Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map SV Catsaway finally made it to the Bahamas!! After a few weeks away from the boat, we finished provisioning and preparing for the crossing. We waited for an ideal weather window - light winds and definitely nothing coming the North. We checked multiple weather sources, including a meteorologist friend. The day was forecasted to be winds of 10-15 knots coming from the east. It would be blowing directly against us, but we went with it anyways. We left Dinner Key Marina with buddy boats Bandera and Be As You Are at 3:00am. Crossing Biscayne Bay was dark and quiet. Going out the inlet was a strange experience - swells that are close together and gradually getting bigger that you can’t see - you can only feel. We headed south for the first part of our journey, as the Gulf Stream would be gradually pushing us north. It was clear when we got into the stream; our southern motion stopped being so extreme and started showing in the charts as an easterly heading. Even though we had waited a couple of days to let the stream die down, it was still choppy and confused. There was no regularity to the swell and wave pattern, which gave us the feeling of being in a washing machine. Both of us became seasick, but managed to shake it off as the journey continued. Catching 3 tuna certainly helped perk us up! After about 13 hours of motoring, we pulled into the Blue Water Marina in Bimini. Greg went off the boat to customs while Diana cleaned up. Everything went smoothly and when Greg came back, we celebrated by raising the Bahamian courtesy flag, and eating our fresh fish. The cats also enjoyed dinner! The next day, we anchored north of the marina and explored Bimini. We also went to BTC to get our data plans sorted out, and stopped at the local liquor store to buy some cheap rum. Surprise surprise - our one tank of propane ran out, so we went to get it filled up. Figures! We wanted to stay in Bimini longer, but the perfect weather window was opening to cross the banks. We left the next morning at 7am to meet buddy boats Bandera, Be As You Are, and Jennabird. While leaving the marina, Bandera had issues with the prop. We offered to wait while Michael dove on the prop, but they told us to go ahead. Unfortunately we had to part ways as it was discovered that Bandera needed an entire new propeller shaft. We continued across the banks with Jennabird and Be As You Are. At first the winds were against us, but they eventually clocked around to a close reach and we put up full sail and stopped the engine. The 15-20 knot winds continued, switching to a beam reach and then a broad reach - and Catsaway took off. She rewarded us with over 8 knots of speed ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xRv2S3Y0PY

Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map The humans of the crew of SV Catsaway travel to Cape Cod, Massachusetts to complete the boat survey on "Rhapsody" (the original name of SV Catsaway). We met with Angel from Mass Maritime Marine, who performed a thorough and unhurried survey. Due to time and money constraints, the survey was done on the hard without a sea trial. Since the engine could not be tested under load, an engine escrow was included in the original offer to purchase documents. Things the boat survey brought up: 1) Electrical was well done but the inverter was old and recommended to be replaced 2) Centreboards were only painted halfway 3) A few cracked windows 4) Old solar panels Since our timeline is short (departure date September 1st), we wanted to ensure that everything below the waterline was taken care of. After receiving the results of the survey, the owner kindly agreed to sand and repaint the centreboards so the vessel could be ready for immediate launch. After completing the boat survey, we spent the evening in Hyannis Port, Barnstable. Next episode: stay tuned for the transport of SV Catsaway and her launch into Lake Ontario. Thanks for watching! The crew of SV Catsaway (Diana, Greg, Jazz and Hercie) Credits: “Super Friendly” by Dave Depper “Lucky Me” by Scott Holmes “Summer Fun” by Scott Holmes Intro video “Waves In Sunset” from Videezy.com ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avIjWNpeZZY

Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map This week Diana’s parents came to visit us in Kingston, Ontario. We took them on a brief sail (the winds were light and later died), and then later enrolled them to help us remove the old name from the hull. Finding out what worked for our boat was helpfully fueled by the marina community. What seemed to work best was a combination of using a heat gun, a razor scraper, goo gone and some rubbing compound. Greg spent much of the day re-wiring part of the boat and installing DC cell phone chargers. He was successful in his attempts and now we have several fast charging ports! The following day, Diana’s parents left and we decided to try to sail on a beam reach with the assistance of our centreboards. Though Catsaway ended up travelling quickly - between 8 to 9 knots - there was a lot of leeway motion. We were actually getting blown backwards from our goal. We knew that catamarans struggle upwind, but we weren’t expecting so much difficulty. One more thing to add to the list - how to efficiently sail upwind! Coming back into the dock, there was a strong wind, accentuated with windy gusts. Diana started her approach into the slip alright, but as she slipped the boat into neutral, the vessel was immediately blown towards our starboard side. Greg ran around pushing our boat away from others and we successfully backed out. On our second attempt, Diana hugged the port side more and used more throttle to combat the effects of the wind. It also helped a lot that two of our neighbours came out to help us! Next week’s task: Removing the rest of the name, and figuring out how to sail upwind! Music Credits: Invincible by DEAF KEV Invisible Light by Josh Woodward Social Media: instagram.com/svcatsaway facebook.com/svcatsaway twitter.com/svcatsaway Need Cat Stuff? https://SVCatsaway.com ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZrZ2F94xJg

Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map This week we relax and explore Cat Island. We anchored outside of Rolleezz Resort. Carl and Yvonne are very welcoming to cruisers and encouraged us to hang out at the resort and use the facilities. We borrowed a couple of bikes and headed into Old Bight. Cat Island has a lot of history; many plantations were established here. The church in Old Bight is still in service and was the first church for freed slaves in the Bahamas. The next stop was New Bight and there was a lot to explore. We visited The Hermitage, a medieval style monastery hand built by Father Jerome. The ruins of a great plantation house also remain. We treked the 2 miles to the windward side in search of sea beans (we didn't find any) and sea glass (we found a lot!). There is a lot of garbage on the windward beaches, but the Bahamas is doing something about it - they are banning the use of single use plastics and styrofoam by 2020. After New Bight, we made the jump to Orange Creek. The reefs around Orange Creek are spectacular - we could see the colour from the waters surface! It felt rejuvenating to be around this much live coral and sealife; we realize now that many reefs we have visited are in the process of being bleached. The documentary Chasing Coral is a good explanation on why this is happening. www.chasingcoral.com Greg finally speared his first lobster on the last day of lobster season! We spent the evening in Arthur Town, enjoying the Cat Island Humane Society Benefit. Thanks to all our friends there for their assistance in our cat emergency last episode. Film Credit of our acro performance from Harry and Alicia on Jennabird. Photo of our acro flight with little ones by Barb Baumann. Credits: Happiness - Ben Sound https://BenSound.com Funny Song - Ben Sound https://BenSound.com Fix You - Cold Play The Next (Instrumental Version) - Josh Woodward https://JoshWoodward.com Wholesome - Dave Depper Acoustic Breeze - Ben Sound https://BenSound.com Sunny - Ben Sound https://BenSound.com Social Media: instagram.com/svcatsaway facebook.com/svcatsaway twitter.com/svcatsaway ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feRQzY0P-X4