EP#391 Welcome to Squall Country
November 26, 2025 · 43 min · 228 views · Providence Channel
What this video covers
Jerome Rand singlehands the Westsail 32 *Sparrow* on day 12 of a passage toward the Providence Channel, south of the Abacos, with the plan to round the south end of the Abacos, cross the Great Bahama Bank, and then cut across the Gulf Stream to port.0:34 The trip is running about five days longer than expected after being pushed farther east than anticipated.16:29 Rand describes managing two AIS contacts in the dark, with his alarm set at 2-mile CPA and 20-minute TCPA, and maneuvering to clear a second vessel that held its course.3:07 Propane is nearly exhausted after failing to track consumption across two backup canisters; he switches to a Jetboil for water boiling and notes that boiling excess water in a kettle is the biggest propane waste on a boat.15:08 Starlink provides connectivity.7:42 A sextant latitude sight came within one mile after he identified and corrected a procedural error in his multi-step calculation.22:56 The second half of the log covers a squall-filled night: Rand reefs to double-reefed main and staysail on a beam reach in high-teens wind, identifies a line squall bearing down with an oil tanker three miles to port, and outlines his immediate-action plan — bear off dead downwind, ease the main, drop the staysail, and ride it under a third reef if needed.29:48 He acknowledges he should have pre-emptively reefed at the first daytime squall sighting.31:16
Boats in this video
More from Sailing Into Oblivion
From Sailing Into Oblivion — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analyzed video.
The Sailing Directory Newsletter
One email with the fleet's best finds — the moments, boats, and stories worth your watch time. Enter your own address to get your own copy.



