Abacos 2020

[Pavel24]

Hello , i am presnetly at West palm beach and thinking how to get to exumas.
Options i see :
1. Go from West palm beach to memory rock and then to grand cay to check in ? And then continue to exumas ( but i am worried about the state of the abacos after Dorian)
2. Go more south and go to bimini and from there to exumas
3. Go from miami and head to check in in Nassau ?

Its my first time and i would prefer memory rock because i think its easier but i may be wrong

[a64pilot]

I’ve been wondering the same, maybe check in at West end though and just sail through the Abaco’s just avoiding any settlements, but I have heard Green Turtle cay is operational? If so maybe they could use some money? By that I mean that just maybe spending some money there may help and isn’t a hand out. Some don’t like hand outs, but like to be paid for work they have done.

I would like to hear if anything has recovered in the Abaco’s, if fuel is available etc., but of course not taking anything they need, just maybe helping support a job or something.

[Navicula]

from west palm to great harbour (berry islands) what a great check in spot
from there, spend a few days going down the berry chain and then hop over to rose island (Nassua).....from there over to Normans cay and you are in the exumas....enjoy

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Navicula

from west palm to great harbour (berry islands) what a great check in spot

from there, spend a few days going down the berry chain and then hop over to rose island (Nassua).....from there over to Normans cay and you are in the exumas....enjoy

I’ll check into that, do you know if you can get 6 months there? I believe to get 6 months that Customs and Immigration have separate, when one person does both I think they are only allowed to give 90 days.
At least that is what I was told when I checked in at Spanish Cay last year.

What routing do you take to get there from West Palm?
Miami to Bimini to check in and then onto the Berries would seem to make better sense?

[Lowcountry]

From WPB I would check in at West End and then go through the Abacos, down to Little Harbor, then Eleuthera and across to the Exumas. I know for a fact that Green Turtle Club Marina (Abacos) has open docks, water and diesel.
For a more direct route to the Exumas, I would go further south to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami, and then cross over to Nassau to clear customs, and then down to the Exumas.

[Navicula]

No immigration there so you will get your 90 days then you will have to get your extension in other places like georgetown.....
From west palm i head right out the channel and straight to great harbour....last year it took me about 30 hours we sailed 90 percent of the way.....lots of shipping traffic day and night....
Reguardless of the route you choose...its a great spot and helpfull people in great harbour

[Capt. Greg]

Sailed to GTC a couple of weeks ago. As Lowcountry said, Green Turtle Club has fuel and dockage. You can clear in at the Chinese port on Great Abaco across from Powell Cay. You can also dinghy to the the Green Turtle Ferry Dock and clear in at Treasure Cay Airport (what we did). There are some restaurants open in New Plymouth, as well as Sid's Grocery, a liquor store and hardware store. Spending some money there would be greatly appreciated. Maxwell's in Marsh Harbor is open.

[InsuredApple]

Originally Posted by Pavel24

Hello , i am presnetly at West palm beach and thinking how to get to exumas.
Options i see :
1. Go from West palm beach to memory rock and then to grand cay to check in ? And then continue to exumas ( but i am worried about the state of the abacos after Dorian)
2. Go more south and go to bimini and from there to exumas
3. Go from miami and head to check in in Nassau ?

Its my first time and i would prefer memory rock because i think its easier but i may be wrong

We sailed from Port Everglades to Chub Cay (cleared in), and then sailed down to Nassau (West Bay)... and after the blow, we will probably head to the Exumas.

[Pavel24]

We finaly crossed to Bimini from no name harbor 7 december. Will wait next time to see abacos

[s/v Jedi]

We are in Port Canaveral and plan to sail south along the coast to West Palm Beach, then cross to West End to check it out as we’ve never been there yet.

Note that north of WPB there is room between the coast and the Gulf Stream but from WPB on it’s right there and heading straight across is the best thing you can do. If this puts you north of West End then simply work you way down there as the current is way behind you already

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

We are in Port Canaveral and plan to sail south along the coast to West Palm Beach, then cross to West End to check it out as we’ve never been there yet.

Note that north of WPB there is room between the coast and the Gulf Stream but from WPB on it’s right there and heading straight across is the best thing you can do. If this puts you north of West End then simply work you way down there as the current is way behind you already

I’m thinking we will do just that ourselves in a couple of weeks, last year we went by West End as we were being chased by a Norther, which was a mistake, should have probably stayed there and let it roll past.

Is your plan to sail thru the Abaco’s? I think we may and stop and buy fuel if we need it at Green Turtle. I assume even just buying fuel would help some, and not be a burden. We make our own water etc so we wouldn’t be using any of their resources

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I’m thinking we will do just that ourselves in a couple of weeks, last year we went by West End as we were being chased by a Norther, which was a mistake, should have probably stayed there and let it roll past.

Is your plan to sail thru the Abaco’s? I think we may and stop and buy fuel if we need it at Green Turtle. I assume even just buying fuel would help some, and not be a burden. We make our own water etc so we wouldn’t be using any of their resources

We bring everything (literally) we need and take all garbage back with us. What we look for is a nice place to stay at anchor and redo all our upholstery ourselves while enjoying ourselves. If there are others in the Abacos, we’ll stay there but when it’s lonely we’ll sail to north Eleuthera as we liked that when we came up a couple of months ago

[s/v Jedi]

Gulf Stream comes all the way up to Ft Pierce now...

[a64pilot]

I like Eluthra as well, Hatchet bay on the North end is a good sheltered quiet spot or Rock Sound down South was my favorite.