IMPORTANT:  You have conveniences in the US that frankly you just do not have in the Bahamas or other countries.  We are very fortunate with the Grocery stores like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Costco, Home Depot, West Marine and of course Amazon.  So, it is my recommendation that you really plan, provision and pack your boat wisely.  Even though the Bahamas may be 50 – 80 miles away from the United States it may seem thousands of miles away.

Dependencies will always be weather, and sea state.  Don’t try to beat a weather system.  It has been our experience it is best to follow the system.

If you are leaving from Florida  West Palm Beach to Miami for your crossing it will be an overnight passage.  You will want to decide when you want to arrive.  You will be crossing the “Gulf Stream”.

Once you leave the United States, beware of Duty/VAT, Brokerage fees, shipping packages to yourself in a foreign country.

Remember the 3 C’s:  

        Convoluted       Confusing       Costly

Resources will be other cruisers who have done the trip recently in the last 2 years, yacht clubs,  marinas, Face Book Groups, Cruisers Net.

Order your copy of SKIPPER BOB Publications – Bahamas Bound, read and keep it on the boat as a reference document.

Starting point – where are you going to leave from?

It should be some point due west or southwest of your ending point.

Weather –Rule 1  Never cross the Gulf Stream if there is an N in the forecast of the wind (North, Northeast, Northwest) If there is an “N” in the wind forecast – don’t go!  Some great resources here are WRI, Chris Parker, Windy, Predict Wind, Buoy Weather, Marv’s Weather.

Internet/Telephone – if you are concerned about connectivity here are my recommendations:

Everyone in the islands uses What’s App because the primary phone systems are very expensive.  It is very expensive to call numbers outside the local calling area.  We found that people in the islands do not call you back unless you are connecting via What’s App.

What’s app – having this tool is a game changer throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean, it’s also great to do video and calling the U.S. free.

Use an unlocked phone and/or be sure that if you must keep your American phone have your International Calling Plan.  Alcatel MiFi – uses the mobile carries BTC, ALIV,(Bahamas) and  Digicel & Flow in the Caribbean.  Digicel is our preference! This gave us internet connectivity and the only place we had an issue was Warderick Wells.

You can spend years in the Bahamas and just scratch the surface.  The people are lovely and amazing.  The islands are magnificent.  The marine life is beautiful and the waters are pristine.

For assistance with how to inventory your boat, with tools, parts, food, paper goods, first aid go to SailingandBoatingLLC.com/courses and signup for Ultimate Sailing/Boating Maintenance & Management Course. This is a two-hour course that will give you the foundation and an organizational tool to work from that is easy to plan any passage.  It includes lists of systems, maintaining your parts inventory, and all the specific parts, including how to set up watches, provisioning, and more.

Or your doing the Bahamas and making the jump to Windward Islands heading to the Caribbean.

The Thornless Path – with Capt. Deb Marlor  – Passage planning is critical when heading to the Caribbean, to the Windward Islands.    When planning your passages South, this information is critical to a successful versus stressful passage.  This passage is Southeast dead into the wind, and equatorial currents.  Seas can be treacherous, conditions tough, with unrelenting Trade Winds, with land effects,  and then there is the Mona Passage.

What does Thornless Path mean?  Join me!  Subscribe and be the first to be notified of the date of this class.