Rowing across the Great Bahamas Bank

[helenbates]

Hi All

I need advice on crossing the Great Bahamas Bank please. I'm routing an Ocean Rower in an Ocean Rowing Boat who will be crossing the Atlantic with a final destination of Miami. The boat is about 6m long, moves very slowly (2kts max) and has a draught of about 4ft. He'll be approaching the Bahamas from the SE passing between Great Inagua Island and the North coast of Cuba. I'd ideally like to take him across the Great Bahamas Bank as there should be very little traffic and it should be stunning to row across after the misery of the Atlantic Ocean!

I've chosen his exit point (unless anyone thinks it's a bad idea) of 24° 33.75' N, 79° 13.2' W which looks to have decent depth and will give him a lovely ride into Miami using the Gulf Stream. What I now need is a nice safe entry point from the SE to get onto the Bank. He won't be stopping so no need for a port/island etc. In fact the further away from any sort of land or very shallow water the better.

Secondly, on the bank itself, are the charts fairly reliable (I appreciate sand banks can move etc but given how slow moving his is, sand banks don't worry me so much). Is it fairly "plain sailing" travelling NW along the bank, south of Andros Island.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

NB

[Snore]

I suggest you redo your calculations. My fast and dirty calcs show it more prudent to exit further south. I am not an ultra paddler-like your person. But, I have done five 300 mile races and an around Florida race.

Ponder a last long rest at Cay Sal Bank 23 32.012N 079 54.35W and then head up. The downside of this is that it will put the boat in the Gulf Stream longer. But this route should yield a better SOG.

The wild card here is getting a cold front. A cold front will cause the winds will to be out of the north. If the winds get above 10 knots for any period of time, it will cause some ugly waves in the Gulf Stream.

At around the Cay Sal Banks a go/no-go decision has to be made. It may be safer to cross down south before a cold front comes, versus paddling north and into that wind. If you cross far enough south, then the paddler can go into Hawk Channel and paddle those protected waters to Miami.

Also check the currents at Government Cut into Miami- if there is a significant North or East wind into an out-going tide, it can be tough and a 2knot paddler is likely to go backwards.

Finally, take a look at some of the free AIS sites, the traffic in the last 100 miles of this passage can range from light to fairly busy traffic. If the rowing vessel does not have an AIS transponder, getting a safety boat would be prudent.

Feel free to PM or email me any follow-up questions.

[helenbates]

Firstly, thanks for taking the time to reply and I will certainly take your suggestion into account - I quite like that the route is more sheltered. I should perhaps have written a little more about the boat, given this is a sailing forum! Ocean Rowing Boats cannot row into any headwind at all. They are equipped with both para-anchors and "standard" metal anchors and they are very used to waiting for weeks at a time for the wind to turn favourably. One of the reasons I like staying on the Great Bank a little longer is that he can wait it out there on "metal" anchor in the shallow water and then cross the Straights of Florida when the weather is right. So the shorter the crossing of the Straights the better. I would ideally take him even further north but I'd worry about him missing Miami due to the speed of the current. So the reason I chose that point is that is seems to be the optimal point of making the crossing as short as possible but achievable and with a safe place to wait out any Northerly winds. The boat is fully equipped with AIS, chart plotter, VHF, Sat phones, Epirbs, Flares etc so should cope fine with traffic in the Straights and entering Miami.

Do you have any thoughts on where to enter the Great Bank from the SE?

Thanks

[Snore]

Sorry——As a sailboat delivery guy I avoid the flats.

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by helenbates

Do you have any thoughts on where to enter the Great Bank from the SE?

Thanks

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The most logical place would be east of the Ragged Islands and proceeding more or less west from there, staying fairly close to the edge of Old Bahamas Channel for the most favorable current. The area around Ragged Island is fairly well charted but the rest of the Banks, not so much.

[helenbates]

Thanks Wayne. The problem with those islands is they're like a minefield for an Ocean Rowing Boat where precision sailing/rowing is difficult, so we need to stay well clear of them. I was thinking of taking him South of those islands, just south of the San Domingo Cay light and then climbing into the Great Bank behind them, then across just north of the Old Bahama Channel as you suggest.