Hi Tom,

...speculation, nothing more, based on what I've seen going on in the Bahamas since the advent of the Explorer Charts...

I have no way of 'proving' this, of course - my gut simply tells me that there's no way he would have attempted to enter that cut that night, in those conditions, without the confidence instilled by the ability to simply keep his boat's icon centered in the channel. I believe this is a classic example of a skipper being 'emboldened' to attempt a passage that he never would have tried in the days prior to electronic navigation, solely relying on a sketch chart in the YACHTSMAN'S GUIDE, and the directions to "line up the conspicuous casuarina with the red-roofed shack", or whatever...

Actually, the charting of that area is incredibly accurate today, and I doubt it was his plotter that led him astray... It was simply his profound ignorance of the conditions he was gonna encounter there during a rage, that likely led him into making such a poor decision of seamanship that resulted in the loss of the boat, and the life of one of the crew...

My hunch is also that he may not have had a large scale chart of the NE Providence Channel and its environs ever spread out before him while he was weighing his options, which MIGHT have allowed him to more easily see at a glance the far better options offered by continuing down to the safe refuge of Hole in the Wall, or on to Spanish Wells... But again, that's pure speculation on my part, we'll never know, of course...

It's been awhile since you've been to the Bahamas, you'd be amazed at the job Monty and Sarah Lewis have done with their Explorer Chartbooks, extraordinary work... But, you might also be amazed at the absolute faith some cruisers are now putting in their infallibility, I've encountered more that one who appear to believe that every single coral head in the Bahamas has now been charted with pinpoint accuracy...

In the Old Days, NOBODY but the Mail boats ran in the Bahamas at night... Now, it's become quite common, many of the charter megayachts are moving from one day's destination to the next while the guests are sleeping... I spoke to the captain of one 130-footer the night he departed Norman's Cay, headed out thru Highborne Cut in the dark... He was simply sticking to a known safe track on his plotter he's established before, and freely admitted it would have been nuts to attempt the same passage back in The Old Days... (grin)

best regards,

Jon