Darkness was upon us as we departed Great Inagua and we had quite a light show both to our North and Southwest. Thunderstorms had been predicted over Cuba and The Bahamas and somehow we were in an unaffected area. It was beautiful to watch from a distance. Lightning is the thing we fear the most, it's very random and there is no way to prevent a strike.



We had 12 knots of wind on our beam, perfect sailing conditions. We settled into our night watch schedule, with Jody taking the 2100 to 0200 shift. We like to do 5 hour shifts when we are double handed. You get a decent amount of sleep and only have to wake up once during the night, hopefully. My shift was 0200-0700. I slept in the cockpit because it was very warm and humid below.

We were sailing through the Windward Passage, between Cuba's East coast and the West coast of Haiti. We were favoring the West side of the Passage for a couple reasons. Number one, there are favorable currents on the West side and number two, there are reports of Haitian fisherman prone to piracy. We had no issues at all and sailed along through the night.

The wind picked up around midnight. We had 17 knots gusting to the low 20's so we put a reef in the main. This makes the sailing more comfortable and the wind vane holds its course better with a reef. When I came on watch at 0200 the seas had built up a bit but we were still sailing nicely.

On watch we like to listen to music and podcasts or look at the stars. Sometimes we read but at night it ruins my night vision. The sunrise was beautiful but with it the winds started to fade, because we were now in the wind shadow of Hispaniola. We started the diesel engine and motor sailed with the main and staysail at low RPM's to conserve fuel. We didn't know how much we would need to motor and we were unable to top off our tanks in Great Inagua. Diesel fuel is expensive there and reputed to be dirty.

At 0930 we got some wind from the Southeast, around 10 knots. We were sailing a close reach at 6 knots with some favorable current giving us a boost. The wind came and went all day and by 2000 hrs (8:00pm) we had been underway 24 hours and made 136 nautical miles. Around 11:30 pm we started to pick up the Tradewinds as we emerged from Hispanola's shadow. We were back to making 6.5 knots on a beam reach and life was good.

The next morning we were almost abeam of Jamaica making 7-8 knots with 5-7 foot seas. This was the sailing we expected in The Caribbean Sea. We had a reef in the main and the ride was pretty comfortable. Around 1:30 pm we made our final course change and we're pointed directly for Colon. We had caught up to our friends and from here on our courses diverged. They were bound for Bocas Del Toro, Panama. We said our goodbyes on the VHF radio and were looking forward to when we see them again. This night was to be our roughest of the passage.

Around 6:00 pm the winds had picked up significantly. We had 18-22 knots gusting to 30 and squalls to 35. One squall in particular caught our attention. We were sailing with a double reefed main and the staysail, which is a great sail plan for this kind of weather. We can still easily take a 3rd reef for the main if things get sportier and the boat sails well. Conditions remained like this through the night until mid-morning the next day. Around 1030 we unrolled the jib as the winds eased a bit. We had 15-19 knots, the seas had settled some and we were smoking along at 7.5 knots. We had done 151 nautical miles in the previous 24 hours, not bad.

As we got closer to Colon, the wind began to veer and we were sailing a broad reach. We dropped the staysail, which is less effective off the wind and continued with full main and jib in 15 knots. We were still making 6.5 knots and caught a smallish Mahi. It was starting to get hot during the day. Sometimes there was cloud cover but when the sun was out we hid behind shade screens in the cockpit. The seas had settled enough that we could play backgammon in the cockpit. We have 1000 point tournaments which sometimes last for weeks.

The next few days were on and off motor sailing as the wind became lighter and was more over our stern. When the wind is going in the same direction as the boat our apparent wind is decreased. We were excited though, because we only had 150 miles to go and we had conserved our fuel well so we could motor the rest of the way if necessary.

We arrived in Colon on the 18th of May, 5.5 days in total covering 812 nautical miles. We were amazed at all the commercial shipping in one place....This is definitely a cross roads of the ocean. We felt very small as we wove our way through these ships and got permission to come into the canal zone. We had reserved a slip in Shelter Bay Marina which is just inside the breakwater.

Once in our slip we celebrated with a shower ashore and a meal in the restaurant. Then we began to get to know our new temporary home. We will leave the boat here for a couple months as we travel to Arizona to see our kids and new grand baby, Margot Rae. We plan to return in late Summer and being to explore under sail the Caribbean Coast of Panama. There is so much to see here and we are also close to Columbia, Peru and Costa Rica.

Cruising is often described as fixing your boat in exotic places. I find this to be an accurate description, especially when combined with the saying, B.O.A.T= bring on another thousand.



My mission to repair our autopilot continued shortly after our arrival in Georgetown. I flew out of Great Exuma on Silver Airways after a few hour delay. I had a connection in Fort Lauderdale to fly to Charleston. Luckily my connecting flight was delayed and I made it to Charleston on time. I spent the night in a hotel and was up bright and early to meet with the marine electrician. I was able to get the motor and flew out that night at 6:00. I had a layover in Atlanta and arrived in Fort Lauderdale at midnight. My flight back to Georgetown was at 7:30am so I wasted time in the terminal. I was again flying Silver Airways and again the flight was delayed. At this point I hadn't slept in 24 hours. At 11:30 my flight was cancelled altogether and there were no other flights to Gtown from Ft.Lauderdale that day. Luckily, the ticket agent set me up with a flight on American Eagle for later that afternoon in Miami. I jumped in a cab and we flew down I-95....People drive like maniacs in Florida! I made the flight and was back home on the boat by that afternoon, sleepy but mission accomplished.

I reinstalled the motor and the AP was working. We could now focus on our next destination...Panama. It's been 3 years since we had to scuttle our plans to sail to Panama due to COVID. We set about provisioning the boat which can be a challenge when there is no Costco. The grocery store in GTown was well stocked by Bahamian standards so we did our best. We precooked and froze several meals for our passage because cooking underway is sometimes difficult. We would be sailing South with tradewinds from the East.... That can mean big seas on the beam and life on a tilt.

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We said goodbyes to our friends over the next few days and then had a weather window to leave. We set out across the Exuma Sound for Calabash Bay on the North end of Long Island. We had a nice sail and were rewarded with a beautiful turquoise anchorage with fine sand and great anchor holding. With no time to waste we were up early the next day and bound for Great Inagua. GI is at the South end of the Bahamas and just North of the Windward Passage, between Hispaniola and Cuba. It was a day and a half sail and we anchored in Man-o-War Bay, another beauty of an anchorage, just before sunset. The water so clear we could see everything on the bottom in over 30 feet.



There were a couple boats we knew here too. They were also bound for Panama and we had talked about buddy boating. They were already cleared out of The Bahamas and ready to go. We were not cleared and wanted to get a few things in Matthew Town before we left. We were debating on taking this weather window or waiting for the next, which was at least a week away. Our friends left that morning and we sailed the 10 miles to Matthew Town. We walked around the little town, bought some groceries and attempted to fill our diesel jerry cans that we carry as back up fuel. At $9 a gallon and a reputation for dirty fuel we decided against that idea. We listened to the weather report on our SSB radio at 6:00 pm and decided to go. Up on deck to get our main hoisted and anchor up, we realized we had a problem.

Our Mainsail is attached to the mast with cars that run up and down on a track. It's very smooth and friction free because of the ball bearings in the cars. Unfortunately the ball bearings can fall out of the cars if there is too much stress on one, which causes that car to come off the track and the sail is no longer attached in that spot. I was feeling like this would delay us as it was getting dark but my ever optimistic wife said we should try to fix it. You see we have experience with this problem and although it's a very finicky job we were able to get it done. Thank goodness Jody has the hands of a surgeon.





So after a slight delay we hoisted anchor at 8:00 pm and headed South into the dark of night, next stop, Panama.

We had a short sail to Warderick Wells, in the Bahamas Land and Sea Park. Once there we got a mooring in the beautiful North Mooring Field. It's the one you see in all the sailing magazines, a narrow curving channel with blue water in the middle and as it shallows on either side, all shades of turquoise and whites.




The land here is nothing special to look at, its all about the water. We found some healthy looking reefs to snorkel with a fair amount of fish life. The only downside to the park is paying to moor or anchor. We limited our stay to two days and packed as much snorkeling and hiking as we could into our time. We climbed Boo Boo Hill to place our name on the monument to all the boats that have passed through this place.




Then it was on to Staniel Cay, home of the Thunderball Grotto, where the James Bond movie was filmed. We had ordered a new Auto Pilot drive pump and it was to be delivered to Staniel. We found a nice secluded anchorage for a couple days, I did some fishing and we hung out on a pretty deserted beach. Then we moved to the more crowded Bay of Pigs anchorage. Pig Beach is here and we took some snacks over to feed them. There are a lot of pigs here and they come right up to you demanding food. We decided to stay just off the beach in our dinghy and they swam out to us.















Our new motor arrived and we excitedly open the box and looked at the motor only to find it would not fit our hydraulic drive. Bitterly disappointed we mulled over our options. We thought about an all new linear drive but that's a very expensive option. We considered going without the AP but on long passages we would have to hand steer 24 hours a day if there was no wind. I called a marine electrician I know in Charleston, South Carolina. He was confident he could rebuild the old motor if I could get it to him. Unfortunately we cannot import an item from here to the US....The only way to get it to him was for us to carry it there on a flight. That's what we decided to do.

We continued sailing down the Exumas chain of islands. We stopped in the Black Point Settlement which was a nice change from touristy Staniel Cay. We walked the town and met some locals. We had dinner at a beachside restaurant that was nice and went back to the boat for the night. The next morning we decided to sail through the Dotham Cut out into the Exuma Sound. We had about 48 miles to Georgetown where I could get a flight to the US. We had a great day of sailing and caught a nice Bull Mahi Mahi.




We chose to split the trip into two parts and pulled in at Lee Stocking Island for a quick stop. Lee Stocking Island looks like a nice place to spend some time. Lots of coral heads to fish or spearfish and sand flats full of Conch.



We were up early and out with the tide. It's pretty shallow in these parts so watching the tide is important. The day started out with light wind and the motor on but pretty soon the wind filled in and we were sailing along on a beam reach in 10-13 knots of wind. We played backgammon to pass some time and before we knew it we were in Georgetown.

We have several friends here and about 250-300 boats are in the area. It's a very popular place for cruisers to come and stay for the season. They call it Chicken Town because most people never get South of here. Some people even stay here year round. There are a lot of conveniences here and many different places to anchor. There's a VHF radio net every morning and a ton of activities go on during the height of the season. We're here relatively late but there is still a lot happening.



The Island Family Regatta started on April 22nd and was one reason we pushed to get here. Sailing was just named the national sport of the Bahamas, instead of Cricket. The boats that race are from all regions of the Bahamas, they use only natural materials for sails and rigging. No high tech sail cloth, only cotton. The use long boards that stick out the side of the boat and the crews climb out on them to balance the boat against the wind forces. When they tack the boats they move the boards and crew to the opposite side. It's a lot of fun to watch them race around the buoys. We were out in our dinghy following them around the course trying not to collide with everyone else doing the same.



The whole region turns out for this regatta. The Bahamian Police Marching band performed in the evenings, there were food stalls and farmers markets sent up in the town square and lotsa partying going on. The fireworks show on Friday Night was the best I've ever seen.





Today everything should settle down and most cruisers are planning their trip back home to the US soon. We are not planning to go back to the US East coast, we will head South as soon as we have our AP working.

I fly to Charleston on May 1st to get our AP hydraulic motor rebuilt. If that is successful we will leave Georgetown as soon as the weather allows. There are still a lot of places to see to the South and East of here and The Caribbean Sea is beckoning.

A lot has happened in the past couple weeks. After two days in Great Harbor Cay we sailed Southward over The Great Bahama Bank. We were heading for Chubb Cay to anchor for the night, about 35 nautical miles away . We had great sailing for the first half of the day but had a 90 degree course change in the afternoon, which brought the wind on our nose. We motored for the rest of the day.


Chubb Cay is a "rich and famous" place with an expensive marina and beautiful homes along the brilliant white sand beach. The water is so clear you can see the blades of turtle grass on the bottom. We made a curry with some lobster tails we bought from a local and threw the shells in the ocean. Soon we got a visit from a big Barracuda. The anchorage is prone to a wrap around swell which was rolling us from side to side, very uncomfortable. We rigged an anchor bridle which turned us bow to the swell, a much more comfortable ride.

During our trip to Chubb our autopilot died. We use our Monitor wind vane, " Ding-a-Ling" or the AP when we are sailing, but as soon as the motor comes on it's the AP or one of us helming the boat. It's a first world problem when we are mostly daysailing through the Bahamas but on long passages we require both methods to be working.

We were headed to New Providence Island for our next stop but were not keen on hanging in Nassau Harbor due to it's reputation...The AP problem changed that.

As it turns out, Nassau was fine. It does have a reputation for a high crime rate but we had no issues and people there are more friendly than most big cities in the USA. I wouldn't walk the back streets at night but we never felt unsafe. On weekends and holidays the harbor is crazy with go fast boats and jet skis. It was very choppy during the day but everything quiets down in the evening.

We picked up some Fresh Provisions in Nassau.


I contacted a local Marine Electrician by phone and he gave me some tips on diagnosing the root of the AP problem. After a day of troubleshooting we narrowed it down to the pump motor on the hydraulic ram that moves the rudder to keep the boat on course. He recommended a small electrical shop to rebuild it.

We disassembled the hydraulic drive and took the motor to the shop. The owner was confident he could rebuild the motor and said to return the next day. It turned out there was more damage than he first thought and the part was not available here. No charge but no AP.

We made arrangements to have a new AP motor shipped to Staniel Cay in The Exumas so we wouldn't have to wait in Nassau and off we went....Next stop Highborne Cay.

We had a nice sail from Nassau and were able to use "Ding-A-Ling" to steer. This frees us up to play backgammon, do chores or just stare at the crystal clear water. We dropped the hook mid-afternoon amongst several Mega-yachts. Most of these mini cruise ships are over 100 feet and operate as charter boats. Jody checked the internet and they cost six figures for a week and carry 10-12 guests with 12-14 crew. One was $330,000 per week, another "only" $130,000.

Yesterday we sailed South 15 miles to Shroud Cay to meet up with our friends, Brian and Dora. Brian is retired from Toronto Fire Department. This island is in The Exumas Land and Sea Park. It is a protected area and it's illegal to take anything from the park. They have moorings to protect the sea floor from anchoring. It costs $40 a day to use a mooring.

Yesterday we went dinghy exploring and snorkeling but didn't find much interesting. Today we are sitting out some foul weather but plan to go South to Warderick Wells in a day or two.

If you would like to follow our travels you can go to our Predictwind Tracker at
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You can also follow us on Instagram @s.v.contigo

Just a bit over 3 years ago we were poised to set sail from St Lucia in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to Bonaire and on to The Panama Canal. Suddenly the news was all about this new, deadly virus. I remember the first time I heard the term social distancing and scrounging for something to wear over my face. We found out Bonaire and most other island nations had closed borders. We were able to stay in St Lucia but hurricane season was looming and we didn't know what was going to happen. After a couple months though, we knew our only choice was to get back to the United States. Most of you know the rest of the story. We sailed roughly 2200 nautical miles to our home away from home in Deltaville, VA. We hauled the boat to the yard and flew home.
Fast Forward to the present day and we have finally sailed out of the U.S. We crossed the Gulf Stream from Key Biscayne, Florida a few days ago. Currently we are in The Bahamas enjoying The Berry Islands.
It's great to be cruising internationally again after seeing way too much of the U.S. East coast. Our plans are wide open for now but we will let you all know as we zoom in on a destination.

It's been 14 months since our last blog post. I apologize for the large time gap but there's been a lot going on in our lives and we haven't been to The Tropics for awhile. We require inspirational views, some crystal clear water, a beautiful reef, a green flash sunset.... These types of things get us motivated.

We go in search of motivation very soon.

Contigo is docked in Cape Canaveral, Florida and we are in Phoenix to visit our new Granddaughter. Margot Rae was born February 25th and she, Mom and Dad are doing great. We are very excited and Jody can't lay her down.

While we were in Phoenix, we hired a marine electrician to install a new Lithium Battery House Bank, and do any necessary rewiring. He should be done just about the time we get back to the boat.

We also decided to replace our jib. We ordered a new 110% Jib with a high clew, sometimes referred to as a Yankee or Jib-Top. We are cutter rigged and this sail works very well with our staysail. We ordered from an online sail loft called Precision Sails. They have a good reputation and the ETA was better than the local loft. We expect to have the sail before March 1st.... fingers crossed!

I need to service the engine and have the bottom cleaned before we leave. We will also do a big provisioning run to stock up.

If all goes to plan we will depart our slip March 1st and sail South, along the Florida Coast, to position ourselves for the Gulf Stream crossing to The Bahamas. No Name Harbor on the bottom of Key Biscayne is a great waiting room for the right weather to cross.

What is the right weather you might ask?

No North component wind over say...10 knots. Preferably wind would be from the South or Southwest. The Gulf Stream is a river of water running North at 1-3 knots, maybe more in places. If the wind blows against that North flow of water, the waves will stack up quickly and it can be dangerous.

So we wait.

In the meantime we are enjoying our last couple days with our newly expanded family and try to write a post.