Would You Be Surprised ?

Bahamas Courtesy Flag (Google Image)

Would you be surprised if you learned that we have never been to the Bahamas?

It’s true.  Captain Dan and I- #AllAmerican/Caribbean/MexicanBeachBums- have never, EVER vacationed there pretty much by choice.  During our working-life vacations it seemed like everyone (and their mother) was going there and we chose to not follow the crowd. Then when we began cruising five years ago, the Bahamas were high on my list, so our daughter gifted us with a Waterway Guide for the Bahamas 2010 and a Bahamian courtesy flag. However, the island group was still not on the Captain’s radar for the same reason he’s held for over three decades AND the fact that draft of our vessel is 6’10” deep, making a sailing trip to the Bahamas a challenge. (Reportedly, most sailors eventually go aground in the shallow Bahamian waters repeatedly, or they lie.)

A year ago, I began intensely studying and highlighting our outdated guide, sometimes having to peel the bottom third of the pages apart due to unexplained water damage.  I systematically noted the Bahamian passages and anchorages where I felt we could safely maneuver Exit Strategy without hitting a reef or going aground. The description of most anchorages report the depth at mean low tide and indeed there were some areas in the southern Bahamas that would suit ES.

While visiting in the Midwest this summer, I began telling friends and family that we might cruise the Bahamas this year. I bought the last copy available of the Waterway Guide for the Bahamas 2015 and dutifully completed my study.  When Captain Dan arrived, I began lobbying for our float plan to include the Bahamas.  By the time I returned to ES in mid-September, the Captain finally seemed resigned to cruise the Southern Bahamas in 2016.


Hurricane Joaquin early October 2015 (Google Image)

And then came JOAQUIN, cutting a path right through many of the Southern Bahamas that we aimed to cruise.  After reading the news of the extensive damage, I felt dejected and scrapped our plan to cruise there for the coming season. It was time to consider other route options.  It took me two weeks to sketch out other possibilities and I finally completed four alternate plans just this morning.

Captain Dan took a few moments to review the choices and selected the plan that took us to the BAHAMAS (!!!!), saying it was the only one that made sense for this year. His comment totally reassured me, so I instantly ‘flip-flopped’ and agreed, feeling relieved that it was settled at last.  But then Dan started saying how it’ll be cold up there during March-June because he knows I prefer warmer water.  My emotions almost caused me to ‘flip-flop’ again, but Google revealed that the air temp should be between 80-90 degrees while the water will be between 77-81 degrees. So I imagine I can suffer through those temps to find out, after all, if it really IS better in the Bahamas.


(Google Image)

EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PREVIEW of our 2016 Float Plan:
2015 November: Island hop Northward along Eastern Caribbean Chain
2015 December:  St. Croix, USVI
2016 January: Southern and Western Coast of Puerto Rico
2016 February: Samana, Dominican Republic
2016 Late February- June: Southern Bahamas
2016 July-November: Bonaire