[Rhodes22-list] I'm Back from the Bahamas!!!

[Chris Geankoplis]

Welcome Back Sailor!
                                Without looking at any of the replies, you
Betcha we ALL want you to share your trip through pictures and prose.  I
know for myself vicarious sailing is almost as much fun as the real stuff.
So no hurry, craft your ideas carefully, have lots of pictures for each day
and post them in them in the next day or two!  I can't wait.

Chris G
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "William E. Wickman" <wewickman at duke-energy.com>
To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2006 12:18 PM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] I'm Back from the Bahamas!!!


> And off he went in a small boat across the Gulf Stream bound for the
> Bahamas….never to be seen again.  Actually, a better way to put it would
be
> “There and Back; A story of long boring passages interrupted by short
> periods of abject terror".
>
> Joking aside, it was really a wonderful trip!  I had originally planned to
> build up to this ambitious trip of sailing to Bimini and the Berry Islands
> in my Rhodes22, but when opportunity knocks you have to answer, or regret
> it for the rest of your life.  Looking back, the worst part about the trip
> was the fear of the unknown.
>
> The story actually began two years ago when I had just settled into
> ownership of my wonderful Rhodes22.  My master plan called for cruising
> coastal destinations for a while and eventually venturing away from
> American soil to some exotic location like the Bahamas.  Last year I had a
> learning experience in the Outer Banks, and spent some time sailing around
> the Destin, FL area.  My next steps included going back to the Outer
Banks,
> and taking a week or two sailing the Florida Keys and possibly out to the
> Dry Tortugas.  After those adventures, I would take the leap and plan a
> trip to the Bahamas.
>
> Like I said, when opportunity knocks….  Late last summer, my daughter was
> accepted into an internship at Dolphin Encounters based out of Nassau,
> Bahamas.  The internship would be the first week of June, 2006.  My wife
> and other daughter would accompany her for the week.  Thus, an opportunity
> opened up for my son and me to do something that my wife would likely not
> enjoy (1-2 weeks cruising on the boat in locations that would be totally
> remote from any civilization).  My son was graduating from high school and
> this would very likely be the last opportunity to have him with me for
such
> an extended time.  So the plan was hatched to “go for it”.  A friend of
> mine was going to go with us but chickened out, so we added a sailing
buddy
> of my son’s to round out our crew.  Both my son and his friend are good
> sailors.  Both competed on the high school sailing team and will go on to
> sail in college.  So with able crew, I was committed.
>
> Planning was key to making this trip successful.  I researched all I could
> find on the internet; I emailed for advice from anyone I found that had
> made the trip; I bought charts and guidebooks and read them twice; and I
> spent much time creating my own provisioning checklist.  Everyone I talked
> to was very helpful, and I would especially like to thank Chris
Geankoplis,
> Robert Quinn, and all the others on the Rhodes listserve who provided me
> with valuable advice, local knowledge and insights.
>
> If everyone is interested, I would be glad to post some pictures and a
trip
> log as soon as I get it written.
>
> For now, attached is one of my nicer photos.  It was taken from Flo's
Conch
> Bar and Restaurant in the Berry Islands.  The harbor has very thin water
> and other cruisers were amazed that we were able to get in there (they
> anchored out and motored in on their dinghies).  We actually had to heel
> the boat and just scraped over the shallows, but is was a very proud
moment
> for the Rhodes22.
>
> Bill Wickman
>
> (See attached file: View from Flo's.JPG)


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