#5 Sailing the Caribbean: Georgetown to the Dominican Republic

[@76mosdef]

Yes, indeed, you do live once... you all are living it up!! I truly enjoy watching "Catchin' Rays" journey. Keep it up!

[@kevtamus]

Mosdef76 Thanks for watching...and we do feel really lucky to be experiencing this adventure.

[@Sutcliffe371]

So great to watch these videos. Thank u . I sailed a couple of Bermuda runs with my dad in the 80s. He sailed on to England etc. on a Southern Cross 31. No life raft and only a sextant lol. Im 43 now but when I grow up , Im going to do it like u guys!!

[@kevtamus]

uainteasyb Thanks for watching and commenting. Sounds like you've got some good memories and were doing it even before all the technology...boggles my mind how it was ever done before chartplotters and GPS. And its nice to hear that somebody thinks we're doing it up right....huge compliment.

[@deanxxi]

Thanks for your videos, guys. You're just doing wonderful, both sailing and in your video productions.

[@kevtamus]

deanxxi Your welcome...and I think we're actually getting a good handle on our sailing techniques, its hard to believe when we left Key West that we didn't even know how to even dock the boat or how to set an anchor! Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@hnsail7598]

Thanks or the update Rays. You guys look like you're having the time of your lives. Looking forward to island hoping in the caribbean ourselves in the next year or so...we guess the chart plotter rj45 hack and water maker tweaks are working fine. I surely hope so. And thanks for the details on your previous vids. May come in handy for us in the future. Keep doing it guys! Heather and Nav.

[@kevtamus]

H N Sail Thanks...and yes, the chart plotter RJ45 cable has been working flawlessly. And the watermaker is kickin' ass too - but, we did make a mistake and were running it in rough seas, and it sucked air (somehow, even though the pickup is on the bottom of the hull) and it was running dry for a few minutes which wore out our Cat pump a little - now we have to run it with the feeder pump at all times....but it still gets up to 60 bar without a problem and still makes 12 gallons per hour - the problem is that most anchorages, marinas, and harbors that we've been in recently are too dirty to make water, and not by just a bit....I mean that there is no way you'd want to make water with some of the shit-mud you find where we've been. So it kind of limits you on production - if we are moving, then it is normally too rough, and if we're anchored or docked, the water is too shitty. The solution needs to be a self priming pump that doesn't need to be below the water line and will still prime if it sucks water. Thanks for watching.

[@Dougyelnats]

always a blast watching The Ray's...Thanks for sharing

[@SVLOKEE]

Great job on the video! Thanks for taking the time to post it and of course make the video. The red lines of travel on the Google image is awesome to see!

[@kevtamus]

Lo Kee Thanks, thanks, and thanks again! I'm glad that people are getting something out of the "red lines of travel" because they are a major pain to do - just when I think I've got the video just about edited, I've got to go pull all the images for locations and travel progression. Thanks for watching....and I always love reading comments (every time I go to my channel and see the bell lit up with a red number, I'm excited to see what the comment is.)

[@SailingMonea]

Ok, now you're making us seriously envious.... We had a snowstorm this morning. Take care guys!

[@kevtamus]

Sailing Monea Well that's the goal...and don't feel too bad, it got down to about 71 degrees last night...I actually had to pull up a light cover in addition to the sheet!! ha ha...thanks for watching and commenting.

[@SailingMonea]

s/v Catchin' Rays 51 degrees here. We're sleeping with the bedroom window open. :D

[@slateman74]

Awesome, I was waiting for you to make the DR. Enjoy.

[@JimJepson]

Hey guys, I'm enjoying the show. I used to live in the D.R. from 1989 to 1991. I really miss it. How did you like the people? Were they receptive to the boat and such? I've thought about where I'd go specifically to the country if I were to sail down there. Glad you stopped by the north coast. Thanks for the entertainment.

[@stbarry1954]

You making my dreams more possible..Great stuff Guys..

[@kevtamus]

barry mc Thanks....we feel like we're living out our dreams everyday and feel truly blessed to be experiencing such an awesome adventure. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@Sailingnations]

Love it! Definitely seems to be an amazing trip

[@patrickhogan4196]

You Guys are Just (ROCKING LIFE).Thanks again for sharing!

[@kevtamus]

Patrick Hogan Thanks man...and your welcome.

[@SailingNervous]

I really like this video.....thanks for posting it! I just found your channel... I like it and look forward to watching all the videos! - Vin

[@kevtamus]

Thanks for the kind words and for finally finding our channel. We might be making more soon...stay tuned.

[@shawnmcwhorter4538]

Sightings at night ha ha ha . I was off shore of St. Augustine on a two day fishing and diving trip and that night the radios started making a strange sound then we sighted a huge object further off shore (no radar) and it was moving fast and had lights slowly orbiting it. We started getting more and more freaked out our loran C dropped out and the inference on the radios was getting louder and louder. Finally after a half hour we figured out what it was. An AIRCRAFT CARRIER doing flight ops. LOL

[@kevtamus]

+Shawn McWhorter Yeah...that would have freaked us out too...while sailing at night isn't horrible, stuff like that can sure get your attention.

[@Jimmy47904]

Liven' the dream...cool. Thanks for sharing.

[@onlyychevys]

Loving the vid's guys! Jealous as hell though, lol. Looking like next year for me but I will be there. Fair winds S/V N2deep

[@kevtamus]

onlychevys Williams Thanks man...keep the dream alive.

[@davidnarvaez1950]

Another great video guys =)

[@MOTORVESSELFREEDOM]

Heading to Exhumas in next few weeks from Abaco

[@kevtamus]

John Ahern Cool...enjoy the nice and clear waters while in the Bahamas...didn't know we wouldn't find waters like that in the DR or PR...hopefully we'll find it again in the BVI's.

[@TrioTravels3]

Hey guys! Cool to see Steve in the video lending a hand. We're back home for a bit and finally got a chance to watch your videos. Left the Cat in Lauderdale. Quick couple questions; Where do you store all the Mahi and what the heck are you using on the end of the line!? Nice work. Nice Fish! Cheers!

[@kevtamus]

Trio Travels Hey, thanks for watching them and for the comment. But I'll have to figure out who Steve is because I'm sitting here scratching me head. But we have I think the same type of portable freezer thing that you do, but its much older. Our main fridge on the boat also freezes drinks and stuff, but more slowly...so we stacked them in the corner of that first and began eating on them. Then, as the pile diminished some, we froze the rest in the freezer. What we use is a purple/pink/black Mahi tuna wacker made by Boones. Its a little guy with pink feathers - and it worked best on both sides of Long Island, and has worked since, but nothing compared to there.

[@kevtamus]

Trio Travels oh...crap...I'm an idiot...Steve from s/v Uno....duh!!! I forgot this was the episode he was in. Yeah, Steve and Susan from Uno are awesome and have a great family and a great boat - we have to start at least 1 engine just to stay ahead of him (and he's only sailing!!!) or leave the anchorage 2 hours before him...ha ha

[@TheSkydiverphoenix]

Very nice sailing videos. Well Made and very interesting...

[@kevtamus]

***** Thanks very much...and thanks for commenting.

[@chrisgiersberg1910]

Hey great video's always looking to the next one. Hey what year is your Catchin' Rays

[@kevtamus]

Chris Giersberg Thanks for watching...our boat is a 1995 Fountaine Pajot Venezia and she has exceeded our expectations in her performance and she always feels safe no matter how rough the seas get.

[@u235chris]

We made it after 13hrs of travel and a little rain today. Takin in the easterly winds and heating up the grill for dinner. Ready to hit the east end beaches in the morning. Are you going to be around for the country music festival later this week.? Let us know if you make it back this way.

[@kevtamus]

u235chris Well, hopefully the sun comes out soon...we saw a good rain early this morning for the first time in a long time...also got a few showers on the way to Little Jost Van Dyke today. I've seen commercials on tv about the country music festival....when is it and where? We're not sure what direction we're going from here....we've been shadowing some other sailors for that last couple of days that we met in Georgetown...some are going to Anegada tomorrow and I'm not sure I want to go there yet....but if we do, it would only be a couple days and then we'd come back this way - still haven't hit the Soggy Dollar Bar, Foxy's, or Willie T's...so we still have a lot of things to see still. If I don't hear from you, I'll try and look that festival up on the internet. Have fun and stay in touch.

[@u235chris]

The music festival is on Jost at soggy dollar Thursday and then scheduled for Cruz Bay Fri/Sat.

[@sukaamak]

Very cool. videos.. been watching all of them.. hoping to live aboard soon... are you still on the sail... did you ever see sharks while diving... how was security....? Thanks.. keep up the sail...

[@kevtamus]

+Dale Fritz We are sitting here at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour today and going back to USVI's to drop off family on Sunday. Then we start packing stuff up to send to the US and head over to Tortola on Feb 1 to leave boat with broker. Yes, we did see a couple of sharks while diving (actually, our youngest son Brandon saw a couple of them while he was lobster hunting in the Bahamas - weird thing about it he said, was that when he saw it, it was hunting - usually on scuba dives they are real slow and methodical....but he actually saw one hauling ass as it was hunting prey - freaked him out a bit and he immediately called for the dinghy to pick him up. Other than that, we saw those two sharks hanging around the back of the boat at the same location after we threw dinner scraps overboard - I think we were at Plana Cay. Then we just saw a few sharks while scuba diving off St. Croix - a little nerve-racking, but not too bad as the dive master was waving around a carabineer to get the shark to come to him for the camera shot.

[@sukaamak]

do you live near the water in the US... ? I live in Charleston SC... plan on heading to Keys soon to check it out...

[@u235chris]

Awesome videos. Just found your channel tonight and watched all your videos. What an adventure. Will you be visiting the Virgin Islands? We will be there starting May 10th for a few weeks.

[@kevtamus]

u235chris Hey...thanks for watching the videos, that's quite a marathon of videos to take in all at once.....damn! But yeah...in fact we are heading to the Virgin Island and should be there pretty soon and will be there for about a month or better. We head to Viequez tomorrow and then we'll be only 1 or 2 days away from finally getting to St. Thomas. From there we'll just be island hopping the hell out of some of the best cruising in the world.....should be better than the east-beating we've been doing for almost 4 months. What are you guys going to be doing there? Got a boat down there?

[@u235chris]

s/v Catchin' Rays Wish I had a boat in the virgin Islands. I am a pilot who loves adventure and recently got interested in learning to sail. I just want to get away from the M-F work routine. Just want to enjoy life like you guys. Me and my wife will be staying in St. John for 2 weeks having fun, touring and maybe taking a couple of day trips to the surrounding islands. If you guys stop by St. John let me know. It would be cool to meet up for a drink or out for an excursion.

[@kevtamus]

u235chris That would be cool...we will definitely be in the area around that time...you should let me know what area you guys will be in and maybe we can find an anchorage close to there so we could dinghy in for a Painkiller or two. But in addition to the sailing, the best part of this whole thing is not having to go to work - I was a med-surg nurse before this...and I don't miss it at all - I'm pretty sure I'll have to go to some program to teach me how to fit back into society again when we get done with this adventure.

[@u235chris]

s/v Catchin' Rays We'll be staying in Coral Bay for the first 5 days from May 10th - 15th then will be in Great Cruz Bay for the remaining 7 days. Also going to do a day trip to Jost Van Dyke (not sure which day yet) they have a bar called Soggy dollar which makes a good painkiller. Got to be nice not stuck in the daily grind.. Im also a nurse and worked for a while on an internal med floor and now am case manager (D/C planner) for the same floor. It pretty much funds my flying and our vacations.

[@kevtamus]

u235chris Awesome....yep we'll be around...in fact, go over to my blog and see my latest post about how you can see exactly where we are, at any time....its pretty cool. But man...a nurse huh? Wow....I remember when I use to be a nurse!! ha...man, I don't miss it - 3 yrs. on the Med/Surg floor was a test in perseverance...and I don't miss the 13 hour shifts one bit. Anyway...the Soggy Dollar is definitely on the list of places we are going - I've been saying I want to go there for more than 7 years and I ain't missing it!! Hopefully we can hook up....and Painkillers is about the only thing I'll drink...so I will be getting one of those there for sure.

[@Swizzenator]

You are correct! This is really really KIK AZZ. Betcha you got zero hours sleep that night crossing. And def #3 for hurricane season. #1 is a joke right ha. Cheers mon.

[@kevtamus]

***** Thanks.....and I have found that I can only sleep in the saloon when we do night crossings. I keep the chartplotter information on the saloon monitor so when I wake from dozing off, I can look up and glance at our position, speed, wind, etc.. even though someone is always sitting at the helm during the night. The cabins are too noisy with the waves constantly pounding the hulls and sleeping there is completely out for me - my wife and youngest son have no problem though, and sleep like babies no matter when. Yeah...#3 is the preferred choice at the moment. Thanks for the comment.

[@77Cfriend]

if you had a cat with dagger boards you would not need the motors so much, daggerboard cats if kept light sail better both up and downwind..................................great video guys and the work you did really paid off..................how did the watermaker go?

[@kevtamus]

77Cfriend Yeah, the daggerboard cats are nice, but we got what we got and am happy to have it - and we always dream of the bigger ones, but I think we're stuck with it and that's ok. The watermaker does well, but the only problem is that since its 12 volt it puts a massive drain on the battery bank even though we can run it when making 50 amps or more. It just struggles without the generator on. With the gen on, it does fine. But since we have to run it with gen on, we are thinking of converting over to a 110 volt electric motor, with bigger hp so that we can make more water per hour. Thanks for watching and for commenting.

[@TexastrafficCzar]

Video's just keep getting better! Hope you guys have safe passages. I know someone asked before but how are you getting the satelite images of your cat?

[@kevtamus]

John Gerhart I never knew they would go over so well. But here is the response to your question. Thanks for watching and commenting - love the feedback. So far, its the most asked question....hope the answer doesn't ruin the illusion. Thanks for watching. "I was wondering if someone would ask about that....which means I did a pretty good job. But I have had many more people ask about it than I ever imagined. And now I am almost embarrassed to admit how I did it...and maybe I should just tell everybody I have connections with NASA and they shoot a picture after I tell them my coordinates....but that's not the case.What I did is found my boat on Google Earth (it was still in the boatyard where I bought her)....grabbed that image...cut out all the surroundings, and paste it into where I am anchored and I try to position it the way that I am anchored, and I also "erase" the other boats that might be in the Google image. Its a little cheesy, but it gives our family and others a good idea of where we are and I think it works pretty good. Hope that doesn't ruin the idea that I have satellite images of each anchorage I visit. But it truly is an image of my boat."

[@TexastrafficCzar]

s/v Catchin' Rays Thats genius! Really nice effect! Its original and you own it now so it shouldn't be any other way!

[@kevtamus]

John Gerhart You don't know how that brings a smile to my face....I'm like all proud of myself now because I really didn't know how it would go over when I first did it - but seems like everybody has thought its pretty cool. Also, the reason I did it is because all the blogs and videos I have watched all leading up to our journey were so un-real to me - they would say they were at Georgetown or Staniel Cay but I didn't now where they were....I thought zooming into a location on a map with my cat in the pic facing the way the satellite image said I was...then cutting to the live shot ie the channel that led to the South Side Marina at Turks and Caicos...it just makes it more real and tangible. But I have also kinda worked myself into a corner with it too....I had the video all done except for the satellite images and the red-line paths....and it took forever to gather all those images and put my cat in the pictures...it looks cool and works...but man, its a major PITA.

[@MaverickSailing]

I hope to follow ya down there, once I get Maverick ship shape!

[@kevtamus]

Maverick Sailing When you heading out? I'll have to go over to your channel to see what you're up to. Thanks for watching and good luck on getting Maverick going!

[@kevtamus]

s/v Catchin' Rays Oh yeah...I've been to your channel...I remember...keep the dream alive!!

[@MaverickSailing]

I wasn't able to work on her for about a month after I was sideswiped on my motorcycle, but I'm back to work on the weekends.

[@nedrudt21]

When's the next video coming? Maybe a full boat tour?

[@kevtamus]

nedrudt21 Man, I've been working so hard on it and its coming together pretty good...almost done with all the video editing...then will come the narration. The full boat tour is coming pretty soon although we just provisioned again in Puerto Rico so when you have every nook and cranny and free space filled with food and provisions, it makes doing a tour a little difficult - but I will try and get that done soon. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@rudydog420]

I really like the creeper voice. You should do more of that.hahaha. thiers a guy that uses that voice on youtube when hes playing video games on line. Il have to fined it for you. Its a gd laugh.

[@kevtamus]

rudydog420 Cool...but damn, I thought I was being original!! Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@RNZN102939]

Hi again Chart Plotter, use the force Luke, lol alls good Regards Brian s

[@shawnmcwhorter9372]

You do a great job on your videos.

[@kevtamus]

Shawn McWhorter Thanks man....we work really hard on them and always try to keep improving. Thanks for watching and for the kind words.

[@sukaamak]

Spoke to soon before seeing the shark.. any big ones?

[@TheLawnCareNut]

You guys are selfie stick masters lol.

[@kevtamus]

The Lawn Care Nut It takes massive amounts of training to get this good - don't try this at home.

[@michaellevoyageur4190]

merci de nous montrer des lieux superbes .

[@francoisgbergeron]

what do you use to catch those fish? I couldnt catch one to save my life

[@ParrotSailor]

Nice video. Was your time in the Turks worth the big Customs fees they charge?

[@kevtamus]

ParrotSailor Thanks...but we didn't really do anything in T&C's except fill up with fuel and do laundry...I did get a phone and some groceries....but we only stayed 2 days - so the entry/exit fee was $100 total. Most say that if you are going to enjoy some of the things there, you really should rent a car and explore. We were just trying to get south sooner rather than later, so we picked the next available window to haul ass. I should have probably spent more time there since it is such a renowned destination, but I was just antsy to get the DR crossing over with.

[@slateman74]

The water never gets any better than the Bahamas, imo. BVI is good but deeper.

[@beyonceboy100]

slateman74 So Bahamas has the best clear beaches in the carribean ? How is the water compared BVI to Exuma ???

[@slateman74]

BVI has nothing on exuma. Water wise.

[@mariaesther5605]

That sinkhole was insane

[@kevtamus]

Yeah, it was awesome, and to have the place to ourselves was even better.

[@andrewlabat9963]

Enjoyed the video..

[@deanwcampbell]

+s/v Catchin' Rays how do you determine what to tip the dockmen in the various ports?

[@kevtamus]

+nyyght7 Maybe I'm a dick, but nobody gave me the memo that I had to tip any dockmen at a marina...the exorbitant fees they charge at the marinas were more than enough as far as this poor sailor was concerned.

[@gazisalahuddin8681]

nice video. keep doing.......

[@hansmuller1846]

What did you do with all the fish?!

[@kevtamus]

+Hans Müller We ate all of it.

[@kevtamus]

+Hans Müller We ate them, otherwise, we wouldn't fish.

[@hansmuller1846]

s/v Catchin' Rays It looked like you caught like 3-4 large fish in one day to me, didn't think you would be able to eat that much!

[@kevtamus]

+Hans Müller We ate some, put some in the fridge, and put the rest in the freezer - it did take us a couple of weeks to get rid of it all...we were actually kind of tired of mahi by the time it was gone.

[@beachboardfan9544]

Why do so many sailing video names start with sv whats the meaning of it?

[@kevtamus]

Sailing Vessel....you'll also see: RV on boats that I think means: Research Vessel...also I've seen MY which stands for Motor Yacht....so, you start to pay attention to the 2 letters in front of boats and see if you can figure out what they stand for.

[@beachboardfan9544]

Cool, how many variations are there? Is that apart of the vessels registration or just a community designation?

[@kevtamus]

Not part of the registration as far as I know....I suppose its just common abbreviations.

[@DirectorDavoPaul]

dudes...at 10:29ish..That dude IS Mark Hamill(Luke Skywalker)..lol..Twins..:)

[@kevtamus]

+Music Media Group / Directed by Davo Been getting that comparison a lot lately, I have. Worse people to look like, there are.

[@DirectorDavoPaul]

Nobody's cooler than Luke, so you're doing fine man!

[@SitBrah]

How much did your boat cost?

[@jelly1789]

$0-500k xDD

[@kevtamus]

+jelly1789 Its just weird when all someone has to say is, "How much did your boat cost?"...I don't know, maybe its me, but that's why I never answered the OP...but if you really want to know all the dirty details, I've posted all my costs on my blog - how much the boat was, how much I spent on the refit...just about all of it has been published I even posted how much it cost us to cruise for 1 and 3 months. Never hid anything but you have to go to the blog for all the numbers.

[@jelly1789]

Yes I agree, I'll have to take a look at your blog, im kinda interested in the length and year. Its a nice looking boat, great shape. Keep up the great work on the videos!! :)

[@TheMusicvideoVEVO]

Jesus made this earth for you, please follow Him!

[@deanwcampbell]

+Mike Younis That makes no sense, where did jesus get the material to make the earth?

[@TheMusicvideoVEVO]

nyyght7 He made the earth out of nothing, He put all His heart into creation.

[@mcriser]

You guys need a gaff.

[@greenstaraz]

☂⁝⁞⁝⁝SUPER ..... ▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %

[@bertju100]

hy you only eat fish

[@stoopdogg3121]

Smh - This is why we need more protection on our waters fisheries.Just seemed like an on ethical way of treating that fish population

[@kevtamus]

Not sure you realize how big the Bahamas actually are - you can pretty much do what you want out there without fear of the Parks and Wildlife officer checking your catch (no such thing in the Bahamas) - besides, mahi-mahi reproduce and grow so quickly that there's hardly a fear of us sailors fishing them out. And for all the viewers of sailing channels that think killing fish to eat is a horrible thing - you should know that all of the cruisers we met throughout our adventure , all of us fish as much as we can while underway and are thrilled each and every time we hook a fish - especially a mahi-mahi.

[@MickScarborough]

You guys sure do take the liberty to kill anything y0u come across. I am glad not all people are like that.

[@michaeldavis1249]

Turn down the background music!!!!!!! Really !!!! Way to loud!!!!!

[@kevtamus]

Thanks for the advise....I'm not sure how I made it through the last 9 episodes without this wonderful audio tip.