Sail the Bahamas

November 3-10, 2013

Sail Bahamas was a raging success.  
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For those who are joining us, specific tips and information, click here …
All Sail Bahamas Information

When people ask me where the most beautiful water on earth is, I always tell them The Bahamas (… and maybe Cocos Keeling).  And the coral sand is as clean and white as anywhere. The islands are perfectly suited for mellow paradise to paradise sailing.  Pristine anchorages with turquoise water beckon us.  And the occasional shoreside shack where you can sip the bevy of your choice while basking in warm tradewind breezes. All just an easy flight from mainland Florida.

We are busy organizing our itinerary where fun shore festivities can be had.  Our best skippers wouldn’t miss this one – hand picked for their easygoin’ fun and gift for imparting their sailing knowledge, in that order.  Dream Yacht Charters has some beautiful cats for us.  Our blissful cruise through paradise will make memories to last a lifetime.

The Boats, all Catamarans …

• 44′ Leopard 2013 Premier (New), 4 cabins, 4 heads – Sold Out
• 40′ Lagoon 2013 Premier (New), 4 cabins, 2 heads – One cabin
• 42′ Lagoon 2008 4 cabins, 4 heads – Sold Out
• 40′ Leopard, 4 cabins, 2 heads – Sold Out

To book that last cabin on Tania’s boat, call us at 619-796-6398 or email Woody@AdventureVoyaging.com

Lagoon 400 Premium

Lagoon 400 Layout

Lagoon 420

Lagoon 420 Layout

Leopard 40

Leopard 40 Layout

Leopard 444 Premium

Leopard 444 Layout

Travel tips … Airport code for Marsh Harbor Abaco is MHH.  We board the boats 1730 (5:30pm) on Sunday Nov 3.  We depart the boats at 1100 on Sunday Nov 10.  I wouldn’t try to fly out before 1400 or so.

Everyone works together on Adventure Voyages.  To the extent that you are able … you help with lines, fenders, hoisting, helming, trimming, navigation, mooring, anchoring, etc. Anything you would like to learn, your skipper is there to teach.  And if you eat and don’t cook, you ought’ be good at dishes.  

• Price includes your cabin on the yacht, and partial provisioning – food for simple breakfasts and lunches, some dinners/BBQ.  The Bahamas have fun shore eateries, expect to add some local flavor to your adventure.
• Travel is extra.  We publish tips and pass on group rates when we get them.
• Passports and a return ticket are required to enter The Bahamas.
• Come early.  We like to do a get together on the night before our adventure.  More info and hotel suggestions later.
• No smoking onboard boats.
• She or he is responsible for you. Skipper decisions are final.
• Cabins booked first come, first served.
• $1000 deposit secures your spot, couple or single. Balance due 60 days prior to cruise.
• 100% refund within 7 days of purchase unless within 60 days of sail. Refund also given if another party can be found to fill the spot.
• $100 off for anyone who has ever done a trip with us and for Cruising Outpost charter members.

From our friends at Dream Yacht Charters …

Abaco – With 29 islands, 661 cays and nearly 2,400 islets, The Bahamas is a true sailor’s paradise steeped in both history and lore.

The island group lies at 25 degrees 5 minutes north latitude and 77 degrees 21 minutes west longitude. This is where Italian explorer Christopher Columbus first made landfall in the New World on October 12, 1492, where pirates built a haven in the 1600s, and where many British loyalists made new homes following the American Revolution.

Dream Yacht Charter’s Bahamian base is located on Great Abaco Island at Marsh Harbor, and serves as our gateway to the stellar sailing grounds the islands offer.

The Abacos chain is formed in a boomerang shape and stretches nearly 130 miles from Walkers Cay in the north, to Hole-in-the-Wall in the south. The islands lie roughly 175 miles east of Palm Beach, Florida, and 106 miles north of Nassau. The outer cays and islands create naturally protected waters commonly referred to as the Sea of Abaco. Abaco is the second largest island in the Bahamas, and generally cooler than the other islands. Summer temperatures average 26.5°C/80°F to 29.4°C/85°F. During winter, the temperature rarely dips below 10°C/50°F.

More than 200 species of birds, including the Green Bahamian Parrot, are found in the islands, along with lush vegetation such as Pines, Madeira, and Coppish, as well as astonishing ferns, vines and varieties of wildflowers like Oleander and Stalked Orchids.

The five inhabited cays of major importance are Walkers Cay, Green Turtle Cay, Great Guanna, Man-O-War and Elbow Cay.

Green Turtle Bay has an uneven coastline with deep bays, sounds and delightful beaches at Gillam Bay and Coco Bay. The island is three miles long and half as wide. The community is diverse, and captures the quaint and harmonious atmosphere found throughout the islands.

History …
Hope Town is known for its boat building and was founded by British loyalists in 1785. It boasts many fine examples of British colonial architecture, such as Toad Hall, which was built in 1880 and restored in the mid-1970s, and Butterfly House. The British Imperial Lighthouse Service sought to build one of its signature “candy stripe” lighthouses here to mark the Elbow Cay Reef in the 1860s. Local residents opposed the lighthouse, however, because they viewed it as a direct threat to their salvage trade. The lighthouse was built despite this opposition, and began operation in 1863. Now, it remains one of only two manned beacons, and local residents have undertaken vigorous efforts to keep it so, going to extraordinary lengths to secure spare parts for the light apparatus, most of which are no longer made.

A tribe of Arawaks, the peaceful Lucayans, first inhabited the Bahamas, arriving there in the early 9th century to escape the warlike Caribs. Columbus, searching for a shorter trade route to India, first made landfall in the Bahamas on an island he called San Salvador in honor of his patrons, the king and queen of Spain. In the mid-1660s, Pirates such as Henry Jennings and “Blackbeard,” or Edward Teach made the town of New Providence a sanctuary when they weren’t plundering ships on the high seas. Britain finally took firm control in 1718 and created a new motto for the Bahamas: Expulsis Piratis – Restituta Commercia, Latin for Pirates Expelled – Commerce Restored.

When Loyalist refugees began arriving after the American Revolution, they infused the Bahamas with both wealth and an entrepreneurial spirit that thrives to this day. During the American Civil War, the islands served as a safe harbor for blockade-runners and privateers exchanging Southern cotton for weapons and supplies. And during Prohibition, Americans flocked to Nassau where they could drink legally and gamble at casinos. More than 300 years of British rule ended in July 1973 when the Bahamas officially became a new nation, the Independent Commonwealth of the Bahamas.