Bahamas Cruises |
I
haven't made that many cruises to these islands just on the other
side of the Gulf Stream from Florida. Two brief cruises on
Sarah in 2005 barely qualify. Those were just just shakedown
cruises prior to going trans-Atlantic to Portugal, and I never got
further than the Abacos.
Links to the previous shakedown cruises to the Bahamas are provided
in both The Atlantic Circle and The Bahamas menus on the left.
That menu also includes my Bahamas cruises over the winter of 2009
and 2014. Even then I never got out of the Abacos.
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After completing the Atlantic Circle from 2005 to 2007 and
spending the better part of 2008 tied to a dock on the Chesapeake I
and Sarah were ready for another adventure and these islands just
off shore seemed like a great destination. |
First I had to get Sarah to the Bahamas. Steve
Angst, who crewed on Sarah from the Azores to Portugal in 2005
signed on to help me get here there. There two routes to the
Bahamas from the Chesapeake. |
- The ICW: Follow the Intra-Coastal Waterway down the US East
Coast to Florida then cross the Gulf Stream and the
Straits of Florida to either the Abacos in the north or Bimini a
little further south.
- Off-Shore: Head offshore at the most convenient point
on the coast and sail directly to the Bahamas, either inside the
Gulf Stream following the U.S. coast line or across the Gulf
Stream down the eastern side of the Bahamas.
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My preference (and Steve's strong preference) was the off-shore
route. Both Steve and I enjoy sailing off-shore more than
inshore and much more than motoring down a ditch for a thousand
miles. I have taken boats down a portion of the ICW twice
before, once with Sarah. The first time was interesting, the
second tedious. Steve was with me for a portion of the trip on
Sarah. I think he found the first time tedious. |
So for us the choice was really where to depart for off-shore
and which route to use to get to the Bahamas. We decided it
was prudent to start the off-shore sail south of Cape Hatteras.
If we decide to stay inside the Gulf Stream departing south of
Hatteras will save several hundred miles. Therefore we took 5
days to move Sarah from her berth near Solomons, MD to Beaufort,
NC. Once we arrived in Beaufort Steve departed for a brief
trip home while
I completed plans for the off-shore route.
Steve returned on Nov 1, but once again weather conditions were not
in our favor. For the next two weeks we worked our way down
the ICW with repeated attempts to go outside. Finally Steve's
vacation time ran out in Melbourne and he departed. I briefly
left Sarah in Melbourne to celebrate Thanksgiving with my brothers.
In mid-December I departed Melbourne for the Bahamas single-handed. |
I spent the entire winter of 2008/9 in the Abacos. As of
June 26, 2009 Sarah is berthed at the BridgePointe Marina in New
Bern, NC. A winter spent almost entirely at anchor pointed out
several shortcomings in Sarah's setup. I hope to correct these
shortcomings during this summer before heading south again for the
winter. |