Bahama Advice Needed

[quincyscuba]

We have been full time cruisers for a year now. We started in St Louis, made our way through the river system to the Gulf coast, through Lake Okeechoobee, and up the East coast to New Bern, NC. We are getting ready to head south, and expect to arrive in Florida’s East coast by mid-December. We would like to spend some time in the Bahamas. Our only off-shore experience has been our Gulf crossing from Carrabelle to Clearwater. If anyone is planning to travel to the Bahamas this winter or has advice to share from previous experiences, we would appreciate hearing from you. Questions that we have include: best time, i.e. month, to travel; areas recommended (we were thinking Exumas); areas to avoid; tips regarding dogs; and provisioning. Thank you in advance. Please contact us either through the Forum or through our contact information below.


Rob and Naomi Tipton
MV Lorelei IV
QuincyScuba@gmail.com
217-316-3578 (cell)
www.loreleiiv.blogspot.com

 

[Dan Mapes]

Make sure you have an inverter that can power a refrigerator over night and beyond. Load that freezer up with all of your favs. If you like quiet, consider solar to keep the batteries up to snuff. Running a genny 24x7 is annoying IMHO.

Why anyone would want to bring a dog that needs walking to the Exumas is beyond me. Regular trips to shore would be a serious encumbrance and during fowl weather a genuine PITA. Unless you tie up at places like Compass Cay, Staniel and Highbourne Cay you will find managing a pet will be difficult as you will have to launch the dink and go to shore.

Nassau is where you go for fuel and provisioning. Maybe a stop at Atlantis to say you have been there. Otherwise stay on the boat.

P.S. A water maker is a definite plus. Depending on your requirements, consider a 600 GPD and more water maker so you can do laundry.

 

[Pascal]

We spend. Lot of time in the exumas, about 4 to 5 months a year in 6 or 7 trips out of Miami. Mostly to the Exumas because honestly it s the best of the Bahamas. We run a 2009 Lazzara 84 now after 8'years on a 70' Johnson. Been to the abacos, berrys,Eleuthera etc. but you can't beat the Exumas as long as you enjoy spending time on the hook. If you like to be docked and meet people then the abacos maybe better.

What to avoid? Bimini and Nassau .

Dogs. No idea... you need to get some paperwork in order... plenty of info on line

Provisioning. Nassau is ok but if you can pack up as much dry goods and frozen stuff as well as possible before leaving... do it ! Provisioning in the family islands is hit or miss. When the mail boat comes you ll find some produce fruits and dairy otherwise you ll have to wait till the next week. Georgetown has some stuff but still
Limited. Again freezer space for meat is critical as well as some frozen veggie. If you can spare the space add a freezer I ve added 2 small fridge/freezer from compactappliance.com They can be set as either fridge or freezer. They're small (1 cuft) but really help.

If you go to the Exumas make sure you spend time in the southern Exumas between Staniel and Georgetown. Many great anchorages and fewer people

Oh. Water maker a must. Water is expensive and only 4 marinas in the Exumas (highborne, compass, Staniel and
Emerald). Afaik Exumas YC in Gtown took a beating from the hurricane.

 

[jim rosenthal]

For fowl weather, a parrot would come in handy.

 

[Dan Mapes]

We used a 3 cu ft freezer and cannot recommend less for a couple Wintering over in the Abacos or Exumas.

I cannot underscore enough the importance to have a freezer, watermaker and inverter. Our inverter takes over immediately during power outages and drives the freezers and refrigerators. Our watermaker has a magnetic switch on it so that intermittent power outages will not hammer the membranes.

The Abacos are fun and offer entertainment. If you are looking to escape and find places "out back" with serenity, nothing beats the Exumas between Highbourne and Georgetown. Just be ready to stick it out without shopping.

 

[Boatsb]

Be properly stocked with spares. Also prepare for the worst. Like not having power and water always easily available.

If you don't have an inverter give me a call. I know a guy who can set you up real well.

 

[Pascal]

I didn't mention inverter and a good bank but it's indeed nice to have as a back up to the generator and to get some quiet time as long as your boat as good ventilation. On modern boats it's prettt much useless as nothing opens up

Winter is a good time as it s a little cooler but you have to watch the cold fronts swoooing down, once a week or so. While usually not bad you can get some 20kts for a day so you need to make sure you re in a protected spot. Fronts are usually stronger in the abacos being further north.

Best time of the year is probably april thru June. Warmer, no fronts, fewer people and no tropical systems as in July thru October

The Gulf Stream crossing needs to be timed to avoid anything north of easterly. In winter you typically get two good days followed by 4 to 5 no go days due to nirtherliea after a front. Crossing windows out of palm beach to the abacos are typically shorter than out of Miami to Bimini

Another they tough patch is the NE channek between the berrys and Nassau. Very unpredictable and can be as bad as the stream

 

[Colwyn D]

We've been a few times to both Exumas and Abacos.
I'd say provision before crossing and give Nassau a miss. Crossing with a good forecast is not really an issue although it's long enough that conditions usually vary over the trip. We usually travel in daylight and stop at Bimini Sands or if going to the Abacos then maybe anchor at Sale, nothing there, and move on in the morning.
Night crossings are nice on a fullish moon but not on the bank, that's daylight only.

Agree with watermaker, laundry facilities, Inverter and a good anchor but we have travelled without those luxuries before to the Abacos, marina hopping, and enjoyed it.

I'd say go ashore and use what facilities are on offer, the odd restaurant meal or 'store' visit as the locals are pleasant and need our support.

 

[polarizer]

Another vote for Staniel,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srzzmzcl_9A&t=147s

Check out Hyborne as well which is north Staniel

There is a good fuel place across the river from Atlantis, I forget the name, but if you take a hard right
at the rock, its on your right about 200 yards.
Buy a freezer and put it on your deck and provision in florida.
Water maker is a must

 

[Pascal]

It s harbor central marina next to Bay Street marina on the south side of the harbor across from Atlantis west of the bridge. Fuel is the same price as hurricane harbor , and the dock is much bigger and in better shape Bay Street marina is the best marina in Nassau and very well managed .

I disagree about not running on the bank at night. We do it almost every trip usually coming back leaving the Exumas in the morning and running at hull speed we get to the bank by sunset and push on to cat cay arriving around 1 or 2 am. It s nice ride as the bank is usually smooth and it s plenty deep. there are no coral heads or anything to worry about Except once in a while a sailboat anchored with minimal light. Radar is nice to spot them ahead.

 

[quincyscuba]

Thank you, everyone, for all of the great advice. You have actually been helping us long before your replies to this post, as we have already gleaned a lot of information from many previous posts on a wide variety of topics. We have an older boat which has already cruised to the Bahamas many times in the past with our previous owners, and they had already installed a bank of six 6V house batteries. Since Lorelei IV is an older model Hatteras, there are many windows that can be opened up to catch the breeze, so they typically only ran the generator twice a day. We took this one step further and installed a solar system which can take care of most of our energy needs on reasonably sunny days.

We knew that having a dog aboard would be more work, but we also figured that we would likely go to shore most nice days anyways. With this in mind, we built and installed a swim platform which could support a lift for our dinghy. On our trip from St Charles, MO to Ft Myers, FL, we anchored most of the time and did not find going to shore twice a day to be cumbersome. There were several times when we went 24-48 hours without going to shore, and our dog figured out how to potty on the deck on a towel or mat set out for that purpose.

Since many posts had put extra freezer space high on the list of “must haves”, particularly for cruising outside of the U.S., we bought a dual-powered Engel fridge/freezer just before we moved aboard a little more than a year ago. Many posts also mentioned the high cost of water outside of the U.S., so we installed a watermaker that can make 30 gph. We have a small washer and dryer, we have a small scuba compressor since we are both divers, and we have 2 generators – again courtesy of our PO’s – so we are set to be self-sufficient for probably at least a month.

The Exumas seem to be ideal for cruisers who want to anchor and avoid high population areas as much as possible, so this is why cruising there appeals to us. Other questions we have are: where is the best place to start the crossing if we want to go to the southern Exumas; where is the best place check in; are there any books or other resources you would recommend; what resources have you used to select anchorages (we typically use Active Captain); what anchorages do you recommend; and is there anything we have forgotten to ask that we should have?

Thanks again in advance for your replies!

 

[PeterK]

Pascal and Dan Mapes seem to be the go to guys for Bahamas info. Search some of their old posts.

We were not able to go last winter but spent 6 months over there 2 years ago. Our favorite area was around Staniel. Really enjoyed our anchorage on the north side of Big Major. A short dinghy ride to Staniel and the minnimalist food "stores" there.

I like The Exuma Guide, a cruising guide to the Exuma Cays by Stephen Pavlidis. We used about 15 of the anchorages he provides and found them to be as he wrote.

 

[Pascal]

We always clear at cat cay and avoid Bimini. It s easier as customs and immigration are right there side by side. Yes cat cay charges $100 to stop and clear but typically we re in an out in under 30'. It s also right on the way unlike BIM which is 10nm off course.

If we have time we anchor out off Gun Cay, right next to cat. The beach is nice and has many stingrays.

We then cross the bank to Nw channel. I d suggest anchoring off bird cay in the east side of overpriced overrated full of fishermen Chubb. There are many beaches and sandbar to explore aroun bird, whale and the other cats. On bird, the old Francis mansion is worth exploring although it must have taken a beating from the last storm

An alternative (or on the way back) it to stop at great harbor cay in the northern berrys. Nice protected marina and beautiful island In between you also have white cay which has a nice anchorage with a blue hole on Hoffman cay which is worth the short hike

Nassau is not really worth the stop except to top off the fuel tanks. (See prev post). Fuel is almost a dollar cheaper in Nassau compared to Staniel and emerald.

Our favorite stops in the Exumas :

Norman's cay being developed but nice anchorage, great beaches and a DC3 to snorkel in
Shroud cay. Run the north creek by dinghy to go to camp Driftwood beach on the solid side
Hawksbill cay. South end anchorage is better
Warserick wells plenty to explore. Trails, etc
Pipe cay (old Royal Navy dock) and sand bars in the east side
Compass cay: marina is ok I also like anchoring on the west side of the cay quickndinghy run to Rachel
Bubble bath and the caves
Staniel area is worth 4 to 5 days, so much to do
Butter guana : iguanas and cliffs
Jacks bay cove. Good day stop. Nice horseshoe beach, good snorkeling along the rocky shore to the north
Little farmer. Lunch at TY sunset grill is a must as is visiting the cave on great guana just across the channel
Rudder cay. Mermaid and the piano, lot s to explore in nearby cays
Lee stocking our favorite Exuma anchorage. Trails, beaches etc.
Georgetown. Some re provisioning Nice beaches easy flights to us

I agree in the panel exuma guide along with the explorer chart books. google earth and panoramio are also nice tools to find the good spots

 

[Dan Mapes]

If you are heading to the Exumas and skipping the Abacos, it depends where you are leaving from and crossing opportunities. If you happen to be in West Palm and it's flat out there, go for it and worry about what to do next when you are across. As Pascal points out x'ings can be few and far between depending on the time of year. We normally like 2 feet or less but depending on the swell, the period and wind waves we will take a following sea across. We are not stabilized and without a lower station it makes the S.O. a little green around the gills.

We know folks that cross to West End because they are heading South from the Carolinas. Once checked in they will head around to Lucaya or down to the Berries. Lucaya is a tourist trap. If the weather is bad but kind enough to move around to Lucaya, why not? Fuel is a bit cheaper at West End and Lucaya compared to the Abacos but Nassau is best. Check the Explorer Charts web site for fuel and dockage rates. They are usually pretty close to reality.

BTW make sure you have a macerator and that it works. You don't want to test your holding power.

Consider joining the Bahamas National Trust. By having a membership you will be granted priority at places like Waderick Wells. Call the morning you want to pick up a mooring ball after the announcement. *IF* you can get into Cambridge Cay you might like it there. We scoped it out with the dink while we were at Compass. It's a well protected mooring. BTW check the regs on the Park mooring balls I think they have a size limit.

Pick up a BTC cell phone chip and slide it into an unlocked phone. With a cell phone booster and their data plan you increase your ability to stay connected.

 

[Pascal]

I forgot Cambridge. It s nice spot with some protection from westerlies if a front comes thru. It's a bit shallow at the south entrance with about 6' mlw It s close to the rocky dundas which in briefly mentioned earlier. They are two large caves facing the east