First Trip to Bahamas

[spooky alice]

Looking for recommendations on book(s) for newbie planning trip to Bahamas from the Keys. Weather, current, winds, timing and general sailing info. Planning on working my way toward Antigua, then due west to Belize and back.

[nautical62]

For the Abacos, I've been very happy with Dodge's guide. He talks quite a bit about crossing, etc as well. An overall Bahamas guide I've used is Matthew Wilson's "Bahamas Cruising Guide", though in the edition I had, he did not cover the Juamentos and Ragged Islands. I liked that he had yellow pages that give one some idea of what services cost.

I've never been south from the Bahamas, but have read and love "The Gentelman's Guide to Passages South." What I learned about how to use weather to my advantage from that book has been invaluable.

Although I've never used them, I know some cruisers have used the guides by Pavlidis (sp?). I believe he covers the Juamentos and Ragged Islands.

There are also some wonderful cruisinig narratives or cruising logs you will find by surfing around which will give you many insights into what cruising is like there and what places might appeal to you.

I have some Abacos photos at:

www.artphotosforsale.com/abacos

(Despite the name, none are for sale. I'm not selling anything.)

[slomotion]

I echo nautical62 - get the Dodge and Van Sant books plus Explorer charts. For points south, the Chris Doyle cruising guides are good.

[Harriet]

Don't leave home without the Explorer Chart Books for the Bahamas.

[camaraderie]

CYC/maptech charts for south of the Bahamas are great.
The Pavlidas book on Turks and Caicos is excellent and has good sketch charts of Luperon/DR which are tough to find elsewhere.
I agree with the others on Doyle and Dodge and Explorer Charts.
VanSant is an interesting read but we rarely followed his advice and still lived to tell the story!
Suggest visiting Chris Parker's weather page and signing up with him as you head south. Weather will make you or break you south of the Bahamas and he is great.