Bahamas Are Waiting! Solo Sailing, Sunset & Smooth Trade Winds from Turks & Caicos to Little Inagua.

After an amazing time in Turks & Caicos, it was time to point Mirage toward the Bahamas 🇧🇸

In this episode, I sail solo from Providence, Turks & Caicos to Little Inagua, Bahamas - a 70 nautical mile downwind passage filled with steady trade winds, deep blue water, and pure sailing rhythm.

I departed at about 3:00 PM, made an overnight stop at West Caicos, and at 6:00 AM headed out again for the final leg to Little Inagua. Conditions were nearly perfect: 140–150° TWA with about 20 knots of wind, making for a fast, smooth, and very enjoyable downwind sail.

Along the way, I’ll show:
• How I jibe the boat safely while sailing solo
• How to calculate wind angles before a jibe using the bearing to a new waypoint
• A relaxed onboard dinner cook-up, inspired by a Gordon Ramsay video
• A bit of history and information about Little Inagua, wrapped up with a stunning Bahamas sunset

0:00 Leaving Blue Haven Marina
1:24 Shallow passage between the reefs
2:00 Sails up
3:50 Overnight stop at West Caicos
4:30 Day 2 – early morning departure
6:09 Crossing the Caicos Channel
8:50 How to estimate wind angle before a jibe
10:00 Jibing the boat solo
10:35 “Bahamas Are Waiting” – my theme song 🎶
12:20 Approaching Little Inagua
13:30 Anchor set
13:55 Cooking with a famous chef 👨‍🍳
14:55 A bit about Little Inagua

Fair winds, blue water, and welcome aboard!!

Soundtrack:
The jazzy background music you hear in this episode is an original track I created just for this episode. You’ll find the full lyrics below - they capture the mood of the passage perfectly: calm, rhythmic, and quietly adventurous.

"Bahamas Are Waiting"
[Verse 1]
Chart on the table
Mug with a coffee ring
Mirage leans hungry to starboard
Like it’s tasting everything

Turks and Caicos waking
Soft gold on the rail
Solo hand on the mainsheet
Whistling, ready to sail

[Chorus]
Bahamas are waiting
Full sail, heart racing
Blue on blue, that endless view
Fair winds, sun blazing
Bahamas are waiting
Bahamas are waiting

[Verse 2]
Halyard hum in a half-time groove
Spray on my face, sweet salt perfume
Clouds like brushstrokes, high and thin
I laugh at the line where the sky drops in

Compass swings, then settles true
Hull just slices that liquid blue
Every wave a soft backbeat
Mirage dancing under my feet

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
Is this dream, is this day
When the charts all fade away
Only numbers are the knots we make
Only measure is the wake we shake

[Chorus]