Route Planning Passage #1: Bahamas
Updated: Jun 18, 2024
I Live in Atlanta. I want to sail the Caribbean, so I'm going to start from Miami. I'd like to end in Trinidad and Tobego.
Lets break this into legs, and put some distance into this.
I'll put together a better image for the overall route, but for now this might help the overall scheme.
Distance: Measuring distance is different on the ocean than the land. A mile on land, or a statute mile is 5,280 feet. Since it would be difficult to measure feet on an ocean that's moving, we have to use Nautical Miles. What's the difference? A Nautical Mile is based on one degree of latitude around the equator. Since one degree of latitude is 60 minutes long, its also 60 nautical miles. If you want to make a comparison
1Nm = ~6,076 ft
1Mi = 5,280 ft
Itinerary:
Each section of the passage should be do-able in less than a day, meaning most days should result in something like 5-6 hours of sailing. If I'm unable to sail, one or more of these legs will have to be truncated, but the arrival date at the end of the section is pretty firm. Since I want to make it accessible to people, I have to make sure we arrive at our destination so they can fly home, and the next crew can come in.
Speed and crew size will be dependent on the size of the craft, which is still up in the air. There will be at least 3 cabins, but I'm hoping for 4 cabins. I'll write a section on the watercraft when I get closer to that section.
Section 1: Miami to Bimini
Miami/Fort Lauderdale to Bimini is about 50 Nautical Miles (Nm).
References
Section 2: Bimini to Freeport
Distance ~55 Nm
Section 3: Freeport to East Edge of Grand Bahama Island
Distance ~35 Nm
Section 4: East Edge of Grand Bahama Island to Great Abaco
Distance ~46 Nm
Section 5 Great Abaco to Great Harbor Cay
Distance ~60Nm
Section 6 Great Harbor Cay to Bar Bay Settlement
Distance ~60Nm
Section 6: Bar Bay Settlement to Nassau
Distance ~30Nm
Rest and Refit
Nassau is where I'll take the first pause of 10 days to Catch up on Time. This will be the first of many checkpoints where I'll refit and trade out crew. Phase 1 Should be right around 7 days. If people want to fly in and out of the same airport, Nassau is a great spot to do day trips, or out and back trips.
This will be an important stop for quite a few reasons.
It kicks off the timeline. I'm hoping to be able to plan this so friends and family can meet me along the route, or even sail legs with me. Since I acknowledge that weather can be a limiting factor, even just starting will narrow the window.
It lets me gain some confidence in my craft. This craft will be new to me or relatively new.
It shows me that I can. Even reaching the first checkpoint will be a monumental achievement
BONUS
On the way through the Exumas, hopefully I can add this to the itinerary
The Exuma Plane Wreck at Staniel Cay can be seen from the Air. Located just over 80 miles south of the capital city (where a majority of the Bahamas tourism industry exists), it is now very accessible to visit via a day trip from Nassau. From Nassau, most people travel to Staniel Cay where they can hire a boat to take them out to the wreckage.
References
Support this leg
We've set up our store that any tiki mugs purchased in the Bahamas Collection will go to fund this portion of the adventure. Here is a link just in case!
Comments