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Leaving south Florida how far has a Mac cruised ??we are trying to avoid going back to a bigger keel boat .2 months in the Caribbean may be too long in a Mac ? Maybe a few weeks in the keys and a few weeks in the islands ???.

bahama bound wrote:Leaving south Florida how far has a Mac cruised ??we are trying to avoid going back to a bigger keel boat .2 months in the Caribbean may be too long in a Mac ? Maybe a few weeks in the keys and a few weeks in the islands ???.

By my math, .2 or 2/10 of a month is about 6 days max. I have spent a whole week on my in the Chesapeake Bay, I imagine this would be OK in the Caribbean

I know there are several posts about cruising the Bahamas in a Mac, recently our very own intrepid Cptron and his lovely Admiral spent several weeks in the Bahamas.

Think about your consumables - can't count on the availability of drinking water in the carribee. Argghhh.

bahama bound wrote:Leaving south Florida how far has a Mac cruised ??we are trying to avoid going back to a bigger keel boat .2 months in the Caribbean may be too long in a Mac ? Maybe a few weeks in the keys and a few weeks in the islands ???.

SENCMac25 wrote:I know there are several posts about cruising the Bahamas in a Mac, recently our very own intrepid Cptron and his lovely Admiral spent several weeks in the Bahamas.

My wife begged me to go with them ! I keep looking for a update or blog on their trip ! I'm talking at least two months !!! I thought a bwy enclosure might make the boat more livable ! Screened in ??

I just returned from a 7 day journey.... Charleston to Beaufort (SC) and back. Provisioning will be an issue. It's a small boat to be on it much longer than a week unless you really trick out the boat for such an extensive cruise. I could certainly see us making a 3-4 week Bahamas cruise but nothing longer than that.

Things I would have to do to make such a trip
- buy a 12V fridge
- buy a dodger
- install solar
- increase water capacity
- Jerry Cans for extra fuel and water
- Buy a chartplotter (use Navionics on my iPad now)
- Buy/rent an EPIRB

Bob

Has anyone considered a water maker to alleviate fresh water issues?

These guys went from Florida to the Bahamas and back (and they towed their Mac from Michigan to Florida!)

http://www.ne-ts.com/cr/cr-401bimini.html

I scored a.really nice Engel freezer at a local pawn shop ! But I can't help thinking with all the money we would save from buying yet another boat we could maybe do like condo or vacation rentals along the way ! To mix up the trip ! How do the hand held water makers work ? Does beer ,wine and rum count as water ?lol....

JotaErre wrote:These guys went from Florida to the Bahamas and back (and they towed their Mac from Michigan to Florida!)

http://www.ne-ts.com/cr/cr-401bimini.html

I can't tell you how many times I read that story while sitting up late on the computer looking for my Mac x

bahama bound wrote:Leaving south Florida how far has a Mac cruised ??we are trying to avoid going back to a bigger keel boat .2 months in the Caribbean may be too long in a Mac ? Maybe a few weeks in the keys and a few weeks in the islands ???.

You will want to take advantage of all the time you can get in the Bahamas. My wife and I did the trip to Bimini and spent 3 weeks doing just the Bimini chain. We originally wanted to go to the Berry Islands but due to strong winds out of the east making the bank very rough, we decided to stay put and explore the Bimini's. We got to know some locals and do things that regular tourists don't get to do, such as crabbing in the mangroves, visiting the place that Martin Luther King wrote his last speech as well as visiting a healing hole.
If you feel the boat is getting small you can find a marina somewhere and rent a room for a couple of nights. I got some excellent advice while over there and that was, for first timers it is better to do the Abaco's and get to know other cruisers there and gain some local knowledge of places to visit on your next visit. The Abaco's have more facilities and more eyeball navigation available for several day sails to the next anchorage. You don't have to kill yourself getting up early just to try and make your next destination.

bahama bound,

You should also read Chinook's trip report March 2nd to June 9th, 2011. Great reading
http://chinook.cecka.us/?cat=5

Obelix

I took a v 22.2 with a five hp engine and a dog to grand exuma island.
Ix

Was the dog the answer to the provisioning problem? Or was that to the Philipines ?

Catigale wrote:Was the dog the answer to the provisioning problem? Or was that to the Philipines ?

Man ! That was cold !!!!!