This is the final installment on our series Southbound 2018, this article address passages from Florida to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.
For those who have made their way to Florida and wish to continue on south into the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean it is now time for some choices, both as to which route and when to cross the Gulf Stream.
The Bahamas; Your choices are pretty simple, which part of the Bahamas do you wish to start out in and which Florida port do you wish to depart from. Once these decisions are made it’s wait for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream.
The Eastern Caribbean; You have three choices;
- The direct off-shore route, about 1200 nm from Florida, biggest choice here is whether to depart from Florida or Northern Bahamas.
- The Thorny Path through the Bahamas to the Turks and Caicos on to the Dominican Republic and thence along its north shore to the Mona Passage and Puerto Rico’s south shore. Slow and very weather dependent.
- The Bahamas to the Windward Passage thence along the south shore of Haiti and the Dominican Republic and the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico. Not much traveled but enjoyed by all whom I’ve met and spoken with about this choice. Not as weather dependent so may be slightly faster than route 2, but then again it may be slower as there are more places to stop in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Regardless of your departure port or your ultimate destination everyone leaving from Florida for the Bahamas or the Caribbean must cross the Gulf Stream. This river of warm water moves a larger volume of water past Miami each hour that is greater than the volume of all the worlds fresh water rivers flowing into the ocean! It has an average speed from side to side of around 2.5 knots, some days a bit slower, others a bit faster, with about 4 knots flowing northward in the center. Stop in the middle of the Gulf Stream and drift and you will travel northward at about 100nm per day. Its width varies slightly but on average is about 60nm wide. Most sailing vessels take around 12 hours to cross.
When planning your route across the Gulf Stream it is imperative you allow for current or you will end up sailing directly into it. When doing your current vectoring allow for 2.5 knots of average current. Initially as you depart you will experience less current than the 2.5 knot average and your course will be to the south of the rhumb line but as you get into stronger current the 2.5 knot average you used to do your current vectors will be too low and you will be swept north above the rhumb line, as you leave the axis of the Gulf Stream your 2.5 knot average will again be high and you will travel south back to the rhumb line. Your course, in essence, will look like a snake.
If you are using a chart plotter it will behoove you to adjust your course for the first 10-15 or so miles to take you south of the rhumb line, later on as the current picks up adjust your course over the ground (COG) to reflect the plotted rhumb line. If you allow yourself to get pushed early above the rhumb line you will be fighting a stronger current later on to get back on course.
Many books and articles have been written on how to cross the Gulf Stream so I am not going to go into that here. I will this about crossing “Don’t procrastinate”! I have watched many people sit and debate for hours whether or not the conditions are right for crossing while their weather window comes and goes. They are then left sitting and waiting for the next opportunity which may be more than a week away. Get your boat ready to go, water tanks filled, fuel tanks topped up and provisions on board, then no matter what time of day or night the wind swings fair, GO! Many weather windows in fall and winter last only a day or 2, a crossing usually takes around 12 hours, plenty of time for a one-day window, but you must be ready! Your only delay should be to time your departure so you arrive in daylight or just before dawn.
As few Bahamian harbors are lit if you arrive in the dark you will need to heave to and await daylight to enter, DO NOT try to enter with just a chart plotter in the dark, you will get into trouble! Keep in mind the Bahamians are not very good at dredging harbor entrances or moving what buoys exist to mark sandbars that are intruding into the channel, you need daylight with the sun high and behind you to see the deep water of the channels even when there are buoys present!
When you depart Florida to cross the Gulf Stream keep this little tidbit in mind, “There is no shame in bailing out and returning to port or heading for an alternative port if the conditions are rougher than you expected. I have frequently either returned to port or chosen another destination. Rarely have I regretted doing either.
The Bahamas in General; Use the Steve Pavlidis Guide Books and Explorer Charts (available for most chart plotters), click on either the Steve Pavlidis Guide link or the Explorer Chart link above to go to our web page where you can get these items from Amazon.
Northern Bahamas-Grand Bahama, The Abaco’s, Green Turtle, Man-o-War Cay, and many others, a bit cooler in winter than the southern Bahamas, they also tend to have stronger cold fronts than islands to the south. I think this is because the cold fronts pick up energy in the Gulf Stream and then dump it on this region, as the fronts move south they lose energy so by the time a cold front reaches the southern islands they are somewhat calmer.
Central Bahamas-BerryIslands-Nashua and surrounding islands-The Berry’s are a must see, quiet, uncrowded anchorages, these islands see the fewest visitors each year, you won’t spend a lot of money here as there is little commercial development, no islands with towns, just a few restaurants, and private residences and an occasional boatyard. Nashua is a busy commercial harbor on New Providence Island. For those who do not wish to stop and anchor in Nashua on their way to the Exuma chain after crossing the Bahama Bank, there is a nice fairly large, easy to enter anchorage on the very west end of New Providence. Holding is good in a sandy bottom in 10-20’, don’t expect to go shopping from this anchorage unless you call a taxi and they will be expensive, it is a long way to the nearest shopping center.
The Exuma Chain-An island for every day of the year, or so they claim, good anchorages an easy day sail apart, lots to do and see, the further south you go the better the weather. Drag a line with Bally-ho on it through Exuma Sound and you are almost guaranteed Mahi Mahi for dinner. The southern end of the chain is Georgetown on Great Exuma Island.
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Bound for the Caribbean:
As I said above you have 3 choices on how to get from Florida to the Caribbean. It is 1200 nm and all to windward. If you plan on going by way of The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic North Coast across the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico then you should read The Gentlemen’s Guide to Passages South by Bruce Van Sant. This is a long time-consuming route, it is not all that easy, but is the choice of many as it avoids the long off-shore passage of the direct route.
Another choice that also avoids the direct route is to pass through the Bahamas and go through the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti. From the Bahamas to the southeast coast of Haiti this passage is a reach. From the Southeast Coast of Haiti, you will sail at night just like you would along the North Coast of Hispaniola to take advantage of the Katabatic Winds that come down off the mountains of Hispaniola at night, knock down the trade winds and give you a reaching wind along the coast. Many people avoid this route simply because they must stop in Haiti. However, everyone I have met including several friends, have reported nothing but a warm welcome in Haiti especially from the people who live on Ile a Vache just around the corner of the Southeast Coast.
The biggest advantage of this passage is that the landmass of Hispaniola blocks the swells and seas of the North Atlantic storms, along with the fact that the south coast of Hispaniola has someplace each morning to put into that is safe from dangerous storm swells contributes to this being a more pleasant route than the Thorny Path along the north coast of Hispaniola.
Both of these routes must negotiate the Mona Passage but those on the southern route don’t have to navigate the roughest part, the North end, where the depths of the North Atlantic at 25,000’+ suddenly meet the 500’ or less depths of the Mona Passage. This sudden change in depth can make for some very rough conditions.
For those interested in the southern route around Hispaniola I recommend you read Frank Virgintino’s cruising guide to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, both are free on iBooks.
Now for those who wish to take the direct route from Florida to the Caribbean. This route is dead to windward in the trades, unless you are patient and wait for the right weather. Few who attempt it without waiting for the right weather make it, most turn back or end up going to the Turks and Caicos or Dominican Republic.
First off you need to be patient if you wish a relatively easy passage, Secondly, it is best to pre-position yourself in the Abacos or Eleuthera to await a weather window. You can leave direct from Florida but the 48 hours it takes to sail from there through the Northwest and Northeast Providence Channels to the open Atlantic removes two days of fair winds. Better to leave from the Northeastern part of the Bahamas and take full advantage of any weather window.
In Ocean Passages for The World the advice for the old square riggers leaving the East Coast of North America was to set a course to enter the Tropics (23.5°N) somewhere between 60°-65°W depending on their destination. The Rhumb line course (130°M) from the Northeast Providence Channel to St. Thomas lays well south of this point. It is imperative that to avoid a close hauled 2-week bash to windward that you remain well north and east of the rhumb line. From the Northeast Providence Channel, I like to stay close to 25°N for a good 500nm before easing my sheets and course for 23.5°N x 64°W.
The key to having a comfortable passage on this route is you must wait for a cold front approach and passage, preferably one that takes its time in passing, better yet one that might just stall over or just pass the Bahamas.
Watch the weather, when a front approaches, the winds will veer from Northeast to Southeast. When the wind goes Southeast in front of an approaching cold front, GO! Leave and sail a close reach on a port tack. Do not be concerned if your course takes you north of east, you will easily make it back as the wind continues to veer.
As the wind veers with the frontal approach follow it until you are close reaching due east. As the wind continues to veer adjust your course slightly south of east and ease your sails but avoid heading directly for your destination too early. The idea of getting to the Tropics at around 60-65°W is to allow you to beam reach to your destination when the Trades go east again. Turning too early means when the winds go east you end up beating again.
I have done this route with a front that stalled over the Bahamas and gave us 8 days of close reaching in a 12-15 knot Southeasterly and a final 4-day 8k beam reach into St. Thomas, and I have done it where the fronts gave us just light and variable winds until the last 5 days when we screamed along on a beam reach in 20k winds and 10-12’ seas. I have seen people let themselves get pushed down close to the Turks and Caicos and Hispaniola and take 2 weeks to reach San Juan in Puerto Rico, beating the whole way. Patients is the key here, wait and enjoy the Bahamas until your front arrives, be prepared to leave when it does and it will pay dividends.
Fair Winds everyone, enjoy your passages and winter in the Islands!
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