M/Y OLOH Cruising The Exumas

[Cruzer]

Over the winter we made plans to take our first-ever Bahamas trip, specifically to the Abacos. When we arrived in Fort Lauderdale to prepare for our crossing, our local yachtie friends staged an intervention, three days before our scheduled departure, and convinced us to go to The Exumas. I know there are wide-ranging opinions on both sets of cruising grounds but we put aside all of the planning we had done, heeded their advice and arrived here a month ago.

Overall it has been a spectacular trip of a lifetime. Unfortunately, we have been experiencing what even many locals are characterizing as some of the strangest weather they have seen in years. As a result, we haven't stayed in as many places as we had hoped but thanks to new friends with a great center console, we have been able to leave the big boat at the dock and still experience a great deal of what we had hoped we would.

We thought our experiences might be of some interest here (blog link below) - enjoy!

 

[siestakey]

It really has been some strange weather but very glad to hear your having fun!!!

 

[meridian]

Link?

 

[Cruzer]

Link?

The link should appear in our signature but just in case you don't see it: Blog – Boat. Plans. Life.

 

[menzies]

Nice blog. You will have to go back and see the Majors, Stamiel and points south!

 

[Cruzer]

Nice blog. You will have to go back and see the Majors, Stamiel and points south!

Thank you Menzies. We will definitely be returning and focusing next time as much on the post-crossing forecast as the weather for the crossing itself.

As most can relate to, one of the best parts of cruising is the good people you meet along the way. As I mentioned in my original post, we were so fortunate to have become friends with longtime Exumas cruisers who took us under their wing and took us in their center console to places we would have otherwise missed as the big boat remained tied to the dock much more than we had hoped. So while we saw Staniel and the pigs that way, we look forward to time on the hook in that area and beyond. We are very drawn to the less populated spots and they are plentiful in the Exumas. It's certainly one of our planet's special places.

As an aside, as has been discussed here before, we were thrilled with the ease with which we were able to clear in through Customs with the ROAM app. I love it when tech works the way it's supposed to!

 

[Group9]

Nice blog.

Go farther south next time. It just gets better and better!

 

[ragin cajun]

Love your Blog, I check in every week to follow your big adventure! Where are you guys heading next? Back up North or staying put in FL?

 

[Cruzer]

Love your Blog, I check in every week to follow your big adventure! Where are you guys heading next? Back up North or staying put in FL?

Thanks for the kind words. We've decided to stay put in Florida for the summer, partly because we know we'd be returning in the fall and we weren't eager to venture back up the coast only to turn around in a few months to come back. We'll look forward to bringing OLOH north once again after next season for a longer stretch than would have been possible this year. I'll for sure miss visiting our favorite haunts but hopefully they'll still be there in a year ?