Sailing Blind: Trusting Calm Seas to Nassau!

At anchor off Egg Island just west of Spanish Wells, Chris prepares the catamaran with SvSerenity for an offshore run toward Rose Island near Nassau. With the rest of the crew asleep down below, the morning begins with deck preparation and cabin stowage before departure.

The tender Firefly is lashed down on deck, and loose items are secured throughout the boat:

“Getting Firefly all secured to the deck and making sure that we have everything kind of stashed away where it needs to be.”

Galley dishes are put away so nothing slides off counters once the vessel begins moving in open water.

Navigating Without Cellular Data

Before weighing anchor, checking conditions requires visual assessment directly from the cockpit. Egg Island lacks internet connectivity, leaving the crew without access to forecasting apps:

“There’s no internet at Egg Island. Egg Island is just west of Spanish Wells.”

While considering stopping at Spanish Wells, observing calm seas encourages proceeding directly on the open crossing. Chris treats the run without digital forecasts as a calculated decision:

“it’s a bit of a roll the dice situation, but just kind of look at it and I’m going to go ahead and guess that it’s probably going to be similar to yesterday.”

Passage Course to Rose Island

The run across to Rose Island in Nassau will take approximately 5 hours. Steering southwest positions the boat favorably:

“that should mean that we’ll have the swell the waves right behind us and we should have pretty much beam reaching wind angles most of the day.”

Hoping for fair winds and following seas, Chris enjoys a morning coffee while waiting for the crew to wake up before getting underway.

Frequently Asked Questions