Bahamas - North or South ?

[MICHAEL K]

HEADING OVER TO THE BAHAMAS FROM WEST PALM AT THE END OF MARCH FOR THE FIRST TIME, SHOULD I GO TO WEST END AND THEN THE NORTHERN CAYS OR TO BOMONI AND SOME OF THE SOUTHERN CAYS? I HAVE A 7 DAY WINDOW.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ADVICE IN ADVANCE.

[Vasco]

From West palm folks usually go to West End or right onto the Little Bahama Bank and then on to the Abacos to clear in (Green Turtle). To get to Bimini you'd be fighting the stream all the way.

[AnchorageGuy]

Michael, Please turn off your caps. Thanks. First if you only have 7 days you may not make it at all. Unless you have a fast power boat you are not going to cover much ground. You will need to watch for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream even in March so that can eat up your entire 7 days or a good portion of that. Then you will need a window to get back so you might get over there and not get back for much more that 7 days. The biggest disaster to befall most boats is a schedule. It tempts you to make decisions for all of the wrong reasons. Suggest you do some coastal cruising until you have more time.

[skipmac]

Hi Michael,

What Chuck said. If you have only seven days for the whole trip in March then you may not get to cross at all. Also be careful that you don't get a short window to cross the Gulf Stream and end up stuck in the Bahamas with bad weather preventing a return home (then on the other hand there are worse things that could happen).

If you do want to try the crossing for a seven day trip I would personally go south to Bimini/Cat Cay area for the diving, fishing, etc. Also, Bimini has a little more Out Island flavor than you would see in Freeport/West End. If you want to go for casinos and duty free shopping go north to Freeport.

Problem is, once you reach either point you are 100 miles or more to the next place in the Bahamas to go. In a sailboat that just isn't practical in 7 days, barely doable in 2 weeks if you hurry. Power is a different story.

Regards
Skip

[defever]

if ya only gotta wk. in march, i'd say go to bimini on an overnight(but start no further n. than lauderdale), clear in in the a.m., then head for the berries---good diving/exploring and you'll get a great sense of the way the islands were before gps. bring enuf food/booze because there's no reasonable place to shop...

[skipmac]

Hi Defever,

Very good to point out that crossing to Bimini you should start Miami/Ft Lauderdale but I still don't think seven days is enough time to go further unless you are in a power boat that can go a good deal faster than hull speed. Believe me I have tried to squeeze a Bahamas trip into a week more than once and the math just doesn't work if you try to go beyond Bimini or Freeport.

If you make AM landfall in Bimini it will take you half a day to clear customs and imigration. Even if you spend no time at all in Bimini you could not get onto the banks before mid day, most likely late afternoon. It is about 70 nm just to reach Chub Cay and another 5-10 nm minimum past that to reach anywhere you want to go. So even if you sail all night across the banks you won'[t reach the Berrys until the next evening, probably after dark (not recommended without good local knowledge). So for practical purposes you would not make the Berrys until the next am.

Now you have used 2 days out of your seven and need to figure the same to get back. So, four days round trip travel time to get 3 days in the Berrys. Can be done but just too hectic for a fun vacation. Also allows no time at all for any weather or other delays.

Now with a Defever trawler (what kind of power do you have and what's the cruising speed?) maybe you could do this a lot faster, but for us slow pokes in sailboats doesn't seem practical.

Regards
Skip

[defever]

my defever 41 goes 7-8 kts...good point about customs taking awhile... o.k. another suggestion: head over to the islands but on the 6th day, get near a phone and call in REALLY sick (like 4 days worth)...then it's possible! perhaps a trip to the keys is more in order...there are still places there where you can be alone and get the island feel..

[skipmac]

Hi Defever,

Calling in sick is an idea. Might even be believeable. I have heard of people developing maladies when they drank foriegn water. However, I dive with a few guys in the military and they can't get away with that. If you are not back on base when your leave is up you better be in the hospital in traction or on a respirator.

But you know, all in all, if you haven't been there too much a week to Bimini/Cat Cay is not so bad. You do get the island flavor, plenty of bars and restaurants to keep you occupied for a week, and a good range of diving from beginners snorkeling to advanced tech dives. It can get crowded in the season since anchorage is a bit limited.

I thought you could get 9-10 knots in a Defever 41 or is that pushing the stops too far?

Regards
Skip