Trip to the Bahamas in a Macgregor 26

Before I launch into a description of my Bahamas trip in a Macgregor 26, I should preface it with a warning: DON’T DO THIS! That having been said, I’ll tell you how I did it.

In a nut shell: Drive the boat down I95 to Palm Beach’s Lake Worth Inlet and motor over to Grand Bahama’s West End.

The only time I have the slightest interest in making a trip like this is in the dead of winter. There are lots of bugs down there in the summer and besides, the Chesapeake is tough to beat. Unfortunately though, in the winter, the weather is rarely conducive to a pleasant gulf stream crossing. The winds are predominantly North, opposing the flow of the stream and whipping it up into a confused cauldron of squareish waves that make 8 feet feel like 18. If you don’t have the time to wait for a favorable weather window, you’d be better off going on down to the keys (see other South Florida Adventure.)

I did my first Bahamas trip in a Macgregor 26X in January of 1998. My friend Charlie and I left Virginia in the early A.M. (Our wives were flying round trip to Freeport to participate in only the sheltered cruising part of the trip.) Driving straight through we took the Blue Heron Parkway exit to Palm Beach Shores and launched in the wee hours at a public facility there right on the causeway where Blue Heron Parkway crosses the ICW. It is the closest ramp to Lake worth inlet which is the closest inlet to Grand Bahama.

It was our intention to leave at first light. Unfortunately, the report was not favorable so we decided to wait out a day. We spent the day catching up on sleep at the anchorage in Lake Worth. In the evening we went to a little crab shack just across the pkwy on the west side of the waterway. We still had the car and trailer so we drove over to dinner. We had pretty much decided that it would be safe to leave them in the nearly empty lot of the launch ramp since we would only be gone for a week.

When Day broke the next morning, we were a little nervous but felt ready. We motored out of the inlet in conditions that were quite calm and didn’t feel compelled to use the ballast. We were therefore making 15 or 16 kts for the first hour or so. Just as the tallest of Palm Beach’s buildings were disappearing over the western Horizon behind us though, we began entering the edge of the Stream and experienced a very disconcerting drop in our comfort level. The waves were steep enough to kick the prop up out of the water when we came over a crest and each time that happened, the Honda would red line with a near zero load and we would lose steerage until it dropped back down.

We quickly filled the ballast tank and dropped the rudders and a little bit of center board to help with the steerage problem. The movement remained uncomfortable but at least we were in control.

As the hours ticked by, we had a number of reassurances that kept the edge off of our nervousness. One was passing a couple of other sailboats on the same basic course, evidently with the same destination. The biggest comfort by far though came from our little hand held Magellan GPS. Every half hour we’d take a reading and, invariably, we were 5 miles closer to our destination.

We made it to West End in early afternoon and tied up at the Jack Tar Marina, feeling like seasoned veterans as we cleared customs and replaced our yellow quarantine flag with the Bahamas flag. We left the Macgregor and went off in search of a pay phone to let our wives know that we were alive. This proved to be rather difficult in West End for though phone booths were common enough, none (including the one in front of the BATELCO facility) seemed to work. I suspect we walked nearly 5 miles before we could make the call. By then it was getting late and we decided just to catch a ride on down to Freeport and stay the night in the Club Fortuna hotel that our wives had been forced into the previous night. This ended up being a mistake as these Bahamian clubs only give reasonable rates for package deals. If you just drop in you can expect to pay around $300 for a night.. Nonetheless, we all crowded into the one room and made the best of it. That was more easily accomplished after a wonderful dinner out in Port Lucaya.

The next morning our same driver was waiting as arranged to take the four of us back up to West End. We filled up the two nine gallon tanks we had used in the crossing (The Honda 6 Gallon reserve was still full) and headed back out into the Atlantic for the cruise around the island. When we got around the point we raised the main and opened the jib and the north west wind pushed us all the way back around to our Port Lucaya destination; A delightful day running and reaching in the turquoise water with flying fish skimming the surface and a tropical paradise off to port.

We pulled into the Port Lucaya marina in time to make dinner on board after checking in and tying up. At 25c/foot, we were able to enjoy all the facilities (pool, Jacuzzi, showers, laundry) for just $19/night. The two other couples we knew vacationing in Freeport joined us for dinner and we made arrangements to meet the next morning and take the Macgregor (with all eight of us) out to a little deserted island for a picnic.

We pulled back out of Port Lucaya into another Perfect Bahamian winter day and in less than an hour motoring east (ballast in with a crew this large) we reached the little island and pulled in over the reef. We were able to anchor in knee deep water and step off of the stern, carrying the cooler ashore.

The little island’s reef was a skin diver’s paradise and we all kicked around after lunch, marveling at the colors and enjoying the unbelievable contrast with the gray dreary January we’d left behind in Virginia.

The rest of our week on Grand Bahama passed uneventfully, lying on one beach or other eating cracked conch and drinking the altogether more affordable American beer we’d brought across with us in the Macgregor. We put our wives on the plane on our last evening there and headed out at first light back across the Gulf Stream. On the Return trip we made even better time since the wind had clocked around to the east. We made it from Port Lucaya back to Lake Worth inlet in exactly 8 hours. The stream wasn’t whipped up so badly this time so the boat’s movement was altogether more comfortable and we were able to relax a bit more and enjoy the incredible isolation that the ocean offers , just a few miles from such dense populations.

The Macgregor with the Honda 50 did everything it was supposed to (and indeed a bit more.) We took it apart and put it back on the Highway headed north by mid afternoon. Soon after dark, somewhere in South Georgia, we ran into a cold rain and I had a nearly irrepressible urge to turn this marvelous craft around and take it back down to where the summer never ends.

If You Go:

Wait for the right weather (Winds calm or from the South if possible.)

Take a GPS and all Coast Guard Safety equipment and as much fuel, produce and beer as you can (all much cheaper in the U.S.)

Also, bring a good cruising guide to the Bahamas and, of course, all NOAA Charts.

And last but certainly not least, if you really want to have a good time, take a Macgregor 26x!