Bahamas bound

[Bob 04 H260]

We are about two months behind schedule but we are finally leaving for the Bahamas. When we arrived here in December we found the mast had been damaged while the boat was in storage over the summer and it had to replaced.

The new mast from Selden was a different profile so the new rigging we just bought is not usable. The mast foot is bigger so the compression post had to be pulled out and new mast mast rail fabricated and welded to the compression post. It is all back together finally and almost everything is working again.

We are well provisioned and looks like we have a good weather window. We plan to leave here tomorrow morning going south to Lake Worth. Cross to West End on Monday night clear customs first thing in the morning and try to make Great Sale Cay by nightfall on Tuesday.

We were lucky enough to have the legendary Steve Pettengill rig and install our new mast. We are very pleased with his work. We learned a lot from him as he worked on the boat. If you have a Hunter and need work done on it I would consider contacting him. He is the best.

regards, Bob

 

[Sailm8]

Good luck and fair winds. Please post an update of your crossing.

 

[scottdube]

Good luck and enjoy! The Bahamas are custom made for Hunter sailboats, or vice versa... I spent a season there in my 410 11 years ago! Great time!

Scott

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

Glad the boat is fixed to your liking. Good luck on the trip. Just returned last week from helping a friend sail is Hylas from St.Martin to the Georgetown in Exumas. You don't really need to stop at West End. You could sail to Great Sale, yellow flag then clear customs at the first port of entry going into the Abacos. Going to West End adds more than 50 miles to the trip. Good luck and be safe.

 

[teebutch]

Bob are u going there on your Hunter 260?

 

[Jim Seamans]

Have a great trip Bob. Glad to hear the boat is back together. Will be interested to hear what you had to pay for entrance fees... Keep in touch.

 

[Bob 04 H260]

Glad the boat is fixed to your liking. Good luck on the trip. Just returned last week from helping a friend sail is Hylas from St.Martin to the Georgetown in Exumas. You don't really need to stop at West End. You could sail to Great Sale, yellow flag then clear customs at the first port of entry going into the Abacos. Going to West End adds more than 50 miles to the trip. Good luck and be safe.

Claude, we considered going straight to Great Sale but with our dog on board thought it was better to stop in West End. We did not go up to Memory Rock, we used a cut just a bit north of West End. It was a bit tricky but saved us a lot of time. We could not have used it in the dark. We had a fast crossing and had to wait to enter West End.

Bob

 

[Bob 04 H260]

Bob are u going there on your Hunter 260?

Nope ! One reason we got the H356 was so we could cruise the Bahamas, Bob

 

[Genesis V]

Glad to hear you're on you way and the mast issues are sorted out. Keep the posts coming. We are hoping to follow in your footsteps in a couple years on our H356

 

[sailmaster39]

trip

Hey Bob
Lucky you........Regarding your mast issue,I hope your insurance came through for you. If you get time, post some pics of your new mast,compression post etc. I`m curious why its sized differently than the original. Does the sail furl easier etc.
Richard

 

[Bob 04 H260]

The crossing

We are in Green Turtle Cay enjoying a tour of the island and meeting new friends.
We are still resting up from the Gulf Stream crossing. I did over 24 hrs before getting some sleep. The Gulf Stream crossing was forecast to be quite quiet with 2 to 3 ft seas and light winds. Lots of moon light. And it was that way for the first 5 hours, a very nice trip. Then the wind picked up and the waves started to build, the sky clouded over and it was pitch dark. We had breaking waves with a following sea, it continued to build until the winds were gusting to 35 kts. We had trouble seeing the direction the waves were coming from. The boat handled it very well. It felt solid and we were able to control it. We played with the autopilot for our least discomfort and that also seemed to give the autopilot the best control of the vessel. Not exactly where we wanted to go but close enough. We did a correction at the end. No one was sea sick and we never felt concerned.

We had a buddy boat with us. As the wind started he put up his sails and was having a ball. An hour later he had the jib furled but the full batten mainsail would not come down. He was doing the crossing single handed and the autopilot could not keep the boat into the wind. He has an older boat with a cutter rig and full keel. He is very experienced sailor with a captains licence.

He was ahead of us, as we approached his position (I had been keeping track of him with our radar) we could see he had his spreader lights on. We passed about 500 yes off his beam, we could see him standing on the boom trying to get the main down. We were quite concerned for his safety but felt we couldn't do anything. We decided to wait an hour, if no radio contact we would turn back. I kept him on our radar. We knew he had a personal EPIRB as well as one on the boat. After 55 minutes we heard him on our radio. He had the main under control enough he was motoring to West End. We turned a bit and met back together there.

We were too early to get into the marina in West End so waited until first light to enter. We cleared customs, refuelled and headed for Great Sale Cay about 11 am. We went through Indian Rock Cut onto the Little Bahamas Banks. I crashed in the cockpit while crew took over for the next two hours. We pulled into the anchorage at Great Sale just at sunset Tuesday night.

The wind shifted and picked up just before sunup Wednesday morning. I got up to check the anchor and we were fine. Then our buddy boat called anxious to move on as Chris Parker was forecasting a chance of squalls and high winds later that day for the Abacos. So we made a run for Green Turtle Cay. Another long day.

We started out motoring, the wind began to build on our beam. We unfurled the jib. The boat loved it, our speed jumped to 7.5 kts, as the afternoon approached the winds increased to 25 kts, our speed began to go over 8 kts and often hit 8.5 kts with gusts to 30 kts. The boat was feeling fine. Then the gusts began to go over 30 we eventually rounded up. We reduced our sail somewhat and began motor sailing again, shortly after that our jib leach line blew out. I guess being 10 years old the cloth was damaged. I'll see if it can be repaired next week.

So that is the story of our Gulf Stream crossing. I hope it was not too much detail ?

We will continue through the Whale once we get a break in this weather.

Bob

 

[Picflight]

Bob, I am enjoying your adventure with you. Thanks for the details!

 

[seadaddler]

Sounds great

Hi and sounds like a good trip and what are you using for the internet.
Nick

 

[Bowedtoothdoc]

Bob,
Did you see Midnight Sun II in Green Turtle? I was aboard a couple of weeks ago with Neil, Janet, and their dog Salty. From their Delorme it appears that they are now on Harbor Town. Did your group have cocktails at the Tranquil Turtle?

 

[Bob 04 H260]

Hi and sounds like a good trip and what are you using for the internet.
Nick

Hi Nick, we are in the marina at Green Turtle Club and using their wifi. It has been very sporadic to say the least. We are learning the ways to squeeze the most out of it. Once we get to Marsh Harbour we look at the other alternatives. We have a good wifi antenna and a Bullet for long range connections.

Bob

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

Hi Bob, Sailing single-handed I had forgotten about your dog's needs LOL ! Good write-up about your crossing. Glad everything went well. There used to be a sail loft in Marsh Harbor. You might want to check it out. Also if you need provisioning, avail yourself of the possibilities there as there isn't much else in the Abacos. Are you planning to go on to Eleuthera, Nassau and/or the Exumas ?

 

[Bob 04 H260]

Bob,
Did you see Midnight Sun II in Green Turtle? I was aboard a couple of weeks ago with Neil, Janet, and their dog Salty. From their Delorme it appears that they are now on Harbor Town. Did your group have cocktails at the Tranquil Turtle?

Hi doc, no we did not see them yet. I will keep the name in mind if I hear them on the VHF or see the boat. I am sitting in the Tipsy Turtle right now sending this post ! great bar I don't know about the Tranquil Turtle, where is that ? we were in the Pineapple for drinks yesterday afternoon on our golf cart tour of the island, after we had a great fresh fish lunch at the Leeward YC

Bob

 

[Bob 04 H260]

It looks like we will be in Green Turtle until Sunday morning when we hope to get through the "Whale". They are saying it is worse than the gulf stream, more boats and lives lost there than anywhere else in Bahamas ? Chris Parker seemed to think Sunday morning was the best time between now and sometime after next Wednesday. We will keep our eye on the weather until then.

Bob

 

[Bob 04 H260]

Hi Bob, Sailing single-handed I had forgotten about your dog's needs LOL ! Good write-up about your crossing. Glad everything went well. There used to be a sail loft in Marsh Harbor. You might want to check it out. Also if you need provisioning, avail yourself of the possibilities there as there isn't much else in the Abacos. Are you planning to go on to Eleuthera, Nassau and/or the Exumas ?

Claude, I used a sail loft in Hope Town about 5 years ago to repair a sail. Did a great job. I am going to see if he is still around. Thanks for the on Marsh Harbour I'll ask around once we get there. Our plan is to stay spend a bit of time at each cay in the sea of Abaco. We need to head back end of April because of health insurance issues.

Are you still in Florida ?

regards, Bob

 

[geek_guy]

Please enlighten me. What's the 'Whale'?