s99part4 » Page 1 of 2

The evening before we plan to move, we generally all get together and discuss plans for the next few days. The cruisers guides are extremely valuable in pointing out the more interesting features of an island, reef, cut, cave or what have you. They also give good advice on navigating the waters. Cruising from island to island is not a big technical challenge when you are armed with information about the locality. But navigating without accurate charts must have been pure hell for the early explorers. For instance, some of the cuts between islands from the Atlantic to the banks side may look great, but are impossible to navigate because of reefs, current, submerged rocks, etc. Some cuts are OK in settled conditions, but impossible in a storm. And when navigating the banks, you frequently have to go 10 to 15 miles around sand bores in order to move 3 or 4 miles down the island chain. Imagine not having this information and having only sail power. The bottom is strewn with wrecks of bygone days and most beaches have bits of boats, both ancient and modern, sprinkled about to attest to
these difficulties.

Even today, it is not terribly uncommon for boats, especially sailboats, to be lost in or near the cuts. I think that the main reason is that sailboaters prefer a brisk wind. And, when the brisk wind becomes a blow, they seek the safety of the lee side of the islands. If, in their time of stress, they make a bad decision about trying to get through an unfamiliar cut or a cut that is not recommended, they can lose their boat. BASRA (Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association) is a volunteer organization that can help. The US Coast Guard will also respond with a helicopter under some circumstances. But you really can't count on the Lone Ranger to show up in the nick of time to save you or your boat if you get into serious trouble. That's when cruising with someone you trust really counts.

In the Exumas, there are two locations, Highborne Cay and Georgetown, where cruisers routinely have a morning weather net on VHF radio. The nets are really helpful in giving local weather reports, making contact with other cruisers, peddling surplus gear, etc. It is possible to monitor or participate in these nets only about half of the time over the extensive area of the Exumas because of the limited range of VHF radio.

Another resource for weather information is Herb. He is a retired weather specialist living in Canada. Every afternoon, he is on HF single side band radio communicating with cruisers all over this hemisphere. For cruisers on the fringes, he may be their only weather resource.