6-8 week Bahamas Trip

[swaterhouse]

We are starting to get serious about doing some long term cruising. This spring we bought what we would consider a "compromise" boat, the 58DB, one that works well for us right now, and could also be good for a longer cruise but would not work for us more than a couple of months at a time or as a liveaboard. We do two-three week trips in the summer now, what we don't have a feel for is throwing homeschooling/work in the mix. We already sprinkle work in our two+ week trips but would need to spend more time working if gone longer. Long term plans are to buy a sailing catamaran, sell or rent out the house, and leave for a minimum of two years to do the Caribbean and South Pacific. That catamaran would likely be our home for three or more years.

One idea was to do a test run in the Bahamas for 6-8 weeks on our 58DB in 2023 or 2024 and decide if we really want to do more then or if we will wait until my daughter gets out of high school another 6+ years later.

The question for those that have spent a lot of time in the Bahamas, more the exumas, is when truly is the best time of year for us to target? Ideally for our schedules being there from March until early June would likely be the best time for our personal/work/school lives, but its all open. I have read a lot about the types of weather to expect in different seasons and we have spent some time in fall there as well. The issue I have is many of those perspectives come from sailors or trawler owners that don't have the same type of boat that can make weather choices either easier or harder depending on the situation.

 

[Pirate Lady]

Swat,
Not clear. Your daughter is still 8 years from grad high school? So she about 10?
This is important. Having raised a daughter, if before 12 you MAYbe able to trap her on a boat, once they reach teens and want to be with their friends, OMG, dont even think about it.

 

[JC3]

SH, A lot of people will disagree with me but I have been (Bahamas) all the summer months etc... I have found for us the middle of Sept-middle Oct are the best. The Exuma are mostly empty and weather is still settled. Weather (Hurricanes, etc..) has to be watched for diligently. I would consider not waiting but taking the boat to south Florida and do small trips to start with. Life changes and its so short to begin with. IMHO If able do it now do not procrastinate. Good luck, JC

 

[brewster16]

That's awesome....Just curious if your wife is 100% onboard with the 2-3 year plan to check out?

 

[swaterhouse]

That's awesome....Just curious if your wife is 100% onboard with the 2-3 year plan to check out?

It's more the when to start that is the issue. I would love to take my daughter on the long trip, it's been a dream of mine since I had my first encounter with a cruising family 30+ years ago.

We have had a few work changes this year besides working remote fulltime, that has us thinking that it may be a good time to think about it. Our daughter is just starting third grade, and I would rather pull her out before high school, at least to start.

While looking for our boat we went through the plan to do the loop, but both agreed we would rather do Bahamas, Caribbean and Pacific.

Biggest issue with timing will be finding a boat to do the long trip. Cats of the type we are looking for don't come on the market often, and new ones are 3+ year build times.

No matter what we still want to do the two-ish month trip. We also plan to bring boat to FL for winters eventually to do short trips. This year it's getting a huge work list tackled.

 

[brewster16]

With regard to power cats....would you consider a purchase/leaseback arrangement with Moorings? I believe they run Aquila's and have a program on their power cats whereby they maintain it and charter it and you own it. When your family is ready to do the big adventure the boat you want is ready for you. Just a thought....

 

[swaterhouse]

That's awesome....Just curious if your wife is 100% onboard with the 2-3 year plan to check out?

It's more the when to start that is the issue. I would love to take my daughter on the long trip, it's been a dream of mine since I had my first encounter with a cruising family 30+ years ago.

We have had a few work changes this year besides working remote fulltime, that has us thinking that it may be a good time to think about it. Our daughter is just starting third grade, and I would rather pull her out before high school, at least to start.

While looking for our boat we went through the plan to do the loop, but both agreed we would rather do Bahamas, Caribbean and Pacific.

Biggest issue with timing will be finding a boat to do the long trip. Cats of the type we are looking for don't come on the market often, and new ones are 3+ year build times.

No matter what we still want to do the two-ish month trip. We also plan to bring boat to FL for winters eventually to do short trips. This year it's getting a huge work list tackled.

 

[swaterhouse]

With regard to power cats....would you consider a purchase/leaseback arrangement with Moorings? I believe they run Aquila's and have a program on their power cats whereby they maintain it and charter it and you own it. When your family is ready to do the big adventure the boat you want is ready for you. Just a thought....

This will be a sailing cat, and not a charter version. Looking at "expedition" or "performance" sailing catamarans. I grew up sailing, only turned to power because of the way we're boating today.

 

[JC3]

You have a great boat right now! Think about for the time being relocating it to So Fla and do smaller trips now to get experience. Once you take your boat to the Exuma you will be hooked! JC

 

[ttmott]

And I can attest to what @JC3 is saying; you will be hooked and see how being in those islands is more enjoyable than cruising the US coastline. At least to us true. But, due diligence to weather, fuel, and stores is needed.
So, regarding long term on the boat, I think you are getting into trawler territory for the room and comfort for more than a couple of weeks; at least that is where I'd be. I've been in the islands for just shy of three weeks on one trip and the boat was closing in regarding creature comfort and overall space to put stuff. My take on it being to the islands many times both on a 400DA and 52DB.

I'll add that the big cats are great but to really have the comfort you need to be in the 60 foot and over with the MSR on the main deck. Plus you will find limited dock space at the marinas and resorts and be relegated to mooring. We enjoy the occasional stay at the marinas and resorts to get on shore power and enjoy land lubbing for a spell.

 

[swaterhouse]

And I can attest to what @JC3 is saying; you will be hooked and see how being in those islands is more enjoyable than cruising the US coastline. At least to us true. But, due diligence to weather, fuel, and stores is needed.
So, regarding long term on the boat, I think you are getting into trawler territory for the room and comfort for more than a couple of weeks; at least that is where I'd be. I've been in the islands for just shy of three weeks on one trip and the boat was closing in regarding creature comfort and overall space to put stuff. My take on it being to the islands many times both on a 400DA and 52DB.

I'll add that the big cats are great but to really have the comfort you need to be in the 60 foot and over with the MSR on the main deck. Plus you will find limited dock space at the marinas and resorts and be relegated to mooring. We enjoy the occasional stay at the marinas and resorts to get on shore power and enjoy land lubbing for a spell.

The space issue was the #1 reason we chose the 58DB over the 52DB, we felt there was little chance we would be comfortable for more than a month on a 52. We didn't really want to be over 60 but we decided the 58DB was a great compromise between space, size and price when compared to lots of brands and models we considered.

The cat will likely be in the 50ish' range, and very likely not even have a generator or any real need for shore power. One of my biggest gripes with the Sea Rays are a complete and total lack of fresh air in the cabins. Most sailing cats have 2-5 opening ports per stateroom, plus another 5+ in the salon. That's not to say we wont have air conditioning, but it will be those rare times it runs, not 24/7 like a Sea Ray needs. The dockage struggle is one main reason we didn't get a cat now, there are basically no marina's we could go in. We are not ready (nor can we right now) to stop full time work, so the boat needs to stay local to New England for now.

Anyhow, the cat is a ways off, what we are trying to determine is what weather we should really expect in April and May, and on "marginal" days will the 58DB be comfortable to move from island to island or will we be stuck in some places for 5 days waiting out weather on a regular basis? Once we get to Bahamas we will most likely run at displacement speeds, unless we need to run from a storm or make a port in daylight, hoping we can squeak by with just a few fuel stops depending on how we setup an inverter and some fans to limit the generator. I would love to put in a big inverter and big lithium battery bank like you are planning, but I doubt there would be a return on investment as I don't see us having this boat for more than 6 to 8 years.

 

[swaterhouse]

Forgot to add we have sailed the Bahamas before, and have done a few weeks of scuba diving there as well. The sailing was in college, we both were on a semester at sea, we spent 3.5 months on a 125' wooden schooner that left Boston in September and arrived in Dominical Republic in December. About 6 weeks of that time was in Bahamas, including getting with the same hurricane twice. That boat was far from luxury, there was no running water, we were not allowed access to to 110v power the 4 hours a day the generator ran to run the freezer and my bunk was 6'6" long, 3'6" wide and 3' tall. I had all my personal belongings plus my gumbi survival suit in my bunk, and I am 6'1" tall.

There is ZERO doubt we will like being there, the question this trip hopes to answer for us is can we handle the work/homeschool/life balance or should we hold off the 2 year+ cruise until after school is over?

 

[carterchapman]

Scott,

We are just a couple of empty nesters, but the two of us are very comfortable on the 58 - I think our longest time is two weeks, so maybe we are not the ones to ask. We do not have an inverter, as TN in the Summer, and SWFL in the winter requires AC all the time. Maybe @cod will chime in as they have spent extended time in the Bahamas on their 52DB, and he has a large inverter installed. Hope we can join you on some of your Bahama adventures in the future.

Do you have a watermaker installed?

 

[ttmott]

I'll add that to be comfortable by opening up some hatches and portholes in the Bahamas is questionable; especially in the June to October timeframe in a SR. I think you will be very disappointed and uncomfortable. On my boat the generator starts when we leave the dock and doesn't turn off until we get back unless we are on shore power in some marina. It's simply the way it is....
From my aspect there isn't a big difference in useable space between the 52 and 58 other than that great midship stateroom. Again if you are at trawler speed then why not the cruising luxury and living space of a trawler? We have been looking at Vicem yachts for a couple of years now thinking we need to move in that "trawler" like direction to better suit long duration cruising.

 

[swaterhouse]

We debated hard on the trawler, but over the next 6-8 years the way will normally use our boat, we "need" the ability to run at 18+kts many days. That brought us into the GB Aluetian, Marlow or one of the newer trawlers. The GB and newer ones were all much more than we were comfortable spending, and we did not find a Marlow we liked in our comfort zone.

The Vicem's look really nice. We also love the GB 60 and the Outer Reef 610.

 

[ttmott]

We debated hard on the trawler, but over the next 6-8 years the way will normally use our boat, we "need" the ability to run at 18+kts many days. That brought us into the GB Aluetian, Marlow or one of the newer trawlers. The GB and newer ones were all much more than we were comfortable spending, and we did not find a Marlow we liked in our comfort zone.

The Vicem's look really nice. We also love the GB 60 and the Outer Reef 610.

We looked at Marlow also and thought it's fit and finish just wasn't there considering price. We were very serious on a Nordhavn 65 but it's draft wasn't compatible with our location and destinations. We spent quite a bit of time on a couple of Vicem's over the last two years and that will probably be the direction for us. I will say that as a working person needing the speed of my 52DB made getting to destination was a big benefit. Real retirement looms next year and there will be no need for the speed but rather space and comfort.

 

[cod]

I agree with ttmott with you will be disappointed if you don’t have a generator and be able to run AC. I traveled to the Bahamas over the years between March and July as well as the month of November. Summer months get extremely hot and would simply be uncomfortable for sleeping with no AC.

There are three items that I find as necessity for long term cruising in the Bahamas
1. Generator- For AC and for times shore power goes out on the mainland. It’s the Bahamas and the power going out is very common and unreliable, more so in the remote areas.
2. Water Maker- Bahamas average cost of water is .35 cents/gallon. More importantly, being able to make your own water allows you to be on the hook for extended periods of time and offers additional freedom from the mainland
3. Inverter- Allows you to keep are refrigeration running all day without having to run the generator. Additionally, electric is also expensive in the Bahamas so you can manage your power even at the dock. I only use shore power for my 240 volt loads and use the inverter for all the 120 volt. Then only use 120 volt shore power to recharge the inverter batteries which is approx. 2-3 hours per day.

In regards to sea conditions, the Bahamas do get prevailing winds a lot of the time. Typically, the late spring and summer months have calmer conditions but no guarantee you won’t get high winds or squalls passing through. If winds are from the east, the Exuma anchorages and marinas are all on the leeward side and there is no issue in regards to traveling. Most importantly, you need to keep your schedule flexible. Traveling between the islands of The Berries, Abacos, Exumas, Eleuthera, and Nassau are deep water crossings and can get rough. If I had to pick a time frame, I would suggest mid to late April through July.

 

[swaterhouse]

I agree with ttmott with you will be disappointed if you don’t have a generator and be able to run AC. I traveled to the Bahamas over the years between March and July as well as the month of November. Summer months get extremely hot and would simply be uncomfortable for sleeping with no AC.

There are three items that I find as necessity for long term cruising in the Bahamas
1. Generator- For AC and for times shore power goes out on the mainland. It’s the Bahamas and the power going out is very common and unreliable, more so in the remote areas.
2. Water Maker- Bahamas average cost of water is .35 cents/gallon. More importantly, being able to make your own water allows you to be on the hook for extended periods of time and offers additional freedom from the mainland
3. Inverter- Allows you to keep are refrigeration running all day without having to run the generator. Additionally, electric is also expensive in the Bahamas so you can manage your power even at the dock. I only use shore power for my 240 volt loads and use the inverter for all the 120 volt. Then only use 120 volt shore power to recharge the inverter batteries which is approx. 2-3 hours per day.

In regards to sea conditions, the Bahamas do get prevailing winds a lot of the time. Typically, the late spring and summer months have calmer conditions but no guarantee you won’t get high winds or squalls passing through. If winds are from the east, the Exuma anchorages and marinas are all on the leeward side and there is no issue in regards to traveling. Most importantly, you need to keep your schedule flexible. Traveling between the islands of The Berries, Abacos, Exumas, Eleuthera, and Nassau are deep water crossings and can get rough. If I had to pick a time frame, I would suggest mid to late April through July.

Thanks, this is exactly what I am looking for. Again to qualify, this trip is a "test" and would be done in the 58DB and I expect to run generator basically exactly as you describe. Right now we don't have an inverter so no refrigeration without the genny, so we start it before we throw lines and stop it once tied back up. The inverter project is next year as I will need new batteries at the same time. We also plan to install a watermaker, possibly this winter, but have a quite a few other must do's first.

Future long trips on a sailing cat may or may not have a generator depending on whether we do a new build or we do a refit of a used boat, but that is years away.

Glad to hear that the April and on timeframe would be good, as it aligns better with our thoughts on how to handle the homeschooling as long as we can get the school system to agree which I am sure they will.

 

[ocgrant]

I agree with ttmott with you will be disappointed if you don’t have a generator and be able to run AC. I traveled to the Bahamas over the years between March and July as well as the month of November. Summer months get extremely hot and would simply be uncomfortable for sleeping with no AC.

There are three items that I find as necessity for long term cruising in the Bahamas
1. Generator- For AC and for times shore power goes out on the mainland. It’s the Bahamas and the power going out is very common and unreliable, more so in the remote areas.
2. Water Maker- Bahamas average cost of water is .35 cents/gallon. More importantly, being able to make your own water allows you to be on the hook for extended periods of time and offers additional freedom from the mainland
3. Inverter- Allows you to keep are refrigeration running all day without having to run the generator. Additionally, electric is also expensive in the Bahamas so you can manage your power even at the dock. I only use shore power for my 240 volt loads and use the inverter for all the 120 volt. Then only use 120 volt shore power to recharge the inverter batteries which is approx. 2-3 hours per day.

In regards to sea conditions, the Bahamas do get prevailing winds a lot of the time. Typically, the late spring and summer months have calmer conditions but no guarantee you won’t get high winds or squalls passing through. If winds are from the east, the Exuma anchorages and marinas are all on the leeward side and there is no issue in regards to traveling. Most importantly, you need to keep your schedule flexible. Traveling between the islands of The Berries, Abacos, Exumas, Eleuthera, and Nassau are deep water crossings and can get rough. If I had to pick a time frame, I would suggest mid to late April through July.

I agree with Tom and Cod but April may be a little early and you are safe through August pending no hurricanes early in the season passing though. Sept seems to be the time that we in South Florida end up in the cross hairs of iffy weather that covers the Bahamas. Also there is no sleeping on the hook without AC during that time, just not going to happen. Yes water maker is a must, made over 2000 gallons this year alone on 4 trips over there so far with one more trip planned in Oct weather pending. Also carry plenty of spares since there is no source over there even for the simple stuff you might need.

 

[JC3]

I was not going to post but my experience in April has always been bad. Still to windy. JC