In May we bought our replacement
boat; a
Morgan 461
sloop, drawing 7 ft and weighing in at appx 40,000 lbs. Most of our projects are getting close to the finished state and we hope to
head out for a shake down and then
head South by the end of October.
Our
current status is:
Solar panels (4) on hand, waiting for return of
Bimini next week
Hydraulic steering pump and ram were sent for
repair, but both got the death sentence, so working out which
replacements to buy
Complete 110 and 12 volt rewiring 85% done
Electric windlass retrofitted for key fob operation
New 85 lb
Mantus anchor sitting on
dock, waiting on the half barrel of chain and shackle
Sherrin will start sewing new stack Pak as soon as Erika passes
Leak in aft A/C unit is repaired
New lights installed (entire
boat is LED )
AIS Transceiver ordered
New day tank is tacked together and sitting on its shelf for the dry fit
Two
electric heads installed, still need to plumb
holding tank on forward head
Dinghy leaks repaired and
motor serviced
Generator 90% reinstalled then will test for
current output
Seventeen fans installed
Water maker (Cruise R O 20) not yet revived, but should be fine with a little TLC
Fifteen twelve volt outlets wired in for
charging iPads, etc
Microwave installed
Lines led to
cockpit, not started but have
winch and
hardware on hand
Soft spot
repairs not yet started
All the ‘pretty’ stuff, painting
hull and
deck, new
cushions, etc not yet started, probably a next year
project
Fuel polishing system,
parts either ordered or on hand
Our plans are only high level at this point, still need to
work out details, which is why I am
posting this; I need help deciding which path to take through the
Bahamas to the
Caribbean. I have searched and found many helpful posts in the
archives, but not much that covers my option ‘A’ plan.
We are in St Pete, FL and will keep working on boat till the
Annapolis boat show (we will drive up) then return to finish the boat. We hope to shake down along the
West coast of FL, putting in each night till we reach
Key West, then head down island via the
Bahamas to The Windward
passage and along South side of DR and
Puerto Rico to Virgins. Much the way ‘A Thinking Mans Guide To Voyaging South’ suggests.
We would like to
anchor most nights, although the occasional overnight does not concern us; we sailed from
New York to the
Med last year and love
offshore work, but sailing against
wind and current is not appealing. On the one hand sailing down Nicolas / Santaren / Old Bahama channel would be direct and probably quicker. Looks like there might be a possibility to anchor at Anguila Cay,
weather permitting, and again on the banks south of Wolf Rocks in 25 to 30 feet (W P, of course) then on to Ragged Island and then to Great Inagua. After that, south through the Windward
Passage and we could then relax and take our time going the rest of the way. I have only looked at the Explorer
charts for a half hour and don't know if these stops are feasible or not (still have a lot of
research to do, just not a lot of time yet). Don't know where I would clear in if we take this
route, either.
Our other possibility is to spend a few months and
cruise the Bahamas arriving at the same
destination, would probably skip T & C and head straight to Great Inagua. If we do
cruise the Bahamas it seems we would need to sail North to Ft Lauderdale then across to Chub Cay to check in then the Northwest Channel to the East side of Andros? Looks kind of tricky leaving through The Tongue Of The Ocean?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. A few other things; I don't like to sail in ‘skinny’
water (we draw 7 ft) and I like about 10 feet under the
keel and although I really want to sail to
Cuba, I won't till our
government completely blesses it.
Hope some of you with experience in these waters can provide some guidance. Thanks!
Jim and Sherrin now aboard Persistent Lady II Sent from my
iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum