worthy flats boat. A boat that can go in shallow water anywhere from six inches of water and also be sea-worthy for those shor trips several miles out.

They stated that the weather was not bad at all and the seas were somewhat calm. They apologize to anyone that may have thought their trip was unsafe. They always felt that their safety was important that is why they watched the weather report and waited a week to come home. They also had brought aboard a satellite phone, an Emergency Position Indicating Radiobeacon (EPIRB), and they wore a teather that was tied on the boat at times. They both are very good in the water having grown up surfing in Cocoa Beach.

Thank God they are almost there.

They Made It

Well, they made it! Ralph called today at 2:00pm to say that in the distance they could see New Jersey, and they were soon to be pulling into the bay. He said the trip went pretty well. Thankfully, the seas remained relatively calm. They expected 5 - 9 footers for a short time, however they were 2 - 6 most of the way home. He said, "we made it, we traveled over 1500 miles of open waters and we did it all in an Intruder flats boat." For those who say that the Intruder 21 is not a sea worthy boat, think again. It seems that Ralph has just proved that it is. We'll have more details (and I'm sure pictures) to share soon, probably from Ralph himself. Can you imagine the scene now, a yellow 21 foot flats boat pulling into New York harbor after a 1500 mile journey. I'm sure we all would have loved to have see that. Way to go Ralph and Bob, you did it!

Home at last

I just got home a few minutes ago, it is 4:30 am. I am so excited. It is Sunday Morning, and I have been driving all night, I will be in church today. Check it out, Northcliffe Baptist Church in Spring Hill, Fl. For all you people who have focused on the danger, I understand your concerns, but also let me encourage you to think about your heritage, The Great American Spirit. The Great American Spirit, with God given guidance made this the greatest country in the history of the world. Our fore fathers endured great hardship and great risk to provide us this heritage. They did not focus on the danger, rather the success.
You want danger, talk to the families of Sgt John Harvey, USMC; LCPL George Holmes, Jr., USMC; SSgt Dewey Johnson, USMC. I was on the original roster to take back the US Embassy in Iran. They downsized the roster and took my name off. These are the US Marines that died in my place. They are heroes. The soldiers and Marines in Iraq are the ones in real danger, not me I just believed in my boat, and with help from others and God proved it. If you read the whole blog, you will notice we were careful with help not to get in bad weather. Yet we trusted the Intruder. You would too, if you rode one.
My brother Bob, never thought we would go all the way to Bermuda, he thought we would turn around at the first big waves. That is what changed his mind, big waves. The Intruder took them flawlessly. We went 1547 miles of open ocean, according to our GPS, and by God's grace never felt in danger at all. We broke NO LAWS, and disobeyed no authority. We had more than the required safety equipment. We were in constant communication with the Bermuda equivalent of our coast guard by their request, and they were in constant contact with our Coast Guard, we were tracked all the way back to New York Harbor. I think they were a little surprised that we made it, but both offices told us that we did a great job. The Coast Guard is an absolutely excellent organization. Their Search and Rescue teams save countless lives and risk their own without reservation, and they love doing it. They are heroes. I would never disgrace them.
Yes, they and half a dozen more government representatives tried to talk us out of finishing the trip. That is part of their job. They said we had already traveled more than any unescorted flats boat that they knew of, and should declare victory. However, that was not the plan. We were determined to finish the course, just like Dream Boats will finish its course. It will become a major competitor in the boating industry.
The Intruder is solid boat. It was designed for the strong who want a flats boat that could take mild stormy seas, and still feel safe. Almost every single person who ever looked at our boat didn't think much of it, just like Bob, until they rode in it. Bob learned to feel safe riding into a storm in the dark with the moon and stars blocked out by clouds 300 miles from the nearest shore and never felt in danger. We really could not see anything, with 4 -6 foot seas and pooring down rain. However, we were very cold, man were we cold, did I tell you it was cold. I am a Florida boy, and I tell you it was cold. We had all kinds of cold weather gear, but it was still cold.
I know it is yet to be determined, but I have been told that we set a new world record, and broke it in a two week period. That is success. For that success, I thank God and all the other people who helped us like Marin Savov, Pete Rostel, Steve and Sandy Holis, Geoffry, Pete Cardil, and many, many others. Please forgive my spelling. Tomorrow after some rest we will post several pictures and a complete summary.

Pictures

The first three pictures are leaving Bermuda. Notice Donna Lange, the famous world traveling lady. Circumnavigated the Globe in a sailboat, solo. The bottom two are saying goodbye to the great people at Ocean Sails in Bermuda. The middle picture is the guys from Triangle Dive Shop

More Pictures

Let me encourage you to go all the way to the bottom and read the posts beginning in April

More pictures of getting ready to leave. At the bottom we are towing the Famous Donna Lange out to sea. Her engine was broke and she wanted to sail back to Rhode Island. What a privilege.

Pictures 2

Let me encourage you to go all the way to the older blogs at the bottom and start in April

We changed the oil in Bermuda, usually I let a mechanic do it. I did it myself this time, I did not realize I needed to tell the computer that we changed it. The oil light started flashing about 100 miles from Bermuda, 700 miles from shore. We threw out the sea anchor, turned the boat into the waves, 4 - 6 ft , checked the oil. It was fine, so I called my mechanic. While we were waiting to call back we fired up our 6 hp kicker. It pushed us a whopping 5 mph. We made a big joke out of it and agreed that if we needed to take it all the way to shore, we were not calling for help.
Obviously, when I called back the mechanic, we realized there was no problem, he told me how to tell the computer we already changed the oil. Truth of the matter cruising at 5mp would have made fishing possible an extra 4 day vacation!!! The Suzuki 115 ran like a top. It just purred right along. What an engine!
We had a little cubbie hole in front of the console that we slept in some, and also used for phone calls you really had to squeeze into it.

Pictures 3

More miscelleanour pix. Top Ralph The GPS at 5mp, Bob, The Work Horse--- our Four Stroke Suzuki 115, Ralph in the Cubbie

Pix 4

Driving in the rain, sleeping in the rain, and of course the Work horse,
What an engine that Suzuki 115
we pushed that heavy flats boat in rough seas at an average of 3.14 mpg. on the way to Bermuda

Pictures #5

Let me encourage you to go all the way to the bottom and pick up the older blogs.

Miscelleanour pixs. The Work horse...... Bob, Bob, and Bob. Look at the beautiful sunrise Friday morning. It was cold, cold, and glassy, but Beautiful.

Pictures #6

These are Friday morning about 180 miles from NY city. It is calm, an we could average about 25 mph at 4000 rpm. These are a bunch of dolphins that are about to come play in our wake.

From the number of pictures I took to the motor, you can tell I was impressed with that Suzuki 115 four stroke.