One of the most interesting trips we have taken with our boat has been to the Bahamas. We spent much of our first trip learning the things we should have taken. The first trip, although enjoyable, was surpassed by the second trip. In this page we will pass on tips that we learned by experience or from fellow cruisers. Our object here is not to repeat the things you have likely read elsewhere, but to tell you some of the little stuff you may not come across elsewhere. This is not meant as a substitute for additional research. We recommend that you read as much as you can about the Bahamas, and the prerequisite Gulf Stream crossing. We hope these tips make your trip more enjoyable.
Dolphins Play with the Bow as we cross the Bahama Bank
A person could spend years in the Bahamas and not exhaust the good anchorages and snorkeling. The prevailing easterlies make the trip out challenging, but once there coming back is usually no stress no strain. With our trailerable boat, we feel a minimum of four weeks is required. This allows a half week trailering the boat from Pennsylvania to Ft Lauderdale. Three weeks in the water & a half week trailering the boat back to Pennsylvania .
Once in Ft. Lauderdale we sail further south to take advantage of the northerly set of the gulf stream. We leave the U.S. near midnight from Noname Harbor (no kidding that is the real name) in Key Biscayne. The midnight departure assures a mid day landfall at Cat Cay or Bimini . Aids to navigation are scarce in the Bahamas and it is necessary to use the daylight coupled with the clear water to safely transit reefs into the islands.
We never took enough underwater shots to justify the purchase of an actual underwater camera, but we always did take along a disposable. We have found reasonable results with the following two tips:
The viewfinder is made for use in air. Using the viewfinder underwater with a mask results in considerable parallax error. All of our first pictures were incorrectly framed. Placing an X in the center of the view finder allows you to place the object of interest in the center of the picture. You still will not know about the framing, but at least the center of the picture is correct.
The disposable camera lacks filters and flash. Our first pictures were developed by a totally automated process, as most are. All the colors were shifted to a darker blue. The second pictures we took to Ritz Camera and warned them to observe the color balance. They informed us that without the proper filters it would be impossible for them to get the results of a good underwater camera, but their results were far superior to the automated developing, and well worth the extra money.
Unless you have a reverse osmosis filter, you will have to keep a close eye on fresh water usage. Our boat is equipped with both a fresh and salt water pump in the galley. The easy access to salt water makes it convenient to use for dish washing and hand washing. If the salt water is not easy to use fresh water consumption will increase. A plastic spray bottle filled with fresh water can provide a sparing rinse to rid the dishes of salt, and a refreshing squirt to the brow. Rubber gloves for dish washing are a must. Nothing tears up your hands quicker than dish washing in salt water. Not all soaps will provide suds in sea water. Lemon fresh Joy works well in salt water. Prell shampoo also suds in salt water and is good for taking the salt water shower. All this bathing in salt water has its drawbacks. After a while your sheets will be perpetually damp from the sea air and the salt deposits that build up in your bedding. The only solution we know for this is a trip shoreside to a Laundromat. If anyone knows a better solution to the salty bedding problem please e-mail us
Kiersten, Roy and Nickolas: Home Schooling in the Bahamas
First, find a shallow calm area, near other people (where quick rescue is a reasonable expectation) and swamp your dinghy. You will learn a lot. Have someone on shore (or a dock) hold the painter, and try to bail it out while treading water along side the dinghy. When swamped can the dinghy still hold you up? Can you bail it from inside, or must you be outside along side? Can you make any way with the dinghy swamped? If the dinghy turns turtle, could you right it in deep water? We have friends with a self bailing inflatable. When it turns turtle, the self bailing check valve lets much air out. The force required to right the dinghy with that suction is incredible. You want to learn the answers to these questions in a controlled situation, not several hundred yards off a tide swept remote beach in the Bahamas or elsewhere.
We always found oars adequate in the Chesapeake Bay. The Bahamas, however, proved to be quite different. There are usually significant tidal currents that run between Islands and through nearly every anchorage. An inopportune muscle cramp or failure of an outboard motor may find you going to sea in your dinghy. As a result, our first trip saw us avoiding areas with the dinghy that we otherwise would have liked to visit. We recommend the following equipment. (the order indicates our opinion of importance)
If you find yourself unable to fight the current, or you motor fails, you can deploy the anchor and wait for the tide to shift. If this occurs, you must decide to anchor quickly. The bottom drops off fast as you head to sea. A few hundred yards of drifting could mean your anchor will no longer be of any use. We also use the 6 feet of small chain, and a lock to secure the dinghy while at shore.
After our first trip, we bought a little Honda 2 Hp motor. The motor opens up many new possibilities of exciting snorkeling too tricky to visit with the large boat. It has served us well, the only trouble being occasional condense in the fuel, hence, the recommendation for a little dry gas. Stove alcohol also works well.
The usefulness of these items is self evident.
Our dinghy, SOLA FIDE, is a Fatty Knees 9 foot sailing dinghy. Not only does the lapstrake hull compliment our Nor'Sea 27 (both boats are designed by Lyle Hess) more importantly, the dinghy tows very well. Our Nor'Sea does not have space for the dinghy on deck, therefore towing is the only option. We have heard of other people who have had their dinghies swamp in rough weather. Some have even been forced to cut the painter, and abandon their little boats. It may be just be the speed our Nor'Sea tows at, but we have towed SOLA FIDE through very rough weather in the Gulf Stream and never shipped much water. The Fatty Knees has been a joy to tow. Her name SOLA FIDE is Latin for "faith alone." It refers to Martin Luther's re-discovery of the biblical view of justification. SOLA FIDE means that sinful men can only be made righteous before God by faith in Christ's finished work on the cross.
Nickolas and Krista
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Bahamas - Official Travel Guide
