Miami’s most feared boating area, Haulover Inlet sorts the seaworthy from the shoddy, as these hair-raising videos show…
Whenever we test a rugged offshore boat, one of the most common comments to appear on our video is: “Yeah, but how would it cope with Haulover Inlet?”
Having seen the videos below, we now understand why our American cousins are so keen to find out.
Cut in 1925 to provide a direct route to the Atlantic Ocean from the northern end of Biscayne Bay, the notorious inlet in Miami-Dade County has been catching out unprepared skippers for almost a century now, with its sinister combination of outgoing tide and incoming swell.
Here is our collection of the best Haulover Inlet videos, but be warned – they’re not for the faint-hearted!
We couldn’t start anywhere else than the Boats vs Haulover YouTube channel, which is dedicated to filming naive boaters who took on the inlet when they really shouldn’t have.
Despite the title, this video doesn’t actually show anyone getting hurt, but there are a couple of close calls, particularly the final clip of the Nor-Tech 390.
It really shouldn’t need saying, but please don’t put children in the bow of your boat when crossing dangerous seas, and at the very least, make sure they wear a lifejacket!
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One popular tactic for dealing with Haulover Inlet seems to be applying a liberal helping of speed and power.
Of course, there’s no shortage of that in Miami, the spiritual home of the Cigarette boat.
And in case you’re wondering, there is no speed limit in Haulover Inlet once you get past the A1A bridge.
Nothing says Miami quite like a Midnight Express. This performance boat specialist is based in the city and builds formidably fast cruisers from 34ft to 60ft, but even they are not immune to the perils of Haulover Inlet, as this compilation shows.
Stuffing the bow into a big wave is gonna give you a soaking in any open boat. The only consolation is that in the Florida heat, it won’t be long before you’ve dried out!
If, after watching all of these videos, you still really want to take on Haulover Inlet, may we humbly suggest you choose one of these instead?
Okay, Azimuts and Pershings don’t come cheap, but as this video shows, they are more than capable of taking on the infamous inlet.
