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Planning to sail from Miami to Georgetown without a single overnight? We lay out a proven, day-only route that respects winter weather, leverages the best anchorages, and removes guesswork from every leg. Think Biscayne Bay as your patient launchpad, South Bimini for an easy check-in, a smart pause on the Banks before Northwest Channel, and short, joyful hops all the way down the Exumas.

We start with a simple truth: the Gulf Stream rewards those who wait. Hawk Channel beats the skinny inside route for most boats, and Biscayne Bay offers a perfect rhythm—anchor off Dinner Key when it’s calm, duck to Boca Chita for frontal protection, and stage at No Name Harbor. With a clean window, cross to South Bimini’s protected basin and avoid the current-battered docks up north. From there, run the Banks by daylight, anchor off the rhumb line before Northwest Channel, then slip through at dawn toward West Bay, New Providence, and onward to Highbourne Cay.

Once in the Exumas, the sailing turns blissful: Highbourne to Shroud Cay’s mangrove river and ocean “slide,” a reservation-worthy stop in Warderick Wells for serious protection and scenery, Pig Beach at Big Major with fast dinghy runs to Staniel Cay’s supplies, and Black Point’s laundry, haircut, and legendary coconut bread. We share mooring tactics for strong currents, singlehander tricks for picking up a ball, and why “raging” cuts demand slack water or current-with-wind timing. The final push to Georgetown is a rewarding reach when you time your exit cut and entrance right; inside Elizabeth Harbour, use the moorings near Chat and Chill and consider shifting to the town side when south and west winds arrive. With a vibrant morning net, kid-run Saturdays, and easy side trips to Cat Island, Long Island, Rum Cay, and Conception, Georgetown becomes both a safe haven and a springboard.

Weather discipline holds the plan together. Expect fronts every 7 to 10 days, clocking winds and short periods of punchy west and northwest. Budget an hour each morning for forecasts, models, and routing choices. We lean on Marine Weather Center (Chris Parker) for conservative, cruiser-savvy guidance and combine it with tools like PredictWind and Windy. And a note on etiquette that pays dividends: tip dockhands fairly, protect park seabeds by taking moorings, and use island water with respect. Ready to chart your crossing? Follow, share with a sailor who needs a safer plan, and leave a review to help more cruisers find this route.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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SALTY ABANDON: Cap'n Tinsley, Orange Beach, AL:
Oct 2020 to Present - 1998 Island Packet 320;
Nov 2015-Oct 2020; 1988 Island Packet 27
Feb-Oct 2015 - 1982 Catalina 25

SALTY PODCAST is LIVE every Wed at 6pm Central and is all about the love of sailing!
YOUTUBE PLAYLIST: https://tinyurl.com/SaltyPodcastPlaylist
Wanna create a Livestream?: Https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5430067749060608

GEAR FEATURED IN MY UPCOMING VIDEOS:
🛟 Boat Fenders → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08S1PXKKR
⚓ Dock Lines → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BS4BNYR9
🧽 Exterior Cleaning Kit → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BL533KR7

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A thousand miles from Hawaii, the chainplate ripped out and the mast went over the side. That sleepless night in the Transpac didn’t just test seamanship—it planted the seed for a weather platform that now helps a million sailors make safer choices at sea. Olympian and two‑time America’s Cup winner John Bilger joins us to share how a jury rig, a weatherfax, and a hard-earned finish turned into PredictWind’s mission to bring pro-grade forecasting to everyone.

We dig into what John learned running Alinghi’s Cup‑winning weather program: why multiple models beat gut feel, how high‑resolution data reveals local effects, and where new AI models are already outperforming traditional physics in short‑to‑medium range winds and rain. John explains AI polars that learn from your boat’s actual performance, motion simulation that flags roll, vertical acceleration, and slamming risk, and how those insights flow into routing that feels like Google Maps for passages. We also get practical about safety tech that matters offshore: over‑the‑horizon AIS with 300‑nm visibility, an anchor alert system that watches wind, depth, and shift while you’re ashore, and a forthcoming man‑overboard feature that turns a lost watch connection into an instant waypoint and alarm.

This conversation is part story, part field guide. You’ll hear about camper‑van regattas across Europe, a credit card read over SSB to hire a tug, and the high‑stakes America’s Cup call that flipped a race. More importantly, you’ll get a blueprint for using ensembles, CAPE for thunderstorm potential, and model agreement to reduce surprises—even in tricky zones like the Gulf of Mexico’s Big Bend. John’s closing advice is simple and actionable: start learning your tools months before departure and aim to avoid the first five days of bad weather entirely. If this helped you plan smarter passages, follow the show, share it with your crew, and leave a review so other sailors can find it too.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

SALTY ABANDON: Cap'n Tinsley, Orange Beach, AL:
Oct 2020 to Present - 1998 Island Packet 320;
Nov 2015-Oct 2020; 1988 Island Packet 27
Feb-Oct 2015 - 1982 Catalina 25

SALTY PODCAST is LIVE every Wed at 6pm Central and is all about the love of sailing!
YOUTUBE PLAYLIST: https://tinyurl.com/SaltyPodcastPlaylist
Wanna create a Livestream?: Https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5430067749060608

GEAR FEATURED IN MY UPCOMING VIDEOS:
🛟 Boat Fenders → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08S1PXKKR
⚓ Dock Lines → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BS4BNYR9
🧽 Exterior Cleaning Kit → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BL533KR7

Send us a text

A single upgrade can change the way you move through the water. We just installed a below-deck autopilot and walk through what it means for safety, stamina, and real backup when steering cables or hydraulics fail. From the bypass pin to the rudder feedback sensor, we get hands-on with the hardware and talk about keeping linkages clean, joints aligned, and fuses easy to reach when the sea is bouncing and decisions need to be quick.

We also demystify how a Garmin marine network talks alongside a NMEA 2000 backbone and even plays nice with a Raymarine drive. Think of it like two classrooms with a shared hallway: radar, sonar, SiriusXM, and chartplotters on one side; heading sensors, ECU, and drive control on the other. Then we share the calibration routine that avoids hunting and overcorrection—run the setup wizard, carve big circles in both directions in moderate conditions, and set a mid-level response so the unit stays sharp when winds build.

Routing and weather drive the rest of the game plan. With a storm threading Jamaica and the Bahamas while a cold front presses across Florida, timing is everything. We weigh a sheltered stop at Cedar Key, a calmer push to Tarpon Springs, and when to choose the ICW over the Gulf. There’s practical seamanship throughout: seven-to-one or ten-to-one scope when it pipes up, a second anchor for pet-friendly nights, and the unglamorous but crucial logbook entries that insurance adjusters and the Coast Guard will ask for if your screens go dark. We touch on Hydrovane and other self-steering options, lobster and stone crab pot fields, king tides, and how local knowledge can shave hours without adding risk.

If you sail coastal miles, want clearer electronics integration, or need a smarter approach to anchoring and weather windows, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a skipper who needs a redundancy nudge, and leave a review with your best calibration tip or Gulf Coast shortcut—we’ll feature our favorites next time.

Support the show

SALTY ABANDON: Cap'n Tinsley, Orange Beach, AL:
Oct 2020 to Present - 1998 Island Packet 320;
Nov 2015-Oct 2020; 1988 Island Packet 27
Feb-Oct 2015 - 1982 Catalina 25

SALTY PODCAST is LIVE every Wed at 6pm Central and is all about the love of sailing!
YOUTUBE PLAYLIST: https://tinyurl.com/SaltyPodcastPlaylist
Wanna create a Livestream?: Https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5430067749060608

GEAR FEATURED IN MY UPCOMING VIDEOS:
🛟 Boat Fenders → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08S1PXKKR
⚓ Dock Lines → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BS4BNYR9
🧽 Exterior Cleaning Kit → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BL533KR7