An offshore riserless drilling system drills a subsea borehole from a
platform and through a cased borehole. The system comprises a lightweight
drill string suspending a bottomhole assembly and extending from the
platform downwardly through a depth of water into the cased borehole; a
first limiter limiting the range of motion of the drill string adjacent
the platform; and a second limiter limiting the range of motion of the
drill string adjacent the cased borehole. The preferred methods include
lowering a bottomhole assembly suspended on a lightweight drill string
from a platform through a depth of water; limiting the bend radius of the
drill string adjacent the platform; guiding the bottomhole assembly into
a cased borehole; limiting the bend radius of the drill string adjacent
the cased borehole; maintaining the bottomhole assembly in the cased
borehole, and drilling the subsea borehole.