Cruiser Tips for Slipping the Lines To Go Sailing
I’ve done my fair share of cruising. A bunch of trips to the Bahamas. A three-year stint in Belize and Guatemala. Thousands of coastal miles in Florida. I always came back in one piece, although I can’t say the same for my boats.
My “go sailing” checklist was a simple one: Make sure my 40,000-pounot center-cockpit Endeavor ketch Wind’s End was in tip-top shape. Have plenty of fuel filters and a spare part or two. Lay in a month’s supply of wine, beer, rum and ballyhoo for trolling for dinner. Charge up my Iridium sat phone. Pay my annual SPOT subscription. Check in with weather router Chris Parker. File a float plan with my shoreside support team. Add in a fresh cannister of mace (if the country I was traveling to permitted). Buy a one-way ticket for my wife to join me at my destination (Colleen loves to sit at anchor but hates the “sailing part”).
When I lived on the Gulf Coast of Florida, navigation was simple. Head out through Charlotte Harbor, turn left, and let the seas unfold enroute to points south. I stopped long distance cruising when I moved to Annapolis, but I can’t get that feeling of the wind and waves of those midnight passages out of my system. Luckily there are a number of cruising sailors within hailing distance of my South River home.
Annapolis sailors Taylor and Alex Berg and Jeff and Cameron Bach take a more disciplined approach to stocking up their respective vessels in preparation for months spent cruising south to Florida and beyond.
Living the dream with their 36-foot Catalina MKII Westwind
Jeff (60) and his wife of 37 years Cameron (55) Bach have the best of both worlds. Presently, Westwind is snugged up to a dock at Palm Cay Marina on the Bahamas’ New Providence Island. The couple pays around $1200 per year for dockage and makes frequent trips via air to cruise Bahamian locales.
“We’ve made the 1200-mile trip from Annapolis to the Bahamas twice. It takes about a month and takes a toll on us and on the boat. We figured better to put the boat in a safe place and use it as a base to explore. That gives us more time on the water, and Nassau is a convenient port of call for friends and family to sail with us.”
Both Jeff and Cameron have full-time jobs. Jeff sells commercial real estate, and Cameron runs a pottery business in Annapolis called Quirk-Bach Pottery.
Jeff credits his $2500 investment in a marine-grade version of Starlink as “a game changer.” He says, “I get better WiFi speed with Starlink on the boat than I do at home. Although it uses a lot of power, it is totally worth it to have your own private WiFi connection anywhere in the world.” Monthly costs run around $250.
The Bachs’ priority while cruising is safety: “We have all the tools we need to feel safe on the water. That starts with good lifejackets and extends to Radar, AIS (Vesper), B&G Chartplotter, and Navionics. We also have a backup sextant and paper charts for the US East Coast and the Bahamas. Guests we welcome onboard appreciate our attention to safety.”
The couple generally provisions for 60 days. Here are their tips:
- Canned goods go a long way. Mark contents with a Sharpie, and take the labels off (roaches like to lay eggs in the glue between the cans and labels).
- Long-lasting veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes) are good to hang in nets in the galley.
- Freeze meats in small portions in Ziploc bags.
- No cardboard boxes. Can be roach motels.
- When something breaks, buy two!
- Keep plenty of fuel filters, belts, impellers, clamps, spare nuts and bolts, extra wire, and anodes.
- Be competent in performing simple repairs.
Annapolis Sailboat Show attendees may recognize Jeff from his work at the Boat Show’s Influencer Sailing Channel cruising booth “Cruisers Creating Content.”
Jeff and Cameron have this advice for people contemplating the cruising lifestyle: “You’ll never be fully prepared. You’ve just got to untie the lines… Get out there. Just do it!”
A baby onboard changes the Bergs’ cruising plans
Alex and Taylor Berg have been married for five years and have been cruising almost as long.
The Bergs are among a growing group of younger (under 40) sailors who have taken advantage of technology and flexible work environments to cast off the dock lines and explore the world by sailboat.
Literally born onboard, Alex grew up cruising with his parents. He bought a 1987 Sabre 34 named Isabela 11 years ago. Taylor has “bought in” to the cruising lifestyle since the “I do’s.” Their first trip South was an uneventful voyage in October 2020, crossing to the Bahamas on Valentine’s Day, 2021. They spent 100 days cruising around until returning to Georgia for the summer.
In 2023, they crossed to the Abacos on President’s Day. Later that year, Alex motored his 17-foot center console Scout across the Gulf Stream. “The crossing was rough, but having that boat with us in the Bahamas was really great for fishing and exploring,” he says.
In late 2023, the couple welcomed a baby girl, Isla, into their cruising family. They crossed the Gulf Stream yet again in 2024 with the then-six-month-old baby onboard.
“We cruised around the Abacos for six weeks and returned to the States. With the arrival of Isla, we made the decision to not to haul the boat down south but to sail her to Annapolis.”
The Bergs arrived in late June. Their sailboat now makes her home at the Annapolis City Marina.
“My advice to folks sailing with a youngster is to do all you can before they get mobile! Once they are crawling, it’s a full-time job to keep track of them and to keep them occupied,” says Taylor.
Although technically Taylor is available to help Alex with the sailing of the boat, “It’s just not practical with the baby to delegate much for her to do. Taking care of Isla is a full-time job,” says Alex.
The couple divides up the provisioning for their voyages. Alex is a successful spear fisherman, and the larder is always full with fish, conch, and lobster.
“We try to make meals on a theme and use similar ingredients to make different dishes. How many times can you cook conch? Chowder. Fritters. Ceviche. Always something new in the galley,” says Taylor.
Alex likes to store the dry goods himself. “That way I know where everything is,” he says. He puts the chips and beer on top. “There’s always somebody stopping by for a party.”
Alex takes most stores out of the packaging, including boxed wine. “Also, find out what day the mail boat arrives! That’s key for fresh vegetables,” says Taylor.
The couple rents a mooring ball for $30 per day in Hopetown in the Abacos. “That’s a good jumping off point.”
The Bergs will spend the summer in Annapolis and start thinking about their next voyage. “Right now, we’re thinking the northeast: New York and Maine,” says Alex.
He says the key to a successful voyage is “Check the weather; check the weather; check the weather. That, plus check mechanicals, check charts for updates, get paperwork in order, and make sure all your safety gear is in working order. Oh… did I say check the weather?”
Humorist Mark Twain said it best: Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bow lines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~By Craig Ligibel
Find more cruising tips here.
