Aground! Shallow Water Piloting in the Bahamas

This week we sail from the Turks and Caicos Islands to explore the shallow waters of the Bahamas aboard Distant Shores 3, our new variable draft Southerly 480. Cheryl and I have been cruising and living aboard for 30 years now and Distant Shores 3 is the third Southerly we've owned. A lot of people ask us why we like Southerly yachts and have questions about cruising with variable draft keel. So in this video about shallow water piloting in the Bahamas we thought we'd answer some of these questions, especially since for this cruise we've invited friends and fellow Southerly yacht owners to join us. Between us this group has owned nine Southerlies. Our friends have cruised extensively around the UK, the Med and the Caribbean, but it will be the first time they have sailed in the thin water of the Bahamas. So our focus will be on shallow water piloting throughout this voyage. First some introductions. Nick Gill, founder of Gill Marine, sailed with us on our recent transatlantic passage and is back aboard Distant Shores 3 for the Bahamas cruise with his wife Caroline. Nick and Caroline are now the proud owners of a brand new Southerly 435 which they keep in Cornwall, England. Before that they sailed a Southerly 32. Richard and Julie Thomas first sailed with us in the British Virgin Islands in 2008 and later bought a classic 32 foot Southerly but are now sailing a lovely Southerly 42 which they keep in Leamington, England. And sailing in company with us is our sister ship Carrad, the second Southerly 480 built by Discovery Yachts. Owners Robin Sue Heath of Leeds, England crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard Carrad at the same time as we did. They previously owned a 35 foot Southerly which they cruised extensively including a circumnavigation of the UK. This group has a lot of experience navigating the shallows and drying out in the extreme tidal areas around the UK so we're looking forward to an offshore sail from the Turks and Caicos to the Bahamas where we'll be swinging up the keel on Distant Shores 3 and Carrad and exploring areas of the sunny Bahamas that are rarely visited by most sailboats. The prevailing winds in between the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas are from the east and it's just over 50 miles so we make it a day sail from Provo over to Mayaguana in the Bahamas. This time of the year winds are often a bit lighter but today we have 20 to 25 knots from astern so it's time to unfurl both headsails for a great wing-on-wing double headsail romp along and right beside us is Carrad. Sailing in deep water like this we can swing the keel all the way down making us a deep draft boat. The depth of the boat goes to 10 foot 2 inches then she will roll less when sailing downwind in big seas and we'll be much better sailing upwind as well. We arrive in Mayaguana to clear in but it's Good Friday and everything is closed so we're instructed to carry on to clear in at Georgetown a three-day sail away. We set sail the next day with a stiff breeze we must continue to fly our yellow Q flag Q for quarantine to show that we haven't cleared in yet. We're right on the edge of a wall here so it's probably 110 meters on one side and 14 on the other it's straight down. We are in the Plana Keys this is West Plana in the beautiful Bahamas. We had hoped to anchor off the Plana Keys for the night but the anchorage is not very well protected against the higher swells we're getting in these strong winds so we decide to head on another 20 miles to anchor in Atwood Harbour on Aklans Island. Atwood Harbour is one of those remote places that reminds us of how very lucky we are as sailors that we can travel aboard our floating home with everything we need. There are just three other boats here including our sister ship and there's a lot of room for everyone. The enclosed bay of Atwood Harbour is fed with water from the surrounding mangrove which accounts for the striking emerald green color of the water in this bay and there's a beach more than a mile long of perfect white sand. We stay put today to explore the mile-long beach it's also Easter so we have everybody over to Distant Shores 3 for an Easter dinner gravy stuffing and everything. The next leg of our voyage takes us from Atwood Harbour into deep water to the Crooked Island Passage where at French Wells we are all looking forward to raising the keels on the two Southerlies and taking the ground. This is Bird Rock Light. Construction began in 1866 over 150 years ago. Lighthouses were very important to shipping in the Bahamas due to the shallow water. Because of its height and brightness this light can be seen over 20 miles away. We're in deep water here over 500 meters so the water is a dark sapphire blue. When sailing in the Bahamas the water is so clear you can often navigate by the color. As we get into shallower depths the water will become turquoise and then paler blue. Yellow or white patches mean sandbanks and shoals. French Wells is so named because French pirates used this area as a hideout in days of old. Our plan is to beach the boats on this sandbank. Rob and Sue demonstrate the technique of dropping the swing keel as an anchor. Carrot is heading toward the bank with the keel down three feet below the hull to stop them going further on the sand. On Distant Shores 3 we're raising the keel so there's only one foot of keel exposed so we will come up on the sand a little further. Then we drop the keel down in the sand. Since our keel weighs 4,700 pounds or over 2,000 kilos they should hold us firmly in place like a parking brake. We could raise the keel all the way up but then there's the risk we could get stuck at the next high tide and not be able to get off. When grounding or drying out the bottom of the hulls on all southerly yachts are protected by a solid cast iron grounding plate which is also part of the ballast. Here is what the grounding plate and swing keel mechanism look like before being built into the hulls. You can see how thick and heavy they are. When grounded the boat's weight is taken on the grounding plate in the skeg which protects the propeller. The weight of the boat is not placed on the twin rudders although they are built to take the load. We really like this system and having owned three southerly yachts now have come to trust them for the off the beaten path style of cruising that we do. Because this bay is so shallow pirates used it as a hideout since most ships couldn't get in here due to the depth of their vessels or because of a lack of local knowledge. French Wells appeals to us for the same reason. Cruising boats rarely come into this bay since it's so shallow. This shelf is fun to dry out on with our keels retracted. As the tide falls we can wade around in the shallows or swim in the deep water off the stern keeping an eye on the current running through here. Later after showering we head over to Carrad for happy hour, sunset views and dinner aboard. A pretty quiet night here. Now we've got to get underway except it's kind of low tide. We've got a few meters in here of water and this huge bank expands over to Acklands on the other side and then we've got to get out the shallowest part which is out into the ocean and then into the sound area and hopefully the tide's a little later there so perhaps it won't be such shallow water. The chart for this area shows we have just over one meter or three foot depths at low tide and as most places in the Bahamas there are no aids to navigation so we must identify the shallower sandbanks by the color of the water. Anchors off so let's get out and see what the shallow water looks like out there with this state of the tide. Tidal range this morning is just over two feet and it's just past low tide so it'll be quite shallow on the way out likely just four or five feet in places. Wow look at this water. It's four and a half meters right here. We're still doing three knots and it's three meters but we're going to get into shallower but this looks pretty good straight ahead. This course we've got this shallow sand though so we make sure we can get over that. I would say it's still one and a half true depth. Here we come this is the shallowest bit 1.2 1.1. We recommend polarized sunglasses so you can see through the water surface and judge where the shallower water is since sandbanks may have shifted from what's shown on the charts. Yeah you want to plan this to have the sun over your shoulder and there's a little coral head right there. Are we missing that other one? That's it. Back in deep water now. You just have to dodge the coral heads which are pretty darn easy to see. There's one. From the Crooked Aklins group we're crossing over the Deepwater Sound to the Great Bahama Bank. It's 75 miles so we spend a night at anchor tucked in behind Long Island then head back onto the shallow banks again for the trip up to Hog Key Cut. It's just been a magnificent day going across the Great Bahama Bank with the pure white sand bottom. It's just like a swimming pool. This beautiful blue. It truly is. Look at those lovely places on the lens. Despite all this open space there are challenges. We've got to dodge coral patches again then get through the notorious Hog Key Cut. The narrow cut that separates Ligzuma from Hog Key, known as Hog Key Cut, carries barely three feet at low water. It provides a shortcut for those bound to the Jumento Cays ragged island or the south end of Long Island. A strong tile current flows through the cut and works across the narrow channel at the south side. We recommend that you await slack tide before proceeding through this cut. You should negotiate this cut in good light because the sketch chart can only give an approximation of the channel's location. Plan carefully because if you go aground it will most likely be on a hard bottom and if you go on at high slack you'll shortly be losing water. There isn't much help hereabouts. Our cruise guide and charts suggested a route across the bank then into the deeper channel and through Hog Key Cut. Here we're anchored in about nine feet on almost perfect white sand and you can see the deeper water in the channel with very small patches of grass on white sand about 10 to 14 feet deep. From here it's just 18 miles on to Georgetown where we check in with customs then continue up the Exuma chain of islands. Hey guys, great how are you? While sailing up the islands in the deep water of the Exuma Sound we get a radio call from fans of distant shores who had caught an extra mahi-mahi and offer it to us as a gift. That is a big fish. It's a beauty but it's heavy. I can barely lift it. I really struggle and I'm afraid of losing it. Paul to the rescue. Okay so we caught an enormous dorado the easy way thanks to the crew of Pura Vida Sailing who dropped by and passed it over across the gap. Yeah that's perfect. That's an amazing animal. I mean we've got plenty of fish for everybody for probably two dinners. I've never caught a fish with a boat hook before. We have a few more days exploring the amazing shallow waters behind the Exuma Islands then it's nearly time for our friends to return home. It's the end of April and the start of the rainy season in the Bahamas and right on schedule we get a serious thunderstorm pass over as we're tucked up in a protected anchorage for the night. Lightning usually strikes the highest object around. In the Bahamas that would be our mast at 71 feet the height of a seven-story building. Some lightning jumps from a cloud to another part of the cloud making the clouds light up. This kind of cloud flash is actually much more common than lightning touching the earth or ocean surface. I slowed this video down 20 times so you can see the many smaller lightning discharges coming down called leaders. Then when the path is established the large lightning strike takes the best path and in this case there are multiple repeated strikes following the same path between the water and the cloud. Notice the shape of the strike doesn't change. Thunder is the sound of the air exploding along the path of the lightning. Have you ever wondered why lightning is instantaneous but thunder rumbles along for a few seconds? This is because the bolt of lightning caused the air to explode along the path it takes. Suppose the lightning follows a path that runs towards you before hitting the water then sound from that closest point would reach you first followed by the further points along the path and the result would be a long rumbling sound. It's important that your boat is properly grounded to protect yourself and your boat from lightning. Comment below if you've had experience with a lightning strike or if you'd be interested in a video about lightning protection for a sailboat. The Exuma Islands in the Bahamas are one of our favorite cruising grounds and we were relieved to hear that this area of the Bahamas was not affected by Hurricane Dorian. The Bahamas is roughly the same size as Florida and the Bahamas government reports that Dorian affected mainly the Abacos and Grand Bahama groups and encourages you to continue to visit the other island groups this coming season. So we'll be looking forward to spending more time here this autumn before sailing on to Panama and the South Pacific. And don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss any upcoming videos. We also invite you to check out the Distant Shores Cruising Club. Membership benefits include sailing opportunities, live chats and meetups as well as additional resources for anyone dreaming of sailing away.