A few Photos from the Bahamas

George ( C&C 40 ) · Post by **George ( C&C 40 )** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 8:54 pm

Hi All,

It's been awhile! Denise and I have been traveling most of this past year which included a four month sail to the Bahamas from Williamsburg, VA. I hope all has been well here on the forums and everyone has had a great sailing 2008!

As most things about the boat and the way she's equipped have come from tips on this forum over the years, contributors will be glad to hear that everything worked very well and I'm not sure I would have changed much of anything. Thanks for your help and thanks to Tim for making all this possible.

Most of the trip was offshore which means you need a good crew ( I'm the blond guy on the left )

Here's something few sailors ever see... Hatteras Light!

Dolphins do love sailboats on a downwind run...

My C&C 40 "Delphinus" at rest in the Exumas...

Blackened mackeral tonight!

Fresh tuna as shashami is nice too...

The Avon 310 RIB w/ Yamaha 9.9 2 stroke you guys helped me pick out...

Relaxing with our portable beach club equipment ( windproof umbrellas, sand anchors, and high quality aluminum chairs )

It was a really wonderful trip covering Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eluthera, The Exumas, Nassau and Paradise Island, and the Berry Islands.

George Jones
C&C 40 "Delphinus"

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:12 am

Did someone slap you on the back when you were making that face as a child?

;)

dmairspotter · Post by **dmairspotter** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:30 am

Geez, whats all the smiling about?

Seriously, must have been a great trip. Only been to the Abacos once. We chartered there, and really loved it.

dmairspotter · Post by **dmairspotter** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:33 am

DP.

Stupid browser!

Stupid browser!

Post by **Tim** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 11:25 am

M O R E P H O T O S P L E A S E!! :<)

Not fair. You have only whet the collective appetite of the board, I am sure.

George ( C&C 40 ) · Post by **George ( C&C 40 )** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 6:58 pm

Hi Guys,

I'll cop to the smile thing. Three years doing PR in the late 80's appears to have ruined me.

As to additional pictures, I'm not sure what you would like to see. I'll toss out a few that deal with interesting ( to me ) aspects of cruising the Bahamas at the bottom of this post. Let me know if you have any requests though.

A few things that surprised me about the trip first...

1. Shell and Texaco appear to have taken over the Bahamas. There are new stations everywhere. Beautiful places with four stage fuel filtration systems. Fuel quality in the places we cruised was better than in the United States. Never saw a drop of water in my Baja filter and stopped using it altogether after a few weeks.

2. Reverse Osmosis water has changed cruising the Bahamas. There is water everywhere and it is cheap -- either free, or $.15 to $.40 per gallon depending where you are. Everyone seems to use the commercial DOW Chemical RO membranes -- mineral salts are usually right around 380 ppm wherever you go.

3. The above two are probably the result of this one -- There are fishing tournaments everywhere! Dozens of teams ( 5 to 8 guys ) cruising 55 and 70 foot tuna boats are at every major harbor. They don't anchor out, but they are all over the marinas.

Speaking of tuna. Tuna is tasty. Tuna is my favorite. If we were near someplace with a cut leading to the open ocean I would catch a few 6-10 inch long snapper, put them into a bucket, wait til a couple hours after sunset ( after the baracuda have gone to bed ), hook the snapper through the back or the mouth, and then put it over the side with a couple oz. weight. School size tuna ( 15 - 35 lbs ) will enter one ocean cut, feed in the shallows, and then leave via another cut. About 3pm the sound of line tearing off the reel will wake you up, it takes about 20 minutes to land a 22 lb tuna ( the one pictured ). I hang them from the boom to clean them. A 22 lb fish will feed two people for a couple of days.

There are some parks in the islands. They usually have mooring balls and are great places to meet people.

The sea of Abaco is nice because it is so protected. In this picture the seas on the open ocean are running 16 to 24 feet. This causes a "Rage Sea" ( unbroken line of breakers ) across some of the cuts but there is no more than a slight chop within the sea of Abaco itself ( in most areas )

One of the famous "Curly Tail" lizards of the Bahamas.

Keep some cash with you. Banking is dicy.

I grew to really love fresh baked bread and wine in the afternoon.

Treasure Cay is a beautiful beach resort on Abaco. Cruisers get a mooring ball and full resort access for $10 a day

Atlantis is a great place to stop and have some fun -- the best Casino in the islands, the best restaurants, the best spa. Very nice! Cruisers get full access to the resort -- dockage is $4.00 per foot to $7.50 a foot

I love Charleston, SC! We cleared customs back into the US here. Also spent a week at a B&B. Great city! This is the view as you sail up the harbor.

We did take a few days to cruise the ICW north of Charleston. Beautiful area -- green, quiet, old Cyprus trees. Very nice

There's lots and lots more -- I haven't even showed any of my underwater dive photos. Feel free to ask if you have any questions about the ICW or the Bahamas.

George Jones
C&C 40 "Delphinus"
Williamsburg, VA

David · Post by **David** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:13 pm

Gorgeous pictures, thanks!

Did you happen to see Hole in the Wall on Abaco?
What do you draw / did you have any challenges with thin water?
What ground tackle did you normally use?

Thanks,

David

George ( C&C 40 ) · Post by **George ( C&C 40 )** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 11:28 pm

Hi again all,

I forgot one interesting item...

At first I thought this little guy was following us looking for handouts as we started to cruise the Exumas. Then I noticed that lots of the seagulls have only one leg. Then I noticed that there are never any seagulls sitting on the water during the daytime. Then I noticed all the sharks. Seagulls have a tough time of it in the Exumas.

Questions...

"Did you happen to see Hole in the Wall on Abaco?"

I saw it at a great distance as we sailed from Little Harbor to the island of Eluthera. I did not visit the lighthouse or do any diving in the area.

"What do you draw / did you have any challenges with thin water?"

My C&C 40 is one of 18 hulls that was built as a centerboard. Fully loaded she draws 5' 1" with the board up. No problem at all. Note - we saw boats with drafts up to 7'6" in the Bahamas.

"What ground tackle did you normally use?"

I use a 45 lb. CQR on 270' of chain and an electric windlass for the C&C and a 15 lb. danforth with 10' chain and 140' line for the dinghy -- I used the dinghy for fishing and diving a lot. The dinghy is an Avon 310 RIB with a carrying capacity of 1,145 lbs.

dmairspotter · Post by **dmairspotter** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 1:32 pm

Great posts. Thanks for the pics!

I could look at a few more, I think.

Ronin120 · Post by **Ronin120** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 6:23 pm

George,

Thanks for the info on boat drafts and the Bahamas. Confirms what I've been thinking about my boat. I've had friends cruise the Bahamas in 7.5' and 8' drafts and be quite at ease. One couple I know spent two winters on a fixed keel C&C 40.

Makes me want to get my boat done as soon as possible. Keep reporting.

Also, I'm curious, do you use the stock C&C stem-head fitting/anchor roller (term used loosely...) for storing your anchor?

Cheers

George ( C&C 40 ) · Post by **George ( C&C 40 )** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 7:01 pm

Hi Dave,

Good call on the stem fitting / anchor platform. The stock cast aluminum C&C 40 anchor platform cannot handle an anchor over 22lbs with any reliability -- and I use a 45 lb. CQR.

I had a completely custom anchor roller platform made up out of 3/8" thick type 316 stainless plate that is attached to the deck with 1/2" stainless steel bolts. The forward chocks are huge polished stainless steel units that attach to the plate with 3/8" bolts ( I think each chock was something like $84 each even at my wholesale Port Supply cost ) The roller itself is one of the Windline anchor roller units that Tim recommended to me and is something like 23" long and 4" wide. The whole affair bolts through the deck to a second plate in the anchor locker. Total system is over 4" thick of solid stainless steel, epoxy, and NiTec 17 oz. fiberglass. In several outrageous storms at sea it has proven to be bulletproof. Total parts cost was something like $750 for the platform. 45 lb. CQR anchor and 270' of chain was something like $1,200.

George Jones
C&C 40 "Delphinus"

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:18 am

Hi George, great to see you here again!

Thanks so much for the show-and-tell about your trip. The little details about fishing and daily cruising life are especially nice to hear and see about. That Stars & Stripes Blue looked just gorgeous anchored in the azure Bahamian waters :)

Did you post photos of your anchor roller set-up back when you were outfitting your boat? I have vague memories of that, but I can't remember for sure. I wouldn't mind seeing it if you get a chance.

The chairs and umbrellas: Okay, now I need a 40-footer ;)

The bread: That looks great! And reminds me how much I enjoyed having an oven aboard. Just for baking (and the occasional easy pizza when near a convenient grocer's freezer case). Too bad they are such a space consideration on a 30-footer (still possible; but you have to hem and haw a bit). I still have "try pressure-cooker baked bread" on my list.

I'm normally not a "tropics" person, except that I love to swim and snorkel (i.e. if you took away the underwater world I probably would stay north). I'd really enjoy seeing some of your underwater photos. That's one strange thing about the time I spent in the tropics; my main focus was underwater, but without a waterproof camera, I don't have any photos of it.

Thanks again for the report, and it's fun to hear from you again.

Rachel

George ( C&C 40 ) · Post by **George ( C&C 40 )** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:26 am

Hi Rachel,

I also seem to remember talking about the platform and posting some pictures. I have no idea where they are though. It's conceptually very simple - triangular steel plate with chocks and anchor roller bolted to it. I also seem to remember setting the whole thing in a bed of 3M 101 to help spread loading forces out.

The chairs and umbrellas really made the trip. There are endless little islands and some that are just mounds of white sand with a single palm tree. Every one became a new private beach resort for us. All the equipment came from beachchairs.com.

Good swim fins, neoprene booties, a good mask, good snorkel, and a shorty wetsuit are all you really need in the Bahamas. Make sure it is good quality stuff from a dive shop. A basic setup should run about $300 or so.

I'm not very good at underwater photography myself but here are a couple from the trip...

Every type of aquarium fish you have ever seen is there. Here's a purple and yellow wrasse.

Some Elkhorn coral

If you spend more than one day at anchor anywhere a barracuda with come to live with you.

We saw huge rays everywhere. These are spotted rays

We saw every type of shark that roams the Bahamas -- 10 or so species. Average size was 3 to 6 feet but we did see some 9 - 10 footers. It is very disconserting to have a large shark swim right by you while you are looking at something else.

George Jones
C&C 40 "Delphinus"

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:40 pm

Thanks, George! Those are great and because of the angles you took them on (looking down from above), really remind me of snorkeling. What kind of camera did you use?

The next time I go to the tropics (or near-tropics), I'm going to have a *selection* of wetsuits. When I think of snorkeling now, I automatically reach for a blanket and start shivering. Since I had never done it before, I asked at the dive shop (when I was buying my gear) whether I should get a wetsuit, and how thick it should be.

They said "Oh no, you won't need one," so I just bought a dive skin. And froze. I think my hands are starting to tingle just remembering it. Most of the water I was in was about 80º, and man, that gets cold after a while. Even 85 did! (which sounds hot but makes sense when you figure you're averaging out/tranferring from your body heat of 99º

There's nothing like just jumping off the boat and into that :)

I've only ever seen Nurse Sharks (The caring shark), but even those gave me the willies, to a certain extent. Spotted Eagle Rays are my absolute favorite: They just "fly" gracefully through the water with those big wings.

I doubt that my current boat will ever be a world cruiser (under my ownership, anyway), but I'm starting to think that maybe a trip to the Bahamas could be doable. They sure look amazing, and like you can either choose to be around "watering holes" with a lot of other boats, or off by yourself.

Thanks again,

Rachel

PS: If you feel like it, it would be fun to hear about, say, five things you might have added to the boat (or your outfitting or gear), and five you didn't really use at all (but perhaps thought you would). I find that sort of thing really interesting to read/think about.

Ronin120 · Post by **Ronin120** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 3:38 pm

Note, Brief topic divergence:

Rachel,

I'd bet money it was probably a man at the dive should who gave you that advice. Your thought to have a *selection* of suits is the right idea I think.

When I dive in the Caribbean, I'm fine with a 3mm suit but my female diving companions generally feel cold by the time we get back to the surface. They ended up putting a dive-skin on under their 3mm suits, coupled with hoods and were fine with that.

Try a 3mm suit for starters in temperate waters. And keep a 1mm skin in reserve. Hey, it's only money...

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming:

George, if you have time that 5 good things/5 not-so-good things topic would be interesting. I'm searching the Forum for pictures of your anchor and bow-roller setup now.

Cheers

George ( C&C 40 ) · Post by **George ( C&C 40 )** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 6:24 pm

Hi again all,

I'll take a picture of the anchor platform next time I'm out at the boat. It really is simple though.

My wife used a 3mm shorty wetsuit by Henderson (she also feels cold in the water). She felt that the 3mm shorty did an excellent job and kept her nice and warm. We were there for the end of March, April, May, and June.

Five pieces of Gear I liked...

1. Avon 310 RIB with Yamaha 9.9 2 stroke outboard. -- At 220 lbs I can stand anywhere on the dinghy without it tipping much at all. The 9.9 only weighs about 70 lbs. but will propel the Avon with me in it at 20 knots -- two people at 16 knots. (It would take the 15 hp model in a 4 stroke to duplicate this and the 15hp model can no longer be lifted by one person.) Our setup was good for covering huge distances over the flats. The 1145 lb cargo capacity is nice too. The 2 stroke Yamaha 9.9 engine is an environmentally friendly 100:1 oil mix type engine. Get some really high quality fuel tanks -- nobody likes fuel leaks. This setup rocked!

2. Kato Marine Islander Davits with the crossbar, stainless steel coaming straps, and stainless steel ratchets to lock the dinghy against the back of the boat while passagemaking. -- This is the best setup I have ever seen and is bulletproof -- you need this. Basic davits just don't cut it when you're spending months at sea. Especially if you swamp the boat a couple of times like we did offshore.

3. Beach umbrellas, chairs, sand grabber anchors for the umbrellas, and a folding plastic table. Must be extremely high quality to survive months of constant use. Portable beach club!

4. High quality dive and snorkeling gear. In the Bahamas we rarely used the dive gear. You can snorkle just about anything. The gear needs to be good if it's to be comfortable and last for months of hard use.

5. Brand new Willcox Crittenden Imperial bronze head. I installed this a week before we left and it proved to be one of my best decisions. $1,200 retail, about $900 on sale, and worth every penny. Worked perfectly every time for months on end. This one really is priceless -- it's 90 degrees in the Bahamas and humid -- do you really want to be doing head repairs?

6. ** Bonus ** Garmin 3210 chartplotter with the Bahamas detail chip. So very nice and makes life easy!

Five things I didn't like or could have done without. This is tougher as you guys had me pretty well prepared for the trip. Also, there are now lots of websites run by cruisers that have endless tips for cruising the Bahamas. In general, I found myself to be pretty well prepared.

1. Like everyone else down there I would have brought less staple items. Things like canned tomatoes, rice, beans, sugar, flour, etc. 5 lbs is fine -- 30 lbs is too much. You can buy that stuff there.

2. Watermaker. If you have a generator, a watermaker is great. This is now only a convenience issue these days. There is water everywhere in the Bahamas. We used ours a few times but could have done without it and we only carry 90 gallons of fresh water onboard. We tended to pop into a store or marina dock every 5 days or so.

3. Sportcoat, blazers, and dressy clothes in general. I wore my dress clothes in Atlantis but that was it. Even in nice restaurants people wear casual clothes.

Can't think of any more things I didn't like.

Something I would think about adding to the boat if I was spending months down there again -- A pair of wind generators mounted on the davits. We only ran our engine once every few days but zero days would have been nicer. Then again we didn't have to listen to a wind generator the whole time. I'm still undecided about this one.

George Jones
C&C 40 "Delphinus"

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:21 pm

George ( C&C 40 ) wrote: My wife used a 3mm shorty wetsuit by Henderson (she also feels cold in the water). She felt that the 3mm shorty did an excellent job and kept her nice and warm. We were there for the end of March, April, May, and June.

Thanks for the input: I was leaning towards a 3mm "coveralls" type suit, and was actually wondering if that would be warm enough (or, conversely, if it would to too hot in warm water). Between my original thoughts, and your input, I think I'll start with that and then add a vest with hood for colder water (or a 5mm suit? oh-oh, here I go again!).

I've decided that 3mm will almost never be too warm though :D

Thanks for the lists - they are great to read.

Where did you find your 2-stroke outboard? Were there still some left when you bought? Or did you buy once out of the country? (Again, you may have said this "way back when" but I've forgotten by now.)

George ( C&C 40 ) wrote: ... Then again we didn't have to listen to a wind generator the whole time. I'm still undecided about this one.

I've lived with a wind generator at the stern, and I would be loathe to do it again, although the power is certainly nice (and I might reconsider). Ours was one of the "quiet" ones (Ampair), but it's still there. I especially wasn't fond of it when conditions were deteriorating and getting very windy. At that point (even though you know where it's coming from) the extra wind noise is unnerving and adds a bit to the stress level.

Rachel

George ( C&C 40 ) · Post by **George ( C&C 40 )** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:59 pm

Hi Rachel,

Bringing a hood, gloves, and booties gives you lots of warmth options when combined with shorty.

The Yamaha 9.9 100:1 oil mix 2-stroke outboard I purchased new in 2007 in the U.S. and I believe it was a 2007 model. I don't remember the exact name of the online store I purchased it from but I believe it was one that Tim recommended ( it's probably in a past post somewhere ) It has proven to be a great little motor!

Thanks for the note on the wind generator noise. It's a tough call -- endless water or endless noise?

I'm putting up some pictures of the anchor platform and roller in the projects section for those who have asked about it.

George Jones

C&C 40 "Delphinus"
Wavelength 24 "Poco Loco"

megalops · Post by **megalops** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:24 pm

Hi George,

Loved your post and pics. We are headed back to the Abacos in April for a month or so, so it helped with my daydreaming.

Not sure if it matters, or if you already knew, but that fish is not a tuna, it is a jack crevalle. A aggressive, great fighting fish that feeds in the shallows as you described. Most people don't eat them, though some do. Bleeding them helps.

No offense, just an fyi.

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 8:08 pm

In the Pacific we knew them as "Skipjack Tuna," although that may not be technically correct. They were by far the most easily caught fish for us, but we never really figured out a good way to get past the red, "bloody" meat to make them taste good. (At the time we didn't think of dragging them behind the boat to bleed them.)

Rachel

George ( C&C 40 ) · Post by **George ( C&C 40 )** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:15 pm

Hi Guys,

We'll you learn something new every day! I had thought these guys were just a type of Blackfin Tuna. My guide book said that "jack crevalle" were around 5-10 lbs. and the couple of these guys we caught averaged 2.5 to 3' in length and 20 - 25 lbs. They did have a slightly different body shape than the Yellowfin Tuna we caught though. Thanks for the info.

George Jones
C&C 40 "Delphinus"

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:17 pm

Actually, I think I misspoke. Somewhere recently I've seen someone post a photo of a "Skipjack" tuna they'd caught, and I think I mixed it up with yours, George.

The Skipjack looks like this, and has a dark red (kind of "gamey") flesh:

The photo came from this university ichthyology page that tells more about it (in a handy, easy-to-read format):

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/D ... kTuna.html

rshowarth · Post by **rshowarth** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 5:30 pm

George-

Where did you get the Windproof Umbrellas?

George ( C&C 40 ) · Post by **George ( C&C 40 )** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 5:57 pm

Hi rshowarth,

The umbrellas, the sandgrabber anchors for the umbrellas, and even the aluminum chairs with the wood arms ( I think ) all came from beachchairs.com. This gear really made the trip. I can't say enough good things about having that equipment with us.

George