Advice on passage Florida to Bahamas

[JebLostInSpace]

I'm sure variations on my questions have been asked many times, but I'm prepping for my first international sail from Florida to Bahamas, and I'm getting a bit overwhelmed trying to plan things out. I'm hoping some patient experts here will point me to the right resources to help on a variety of questions.

Background on me: I'm living on my 1998 Hunter 410. I've spent the past 7.5 months cruising from Georgia up to Maine and back. I singlehanded almost all of it, with occasional visits from friends/family. Just parked the boat on a mooring in Fernandina, FL so I can drive to visit my family for the holidays. I'm planning to be back on the boat and start moving towards the Bahamas crossing by approximately Dec 29. This will be several firsts/biggests for me: longest offshore passage I've ever done, first time clearing into another country, first time in the gulf stream, first time navigating the shallow water around the Bahamas...

So as for my questions:

1. How far South should I go before crossing? I've read that I should plan for an average of around 2kts of current North, so certainly South of my destination. All the way to Miami area?

2. What ports can I clear into for customs? And how does that process work? Am I allowed to arrive somewhere that's maybe easier to reach than a port with customs, and then make my way to another port to clear in? It looks like you can clear in at Old Bahama Bay, but that also looks expensive and uncomfortable as a port, so idk.

3. Where is the best/most updated info on Covid protocols for private boats clearing in?

4. This trip seems doable single-handed to me. Possibly a start around midnight and arrive late afternoon? Is that reasonable or should I really be searching for crew assistance? I normally cruise between 5-6kts.

5. What do people look for in a weather window for this crossing? I'm imagining South to West winds are good, East winds are obviously bad, and North winds would kick up bigger seas being against the gulf stream current? What else should I be looking for?

6. What are some boat/equipment preparations I should be thinking about? This will be my first cruising destination where access to parts/services will be significantly difficult.

7. Once I arrive, what is the general cruising route? I draft 5.5 ft so it seems like I have to be pretty careful about that. I'd like to keep my options open for continuing South to Puerto Rico, Turks & Caicos etc. But that decision will depend on Covid, timing with hurricane season to worry about, and my ability to get crew for the bigger passages.

8. What else have I not even thought about yet that I should be worrying about?


Thanks in advance for all the help. I don't expect anyone to type out detailed answers to all of these, but if there is one you have particularly good info on, or resources you use that can be linked, that would be great!

[tkeithlu]

1. Consider Stuart to West End
2. Consider Ft. Pierce at the airport
3. See Skipmac's post on this thread
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...as-243900.html
4. Doable
5. You got it, but include wind if you don't want to land at Hatteras
6. Plenty of supplies at Freeport, a rental car/van ride from West End
7. Routine prep - reliability and redundancy are always important in cruising
8. You know your boat and your skills. Attend to little voices in the night.
9. Have a wonderful trip.

[Lowcountry]

1. In your situation, I would depart from either West Palm Beach (Lake Worth Inlet) or Ft. Lauderdale and shoot for West End, Grand Bahama. You can clear customs there and top off on diesel if necessary. It's also a nice facility with great amenities. From there you can day-hop to the Abacos with ease on the Little Bahama Banks.
2. You can clear in at West End and Green Turtle Cay for sure. Earlier this year, you could clear in at China Harbor on the north end of Great Abaco, but I'm unsure if that is still available now. You are also able to clear customs at the airports on Great Abaco (MHH and TCB).
3. I'm not up to date on this info, sorry.
4. Yes, easy to singlehand with proper weather window. I would leave Lake Worth around midnight and arrive at West End around noon the next day.
5. You're likely to wait a while for S or W winds. Most likely to get a big dose of SE winds. In this case, the further south your departure point, the easier your crossing will be.
6. Filters, fuses, waterpump impellers, V-belts, spark plugs for outboard, sail repair tape, etc.
7. Buy some cruising guides and the Explorer Bahamas chart kits. (Steve Dodge's Abacos guide is good, Steven Pavlidis wrote some good Bahamas cruising guides as well).
8. Make sure you have some way to access weather forecasts. If you have an SSB, get a weather subscription with Chris Parker. If you don't, maybe consider something like Iridium Go. Otherwise, you'll be limited to getting your weather from cruisers' nets or cell data. In some areas of the Bahamas, you will have no trouble getting cell reception. In others, you won't get any cell reception at all. It is important to stay on top of the weather down there, as cold fronts run through typically on a weekly basis. You could find yourself in situations with 30kts+ winds regularly.
9. I'm jealous. I wish I was cruising the Bahamas this year. Maybe 2022 for me.

[hlev00]

Beneteau 423, draft 5'7". It was our first time in Feb 2019. We left from Miami at 4AM and arrived Bimini about 11A. Winds had been very light the day before and were forecast to be NW 10-12 so we weren't concerned about the NW direction. Had the forecast been stronger or been blowing like that for the day before we would have reconsidered. People that crossed the day before motored the whole way to Bimini. We had to motor for a bit but the NW filled in and we had a wonderful sail across. We staged out from Dinner Key outside Coconut Grove but most in that area stage out from near No Name Harbor. Our original plan had been to go to Marathon or thereabouts and enjoy some time before setting off to Bimini from further south than Miami but we had some delays earlier in the trip and the weather window looked perfect. In the conditions we had single handed would have been fine though it was nice to nap in the early morning hours.

Sorry. No Covid experience.

You can see our trip here: https://juno423.blogspot.com There is a link of our track there but here it is too: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tra...pMode=useAtlas


We didn't go past the Exumas but our friends on Holiday did the whole thorny path to the Caribbean, as have many others. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuQ...kmQk-d2222OREg



Harry

[dougweibel]

We have made the trip 4 times. The easiest routes are probably West Palm Beach to West End Grand Bahama (Old Bahama Bay) or Miami to Bimini. It really is not much more than a day trip. Leave in the night or very early morning. My preferred route is WPB to WE, leaving early enough to get through customs and back out of WE with enough day left to proceed on to the bank and anchor at Mangrove Cay, or Great Sale Cay if things are really going smoothly. Once you get through the pass and onto the bank you can anchor pretty much anywhere, though without protection, if you run out of daylight. If you plan to do that much in one day check in advance what the tide will be going through the pass onto the bank and make sure it will not be low.

This year with Covid may be different but generally the Bahamas are pretty friendly about checking in at a port that is not your first stop. They are not like Canada where you can't drop your anchor till you are checking in. Many people will check in at Green Turtle Cay (for example), and will have spent one or more nights anchoring in the Abacos along the way there flying the Q flag.

You will see strong currents in the gulf stream, but it varies along the way. By the time you get there you will be out of the current, so don't plan on a 2 knot cross current the whole way. You can see a forecast current map here:
https://ocean.weather.gov/newNCOM/NC...m_currents.php

The prevailing wisdom is to not go if the wind has a northerly component. Wind against the gulf stream current will make the waves nasty steep.

If you are comfortable single-handing for a 24 hour stretch then the only reason you might want crew is for helping land you on the dock on your arrival. The two routes I mentioned above are much less than 24 hours, though you may start in the dark.

5.5' draft is fine. There are few "regular" places you will have any trouble getting in to. A few harbors you will need to go with the tide, but at 5.5' most are no problem.

There are many "typical" cruising routes. It mostly depends on what areas you want to visit. Remember that the Bahamas is kind of huge. It covers a geographic area similar to the eastern Caribbean. I'd pick an area where you want to start, for example the Abacos or the Berry Islands, and that will guide your choice of crossing and port of entry.

Have a great time. We will be about a month behind you

[chris mac]

You have received a lot of good info already.
We have crossed twice. Both times from lake worth. Last year we checked in at great harbor cay. Roughly 24 hour run.
This year we checked in at west end. Roughly 11 hour run. We left at 3:30 am to arrive during business hours.
Current rules(current meaning for our crossing about 3 weeks ago) are get a covid pcr test. Send negative result with application for bahamas health visa ($60) Receive aproval for health visa and go. From date of test you have 5 days to physically check in. However the wording of the 5 day is a little weird. Basically if you test monday, you have till sat closing to arrive.
After check in, 5 days later you need to visit a nurse and do anothercovid test(cost is included in health Visa). And there is a daily email health survey to do for roughly 2 weeks.
Additional things to bring.. spares and repair items you might need for the time frame. Shipping parts over is pricy.
Aquamaps ap on a tablet with bahamas explorercharts is by far the best for navigation.
Otherwise bring a swimsuit and pole spear if you want some lobster. And get your but over here!

[DeValency]

All good points by the experts here.

One unusual (or maybe very usual this year) - guess the Bahamas may shut down again soon, without exceptions, even if you are already on the way - we had this unpleasant experience cruising from the DR to George Town in March - had to continue to Florida - non stop.

So be very careful and check again an again with the local authorities.

I would try to plan on crossing from Miami area to Bimini in a first time.

Beware of any sign or forecast for a northerly - a very unpleasant experience if catching you in the middle of the GS

[sailorboy1]

I doubt they suddenly shutdown like they did this year (we were there). The difference between then and now is now they have procedures etc. ironed out.

To the OP - this is just a day trip with exception you need to plan around the Gulf stream. So you don't cross during or right after a north wind and you need to plan that your course is going to sweep you north so it is a plus to start south of your landing target

I can guarantee your Hunter 410 can do it

[JebLostInSpace]

Thanks everyone for the great info! I'm thinking that Ft Lauderdale to West End is probably my easiest bet for single-handing. I've ordered a couple cruising guides to help me figure out where to go once I'm there.

I'm still a tiny bit fuzzy on how to deal with the various officials when I arrive. My current understanding is that I need to apply for and pay for a cruising permit before leaving Florida. This will also likely include a requirement for a covid test just before setting off (but covid policy is constantly changing so check again every day until I go). Then when I pull into West End, I fly my Q flag, come up to the dock, and show the customs officials my passport, cruising permit, and covid paperwork. Probably also then get another covid test, and then run off to explore. Is this about right? And is there a "dummies" guide to this somewhere? I'd hate to cost myself time and/or money because I screw up the paperwork...

Also, LowCountry: Thanks for pointing out that getting weather info will be more difficult than I'm used to. Cruising the US East coast, I typically just get forecasts on my phone. I've been assuming (it sounds like incorrectly), that I will be able to continue doing that in the Bahamas for the most part. Then I thought there would likely be a morning forecast I could listen to on the VHF. Do the Bahamas not broadcast one? Or are some of the islands just too far away to hear it? I do have an SSB, but I've never used it except to make sure it powers on. I'll look into the Chris Parker thing. Do I need a radio license to use the SSB? I thought I read once that I do.

[sailorboy1]

Go to the Bahamas.gov site it will walk you through it. One thing for about West End is that the govt has a building right there in the marina. If west end you will go through the Abacos, which the civilization area. Get the Explorer charts, they have more than just charts and have a lot of answers to questions you have asked. I got a waterway guide when i went earlier ths year and found it had useful “sights” info.

Don't stress over it. It is pretty easy to do.

[chris mac]

Originally Posted by JebLostInSpace

Thanks everyone for the great info! I'm thinking that Ft Lauderdale to West End is probably my easiest bet for single-handing. I've ordered a couple cruising guides to help me figure out where to go once I'm there.

I'm still a tiny bit fuzzy on how to deal with the various officials when I arrive. My current understanding is that I need to apply for and pay for a cruising permit before leaving Florida. This will also likely include a requirement for a covid test just before setting off (but covid policy is constantly changing so check again every day until I go). Then when I pull into West End, I fly my Q flag, come up to the dock, and show the customs officials my passport, cruising permit, and covid paperwork. Probably also then get another covid test, and then run off to explore. Is this about right? And is there a "dummies" guide to this somewhere? I'd hate to cost myself time and/or money because I screw up the paperwork...

Also, LowCountry: Thanks for pointing out that getting weather info will be more difficult than I'm used to. Cruising the US East coast, I typically just get forecasts on my phone. I've been assuming (it sounds like incorrectly), that I will be able to continue doing that in the Bahamas for the most part. Then I thought there would likely be a morning forecast I could listen to on the VHF. Do the Bahamas not broadcast one? Or are some of the islands just too far away to hear it? I do have an SSB, but I've never used it except to make sure it powers on. I'll look into the Chris Parker thing. Do I need a radio license to use the SSB? I thought I read once that I do.

If you are on facebook, there is a lot of good info on" bahamas land and sea" group for checking in as well
I havent had any problems getting weather off my phone. There are a few places without signal, but not many. Get a BTC or aliv sim card and you are good to go.
If you are heading into a bad signal area(like exuma park) screen cap the week forecast. It's only 15 miles or so of bad signal, and warderick wells office still has a signal

[Lowcountry]

Originally Posted by JebLostInSpace

Thanks everyone for the great info! I'm thinking that Ft Lauderdale to West End is probably my easiest bet for single-handing. I've ordered a couple cruising guides to help me figure out where to go once I'm there.

I'm still a tiny bit fuzzy on how to deal with the various officials when I arrive. My current understanding is that I need to apply for and pay for a cruising permit before leaving Florida. This will also likely include a requirement for a covid test just before setting off (but covid policy is constantly changing so check again every day until I go). Then when I pull into West End, I fly my Q flag, come up to the dock, and show the customs officials my passport, cruising permit, and covid paperwork. Probably also then get another covid test, and then run off to explore. Is this about right? And is there a "dummies" guide to this somewhere? I'd hate to cost myself time and/or money because I screw up the paperwork...

Also, LowCountry: Thanks for pointing out that getting weather info will be more difficult than I'm used to. Cruising the US East coast, I typically just get forecasts on my phone. I've been assuming (it sounds like incorrectly), that I will be able to continue doing that in the Bahamas for the most part. Then I thought there would likely be a morning forecast I could listen to on the VHF. Do the Bahamas not broadcast one? Or are some of the islands just too far away to hear it? I do have an SSB, but I've never used it except to make sure it powers on. I'll look into the Chris Parker thing. Do I need a radio license to use the SSB? I thought I read once that I do.

I've never applied for or paid for a Bahamas cruising permit before departing Florida. I've always done that when clearing customs in-country after arriving.
There are some places in the Bahamas where you can get weather on a VHF cruisers' net in the morning. Green Turtle Cay has one (I believe). There used to be one in Marsh Harbour, but I bet it doesn't exist anymore since Dorian (could be wrong). There was also a cruisers' net in George Town, Great Exuma, but that's a long way down. The point I'm trying to make is that you won't be able to rely on cruisers' nets every day to give you weather. There are also no national weather broadcasts on VHF like we have here in the US with NOAA.
As for cell reception, you can get it good in most places in the Abacos. You can get it in New Providence, you can get it at Highbourne Cay down to about Norman's Cay in the Exumas. You can get it again from Staniel Cay once you get below the Land and Sea Park. You can get it in George Town. There are a lot of places in between where you will have none or unreliable cell service. In a pinch, you could always call any vessel on the VHF and ask if they have a current weather forecast that they could share with you. Cruisers are very generous and helpful there, but I like being self-sufficient and not relying on others if I can help it.

[chris mac]

Quote
"I've never applied for or paid for a Bahamas cruising permit before departing Florida. I've always done that when clearing customs in-country after arriving."


That is correct. However this year because of covid you must apply and pay for a bahamas health visa before departing florida. The cruising permit is as it always was

[Cheechako]

So as for my questions:

1. How far South should I go before crossing? I've read that I should plan for an average of around 2kts of current North, so certainly South of my destination. All the way to Miami area?
I've crossed from Biscayne mostly. Even leaving from there my initial heading would be a good 30 degrees South from true to counteract the current. It eases as you cross.
2. What ports can I clear into for customs? And how does that process work? Am I allowed to arrive somewhere that's maybe easier to reach than a port with customs, and then make my way to another port to clear in? It looks like you can clear in at Old Bahama Bay, but that also looks expensive and uncomfortable as a port, so idk. Bimini, or I have gone all the way to Chub Cay before. What's your draft? I barely got into Bimini with 6-4 draft.

3. Where is the best/most updated info on Covid protocols for private boats clearing in?

4. This trip seems doable single-handed to me. Possibly a start around midnight and arrive late afternoon? Is that reasonable or should I really be searching for crew assistance? I normally cruise between 5-6kts. Leaving midnite or 1 am I would arrive in Bimini early/mid morning. (47 ft mono or 42 ft cat). Going to Chubb I would arrive in night time and got in with radar.

5. What do people look for in a weather window for this crossing? I'm imagining South to West winds are good, East winds are obviously bad, and North winds would kick up bigger seas being against the gulf stream current? What else should I be looking for? People usually wait for the wind to clock South then West and leave at the start of that cycle to avoid the NE wind against the current. This may take a couple weeks to get.

6. What are some boat/equipment preparations I should be thinking about? This will be my first cruising destination where access to parts/services will be significantly difficult.
I made color photocopies of my document that looked real. There a paper colr that matches exactly. In the Caribe I used those when needed just to avoid the possibility of someone wanting to keep it. Never had an issue though.
7. Once I arrive, what is the general cruising route? I draft 5.5 ft so it seems like I have to be pretty careful about that. I'd like to keep my options open for continuing South to Puerto Rico, Turks & Caicos etc. But that decision will depend on Covid, timing with hurricane season to worry about, and my ability to get crew for the bigger passages. It depends , but I usually worked my way across the banks to Chubb or on to Nassau, then through the Exumas for easy cruising. 5-5 draft isn't too bad, it was a bit hairy with my 6-4 draft at times.

8. What else have I not even thought about yet that I should be worrying about?

Beware my info is a bit old, so others may chime in on where current entry points are. I dont know if Chubb is still an entry point or not. The Bahamas are heaven to me and the best of the whole E. Caribe. You may never leave!

[steamgoat]

Hey Jeb,if you go to west end,provided weather is ok, anchor in cross bay and dingy in to customs,save some $$$