Heading South
This week we threw off the dock lines from our slip in Annapolis, MD and pointed our sailboat Odyssey south for the winter. In The first leg of our trip we’ll head down the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk, VA, where the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) begins. Our ultimate destination is The Abacos in the Bahamas.
Odyssey is a 36 ft. sailboat. For those of you who are not familiar with cruising sailboats, 36 feet is probably an average size sailboat. However, for boats that spend the winter in the Bahamas, 36 feet is definitely in the bottom 10% as far as vessel size. I would estimate that 90% of the cruising vessels in the Bahamas are between 38 feet and 45 feet. This is because people live on their boats in the Bahamas for months at a time so a bigger boat is necessary for most people. So, with a 36 foot sailboat, we are really “roughing it.”
Sailing Vessel Odyssey
Odyssey is a 1999 Beneteau Model 361. The vessel specs are as follows:
Length: 36’ 5”
Beam: 12’ 6”
Draft: 5’ 0”
Mast Height: 51’ 8”
Fuel Tank: 20 Gallons
Water Capacity: 85 Gallons
Engine Size: 27 HP
I have attached some pictures of Odyssey. Don’t be fooled, cabin spaces in the pictures are smaller than they appear.
Front Bunk (AKA Storage Area)
Galley Area
Main Salon
Head & Shower Area
We purchased Odyssey in 2009 and have made several upgrades to the vessel for this trip. Some of the major upgrades we made are as follows:
- Significantly increased the battery capacity to handle refrigeration
- Upgraded the alternator (to handle refrigeration)
- Added 2 full anchoring systems and a dinghy anchor system
- Added 2 each 135 watt solar panels (to handle refrigeration)
- Replaced the dodger and bimini and added a sun screen
- Replaced the main sail
- Had a rigger climb up our mast to inspect and replace where necessary the standing rigging
- Replaced almost all the running rigging (sailing lines)
- Repaired several defects in the keel
- Replaced the fresh water pump, shower drain pump, and bilge pump
- Added interior personal storage capacity in every spot possible
- Purchased a 10-foot inflatable dinghy with a 4 HP outboard engine
A lot of planning and groundwork goes into a trip like this. We have been preparing for this trip for almost 2 years. In addition to vessel upgrades, a trip to the Bahamas requires a backup part or system for almost everything on the boat. For example, you need at least 2 anchor systems, a backup alternator, plenty of extra dock lines and sailing lines, several fuel and oil filters, and a second water/shower/bilge pump. The list of “just in case” items needed for our trip also is extensive. We carry 2 each 5-gallon diesel fuel tanks, a couple handheld VHF radios, offshore safety equipment, manual water pumps, an oil extraction pump, fuel & oil funnels, an extra dinghy air pump, a solar shower bag, and most important every possible replacement part for the head just to name a few things.
Why are all these items necessary? There are a couple reasons. When you sail in the Bahamas, there are very few boat stores or hardware stores to get replacement items. And, for anything you can find, it costs about 2 to 3 times what it costs in the US. But the most important reason why all these items are needed is when something breaks down on your vessel, especially in the Bahamas, you may not be in a place where you can get the item you need. You could be miles away from civilization in an anchorage of a remote island where you are the only boat and no one lives on the island. (These remote islands are why people go to the Bahamas).
I needed one of our backup items before we even left the dock in Annapolis. When we were leaving our slip, I turned on all the vessel electronics and much to my chagrin our chart plotter died. But I had a “handheld” chart plotter as a backup to our main chart plotter. These portable units are just as good as the bigger models, but the display screens are small and hard to read.
For those who do not know, a chart plotter is an electronic device that uses the satellite GPS to show where your vessel is located on the marine electronic charts. Modern chart plotters are so sophisticated that the electronic marine charts show all the marker buoys, water depths, and any obstructions around your vessel and are accurate within about 50 feet. (This information is necessary so you do not run aground.)
A chart plotter is not an absolute necessity for a trip like this; we did not have one on our trip down the ICW in 2003. But chart plotters are extremely convenient. It means that you don’t have to constantly plot your position on paper charts. However, we do carry all the paper charts for every area we will be. This is a backup in case both our chart plotters die.
I was prepared to go the whole trip using our portable chart plotter as getting a new unit would be prohibitively expensive and we did not have time to get a new unit installed as we were leaving the area. But I decided to call around to several marine electronic shops in the area to see if there was any other solution. Every shop told me the only other option (to buying a new unit) was to send my old unit back to the manufacturer and have them repair it. This was much less costly, but would take at least 4 weeks to get the unit back. Four weeks would not fit our schedule so that was not an option for us.
I decided to call a couple shops that were near our stops in the lower Chesapeake Bay. I got lucky. There is a marine electronics shop in Deltaville, VA that has a side business of re-selling older chart plotter units that they remove from boats when owners decide to upgrade to a new system. This shop just happened to have my exact unit in stock and they could swap it out for my existing broken unit when we arrived in their area. It would only take one hour to change out the units. It cost me about one-third the cost of a new unit, but I felt lucky to be able to get the replacement unit in a timely manner.
The first night out after leaving Annapolis we anchored in the Rhode River which is near Galesville, MD. The next day we traveled about 45 miles and anchored out in Mill Creek in Solomon’s Island, MD. The following day we traveled 42 miles to Fairport, VA and got a marina slip. This is where we had our new chart plotter installed. The next day we traveled about 32 miles and anchored out in Fishing Bay just off the Piankatank River near Deltaville, VA. The day before yesterday, we had planned to go to the Hampton Roads area, but we hit some nasty weather and instead anchored out in the Chisman Creek just off the Poquoson River which is a couple rivers up from the Hampton, VA area. I have to say, the Virginia Chesapeake Bay area has some very beautiful anchorages. We’ve only had a couple other boats as neighbors in these pretty coves.
The bad weather we hit is here for a couple days so we are now in a marina in White House Creek which is also off the Poquoson River. We will be here for a couple days re-provisioning the boat and waiting out the weather.
Our next stop will be Norfolk, VA which is mile zero for the southern leg of the ICW which ends at mile 1,095 in Miami Beach, FL. Our final stop in Florida is Lake Worth. This is where we plan to make the jump offshore to the Bahamas.
It should take us about 30 days to get to Lake Worth. FL. Our average boat speed is about 5 to 5.5 knots. It is a slow but very scenic trip. This slow speed, though, means we do not consume very much fuel. From Norfolk, VA to Lake Worth, FL (ICW mile marker 1,014) Odyssey will only consume about 70 gallons of diesel fuel. At $4.00 per gallon, our total fuel cost to Florida will be about $280. Fuel cost is the cheapest part of owning a sailboat.
The other major cost of travelling down the ICW is marina slip fees. The average slip fee for one night at a marina is about $2.00 per foot of boat length plus a separate fee for electricity. Our 36 foot sailboat will cost (including electricity) about $80.00 per night. However, anchoring in the ICW or any adjacent body of water is free. We will anchor out as much as we can, but there are some areas where it is not possible.
Most of the ICW is very narrow; sometimes as narrow as 100 feet wide. We will sail when we can, but there are only a few places where sailing is possible. Most of the trip is motoring. The sailing will take place in the Bahamas.
That is all for now. I will post again somewhere in North Carolina.
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