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#1
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Marathon, Fl to the Exumas
Are there any safe routes across the Great Bahama Bank south of Andros
Island that can be run at night or with poor visibility (5 1/2 foot draft)? If not, what is the best route from Marathon to the lower Exumas? |
#2
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Marathon, Fl to the Exumas
On Fri, 18 Nov 2005 22:27:22 GMT, "FMac" wrote:
"Wayne.B" wrote in message .. . Are there any safe routes across the Great Bahama Bank south of Andros Island that can be run at night or with poor visibility (5 1/2 foot draft)? If not, what is the best route from Marathon to the lower Exumas? Check your charts. You will be running against a current and it's rather shallow in the southern area of Andros Island. You might want to reconsider changing your route northwardly. ==================================== I understand your point but since I'd be going through the Keys in any case, the southern route would save a lot of distance. Is there really a lot of west flowing current on the banks? That seems somewhat counter intuitive to me. |
#3
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Marathon, Fl to the Exumas
"Wayne.B" wrote in message ... On Fri, 18 Nov 2005 22:27:22 GMT, "FMac" wrote: "Wayne.B" wrote in message .. . Are there any safe routes across the Great Bahama Bank south of Andros Island that can be run at night or with poor visibility (5 1/2 foot draft)? If not, what is the best route from Marathon to the lower Exumas? I understand your point but since I'd be going through the Keys in any case, the southern route would save a lot of distance. Is there really a lot of west flowing current on the banks? That seems somewhat counter intuitive to me. Counter intuitive. Interesting thought. However, you will be subjected to a NNW current through the Santaren Channel coupled with a massive amount of coral heads unless you head south to 23N. Good luck! |
#4
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Marathon, Fl to the Exumas
"Dave" wrote in message ... On Fri, 18 Nov 2005 22:27:22 GMT, "FMac" said: Are there any safe routes across the Great Bahama Bank south of Andros Island that can be run at night or with poor visibility (5 1/2 foot draft)? If not, what is the best route from Marathon to the lower Exumas? Check your charts. You will be running against a current and it's rather shallow in the southern area of Andros Island. You might want to reconsider changing your route northwardly. I take it that checking his charts is what lead to the question. If I understand correctly what you're trying to say it's that you know the area, and the answer to his first question is no. I took the northerly route, because I was sailing solo. Perhaps, with a lookout forward the area north of 23N can be navigated successfully. |
#5
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Marathon, Fl to the Exumas
On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 00:08:52 GMT, "FMac" wrote:
I took the northerly route, because I was sailing solo. Perhaps, with a lookout forward the area north of 23N can be navigated successfully. ============================================= What was your route across the banks going northerly and did you have to dodge any coral heads? |
#6
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Marathon, Fl to the Exumas
Wayne.B wrote:
Are there any safe routes across the Great Bahama Bank south of Andros Island that can be run at night or with poor visibility (5 1/2 foot draft)? If not, what is the best route from Marathon to the lower Exumas? I have not done that myself. It would be better IMHO to go from Marathon or a bit north of there leaving at night and getting to the Bahamas in the morning. I have heard that you can cross the Banks from Gun Cay area at night although we anchored. Then you can go around the north end of Andros and maybe check in at Morgan's Bluff. Then you could sail down the Tongue of the Ocean safely at night. grandma Rosalie |
#7
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Marathon, Fl to the Exumas
On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 01:33:09 GMT, Rosalie B.
wrote: Then you could sail down the Tongue of the Ocean safely at night. Yes, that would remove a lot of uncertainty but be quite a bit longer. Where did you exit Tongue of the Ocean? |
#8
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Marathon, Fl to the Exumas
"Wayne.B" wrote in message ... On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 00:08:52 GMT, "FMac" wrote: What was your route across the banks going northerly and did you have to dodge any coral heads? If I were to proceed, I would heed Grandma's advice. However, what I did was slid up the Gulf Stream and hung a right to the Providence Channel then went in to the Exuma Sound between Eleuthera an Cat Island and proceeded to Sampson Cay. Admittedly, it's the long way but remember I was solo and coral heads weren't in the equation. Regardless, it's one of the pretty places I visited. Work it and have fun. |
#9
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Marathon, Fl to the Exumas
Wayne.B wrote:
On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 01:33:09 GMT, Rosalie B. wrote: Then you could sail down the Tongue of the Ocean safely at night. Yes, that would remove a lot of uncertainty but be quite a bit longer. Where did you exit Tongue of the Ocean? We didn't do it that way. We have a 5 foot draft and are a slow boat. We went to the Bahamas twice - both times by ourselves (so many people seem to take a convoy). The first time we left our mooring in Miami and went down around Cape Florida (this URL gives you the start of the trip and then there is a link to the next section at the bottom of each one) http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/2abf0/#TL and crossed to Bimini and checked in there. Then we were weathered in for awhile - we had intended to go to the Berrys or to Abacos. But it just didn't look good for that so we went up along the west side of Bimini and over to Lucaya. Then after another couple of days there when it didn't look like we had a weather window unless we went NOW, we went back to Florida instead of going anywhere else. The second time, we were in Marathon http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/2e608/#TL and we left there late in the afternoon and sailed up to we anchored off Tavenier and anchored and then the next day we went up to Rodriguez and spent the day there and then left that evening. We again went to Bimini and checked in. After a day, we went north of Gun Cay and crossed the banks (anchoring once) and went to Frazier's Hog Cay in the Berries and stayed there a couple of days, and then went to Nassau. After a couple of days there (including visiting Atlantis, my having a filling replaced, and retrieving my glasses from the harbor), we started down the Exumas, but Bob had a heart attack before we got to Great Exuma. grandma Rosalie |
#10
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Marathon, Fl to the Exumas
Hi Wayne,
We made a few trips to the Exumas from our home base in Islamorada, about 40 miles up the Keys from Marathon. We sometimes left from Alligator Creek, and on one occasion from 5 mile bridge at the south end of Marathon. Our draft was only about 4 feet. Your best bet is to get a copy of the Bahamas Guide, which lays out all the routes and is almost a necessity for cruising those waters. The most comfortable crossing would be to go for Gun Cay or Bimini. If you have never crossed the Gulf Stream, be sure to do so on a SE, S, or SW wind. Since the winds clock around clockwise rather quickly, the window is usually just a couple of days, or less. If you try for Andros, you will be fighting the current. From Gun Cay you set a course for the south side of the Berries and from there to Nassau. From Nassau, you will have to cross the Yellow Bank, which is deep enough except for coral heads that can be only 3 1/2 feet deep. It is not dangerous if you cross with a high sun where you can spot the heads in enough time to avoid them. You may also want to cross at high tide to give you an extra bit of protection. That will take you to the northern part of the Exumas and you can work your way down the chain. The west end is deep ocean but there are numerous cuts to get to anchorage's. These can be hard to find and navigate, so put your GPS to good use. I did my cruising without a GPS and on one occasion could not find the harbor at Hawksbill and rode out an uncomfortable night on the banks. The Exumas are a great place for cruising but bring plenty of supplies and water, as they are only found at selected places like Staniel Cay and Georgetown. Sherwin D. "Wayne.B" wrote: On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 01:33:09 GMT, Rosalie B. wrote: Then you could sail down the Tongue of the Ocean safely at night. Yes, that would remove a lot of uncertainty but be quite a bit longer. Where did you exit Tongue of the Ocean? We did it at Russel Beacon, an easy target. |
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