"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 6 Mar 2011 15:15:39 -0500, "Flying Pig"
wrote:

You could say the same thing about our orientation south of Andros -
instead
of going up to Orange Cay, we went direct to the Gulf Stream

I have looked at that route south of Andros a number of times as a
possible shortcut between the FL Keys and the Turks and Caicos. How
were the sea conditions going over the banks down there, and did you
notice any current?


Hi, Wayne,

Yes, there is about a 1-knot current in our favor, exactly on the route we
took (well, the NW part - the due west part had none), as shown on P8 of the
Explorer chart of the area. Seas were similar to the gulf stream, which is
to say, in that area, about 5-7. Recall that the wind had been blowing for
days, however, and also that they were beamish, so we weren't bashing.

If you're going from the Keys, and off to T&C, which is more southerly than
where we started (unless you wanted to stop in the Raggeds, a great idea,
however, I'd not go that far up, but instead go straight over Cuba. I did a
routing for a friend who went to the DR from St. Pete; it went under all
that, if I recall correctly. I MAY be able to find it in my old sent files,
and if so, I'll put it up for you. It worked great for him...

Hmmm... Thinking about it, I'm not sure any more about that - maybe it WAS
along the route we took. In any case, the banks, aside from the choke
between the Cochinas and Middle Ground, wsa a no-brainer. If you were going
to bypass the Raggeds, you could get under the Cochinas, and probably or
perhaps also miss Cay Sal...

I'm hopeful to get out the passage log sometime really soon, because once we
hit the yard, I'll be banished from the computer :{/)

L8R

Skip

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