Bahamas Weather Check… and UFOs Offshore?! (Sailing Jeep in Georgetown) | Salty Podcast #88

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Forty-knot gusts, nine-foot swell, and a mooring field packed with boats waiting out yet another front—welcome to a real-time snapshot of Georgetown, Exumas. We bring on Curt from Sailing Jeep, currently anchored in the thick of it, to share hard-earned lessons on reading models, picking safe anchorages for relentless north winds, and staying sane when the forecast keeps slipping. If you’re staging a Florida–Bahamas crossing or planning the Exumas, this is your field guide to timing, local geography, and the kind of redundancy that pays off when systems pile up.

Curt walks us through his Prout 46 setup—an ocean-capable catamaran optimized for comfort and safety—then opens the toolbox on what really breaks under pressure. A windlass solenoid fails, both engines develop different issues, water systems gulp air, and an autopilot turns useless when compasses disagree. We unpack the diagnostic steps, electrical gremlins that mimic fuel problems, and how to source parts in the Bahamas when brokers, taxes, and delays complicate simple fixes. You’ll also get a cruiser’s map to Georgetown: the dinghy cut to the grocery dock, where to fill water and fuel, and which side offers better shelter when fronts clock from north to south overnight.

And then there’s the night no one aboard will forget. After reported missile launches in the Gulf, the crew films fast-moving objects on night vision while GPS and compasses diverge—later aligning with widespread reports of a major solar flare scrambling anchor alarms across the southern Bahamas. Whether training ops or something stranger, the seamanship takeaways are clear: cross-check references, trust your eyes, and hand-steer with purpose when electronics spin.

If you value practical cruising advice with honest talk about breakdowns, fatigue, and the mindset to keep going, hit play. Subscribe, share with a sailing friend, and leave a review to help more cruisers find the show.

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