Category: sailing

Anything between point A and point B

April 29, 2014

Long lost photos from our journey to the Exumas

If you’re like me, it’s easy to lose pictures when you are using more than one camera. Some get transferred to the laptop and some don’t until much later. Our journey from Spanish Wells down to the Exumas was a couple of months back but I just now found the rest of our pictures from the beautiful sail across the Fleeming Channel.

The original post can be found ‘here‘ showing the pictures and story we posted around the time of the actual voyage. We kept a keen eye out for coral heads. As the sky turned gray with overcast the coral heads were a bit tricky to see until we were practically going over them. It was a beautiful and peaceful day sail and the stillness of this hop down to The Exumas was exactly what we had hoped for.

April 13, 2014

Keeping Our Dogs Safe At Sea: Outward Hound Life Jackets

Outfitting the boat with safety equipment was at the top of our priority list before sailing away from the marina last fall. Preparing for the safety of our dogs, Betsy and Gunner, was just as important as our own safety. Peter and I spent a good amount of time researching the best kind of dog life jackets to have for the kind of conditions we would be traveling in and soon found there were many factors to consider.

Visibility:

As with our own life jackets, bright colors and reflective material can greatly increase the visibility of our pups if they were to fall overboard. It’s much easier to spot colors like yellow, orange and pink than it is blue or black or green when floating at the water’s surface. Out at sea in the deep dark-colored water is where we are most concerned with having life jackets on. Every bit of visual aide can increase our chances of recovering a lost pup when all odds are against us.

Breathability:

Our voyage began in the hot Florida sun with relentless rays that bake everything in sight. Traveling where the coconuts grow will only lead us into hotter tropical climates from here on out where Peter and I will be wearing next-to-nothing with a little bit of swim suit and board short material to cover up. In the event that Betsy and Gunner would need to wear a life jacket, we needed to consider how breathable their life jackets would be to keep them comfortable.

I remember wearing a Scooby Doo zip-up life jacket on the docks in the San Juan Islands every weekend when I was a kid. The thick and bulky material gave me some extra padding as I would hang my head over the side of the dock to poke at sea anemones and scoop up little jelly fish, crabs and other sea critters with my net. It was the most uncomfortable and awkward piece of equipment but wearing it was non-negotiable and it kept me safe as I played near the icy water. On a cloudy day the life vest kept me warm and acted as a second winter jacket. When the sun came out that life jacket insulated my little body so well I was practically sweating.

Our sweet puppies can’t tell us when they are uncomfortable or too hot. Its our responsibility to make sure we select a life jacket that is best suited for hotter climates but that will still keep them safe. Many of the canine life jackets we found were all slightly different in regards to fabric selection and there were trade offs to consider as well. While the most breathable life jackets were appealing, they lacked in buoyancy and functionality.

Range of Motion:

Everyone knows Betsy Jo is an active dog. She bounces all around the boat and has free-reign pretty much anywhere she wants to go. When we are tied up to a dock she helps herself on and off the boat. When she is on deck, she patrols from bow to stern climbing over any obstacles in her way. On night passages or major crossings she curls up in a ball in the cockpit making herself comfortable while trying to not get seasick.

We wanted a life jacket that would allow the dogs to move around just as they normally do without any loss in range of motion. Harnesses can be tricky due to the placement of the straps that hold them on. If there isn’t sufficient chafe protection, straps can cut into their skin and create raw sore spots in the blink of an eye. We wanted neoprene to be the primary fabric supporting their weight for comfort but also for durability in the harsh conditions of the salt water and tropical rays of the sun.

In order to keep the life jacket properly in place, it is important to follow the recommended sizing charts for each brand of life jacket. Where Gunner might need a size Large for one brand, he is an Extra Large in others. Adjustable straps will help make the best fit, but the overall proportion of the life jacket is just as important.

Buoyancy:

Without getting too technical, there is a difference in the level of buoyancy each brand of life jacket has. Most are made for typical day usage in lakes or coastal areas. Unlike PFDs (personal flotation devices) available for people , there aren’t many dog life jackets that are suitable for off-shore emergency use.

We make it a rule to put life jackets on Betsy and Gunner while under way for any open-ocean sailing or during night passages. They always travel with us in the cockpit instead of staying down below to reduce the chances of seasickness. We don’t let them out of the cockpit while under way unless we are on a long passage, in which case we put our own inflatable PFDs on with tethers attached and escort the dogs to the aft deck to do their business. Rolly seas can be dangerous if we or the dogs were to lose our balance and go overboard, especially in the dark.

We’ll leave it up to the scientists to calculate just how much flotation a life jacket can provide. Ruff Wear has a great post about how much buoyancy is recommended for dog life jackets. For us, it comes down to having as much buoyancy as possible so that if one of our dogs were to go overboard while under way, they would be able to float comfortably if/when they got too tired of doggy paddling, even in stormy conditions. We pray it will never happen in an emergency situation out at sea, but safety precautions like these help keep our furry children safe.

Another feature we liked was the front float for keeping their heads above water if swimming for long periods of time. Betsy is a practically a fish and is an excellent swimmer but if she were ever floating out at sea in need of rescue, keeping her head above water is critical when exhaustion and dehydration might set in. Gunner’s older joints and muscles aren’t as strong as Betsy so he needs as many safety features as possible.

Handles and Straps:

Both of our dogs wear a special hip-lift harness on daily basis while under way for added safety even on the calmest of days or shortest of trips. They have two handles each for easy lifting if they were to fall off of a dock or for lifting them into and out of the dinghy. We leave the harnesses on all day and remove them only when they are sleeping so it’s not uncommon for us to leave their regular harnesses on underneath the life jackets.

Just like with their regular harnesses, it was imperative that the life jackets have good placement of the lifting straps to provide proper support either by hand or by boat hook. I didn’t like the ones that had a strap going under their neck or the ones that wouldn’t evenly support their weight. Gunner is 75 lbs and Betsy weighs in at 50 lbs. Some people argue that by grabbing the rear handle it could force the dog’s head underwater so one handle between their shoulder blades is better. It would be easy to scoop up a smaller dog one-handed if they were to fall over board, but it’s not so easy with large dogs. It’s our personal preference that two handles is a must-have feature for us.

The first four months we lived on the boat was at a marina where the tide would fluctuate greatly. Sometimes the dogs had to jump up from the dock 3 feet or higher and sometimes it would be a jump down. Being able to hold on to them as they jumped onto the boat gave an incredible amount of piece of mind. It was also good practice for handling the dogs while out at sea when the boat is rolling all over the place.

Cost:

Dog life jackets can range from $20 to $100 depending on size and brand. When it comes to safety, $100 is a small price to pay for piece of mind. Of course we would prefer to go with the most economical choice, but this is the least important criteria to us. It pays to shop around and do the homework to know if a certain product is a rip-off, but for the different products we found available, the prices all seemed relative. Finding the best option for offshore application was our top priority.

Reviews:

There are several reviews and brand comparisons floating around on the web naming some of the major brands. Here are a few of our own opinions of what’s on the market today:

Ruffwear K-9 Float Coat

Pros: Durable, adjustable, XXS through XL sizing, excellent buoyancy
Cons: Poor breathability, bulky, only one handle, expensive $80, doesn’t completely wrap under the belly

Kyjen Outward Hound Life Jacket

Pros: Durable, excellent visibility, sufficient buoyancy, excellent handle and strap placement, affordable $20-42, excellent range of motion, front float, XXS through XL sizing
Cons: Not the most breathable but any more ventilation would only reduce the buoyancy

Paws Aboard Doggy Life Jacket

Pros: Affordable $18-35, reflective trim, two straps, comfortable, XXS through XL sizing
Cons: One handle, thick, poor breathability

Kurgo Surf n Turf Coat

Pros: Durable, reflective trim, XS through XL sizing, removable floatation liner, extra insert for warmth available, two handles
Cons: Too hot for the tropics, expensive $57, doesn’t completely wrap under the belly where the second handle is, doesn’t stay in place, average buoyancy

MTI Adventurewear UnderDog Canine Life Jacket

Pros: Excellent breathability, medium pricing $40, available at West Marine, excellent range of motion, front float
Cons: Limited buoyancy, poor topside visibility for open ocean use, poor durability (many had stitching coming apart brand new on the shelf in the store (some debate that having floatation on the under side of a dog is better for keeping them afloat but we were concerned with tipping easier in cases of exhaustion floating at sea. Excellent lightweight and breathable design for coastal or lake use, but not ideal for offshore application.

EZY Dog Life Jacket

Pros: XXXS (under 15lbs) through XL sizing, excellent visibility, adjustable neoprene straps, durable
Cons: Expensive $40-62, lacking full belly support, one handle

Critter’s Inflatable Pet Life Vest

Pros: Suburb breathability, buoyancy and range of motion, automatic CO2 inflation when submerged in water, front float for head support, adjustable size S, M and L (from 6-200lbs)
Cons: Expensive $70, Automatic inflation could accidentally be triggered in damp or flooded wet lockers, support straps have no chafe protection

As with any research, we could have spent days reading the pros and cons of all the different types of dog life jackets. Instead, we narrowed the list down to one or two that would actually provide the safety features we want in offshore tropical conditions.

Kyjen’s Outward Hound Life Jacket was our top pick based on all criteria. Back in November 2013, Kyjen Inc. generously sponsored our adventures by providing us with two of their Outward Hound life jackets to keep Betsy and Gunner safe. Kyjen is a top-of-the-line manufacturer of a wide range of products just for dogs. If you haven’t seen their brand before, be sure to check out all the fun and ingenious products they have available.

Before we left the dock for good back in February 2014, we made sure to fit the new life jackets for size and have the straps properly adjusted. Betsy and Gunner didn’t mind wearing them at all and seemed quite comfortable lounging around as usual. Our first overnight passage from Burnt Store Marina to Marathon was the first real piece of mind we had when the Outward Hound life jackets went on. We knew our dogs were safe. We were equally as relieved to put the life jackets on Betsy and Gunner while crossing the Gulf Stream from Florida to the Bahamas. Although the dogs haven’t gone overboard with the life jackets on yet, we are confident they would keep our pups safe in an emergency situation.

Stay tuned for more pictures when we test them out for an afternoon swim!!

**If you’re in the market for a life jacket for your furry friend, please consider using one of our Amazon Affiliate product links above. Just access Amazon by clicking through from our website first and any subsequent products you search for during that same internet session will help us out when you complete your purchase. It’s no additional cost to you and puts a small percentage in our cruising kitty to help us buy more dog food for our furry children.

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING… We are PROUD to share these awesome products and services with our readers. There are so many different solutions out there for everything we could possibly need, but these are the solutions that work for us.

This post may contain information about a product sponsorship. We gladly accept discounts or samples when a company feels generous enough to support our cause. In return we support the manufacturer or local service by sharing their links and writing about our experience with them. We only seek out sponsorship and affiliate programs from products and services we actually WANT to use and likewise only accept offers for products or services that we WILL use. We are not paid for any reviews we write or feedback we provide. We simply like to spread the word and share great experiences we have had that could also bring joy to others.

Thanks for following our adventures as we travel in search of surf, sun, sand and serenity WHERE THE COCONUTS GROW!!

April 7, 2014

Exumas: Black Point

King Mackerel caught trolling a squid jig near Staniel Cay

Two weeks ago we made our way down the Central Exumas to Black Point Settlement. It can be a little tedious to pack up our entire home and stow away all loose belongings when traveling to a new anchorage but we find it more exciting than anything. Travel days are when the trolling lines come out! Peter can hardly resist throwing in a line, despite how rough the seas may be. We’ve done fairly well in the fishing department which makes me and the dogs happy campers! I think Peter has more interest in catching fish than he does eating them :)

Each new place we travel to is an adventure. You could easily spend several years exploring all of the islands of the Bahamas and still not see everything, which is why many cruisers return season after season to their favorite anchorages in the Bahamas, exploring new areas along the way.

Peter and I are traveling through the Bahamas for the first time and there is much that we’ll miss. Knowing this, we make the best of the areas we do get to see and we enjoy seeing all of the blog posts and pictures from our friends that are exploring the rest. Be sure to check out some of the great blogs we’ve listed on our website.

Black Point was recommended as a “must-see” anchorage. Even though we didn’t need to do laundry, we were told this is THE place to get it done! There are a ton of machines. We attempted taking some bedding to the laundry facility during our stay but our Island Time brains didn’t realize it was Sunday until we got to shore. The machines take tokens only and you can only purchase them Monday through Saturday. Most of the local stores all through the Bahamas are closed on Sunday. We still keep forgetting though.

Black Point also has free garbage at the city dock (although a small donation is recommended) and across the main road is a faucet for RO (reverse osmosis) water. It’s the local water supply for the whole island so they prefer if the cruisers don’t use it to fill their water tanks, but it’s perfectly fine to take some jerry jugs there to fill up your drinking water. If you have a wifi booster it’s pretty easy to pick up an open signal from anywhere in the anchorage as well :)

We spent a few days in Black Point until the weather clocked around and another westerly was going to be upon us. It’s the only direction you do not want wind coming from here. The chop and swells become pretty uncomfortable to say the least.

Before continuing south, our leaking engine exhaust problem had become much more critical than before. The leaking hose and elbow for our main engine exhaust was now seeping at an alarming rate, pouring salt water into our engine room on top of the port fuel tank, over the ledge and down beneath the generator. Swapping out sopping-wet towels had worked for a while but we were afraid we wouldn’t make it all the way to Georgetown the way it was.

Amazingly, we met 4 or 5 other Whitby 42s and a Brewer 12.8 while we were anchored at Black Point. They had all just traveled up from Georgetown. Anne and Brad on S/V Anneteak (Whitby 42) were so helpful! We had been in communication with them via Facebook before they arrived and it was so nice to finally meet them. Brad helped Peter disconnect the generator exhaust hose where it discharges overboard on the port side, and then reconnect the main engine exhaust hose in its place. This is by no means a “good” fix, but it was necessary to get us to Georgetown to find a new exhaust elbow and new exhaust hose to fix the job properly.

Black Point was a nice quiet little town but there were no marine parts available and that means it was time to keep moving south.

Next stop… Georgetown!!

March 15, 2014

The Exumas: New adventures, Private Beaches and Bull Sharks

Anchored off of White Cay, Berry Islands

Peter and I have been enjoying our time in the Bahamas immensely. It’s hard for both of us to believe we’ve been cruising for only a little over a month. It feels like an eternity ago that we started gearing up for this adventure but the reality is, only 7 months have passed since we first laid our eager eyes on S/V Mary Christine (previously S/V Hey Jude). It’s even harder for us to grasp the fact that this is only the beginning! There is no end in sight to this dream as we make our way through the Bahamas heading south through the Eastern Caribbean and over to Central America.

After Josh and Leah’s departure we took some time to regroup, reorganize and recharge ourselves while sitting comfortably at the dock in Yacht Haven Marina, Spanish Wells. After the weather gave way, our travels took us southwest to the Fleeming Channel. We spent the night at anchor near the channel and awoke the next morning for a gorgeous sail to the Exumas.

Knowing we would be dodging marked and unmarked coral heads, it was imperative that the sun be directly overhead for the second half of the trip. Some of the cruising guides tell of boats making crazy turns back and forth for seemingly no reason at all. This would be a sure sign of lurking coral heads below the surface. On a sunny day you can see them from a few hundred feet away. I lathered on some sunscreen around my favorite bikini, grabbed my polarized sunglasses, a hat and some water, then made my way up to the bow to stand watch. Peter kept eyes on the Garmin chartplotter and Navionics iPhone app for the known coral heads as I called out the unmarked ones. I was a little more nervous about it than I needed to be. After passing a few, we realized there wasn’t much to it. Most of them had plenty of depth to the waterline although we had heard they can be as shallow as 3′ from the surface. There was more overcast than we would have liked which caused us to miss one of the coral heads until we were already going over it. No damage done thank goodness :)

Gunner loves standing watch from the highest point he can reach

Hard to tell where the water ends and the sky begins… It was a gorgeous and mystical day. The stillness around us felt like we were in a time warp, slowing floating along.

Peter is always catching something when our trolling lines are out, pretty much every time we move to a new anchorage :) Another tasty mutton snapper got filleted up on deck while under way.

(**UPDATE** Click ‘HERE‘ for more photos of our journey across Fleeming Channel! The were misplaced at the time of this post)

We arrived at Ship Channel Cay and anchored for the night. This easy pace of life sure is spoiling us. It’s times like these where I tell myself, “I could get used to this,” but wait… I am getting used to this!

The next day we went snorkeling with the Air Line to see what we could see. After the small engine was all set up, hoses uncoiled and the dinghy prepared to tow behind us, Peter and I took a look around underwater. My LifeProof case allowed me to snap a few pics.

Can you see the school of barracuda??

There was a lurking school of smallish barracuda checking us out. A little creepy, but they didn’t bother us.

We were very much alone out here. No other boats were anchored nearby. A guidebook recommended one of the nearby rocks for diving. There was a slight dropoff just beyond where the visibility stopped beyond the rock. Peter likes to go scope out the dropoffs to see what kind of big fish might be hanging out there. The thing about searching for big fish is that there is often BIGGER fish lurking nearby.

I was busy looking around when suddenly Peter grabbed my arm and shoved me toward the dinghy. We had previously agreed on hand gestures for things like BOAT, LOBSTER, SHARK and NURSE SHARK, but he wasn’t giving me anything… just a terrified look in his eyes that I could clearly make out through his goggles, along with a sense of urgency that I don’t get from him often. His air hose appeared to be okay, and so did mine. I didn’t see any boats or anything else around us. Without further hesitation, I grabbed onto his shoulders and swung myself behind him kicking as fast as my flippers would take me.

In moments like this there isn’t much room for imagination. I had one thing on my mind and that was getting out of the water as fast as I could. I still didn’t see anything so I hopped up into the dinghy with a boost from my fins. Once my arms and legs were safely inside the safety of the dinghy I called out to Peter asking him what was going on. He didn’t move as fast as I had, but he was making his way back to where I was and finally got himself out of the water too.

Peter has fish eyes and can see farther than most underwater. The visibility back in San Diego was usually a murky 10-15 inshore on a good day so his eyes have been trained to spot the monster halibut and other creatures of the sea he has been spearing for years.

About 40 feet from where we were swimming here in the Exumas, Peter had just seen a bull shark at least 8′ long and 500-600 pounds. It was just on the edge of the dropoff and just barely within his visibility, lurking into the blue. It was an unmistakably large, dark, stormcloud-gray figure with a smokey-white underbelly. It’s big strong head and stout body glided through the water as if it weren’t even moving a muscle. It knew we were there long before Peter saw the shark. We were in his reef and although it wanted nothing to do with us, it was clearly scoping us out.

Peter was pretty messed up by the experience for a few days. Even I had a bad dream about a shark brushing up against me that night. We probably would have had a great time snorkeling even if we didn’t see the shark but better safe than sorry and we moved on to shallower waters.

Our next destination was outside Allen’s Cay for protection from a small weather system moving through. The current was pretty strong but we made sure to stay away from the larger group of boats anchored in there. Right as we had pulled in we saw a sailboat drift back and nearly hit the catamaran anchored behind him. We wanted no part of that holding so we moved up and around a bit away from everyone else. Allen’s Cay is where most cruisers go to see the wild iguanas of the island. Peter and I weren’t too interested so we tended to boat projects and stayed cozy during the blow.

We moved on the next day to an anchorage on the north side of the rocks at Highbourne Cay. Winds clocked up to 30 knots and we swung around in circles all night. The wind generator was cookin but it didn’t make for a very comfortable sleep. The forecast we had didn’t match the wind and wave direction we got, but we stuck it out til morning. Our delta anchor has been taking good care of us.

We checked out the beach on that side and where the water meets the sand it was a beautiful clear blue. The puppies were happy to go for a ride and do a little exploring. They sure love the dinghy!

Later that day the wind was still a bit chilly when it came time for our solar showers on deck. We were the only boat there so it wasn’t for privacy that we had to rig up some towels, but rather for protection from the wind. Deck showers are fun but I’m really not a fan of being soaking wet with cold wind.

Highbourne Cay Marina was a one-night stay. We knew it would be expensive, but we were also hoping for free wifi since we didn’t have our local Bahamas sim card yet. Not the case… It’s a $15/day charge to access satellite based wifi for connection with only one device, and it was terribly slow!! There were a lot of big boats in there. Definitely not the kind of place we would stay for long, but it was a nice break after the 30 knot winds tossing us around the night before.

The nurse sharks swarmed here too, just as they do at most marinas in the Bahamas, next to the fish cleaning stations as the fishermen throw in their scraps. It’s quite a sight to see. There were three bulls sharks that came in to see what all the commotion was about and we distinctly noticed them as they lurked around the edge where the nurse sharks were. Their shape gave them away along with their constant motion. The crazy part is that there were kids swimming just on the other side of the jetty, just a few hundred yards away!!!! The marina here even has shark netting around their designated swim area. I guess these people didn’t care?

Hawksbill Cay was secluded and pretty. We took the paddle boards over to a quiet beach where the mangroves crept up a stream. This adventurous man of mine decided to follow it up as far as he could looking for a spring. No luck though.

Gunner and Betsy guarded the boat while we were gone exploring. If you saw them roaming free on deck would you come any closer? :) Gunner’s bark can be rather annoying at times but they definitely let us know when someone is even remotely getting close to our boat. Good dogs.

The end to another picture perfect day… we really are living the dream!

So this is paradise…

March 2, 2014

Spanish Wells brings a wish Farewell to our Crew

Monday 2.24 around 4am we pulled up the anchor and headed for Spanish Wells. It was a perfect quiet sail the whole way. The dogs even got to enjoy a nap soaking up the sun. Suddenly, we slowed down to 4 knots with all sails out as we approached a small dark storm cloud.

Just as we passed underneath it on the outside, the winds picked up to 15 knots and began pushing us with incredible speed. The GPS clocked a whopping 8.5 knots!!! That is WAYYYY fast for us! It was pretty cool because we weren’t hardly heeled over at all but still smokin’ fast!!

As we passed under the dark nasty sky we watched the dozens of funnel clouds appear and minutes later, disappear. A few of them turned into water spouts. We were just far enough away to feel safe :)

This system pushed us in all the way to Royal Island where we anchored. There were a few other boats anchored in there already. We took our deck showers, got the BBQ started and settled in for the evening.

While we were looking at an overview of the islands of the Bahamas, we saw this:

Looks like a dolphin to us!

The next day (Tuesday 2.25) we made the short trip over to Spanish Wells and pulled into Yacht Haven Marina. The docks are a bit rickety and there is a bunch of construction going on but they have water (city), power, wifi and showers. I haven’t been spending much time with the wifi here as we’re busy with boat projects and cleaning up. It’s kind of nice to stay unplugged even when the option is there to reconnect via internet. It’s a small town here of around 2000 people. The local accent is predominantly British sounding and almost all the cars are driven from the right side. They drive on the left side of the tiny streets and most of the locals drive golf carts everywhere. There is three or four restaurants here, a grocery store, a couple small markets and some ‘take-away’ snack-shack type places. The birds are chirping and there is green grass in their tiny yards. The streets are clean and everyone is very respectful with their trash. Locals are very kind and welcoming here. Very different from the other Bahamian places we’ve visited so far.

Coconuts in almost every front yard!!!

Here’s the view as you walk just a few blocks to the other side of the island approaching the beach:

They say Eleuthera is where you can find pink sand beaches. They really are pink here! No filters on these photos…

We think this is another deep blue hole of some sort. It’s marked off with buoys.

What a nice way to carry groceries back home!

My new pink sand beach background photo on my phone…

Simply Paradise <3

House on the beach in the Bahamas? Yes please!!!! How cute is this place? Its actually for rent as a vacation home for a couple hundred a night.

There was a cannon ball sitting in the yard of this beach house. Lots of history here…

Can you see the bananas? …

Wednesday night (2.26.14) was Josh and Leah’s last evening with us before heading back home to San Diego. We all went out to dinner at The Shipyard restaurant. Fantastic meal and even better ambiance.

We’re sad to see them go. It was nice having some extra hands on deck as well as great company exploring the Bahamas. We hope they found an appreciation and understanding of the blood, sweat and tears it takes to live the cruising lifestyle that we’ve chosen. Now Josh and Leah have a glimpse of what our new life will be like as we take our floating home with us to some of the most beautiful places on Earth!

This is only the beginning for us. We’ve been cruising since February 2nd, just a short month ago, and there are still so many adventures ahead. Please be sure to follow along and let us know when your travel plans will put you Where The Coconuts Grow!!

Leave a comment with thoughts or questions… we love to hear from you!!