Back at the Dock for the Summer

May 30, 2013


Well we have returned to Twin Dolphin Marina in Bradenton after a 7 month cruise in the Bahamas.  We had a great trip and really enjoyed the areas of the Bahamas that we visited this year. 

Some statistics:
       Days
                  Anchored/Moored        168       81%
                  Docked                           40       19%
                          Total                     208

       Miles (nautical)                      1534

       Fuel (gals)                                232

       Water (gals)
                   Watermaker               1869       91%
                   Shore Sources              175         9%
                          Total                    2044

            9.8 Gal/Day (all uses - drinking, cooking, washing)

We crossed to Bimini in early December and fairly quickly transited to the northern Exumas.  We spent over 2 months in the Exumas and then traveled to several of the outer islands - Long Island, Cat Island, and Eleuthera before returning through Bimini after nearly 5 total months in the Bahamas.

We are often asked what were our favorite places.  We usually say that based on natural beauty, the Exuma Land and Sea Park, particularly Cambridge Cay was our favorite.  From a people perspective, we really enjoyed Black Point on Great Guana and Cat Island.

The Exumas are very nice, anchorages are generally relatively close, and you usually can sail in the relatively protected Bank side so it is easy to move around.  If the Exumas have a downside, it is that there are so many cruisers it often feels crowded.

The outer islands require a transit of Exuma Sound, are not as well protected, and anchorages are farther apart so there are significantly fewer cruisers.  The islands themselves are much more isolated and traditional.  We enjoyed the outer island very much, especially Cat Island and plan to spend more time there next year.

We had planned to return to the Abacos, where we were last year, but ran out of time - hopefully next year.

We often feel that trip mileage figure is fairly unimpressive to many, but a comparison that Joyce thought of puts it in a better perspective.  A car at highway speeds goes about 10 times faster than our boat.  Thus our 1534 miles is equivalent in time to a 15,340 mile car trip - quite a ways!

The boat performed great; we had two major repair items, both of which were discovered and resolved in the States.  Within a couple of weeks of leaving Bradenton, we discovered a leaking water heater, which was replaced at Rose Marina on Marco Island.  After returning to Miami, we discovered that our alternator output was very weak.  With our solar and wind generators we seldom use the alternator to simply charge, so the output probably had been falling for some time.  But a series of cloudy windless days prompted us to run to charge at Coconut Grove Sailing Club where we discovered the problem.  We were able to get a non exact replacement (something you
get used to on an 18 year old boat), but with a few minor mounting modifications I got it to fit well.

After a couple of weeks of hard work getting the boat ready for summer/hurricane season, the boat will go to Snead Island Boat Works for a bottom job and a few maintenance items.  We will travel to Syracuse for a whirlwind tour of friends, doctors, dentists and other professionals.  We no longer have a house in Syracuse, so the trip will be relatively brief and we plan to return to the boat in August.

A link to a map Google map of our trip follows this blog entry.

Following is a link to a blog entry about what we have learned about what works and what doesn't for a cruising boat. It is targeted primarily at cruisers or wanna-be cruisers.
Cruising - What Works and What Doesn't

Tom
Docked in Bradenton FL
Map Cruise 2012-13