Distant Shores TVvideo
Sailing Bahamas - Distant Shores
29 July 2009 · 3 min · 46K views
What this video covers
Cruising the Bahamas requires navigating shallow banks and tidal cuts, where water depth can shift rapidly from two feet to 15 feet.▶ 0:20 Paul Shard and Sheryl Shard utilise a Southerly sailboat with a three-foot draft to access remote anchorages inaccessible to fixed-keel vessels.▶ 2:03 The boat’s swing keel allows for adjustable draft settings, providing a safety margin when exploring shallow areas on a falling tide.▶ 2:14 If the keel contacts the bottom, it retracts automatically without jamming, unlike a traditional centreboard.▶ 2:32 Modern electronic charts displayed on a cockpit-mounted plotter provide the necessary detail to identify deep-water channels and navigate safely through these areas.▶ 2:52 While many sailors view the Bahamas as a cruise ship destination, the region offers extensive, sparsely populated cruising grounds for those willing to manage shallow-water navigation.▶ 0:54 The passage from the east coast of North America involves travelling the Intracoastal Waterway followed by a 50-mile crossing of the Gulf Stream.▶ 1:07
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