After six weeks in the Keys we cast the lines and make a 185NM offshore passage to the Bahamas. Come on board and sail with us as we visit Grand Bahama, Great Sale, Little Abaco, Allans-Pensacola, and Green Turtle.
Since you were at Greene turtle cay in abaco you may have seen manjack cay to the north. In 1670 a ship sank there carrying the first British colonists to what is today the Charleston South Carolina area and the ship was owned by King Charles II. We found the shipwreck and it's very very historic. Most of it is not salvaged. I wrote a magazine article about it and I mention it in my book I wrote which is published called shipwrecks and discoveries. Would you be interested in joining us to dive or just go to the wreck site and participate and maybe provide a little money for some of our diving equipment.?
Check in was straightforward and easy. We are both vaccinated so all we needed was a rapid antigen test which we were able to get for free at a Miami-Dade County Test Site with results received by email in less than 30 minutes. After that the next step was apply for our Bahamas Travel Health Visa online which was also relatively straightforward and quick. Once we received the Travel Health Visas we applied for our Cruising Permit using the Click2Clear online portal. Paid our $300 cruising permit fee online and then we printed out all docs and presented them at the Customs Office upon arrival in West End.
Just my two cents but as sailors who haven't left the Gulf, I would love to see why you chose to sail across at night, what you provisioned and the logic behind your decision making.
Hi Michele, when we do a passage our route is typically dictated by the weather. If the weather is good we make the most of it, cover as much distance as possible. That can mean sailing for several days straight, to include at night. As for provisions, we take as much food as we think is needed for the trip as food and drink in the Bahamas is quite expensive.
how do you park in marinas? I assume you cant have sails up or you will blow into other boats? Is a motor required? it looks like you have used your years to refine your sailing experience, I noticed headsets so you dont have to yell in the wind and a raft to go to shore. Interesting.
A motor is generally required when docking at a marina and most sailboats have what’s referred to as an Auxiliary Engine. We have a 125HP Yanmar diesel.
