3 week Bahamas itinarary

[Seaadventurers]

Originally Posted by willpower1

I would add Steve Dodge's Guide to the Abacos very thorough guide book for the Abacos with waypoints

Thank you! I ordered the book and have already received it. Looks like a good recommendation.

[Seaadventurers]

Originally Posted by skipgundlach

Long thread so this info may have been missed earlier, but it's critical.

I know of N>1 lost boats directly, and indirectly several more, courtesy of Navionics.

Nobody who uses Explorer charts religiously touches unless they want to (we clean our bottom by intentionally going up on a sand bar on a falling tide)...

I have seen a lot of comments on Navionics being inaccurate in the Bahamas. Others seem to disagree. In doing a little research, it looks like Garmin bought Navionics in October, 2017. I'm wondering how this might have impacted the accuracy of Navionics charts? I would assume that Garmin would want to use only one set of charts going forward??

I also saw a post that gave a specific example of Navionics charts being inaccurate in the Bahamas. It showed an accurate chart (can't remember which one), a satellite view of the area, and the Navionics chart. The Navionics chart was clearly missing a shoal. I have Navionics for my Ipad and checked my version against what was shown online. My version does have the shoal and other detail that was missing earlier.

So, wondering if the charts have been improved....especially since Navionics was acquired by Garmin?

[skipgundlach]

It would be great if Garmin would go do the soundings needed. Other companies license the Explorer Chart data which is the gold standard for navigation in the Bahamas. For whatever reason (according to Explorer) Garmin/Navionics is not one which does:

PC products, C-MAP by Digital Marine Solutions has C-Map Plan2Nav for iPad 1, iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4. This app is downloaded free and East Coast and Bahamas may be purchased from i-Tunes (the price varies depending on the device being used). The Bahamas portion of this product is similar to the multi-source versions described above with Explorer data only between Bimini and Long Island. The app charts are similar to the other C-MAP products, but when metric units are used only the even meters rounded off to the lowest meter are seen. This can cause problems in areas of shallow depths. The app will work with internal GPS, wireless or cellular service for navigation, but was not found to be as accurate positionally compared to a stand-alone chartplotter. Since the charts remain on the device after being downloaded, it may be used for planning.

We continue to work with our electronic chart partner, C-Map, to make Explorer Chart data available in as many products and formats as possible. In the past, decisions whether to include Explorer data in electronic products, unfortunately, have been made by management personnel not intimately familiar with Bahamas waters.

Garmin Chartplotters come with preloaded maps for all U.S. coastal areas and the Bahamas. The current release (February 2017) does NOT have Explorer Bahamas data for the Little Bahama Bank, most of Grand Bahama, the Abacos, Great Inagua, and the Turks and Caicos.

No Explorer Chart data is available in any Navionics products. It is important to use the latest Explorer Chartbooks printed charts and the latest release of Jeppesen electronic Explorer-only charts for the primary source of navigational information in the Bahamas.

The Explorer Team

[Seaadventurers]

Finalizing our itinerary and using the advice of posters here! Looks like the majority agree with the outline karenmccraw posted...what a great load of advice! Thanks to all!

[kipwrite]

I’d have to second Karenmccraw here, having spent a month in the Abacos this past winter.

Spend two or three days in each spot she mentioned and take your time. Sail for a few hours in the mornings and settle in to your next stop before lunch. Take your time.

I quite enjoyed the beach at Treasure, the off the grid feel at Nunjack, the Green Turtle club, Hopetown, Man o War, and also Little Harbor. Tahiti beach was lovely. Some amazing snorkel spots you’ll find in the guidebooks.

I found Nippers and Grabbers over run with the spring break crowd, which wasn’t my scene.

Get the Explorer books and make sure your dinghy outboard is reliable. Get comfortable with the anchor and windlass set up on your boat.

Tune into cruisers net in the mornings at 8:15 for the latest news and feel free to ask the community for help if you need it. Folks are accommodating.

The Whale passage can be problematic in northers but the cruisers net will have good insight if it’s passable - it’s pretty short, maybe 3-4 miles outside.

Have fun.

[lesliehand]

Just curious what you ended up doing and also who you rented through, what the cost was and if you were happy?

[Seaadventurers]

Originally Posted by lesliehand

Just curious what you ended up doing and also who you rented through, what the cost was and if you were happy?

We just arrived in Marsh Harbour today and are staying on the boat tonight with our chart briefing tomorrow morning. We are going to stay in the Abacos for the three weeks and follow the 2 week itinerary that has been provided in the this post. We have chartered from Dream Yacht Charters and can comment later. The boat is a Bali 4.3 and relatively new. I believe we got the boat for roughly $10k for the 3 weeks.