The Cruising Life

We have settled into the Georgetown area… anchored at Monument Beach. I have had a few requests to hear about our life on the boat, so I thought I’d give you a little idea of the cruising life. While cruising the Exuma’s, we are basically “on the hook” (anchoring ) every night. We very seldom go to Marinas. So, with that being said, we have to make sure all of the boat components are working properly, and that is a job in itself.

Luckily Captain Wayne is good at keeping an eye on everything and in the event that something isn’t right, he is usually able to fix it . It’s very important to have spare parts aboard since it is sometimes difficult to find the part you need.

Our Boat is a 2000 Ocean Alexander 423 Classico 42′ . She has a guest stateroom in the bow, and a master stateroom in the aft cabin. This is the first time we have had an master aft stateroom, and we are finding it great. Very quiet and less bumpy in windy conditions.

We were very lucky when we found this boat. Everything was in great shape and we really didn’t have to do to much to it. Much thanks to Rob and Andrea.. the previous owners.

Our Flybridge is one of our favorite spots. This is where we drive from but we do have a small helm station in the main salon. This is where we hangout most of the time when we are anchored.

Now the important stuff. Besides the engines, which makes it possible to keep on the move, there are quite a few other components that are necessary and need to function properly to make cruising enjoyable. As Wayne always says… “We need to keep out little city working”.

These items include the generator, which when running makes our electricity. We also have a few solar panels which helps reduce our need to run the generator every day. Another very important item is our water maker. It’s hard to believe, but the the water maker takes salt water and turns it into delicious drinkable water. If you don’t have a water maker, you have to rely on getting water at marinas and usually at a steep cost (especially in The Bahamas)

The Water Maker, which makes 40 Gallons per hour (Generator needs to be running) is located down below aft deck. Our 3 solar panels total 630 watts.

And last but not least, is our lithium battery bank which keeps our 12 volt lights, refrigeration, and plug outlets going between charges. Our solar panels do a great job of keeping those items charged up.

So that is how we are able to live on the water for months at a time without visiting a marina to plug in and recharge the whole system. It is definitely a work in progress and keeps Wayne on his toes watching over it all.

Chat n’ Chill beach, Georgetown. This is the main hub of Georgetown beaches. Most popular during the annual Cruising Regatta. A lot of the boats in the harbor join the fun for about 10 days of different events. Sailboat races, volleyball, Bocce, and many more. In past years, we joined the fun for most of it. This year, we only participated in the Bocce tourney. Did pretty well… Got the semi finals.

We have been hiking the different trails to the oceanside beaches looking for shell treasures.. One of my favorite pastimes..

After all that bad weather last month, since we have been in Georgetown we have had some beautiful warm days… Time to get back in the water.

Take care all… until next post… have fun and be well.