[Gerry Zagorski]

20 miles sounds about right and a good place to start. As with any trip of this distance on a small boat, you need to pick your days with a good weather window. Best to start early and plan to make the run back in the early afternoon. In the summer, even on the nicest of days, the west winds usually pick up in the late afternoon and it could make for a slow miserable ride back in if you wait too long.

You want to make sure you have the fuel capacity for the trip. General rule is based on your normal fuel consumption and distance you plan to travel, to have at least 1/3 of your tank left when you return... Reason for this is if you run into weather and cant run on plane, you might need that extra 1/3 margin to make it back in since your fuel consumption is going to go up if you are running in seas.

At a minimum, I would suggest you have a fixed mount VHF on the boat as well as an Eprib. You should also let someone know the general area you plan to go as well as your estimated time of return. It's also good to buddy up with other boats and or make contact with others while you are out there
in case they or you need assistance.

All sorts of stuff can be caught in the area since it's in the beginning of the mudhole, which continues to run towards the south and east. Best to fish the ledges and wrecks in that general area. This time of year sharks and bottom fishing and later once the water warms up, trolling for schoolie Bluefin and Mahi.

Good luck and be safe.