Having spent the fall and holidays on land, we were excited to return to Tilia just before the New Year. Of course, there was a lot of preparation to complete prior to leaving our home marina in Merritt, NC.
- We reviewed the work that we’d had done on the boat in our absence. As usual, the crew at the marina had done an outstanding job, a real plus to keeping Tilia there when we are away.
- Provisioning: we filled two carts beyond the brim at the local grocery store. We’d kept notes on what we wanted to do differently this year, based on our experience last season. We’ve learned what is easy or difficult to find in the small shops we can access in the Bahamas.
- Pre-cooking meals: it’s nice to have some pre-cooked meals in the freezer or fridge so we don’t have to spend a lot of time in the galley, especially if the conditions get rough.
- Stowing; one of the advantages of the Antares, as we’ve mentioned, is it is designed for liveaboards, which means lots of storage. It’s amazing how much food you can tuck away, as long as you don’t mind crawling under beds to get it! Once again, we’ve separated food in bins by the month, to keep things organized and not eat all our favorite foods in the first month.
- Weather routing: since we want to go directly to the Bahamas if possible, we have been watching the weather, looking for a good “window.” We watch wind speed and direction, wave height and direction, and of course for storms. Predictions can change over the course of a day as high and low pressure systems develop (or stall), so the routing plan is frequently evolving. We did hire a professional weather router, but we do our own review as well.
- Catching up with old friends: since many of the Antares boats docked in the US are in our little marina in NC, there is always at least a few people we’ve come to know well in the area. We’ve learned to take advantage of the times we are in one place and so had several fun dinners and lunches to catch up.
- Welcome our crew: the journey to the Bahamas is expected to run 4-6 days, and while we could do it with just the two of us, it’s much more comfortable to have three to share the watches. Fortunately, our friend Brian who has crewed with us several times before, is able to join us for this journey! He’s a great addition.
Having completed our preparations, we traveled about 6 hours down the intracoastal waterway to spend the night at a marina in Morehead City, NC. This put us right at the Beaufort Inlet, a convenient way to head out to sea and begin our journey.
Today, the weather window opened and we have set off! Our general plan is to parallel the coast down to about Jacksonville, FL, and then make a turn towards the Bahamas. This gives us the best chance of a comfortable passage and also allows us to easily duck into port if needed. We’ll keep a close eye on the weather and adjust our plans accordingly. It’s great to get the boat moving.
