Hi Neil,

The amount of false confidence that many cruisers are displaying these days in the accuracy of electronic positioning and charting is truly frightening... Those Explorer Charts waypoints given for that cut are spot on, and this skipper likely knew that...As you say, in the old days, even the most desperate captain would not have been emboldened to such a degree, and attempted to shoot such a cut in the dark, like it was some sort of video game...

For example, the professional pilots of Spanish Wells who guide cruisers through the Devil's Backbone passage to Harbour Island will not make that trip during a rage condition... Those guys who've been doing that trip for 60+ years, could probably do it blindfolded, but they will simply NOT attempt it in a rage... And yet, cruisers armed with a set of Explorer Charts waypoints, and their trusty plotters, will do so - especially when their schedule dictates it... WTF is wrong with that picture? Yeah, I know, even the Bumfuzzles "proved" that the Devil's Backbone could be transited in a rage and poor light, right? Last winter, I spent a few days at Samana Cay, which features one of the most challenging and dangerous reef passages in all of the Bahamas... Extremely tight, difficult to read in even the best light, you're in one of the most remote areas to be found down there - put a boat on that reef, or suffer a grounding that might damage a rudder or pop a couple of keel bolts, you could be well and truly screwed in that place... And yet, I awoke one morning to find a Nordhavn trawler that had come in during the night, through a break in the Columbus reef perhaps 3-4 times the beam of their vessel in width, relying on a chartplotter alone... UFB, some of these people are freaking insane, the risks they're willing to undertake simply to avoid spending a few more hours outside...

I saw it to an even greater degree a couple of years ago in Belize. The charting there is not nearly as accurate nor complete as it has become in the Bahamas, so cruisers are relying to a considerable extent on lists of waypoints that get passed around like so many trading cards. One morning, I heard a net controller on the NW Caribbean Cruiser's Net provide some waypoints for Ranguana Pass to a boat that was coming over from Roatan, and wouldn't be arriving until after dark... Unbelievable - these waypoints should be considered the navigational equivalent of an STD, who knows where they originated, or where they've been? We all know how easily a couple of digits might have been transposed in copying somewhere along the line, such a mistake could easily spell the difference between deep water, and the reef... What's so hard about slowing down/standing off for the night, then making your approach with the sun behind you in the morning? The unwillingness on the part of some to tolerate even the slightest discomfort in the name of safety/proper seamanship, it's amazing...

best regards,

Jon