Bahamas Bound

[Alan & Debbie May, #1611]

We are leaving mid-September from Lake Ontario for the Bahamas,through the Erie Barge Canal, Hudson River, NJ Coast and then the ICW. Our C34 was Allgripped Flag Blue on purchase and might be the only Blue 34 on the water. We would be interested in meeting with other 34 owners on the way. Please contact us at rykar.may@sympatico.ca if you can accomodate.
Thanks.

[Roger Blake]

Was searching for info on the ICW and came across your message. Thought I would followup. How was your trip? Anything you would like to share with the rest of us? Hope all went well.

[wind dancer]

Roger,

It looks like "Alan & Debbie" are no active here.  Their status is listed as "Guest".

[SailDan]

Congratulations & Good Luck on your Adventure... It will be a Ball! 

We just returned from a 15-month sailing trip on our C-34 "Weal Sea" to the Bahamas. The journal of the trip to our return to Florida in May can be found at: www.clrmarine.com/210.htm (Log of Dan & Pat Harrington aboard s/v Weal Sea)
Its a "warts & all" journal. If you have any questions from a first timer / novice, please feel free to contact me.  I received a lot of useful help and advice from fellow member on this website.
Overview of:
We left from Hammond, Indiana (near Chicago) on July 10, 2005. Route: Lake Michigan => Straits of Mackinaw => Lake Huron => Lake St. Clair => Lake Erie => Erie Canal => Hudson River => NYC & Sandy Hook, NJ => New Jersey Atlantic coast => Cape May => Delaware Bay => Chesapeake-Delaware Canal => Chesapeake Bay => Norfolk, VA => ICW.  We took the Dismal Swamp route on the ICW from Norfolk south: VA => N. Carolina => S. Carolina => Georgia = Florida.  Continued to follow ICW to Ft. Laudedale, FL.  End of Jan. 2006 we crossed Gulf stream from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahama Banks then continued to sail directly to Nassau  (New Providence Island) where we Checked-In... None-Stop from Ft. Lauderdale -- 32 hr. Since the (northern) "Near Bahamas" (Grand Bahama, Abacos, etc) can be cool in the winter, we decided "do them" on our return trip later in the spring. Thus, we sailed south from Nassau to the Exumas with a final destination of Elizabeth Harbour - Georgetown. We returned via Eluthera => Spanish Wells => Royal Island => Great Abacos (Little Harbour, Marsh Harbour, Green Turtle, etc) => Sale Cay => West End (Grand Bahama Island) => Gulf Stream => Stuart Florida = ICW =>>Atlantic  Coast =>>> Hudson River. The Erie Canal was shut down when we arrived at Waterford, NY (eastern end of the canal). Thus,  we to a detour up Champlain Canal to Lake Champlain & Burlington, VT.  The Erie opened at the end of August, therefore we returned back to Waterford, NY. Here we continued: Erie Canal => Oswego Canal => Lake Ontario => Trent-Severn Waterway: Trenton, Ont => 45 locks across Ontario => Severn, Ont. => Midland, Ontario on the Georgian Bay.  End of September and its COLD & WINDY on the Georgian Bay & the Great Lakes.  Thus we decided to put Weal Sea "On the Hard" for the winter. We will return next spring to continue our journey home.

[Roger Blake]

Dan---Thanks for the link to your logs. I'm reading through them. Seems like you had an adventure. I'm doing research now so I can do something similar in the future...know I'm going to do it...just have to figure out the timing with the job and all.

[Stu Jackson]

Dan

Nice to have you back on the board.  I followed you for awhile, and gald you all had so much fun.

All the best,

[Ken Juul]

 I didn't notice the date on the first post.  June 25th, 2004.  They sent a response to my email, had a great trip and are now home.