Bahamas Trip 2023

Our 2023–2024 voyage down the ICW and into the Bahamas

Finally! The Bahamas
Bahamas Trip 2023

Finally! The Bahamas

Our Christmas wish comes true and we finally have a weather window to cross from West Palm, Florida to West End, Grand Bahamas. Almost our whole group of boats ventures out eager to finally get to warmer weather and that fabled blue water. With some knots in our stomachs we head out – afterall this […]

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The Floridian Curse: Being stuck in West Palm
Bahamas Trip 2023

The Floridian Curse: Being stuck in West Palm

We were travelling down the ICW through Florida, where the bridges become more numerous and also lower. Often we saw boards showing bridge heights of 62’. With our air draft of 61’ we can clear those no problem, but as we went along more and more of the bridges were opening swing or bascule bridges, […]

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Florida ICW: and 40 bridges!
Bahamas Trip 2023

Florida ICW: and 40 bridges!

We finally make it to Florida via the ICW. Our plan was originally to go all the way down to Miami, but we are playing with the idea of leaving from West Palm. Before we get there, we stop in St. Augustine, where we finally meet up with some new friends and have way too […]

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Georgia Swamps and Barrier Islands
Bahamas Trip 2023

Georgia Swamps and Barrier Islands

Georgia is said to be the toughest of the ICW, as it has so many small rivers that run through shallow marshy areas, connected by sounds open to the Atlantic. But it also has some of the most beautiful barrier islands, and old southern historic city’s such as Savannah. For us, it offered so much […]

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ICW adventures, Virginia to North Carolina
Bahamas Trip 2023

ICW adventures, Virginia to North Carolina

Now we have reached the end of the beautiful sailing grounds of the Chesapeake Bay and we start our first miles on the ICW. This way we are circumventing the sometimes hazardous wind and wave conditions around Cape Hatteras, a very pronounced point reaching out into the Atlantic on Hatteras Island, a large barrier island in […]

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The Delaware and the Chesapeake
Bahamas Trip 2023

The Delaware and the Chesapeake

After our brief 2 day Atlantic jaunt along the Jersey shore we are now in protected coastal waters again, travelling up the Delaware river, through the Chesapeake and Delaware canal and into the sailing haven of the vast Chesapeake Bay. We have had some awesome sails, hung out with boating friends, and attended the Annapolis […]

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New York and the New Jersey coast
Bahamas Trip 2023

New York and the New Jersey coast

Remember what happened when we sailed into Halifax, Nova Scotia? They declared a state of emergency! It was the rainiest weekend they had seen in years and broke the record rainfall of 250mm in one day. Well, we did it again! Sailing into NYC, tropical storm Ophelia was causing strong North East winds and rain […]

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Sailing the Long Island Sound: Connecticut
Bahamas Trip 2023

Sailing the Long Island Sound: Connecticut

As Hurricane Lee passes to the North of us we hunker down in a protected mooring basin in historic Old Saybrook, CT, where we finally get to hang out with our good friends and canoeing buddies from University days. We also have some great nights at some very interesting Island anchorages and spend my birthday […]

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Sailing the shore of Massachusetts
Bahamas Trip 2023

Sailing the shore of Massachusetts

After Maine our next big stop would be Connecticut to visit with some friends from university days, other than that we had not made any definite plans, just sail further south, of course. Well, the next shore to follow was Massachusetts, but where did we want to stop? Our buddy boat Breakaway had taken a […]

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Maine: Such beauty but there’s a price!
Bahamas Trip 2023

Maine: Such beauty but there’s a price!

Our trip from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Maine across the Bay of Fundy (also often referred to by sailors as the “Bay of No Fun” due to it’s tidal ranges and tidal currents) turned out a pleasant one. We were rewarded for waiting out some weather for a few more days and letting the fog […]

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South West shore of Nova Scotia
Bahamas Trip 2023

South West shore of Nova Scotia

What does the south west coast of Nova Scotia really look like? Well, we would only see it in bits and pieces as fog and rain were our constant companions for the last week and a half in Canadian waters. We round Cape Sable, the most southerly part of Nova Scotia, wait out some weather […]

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Lunenburg, Nova Scotia: Discovering our roots
Bahamas Trip 2023

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia: Discovering our roots

We had a beautiful easy morning in early August, with perfect wind and hoisted sails right away. Our son, Evan was joining us on this leg of the trip from Halifax to Lunenburg, where his girlfriend Kare was going to meet up with us and spend another weekend. We sailed out of Halifax Harbour with […]

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Leaving P.E.I. behind and heading to Bras d’Or
Bahamas Trip 2023

Leaving P.E.I. behind and heading to Bras d’Or

We are hopping along the south shore of the Northumberland Strait, and getting into another province. After going through Quebec and along P.E.I, missing New Brunswick we are hitting some hidden gems of Nova Scotia anchorages. Summerside had been a wonderful stop but the weather was forcing us to leave before our buddy boat Europa […]

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Quebec City to the Gaspésie
Bahamas Trip 2023

Quebec City to the Gaspésie

We were sad to leave Quebec City. There was so much more to explore here but the winds would be favourable to sail the next 2 days. Finally, being able to try our new headsail added to the excitement of going further east. Our friends Uwe and Martina felt the same way and so both […]

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Montreal to Quebec City
Bahamas Trip 2023

Montreal to Quebec City

Now that we had managed the last of the Saint Lawrence seaway locks, the next chapter in our travels was getting to Quebec City. Here we wanted to spend a few nights to enjoy the sites, ride our bikes a bit and take a little breather. Our first stop was in the archipelago of Hochelaga. […]

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