Shipping freight/storage for Bahamas

[AnnieSailing]

Hi friends,

We are trying to brainstorm ways to pack some refit/repair tools and materials from our home state of TN to do long-term cruising following the sale of our house. One potential solution is to pack everything up (we're talking tools, supplies, and things that are needed for a couple years of cruising without having a land base) and either ship it to and then store it in FL, sail up and retrieve it, or have it shipped freight style to Nassau or similar--wherever is cheapest and easiest to retrieve. Also open to other solutions!

TL;DR: we're abandoning shore life and cruising full time. How do we get tools and supplies to the islands?

[team karst]

One potentially time consuming task is doing a commercial invoice for everything inside the box. But with that done, there are several ships that are regularly scheduled of pt Everglades to various islands.

[ItDepends]

Before you decide to ship stuff to the Bahamas, you will want to talk to a local customs broker to be sure you can bring it in without hassle.

The Bahamas charges duty on all imports, and for some things it is quite high. The exclusions allowed for "yacht in transit" are quite limited. Only engine parts, or sail and rigging parts--basically anything that makes the boat "go." Everything else is imported at regular rates. There might be a way around this, hence the recommendation to talk to a broker. Do not try to do this yourself. It would really, really suck to have all your stuff impounded while they assessed duty on it...

I had good luck using one of the "pods" when I sold one boat on the west coast, and bought a new one on the east. They deliver it to you, you load it, and they store it until you are ready for it. They can deliver to a marina or boat yard and you unpack and load up your boat. I would do that, and meet up with it in Florida.