Journey to the Ragged Islands: Sailing Solo Through The Bahamas

Journey to the Ragged Islands: Sailing Solo Through The Bahamas

The Bahamas is a nation with about one thousand islands and cays, many of which are remote and uninhabited. The unique geography of The Bahamas includes shallow banks and coral reefs as well as water over 4000 feet deep. Scattered about the banks are blue holes, vertical caves that often lead down to underwater cave systems. Blue holes are incredible places to freedive. Barrier reefs between the deep ocean and the islands often produce excellent surfing waves. The water is full of wildlife, including hundreds of species of tropical fish, sharks, rays, eels, turtles, and whales. I set out from Jacksonville, Florida, to explore some of the most remote islands in March and April of 2018 sailing alone in Sobrius, my 30' sailboat, a Dufour Arpege. I dove on coral reefs almost every day, as well as five or six blue holes. I surfed three point breaks, and I found much more adventure than I ever expected. I documented the journey in this, my third book, Journey to the Ragged Islands. I also am documenting the journey on my YouTube channel, Paul Trammell, in a series of videos. In addition to dramatic and immersive prose describing the joys and difficulties of the journey, I also include a lot of singlehanded-sailing technique, as well as descriptions of the islands I visited and GPS coordinates of all the places I dropped anchor. Islands I visited include Eleuthera, Cat Island, Long Island, the Jumentos Cays, the Ragged Islands, Rum Cay, Conception Island, and the Exuma Cays. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it!