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Tips and Tricks, Tips and Warning

In Norman Cay

At Atlantic City

In Solomon Island

At Allens Cay

PHONE: there is across all Bahamas calling card company BATELCO. We can call Canada for''cheap''. We must be careful because there are several kinds of calling cards which INDIGO which allows calls only from Nassau or Freeport.

INTERNET: (a laptop) We bought a marine antenna (www.radiolabs.com) I strongly recommend you to be able to capture the waves of unsecured routers''''people who live on the banks where you have decided to throw your anchor . When you go down, you wonder where are the HOT SPOT or internet cafes. The marinas usually have WI-FI with a secure code, you get their code.

YAHOO MESSENGER OR SKYPE : Another way to talk with your family, your computer through the Internet. By cons, it takes a excellenete internet connection, ie from near''router''. Otherwise, you'll have a conversation broken or you hear the caller but he will not hear you, and vice versa. It takes a good set of headphones and a microphone. I had Yahoo Messenger and it cost me 1.9 cents a minute in the Bahamas and 1 on the American coast. I'm using it again in Quebec under a minute because it's really cheap!

PERSONAL WEBSITE: There are several sites where you can build and nurture your logbook with photos that your family and friends (that you left for a few months) will be glad to read and see . I advise you to start at home to familiarize yourself to navigate it. Me, I made discoveries along the journey that has improved my blog over the months. I had included (Google Map) a WHERE COXILY, c ie, people could know where the boat was, and his itinerary. At first, I put my photos on the site with maximum pixels (3000) ... thing not to do because it took about 3 minutes to download. While that in taking pictures and decreasing them at 500 pixels, it took about twenty seconds.

BUSINESS CARD'''': It is a card-style''case''where you have a photo of your boat above (we had also put in a corner of the photo of our family) and information such as the name of your boat, your crew names, email address, your blog address, the no. IMMS, the call sign of VHF radio for those who have their license, etc.. Almost all boats have one and we made the exchange.

shortwave radio (receiver only): I recommend you have one on board because you can take the weather (ex: Chris Parker), Captain's Network, Network of small boats, Cruiseheimer Net, etc. . Check internet frequencies and broadcast hours. These networks broadcast bulletins weather that are specific to the area sailed. Most useful for us because it was being meteorologist Chris Parker, it does not simply repeat information as NOAA or other, he makes the interpretation from personal experience. You can subscribe to a daily weather report you can receive as email using a satellite phone or shortwave radio connected to your computer via a modem Pactor. We did not have this service but it often happened that we were sailing with someone who had and let us know.

WEATHER: On American coast, it takes good weather with the radio but we must take care to listen carefully because it gives the regions can mingle easily. You get used ... There are also websites. NOAA is a great site. Besides the weather is the VHF NOAA.

the Bahamas :
Warderick Well = park that gives the weather every morning in the Exumas via VHF.
Georgetown : on the VHF net every morning around 8:00
Abaccos : the VHF Net in Marsh Harbour and we also obtain information as to whether the Cut Whale can pass through.
Long Island, Cat Island, Conception Island, Rum Cay, etc.. you listen to shortwave radio (Chris Parker in our case)

VHF : It is essential to have a VHF radio in good shape and very long range on 25 W. I also recommend a VHF portable because it is in the zodiac. IMMS = DSC number that must be purchased before you leave. He used to call in the privacy of the other boats (which obviously also a DSC). It gives the GPS point of the sailboat that call if it is connected to VHF. The ultimate purpose is that it serves to make a distress call simply by weighing a specific button. Because you have obtained a number giving the specific information of your boat and your passengers are faster relief to know that they have to do.

GPS: It Takes a trip computer and even more safety, a portable GPS (if either of the two fail, you will have the other). GPS phones can be brought into the zodiac and go in search of a wreck!

ZODIAC AND ENGINE : The size of the zodiac varies depending on the number of people on board. At the bottom rigid or semi-rigid, we can start planing. Planing: Climbing on the water under the effect of speed. In my opinion, it is important to start planing for example, if you want to visit a wreck or go fishing on a beautiful coral head 3 miles from the sailboat, it allows you to do it quickly and save gasoline. Then, 9.9 Forces for 2 people is fine but it takes a 15 hp for a family of 5 people like us (including 2 children were the size of an adult). We had a 9.9 and we have never been planing the 5 Overall, despite the fact that we bought a plate to set foot on the outboard.

CAN ON DECK: It takes buckets of water (blue), cans of diesel (yellow) and gas cans (red) on the bridge. Always be full because if you have a breakdown or lack of water, as for example in Berry's Islands, you'll have your safety on deck ... gas stations and drinking water are scarce commodities in some places. Whenever you are near a gas station (mostly in a marina) or point of water, fill up! Do not put off until later because you may have missed an opportunity to a new adventure. Attach containers on the deck to a board attached to two candlesticks. This board will also serve in the locks, as fenders, not to dirty your sailboat and defenses, leaving it hanging outside.

ANODES: By providing more than enough ... we have seen too many missing sailboat ... misinformed about the amount to be made, quite different fresh water from salt water! The anode (a period of 2 to 3 months in salt water) being the softest metal, the propeller shaft or your transmission will not be disaggregated by Electrolysis as you will get one in good health''.'' I give you an example: we started Sept. 11 and arrived in Quebec on Dec. 11 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida = completely melted, gone ... oh oh! Some models of anodes are very difficult to find in the U.S. and even more difficult in the Bahamas, ie of not discoverable at all!

BOILER BOTTOM TRANSPARANT : Take a boiler round in circles and cut the bottom about 1 inch of edge. Put a sealer (inside the edge of an inch) and affix a transparent plexiglass. You will have a boiler through which you can see the funds marine and your anchor if it is ingrained. A large magnifying glass ...

private beaches! : On the net VHF in Marsh Harbour, we learned that in all the Bahamas there is no beach that is completely private. Until the visual mark of high tide, it belonged to the Queen and Bahamian government today! So theoretically you can go anywhere ...

SAILBOAT-PAL : Definition: A sailboat with which you are traveling for a short or long term. If you choose to travel from A to Z''''with a sail or friends and always the same, you may not be other meetings since travel in pairs or groups will not let you really that beautiful opportunitie. You should decide on the move in the other consequences and vice versa. Sometimes, it can create strong links ... Maybe that's what you're looking for ... We preferred to build lots of links with Quebec, American, Ontario, Australians, Italians, etc.. All sorts of ways of living, different mentalities and lively discussions on topics related to his land ... or province.

MARITIME CARDS: We had the brilliant idea of putting a small arrow with a sticky end (the 3M Company that makes it a bit like post-it) to always know where we were on the map. We change our way to each of the buoys ... very useful on the American coast but not in the Bahamas because there is no buoy. At each of our peeps on the map, we did not need to look where we were made, we could see very well in a single glance.

Lake Champlain : we "Lake Champlain Atlas of Navigational Charts" RW Vogel
Hudson River : we "Hudson NY River City to Troy Lock Waterproof Charts
Locks : we "NY State Canal
The Intracoastal : we had" The Intracoastal Charbook, Norfolk (Virginia) to Miami (Florida).
A guide absolutely indispensable and very special to both Bob Skipper is "Anchorages Along the ICW. Hudson River to the Florida Keys. It has served us for all places and was only $ 16 on sale in Waterford Lock. For crossing the Gulf Stream we enjoyed "The intracostal the Guide" Luke Bernuy. There mention of how To this''tedious''(in our case) crossing.

The Bahamas: "Explorer Chartbook" REFERENCE for navigation in the Bahamas
1) "Near Bahamas"
2) "Far Bahamas"
3) "Exumas and Ragged Islands"

By Steven J. Pavlidis
1) "The Exuma Guide"
2) "The Abacco Guide"
3) "On and Off the Beaten Path, The Central and the Southern Bahamas Guide"
Do not buy because it is completely unnecessary, "Yachtsman's Guide To The Bahamas, "unless you want to do as marinas ...