Well, after some deliberation and back and forth discussions, along with much research and persuasion from friends in the Islands, we have finally decided to head South for the Summer! This means, we will leave the Bahamas and jump to Turks and Caicos, then follow along the North coast of the DR, across the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico, and over to the Virgin Islands (Spanish, US, then British). Hopefully we can find jobs in the USVI and stay there through the summer.
After a few rough days passage coming over to the Bahamas, along with some cruising kitty issues, we had decided to just head back Stateside after our Bahamas travel. But, a few weeks of leisure in the islands along with seeing all the pictures from the Virgin Islands and hearing everyone else talking of going South, we feel ready to take on a new adventure.
We had made plans to go down island before we left the States, and as such, have many of the things we need to pursue our route. We will pick up some provisions here in Georgetown and fix a few things on the boat and we should be ready to head out. So now, the only thing standing between us and our departure is a wedding. Brad's fraternity brother is getting married mid-March and he has decided to attend. So, while I hold things down on the boat here in Georgetown, he will head back to Baltimore where he will spend some time with friends and family, and also pick up some last minute things that we need to make our trip South easier.
I am already feeling less anxiety about our trip as just the decision itself was causing us both quite a bit of stress. That, along with lots of research about visiting the islands, and I am feeling much more secure in our decision. We are also lucky because we have many resources at our fingertips - in the form of cruising friends. Most of our friends blog and are active on facebook, which allows us to contact them for information regarding places to go and how to make checking in and out of countries a bit easier, as well as consulting their old blog posts to see how their travels progressed.
We are excited to have a new goal ahead of us and I have already started making lists (my favorite part of the whole process!!) to keep us on track for our departure date. In just a short month's time we will be on our way!
Showing posts with label Bahamas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bahamas. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Georgetown or Bust!
1.28.15
Today we left Lee Stocking early to ride the tide out of the cut and headed out into open water. The wind, as usual, wasn't exactly where we wanted it to be so we decided we were going to just do one long tack and go out about 7 miles offshore and then come back and make it to the Georgetown cut around lunchtime.
Usually we like to sail instead of motor, but today the waves were big and they were on our stern throwing us and I was not thrilled about this decision to sail the whole way. This would add an extra hour onto our time out in open messy waters and that was the last thing I wanted. I was bummed about heading to Georgetown so early anyway and then to have these seas behind us was not my idea of a fun day. But, Brad was intent on sailing the whole way, so up went the sails and out to sea we headed.
I decided that since we were going to be in deep water for so long we were at least going to troll for some fish. After talking to a few other sailors along the way, I had learned that the Mahi were biting on pink squid lures. Lucky for me, I had a pink and white feather squid lure in my tacklebox!! So, I rigged one up and put a cedar plug on the other line and threw them off the stern. We had gone about 3 hours into the trip when we got a hit on the squid line! I was ecstatic!! I ran to the line and started to bring him in.
Now, this is easier said than done on a sailboat with 6 foot waves on the stern quarter rocking you from gunnel to gunnel and with no autopilot. So, we switched places and Brad got in place to reel in the fish while I reeled in the other line with one hand on the wheel. In between waves, I was throwing cushions up off the benches and grabbing the gaff and generally getting everything out of the way for when he could get the fish on board. When he finally got the fish, a small but decent sized Mahi we could now see, to the stern of the boat, he couldn't gaff it because the leader was so long. So, again with one hand on the wheel and one eye on the waves, I leaned back and swung the gaff in the general area that I knew the fish to be. SUCCESS!! I am one good gaffer!! We drug him on board and poured some vodka down his gills and then rejoiced in our catch! Brad filleted him up and I was so excited to have fresh fish that I threw the line back out again (although Brad wasn't thrilled about having to fillet another fish). Luckily for him, we did not get another hit for the remaining two hours of the trip.
We made it through the cut at lunchtime and had a thankfully uneventful trip in and headed straight over to anchor near town. We were in desperate need of provisions and water. After a few trips back and forth in the dinghy, we had gotten groceries, dropped off our laundry and filled our water tank. Just before dark, we weighed anchor and headed over to anchor on the Eastern side of the harbour where we would be protected from the winds and closer to the other boats and the beach! Tomorrow starts our true vacation and we can't wait to kick back and enjoy our time in Georgetown!
Today we left Lee Stocking early to ride the tide out of the cut and headed out into open water. The wind, as usual, wasn't exactly where we wanted it to be so we decided we were going to just do one long tack and go out about 7 miles offshore and then come back and make it to the Georgetown cut around lunchtime.
Usually we like to sail instead of motor, but today the waves were big and they were on our stern throwing us and I was not thrilled about this decision to sail the whole way. This would add an extra hour onto our time out in open messy waters and that was the last thing I wanted. I was bummed about heading to Georgetown so early anyway and then to have these seas behind us was not my idea of a fun day. But, Brad was intent on sailing the whole way, so up went the sails and out to sea we headed.
I decided that since we were going to be in deep water for so long we were at least going to troll for some fish. After talking to a few other sailors along the way, I had learned that the Mahi were biting on pink squid lures. Lucky for me, I had a pink and white feather squid lure in my tacklebox!! So, I rigged one up and put a cedar plug on the other line and threw them off the stern. We had gone about 3 hours into the trip when we got a hit on the squid line! I was ecstatic!! I ran to the line and started to bring him in.
Now, this is easier said than done on a sailboat with 6 foot waves on the stern quarter rocking you from gunnel to gunnel and with no autopilot. So, we switched places and Brad got in place to reel in the fish while I reeled in the other line with one hand on the wheel. In between waves, I was throwing cushions up off the benches and grabbing the gaff and generally getting everything out of the way for when he could get the fish on board. When he finally got the fish, a small but decent sized Mahi we could now see, to the stern of the boat, he couldn't gaff it because the leader was so long. So, again with one hand on the wheel and one eye on the waves, I leaned back and swung the gaff in the general area that I knew the fish to be. SUCCESS!! I am one good gaffer!! We drug him on board and poured some vodka down his gills and then rejoiced in our catch! Brad filleted him up and I was so excited to have fresh fish that I threw the line back out again (although Brad wasn't thrilled about having to fillet another fish). Luckily for him, we did not get another hit for the remaining two hours of the trip.
We made it through the cut at lunchtime and had a thankfully uneventful trip in and headed straight over to anchor near town. We were in desperate need of provisions and water. After a few trips back and forth in the dinghy, we had gotten groceries, dropped off our laundry and filled our water tank. Just before dark, we weighed anchor and headed over to anchor on the Eastern side of the harbour where we would be protected from the winds and closer to the other boats and the beach! Tomorrow starts our true vacation and we can't wait to kick back and enjoy our time in Georgetown!
Monday, January 12, 2015
Bad Weather Blues
Laundry is done, jerry jugs are filled, provisions are stocked and now....we wait. Winds have been steady over 10 knots for the past few days, which would be good sailing - if they weren't coming directly from where we need to go! Seems the fronts keep pushing through so either the winds are strong out of the North, which is a no go when crossing the Stream, or they are blowing like stink from the East.
During a recent happy hour gathering, we were told that this was the El Nino year and that doesn't bode well for sailors. The jet stream dips lower and keeps that fronts coming through and the winds strong out of the East. This is great once you get down to the Caribbean and can just sail North to South - beam reach heaven the whole time. But, if you're trying to go East, you are shit outta luck (pardon the saying).
So, we wait. Or you can do what most of us antsy sailors are going to do this week and wait for light winds and try to sneak farther North up the Keys. This gives you a new location to explore, a new anchorage and more friends to meet, and also puts you closer to the Bahamas Bank - which translates into less sailing at one time. So, tomorrow, if the weather subsides, we will sneak out into the deep and try to get closer to Miami. If the weather really lays down and we are happy with the sea state, we may go all the way! Otherwise, we will get as far as we can and then tuck into a safe harbour by sundown. At this point, we are just going stir crazy being in one spot, so any movement is a step forward!
Hopefully King Neptune will bless us with calm seas one day soon and we can safely cross to the Bank and get on with our winter sailing adventure!
During a recent happy hour gathering, we were told that this was the El Nino year and that doesn't bode well for sailors. The jet stream dips lower and keeps that fronts coming through and the winds strong out of the East. This is great once you get down to the Caribbean and can just sail North to South - beam reach heaven the whole time. But, if you're trying to go East, you are shit outta luck (pardon the saying).
So, we wait. Or you can do what most of us antsy sailors are going to do this week and wait for light winds and try to sneak farther North up the Keys. This gives you a new location to explore, a new anchorage and more friends to meet, and also puts you closer to the Bahamas Bank - which translates into less sailing at one time. So, tomorrow, if the weather subsides, we will sneak out into the deep and try to get closer to Miami. If the weather really lays down and we are happy with the sea state, we may go all the way! Otherwise, we will get as far as we can and then tuck into a safe harbour by sundown. At this point, we are just going stir crazy being in one spot, so any movement is a step forward!
Hopefully King Neptune will bless us with calm seas one day soon and we can safely cross to the Bank and get on with our winter sailing adventure!
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Outboard Woes
This week has been an eventful one. Our outboard decided to go tits up this week and just stop working completely. Although Brad gave it his best shot, we couldn't figure out the problem.
Hoisting the outboard up on the mothership with the cowling off is like waving the white flag.
Since we are on a mooring ball a mile from the dinghy dock, that was a bit problematic. We tried rowing in, to the great amusement of all of our boat neighbors. This was largely unsuccessful in the strong winds and after going in circles for a bit tied along with a few expletives thrown between myself and Brad, some of them offered to tow us in. Thus started the three day hell of having to rely on our neighbors for rides and tows, as well as outboard repair assistance. Everyone was very obliging, but it is taxing on them and us to have to tow another dinghy a mile. We had a line of people offer to come over and look at our outboard to see if they could impart some wisdom and every one of them went away just as perplexed as we were. So, while we learned this was the quickest way to meet our "neighborhood", we realized they would soon tire of us and thus we found ourselves in the market for a new outboard....as it were.
As luck would have it, there was indeed one outboard available on craigslist in Marathon. We have been lucky enough to befriend a young couple here with a car and so he and Brad drove out to put it through the paces. After a bit of haggling and some test drives, they decided it would do and we found ourselves the proud owners of a "brand new" Suzuki 15hp!! It is a 2010, which is the newest anything we have ever owned and it is a gem! It starts on the first pull and idles quiet as a mouse; and even I can work it!!!
When we returned with the outboard out to our neck of the mooring field, we were greeted by applause and laughter from our neighbors, who were obviously relieved not to have to tow us around anymore. While this outboard was certainly not in the budget, we are glad that if we had to have an outboard issue, it was here in the harbour. We were able to find a relatively quick solution, thanks to the generosity of the boaters.
So, now, with our new outboard in hand, we are waiting on weather....the story of our lives. But, while waiting, we have been reunited with some boating buddies we met down in the Exumas. They are also waiting for weather and it seems that we will all be making the crossing at about the same time. In the meantime, I'm sure there will be lots of rum consumption, good laughs and volleyball games for all. All in all, there are worse places to be "stuck"...
Hoisting the outboard up on the mothership with the cowling off is like waving the white flag.
Since we are on a mooring ball a mile from the dinghy dock, that was a bit problematic. We tried rowing in, to the great amusement of all of our boat neighbors. This was largely unsuccessful in the strong winds and after going in circles for a bit tied along with a few expletives thrown between myself and Brad, some of them offered to tow us in. Thus started the three day hell of having to rely on our neighbors for rides and tows, as well as outboard repair assistance. Everyone was very obliging, but it is taxing on them and us to have to tow another dinghy a mile. We had a line of people offer to come over and look at our outboard to see if they could impart some wisdom and every one of them went away just as perplexed as we were. So, while we learned this was the quickest way to meet our "neighborhood", we realized they would soon tire of us and thus we found ourselves in the market for a new outboard....as it were.
As luck would have it, there was indeed one outboard available on craigslist in Marathon. We have been lucky enough to befriend a young couple here with a car and so he and Brad drove out to put it through the paces. After a bit of haggling and some test drives, they decided it would do and we found ourselves the proud owners of a "brand new" Suzuki 15hp!! It is a 2010, which is the newest anything we have ever owned and it is a gem! It starts on the first pull and idles quiet as a mouse; and even I can work it!!!
When we returned with the outboard out to our neck of the mooring field, we were greeted by applause and laughter from our neighbors, who were obviously relieved not to have to tow us around anymore. While this outboard was certainly not in the budget, we are glad that if we had to have an outboard issue, it was here in the harbour. We were able to find a relatively quick solution, thanks to the generosity of the boaters.
So, now, with our new outboard in hand, we are waiting on weather....the story of our lives. But, while waiting, we have been reunited with some boating buddies we met down in the Exumas. They are also waiting for weather and it seems that we will all be making the crossing at about the same time. In the meantime, I'm sure there will be lots of rum consumption, good laughs and volleyball games for all. All in all, there are worse places to be "stuck"...
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Final Projects
With the Christmas in Georgetown plans quickly sneaking up on us, we had a sail repair guy come and look at our new, used sail yesterday. We had high hopes that he would be able to fix our sail to make it better fit our boat and have it returned to us by Friday so that we might set sail this weekend. He showed up right on time and he and Brad got to work inspecting the sail. They raised it, they reefed it, they raised it again. They tugged on the topping lift, then released it, then pulled the clew tight to the boom and released it and then repeated. There was a lot of hemming and hawing and raising and lowering. But, an hour later, much to our sheer delight, he declared that we had a purchased a great sail and he didn't think we needed any repair work done to it.
When I came out to inspect his work, the sail was a perfect shape. He and Brad had pulled it tight to hug the shape of our boom and it looked great! And, after all of that, he didn't charge us a thing! He was such a fantastically, helpful guy!
Next on the list - tackling the head sail. Our rolling furling (which is the system that rolls the sail up around the forestay) had become corroded and was no longer working. This is something we had been having trouble with the last year we went sailing - and we are only just now getting around to it. After a few hours work, and again, hauling the sail up and down the forestay three times, Brad finally got it working. A lot of elbow grease, a can of dry lube and some new lines and she works good as new!!
Now, this boat is actually looking like it could possibly go sailing! As the day came to a close, it hit us that we are almost ready to head out and this time next week we should be staging to head over to the Bahamas! (Soon after, the panic set in and I began making new lists for all the last minute things we would need to get done!) Looks like all our hard work is about to pay off!!
When I came out to inspect his work, the sail was a perfect shape. He and Brad had pulled it tight to hug the shape of our boom and it looked great! And, after all of that, he didn't charge us a thing! He was such a fantastically, helpful guy!
Next on the list - tackling the head sail. Our rolling furling (which is the system that rolls the sail up around the forestay) had become corroded and was no longer working. This is something we had been having trouble with the last year we went sailing - and we are only just now getting around to it. After a few hours work, and again, hauling the sail up and down the forestay three times, Brad finally got it working. A lot of elbow grease, a can of dry lube and some new lines and she works good as new!!
Now, this boat is actually looking like it could possibly go sailing! As the day came to a close, it hit us that we are almost ready to head out and this time next week we should be staging to head over to the Bahamas! (Soon after, the panic set in and I began making new lists for all the last minute things we would need to get done!) Looks like all our hard work is about to pay off!!
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