Welcome to the weblog of the sailing vessel Strathspey. Follow us, Mary and Blair Buchanan, as we cruise the Great Lakes (our home waters) and our big trip to the Bahamas and back via the coastal waters of the Eastern Seaboard.

Click here to see where we are today. When you get to the WINLINK site, scroll down to see the various maps indicating our position.

Strathspey in the Bahamas

We took about 11 months to sail from Trident Yacht Club, in the 1000 Islands of Eastern Lake Ontario, to the Bahamas and back. The voyage took us down the Saint Lawrence River, through the Strait of Canso and down the east coast of North America. The return trip took us back to Lake Ontario via the Hudson River and the Erie Canal. The trip is summarized in the following statistics:

Total distance: 6211 nautical miles (11,503 Km)
Total Days: 338 (189 in transit and 149 sitting still)
Average distance on an ‘active’ day: 18.38 nautical miles (34 Km)
Longest passage: 139 Nm (257 Km)
Shortest Passage: 0.05 Nm (0.9 Km)
Nights anchored: 170 (51%)
Nights moored: 48 (14%)
Nights Docked: 115 (35%)
Total engine hours: 1217
Nautical miles per engine hour: 5
Warmest sea water temperature: 28C, Coldest: 6.8C
Oil changes: 9 (135 hours per change)
Anode changes: 3
Number of times the head was rebuilt: 3
Groundings: 2 soft, 1 hard
Trips up the mast: 1
Number of times two or more anchors were used: 0
Tubes of Flitz metal polish used: 3
Acts of mutinous conduct: 0
Things that broke and had to be replaced: Charger/inverter, refrigerator, VHF radio, windlass Gypsy (3 times), electronic bilge switch, electric transom door motor
Number of tools dropped overboard: 1 (allen key)
Type of antifouling paint: Micron CSC (excellent performance)