Leading the Escapadevideo
We’re Going Nowhere… Trapped Off Cuba | Day 9-10 (Ep 222)
May 24, 2026 · 21 min · 25K views · Cuba
What this video covers
A passage from the Bahamas to Colombia aboard Escapade stalls for two days off Cuba's coastline when 30-knot headwinds and a 3-plus-knot contrary current hold the boat nearly stationary.▶ 4:00 Motoring 13 nautical miles and tacking repeatedly along the Cuban shore, the crew ends up in the same position they started — burning fuel they can't afford to waste on a six-to-eight-day passage.▶ 5:15 A pushpit bolt snaps under the weight of the 45-kilogram outboard motor, which had been mounted there for security; Tom's quick lashing saves it from going overboard, and the crew heaves-to to lower it into the forward cabin.▶ 1:18 A previously repaired headsail had already forced one turnaround before this.▶ 3:02 Navionics and Windy both underestimate the current through the channel.▶ 4:00 Once through — passing Cuba to starboard and Haiti to port just before sunrise — conditions ease into champagne sailing: six hours of uninterrupted sailing, the watermaker running, laundry done, and a marlin hooked and lost.▶ 7:55 A small headsail tear appears, and a spinnaker deployment is discussed but shelved because the bowsprit is incompatible with the new furling system.▶ 12:35 Fuel conservation becomes a growing concern as the calm extends.▶ 16:29 Passages expose every structural weakness, and current data from standard apps can significantly underestimate actual set and drift in the Cuba–Haiti channel.
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