Archive For: Bahamas

I’d like to be able to get to the southern exumas and Gtown by running the bank on the west and south of andros, then stay south of the tongue and its shallows just south of the tongue before heading up toward pudding cut.

All the research I ve done on line thru forums, blogs etc confirm the charts showing the run to the tongue around andros is deep enough with the usual occasional coral heads.

The only unknown section is about 10nm SW of Hawksbill Rock (west of great exuma, just off the edge of chart EX 3) where there seem to be some 2 meters sounding.

Does anyone have info on this area?

It would be a nice route when the NW is its usual rough stretch.

Now fly in even more luxury to the Out Islands of the Bahamas.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Watermakers Air is proud to announce the powerful Caravan EX as the newest
addition to their fleet of Cessna 208B Grand Caravans. Delivered direct from the Cessna factory, this
state of the art Caravan EX will be the newest, most comfortable Caravan available in South
Florida. The modern Caravan EX boasts a luxurious cabin our passengers are sure to enjoy, with
executive leather seating, a wide aisle, and large windows to savor the beautiful views of the
islands. Equipped with the most advanced technology in its class, the EX features the exceptional
Garmin G1000 glass cockpit avionics suite. In addition, the larger engine and four-bladed prop allow
for a faster cruising speed and provide an ultra-quiet and smooth ride.
About

Man O War Cay Boatbuilders’ Memorial Dedication
Posted: 02 Feb 2017 06:07 AM PST
On April 1, 2017, a dedication of a memorial to the Boatbuilders of Man o War Cay. The 2,400 pound lead keep from a man o war ship is being worked into a permanent exhibit on the island. The festivities include the launching of a locally-built sailing vessel plus demonstration of local crafts and other accompanying festivities. On April Fools Day, Man o War Cay in the Abacos is a good place to celebrate the past and link with the future.

Here are two links to information on the memorial and planned dedication on April 1st:
http://mowmemorial.org/dedication.pdf is the current plan for the dedication.

http://mowmemorial.org/ describes the memorial itself. In the lower right corner is an animated GIF of a model of the memorial. There is a prize for any who spot the pelican and jumping dolphins :-).

Join the islanders, ex-pats, boaters and other visitors for a great day in the Abacow.

Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Watermakers Air is proud to announce the powerful Caravan EX as the newest addition to their fleet of Cessna 208B Grand Caravans. Delivered direct from the Cessna factory, this state of the art Caravan EX will be the newest, most comfortable Caravan available in South Florida.  The modern Caravan EX boasts a luxurious cabin our passengers are sure to enjoy, with executive leather seating, a wide aisle, and large windows to savor the beautiful views of the islands.  Equipped with the most advanced technology in its class, the EX features the exceptional Garmin G1000 glass cockpit avionics suite. In addition, the larger engine and four-bladed prop allow for a faster cruising speed and provide an ultra-quiet and smooth ride.

About Watermakers Air: Watermakers Air offers comfortable and reliable scheduled air service for both passengers and freight from Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport to 10 Out Island airstrips in the Bahamas. Watermakers Air also offers private charters to destinations of your choice.

Scheduled Passenger and Freight Service to:
• Andros (San Andros, Fresh Creek, Congo Town)
• Chub Cay
• Great Harbour Cay
• Eleuthera (North Eleuthera, Rock Sound)
• Staniel Cay
• Great Exuma
• Cat Island (New Bight)

Private Charters to the destination of your choice
• Anywhere in the Bahamas or within 500 miles of Ft. Lauderdale
(excluding Haiti and Cuba)

Meet your Watermakers Air flight at our beautiful, private hangar at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport
• Convenient to all South Florida international airports
• Complimentary parking for passengers
• Spacious, comfortable lobby with TV & WiFi
• Complimentary snacks & beverages
• Discounts offered to our passengers by local hotels

Your Way To The Out Islands

watermakersair.com

All scheduled flights are operated by Exuma Cays Travel, Inc., a Public Charter Operator under the approved
U.S. DOT 380 Public Charter Program, prospectus number PC-15-191.

Jennifer Valencia
Watermakers Air
954-771-0330
Jennifer@watermakersair.com

Please go to our website www.explorercharts.com under Fuel and Dockage Prices to check our latest findings. We will be updating continuously as we get new information.

GREEN TURTLE CAY UPDATE JANUARY 2017
Posted: 27 Jan 2017 08:03 AM PST
Fortunately, the Abacos were spared any major damage in 2016’s Hurricane Matthew, which devastated parts of New Providence, Andros, and Grand Bahama.

Green Turtle Cay seems to be bustling with activity with lots of yachts in the area. One new amenity since our last (7th) edition of the Explorer Chartbook Near Bahamas is that Customs officers will come to your boat at a marina to clear you in. You no longer have to go to the Customs office in the New Plymouth settlement or at Treasure Cay. Certainly this is much more convenient than in the past.

Another “amenity” to the area is the recent tourist interest in the swimming pigs of No Name Cay, south of Green Turtle Cay. For those having spent time in the Exumas, this is nothing new with the big attraction of feeding and swimming with the pigs at Big Major’s Spot (The Bay of Pigs!). However, in the Abacos, it is a huge tourist attraction with adventure cruises from the various islands bringing thrill-seekers to experience the excitement of getting in the water with 20 or more mama and papa pigs and their piglets.

With the influx of more yachts in the winter season, Donny’s Boat Rentals has expanded into Donny’s Marina (in Black Sound). Donny offers dockage as well as moorings for safe protection from frontal passages and otherwise bad weather conditions. Leeward Yacht Club also offers a good choice of protection and services in Black Sound.

The New Plymouth settlement now offers a new choice in Laure’s Kitchen (not to be confused with the former Bahamian Laura’s Kitchen) offering Asian cuisine in a small eat-in or carry-out café. In addition, a new gift shop, the Treasure Chest, has opened.

In White Sound, both marinas—Bluff House and Green Turtle Club—are fully operational and welcoming to transiting yachts.

GRAND BAHAMA: FREEPORT/LUCAYA UPDATE January 2017
Posted: 27 Jan 2017 07:26 AM PST
After surveying West End (see earlier posting), we visited the south shore of Grand Bahama, stopping in the four main channels to marinas and services.

Off Freeport harbour, usually ships are anchored there. It is wise to stay clear of them.

From west to east, the channel at the Explorer waypoint “Bahamia Bay,” the entrance is narrow and shoaled on the sides.
Enter with caution. The Bahamia Bay Marina does not appear to be open or in any kind of repair after Hurricane Matthew. There were no lights at the entrance. Night entry of any of these smaller channels should not be attempted as you need to be able to read the water.

The channel entrance at the “Sunrise” waypoint is also narrow and shoaled in places. Beware of the rock on the starboard side entering the channel just past the red marker. Sunrise Marina is beginning to open after the hurricane but still has much damage. A few boats are able to tie up at the face dock but other slips are inoperable at the present time.
Knowles Marine is open and has fuel, hauling and boatyard service available.

The channel at the “Ocean Reef” waypoint is also narrow and shoaled at the sides. Ocean Reef Marina has made great strides in repairs after the hurricane and is fully operational and almost filled to capacity.

“Bell Channel” is in good condition as charted on Explorer Chart GB 6. Both Port Lucaya Marina and Grand Bahama Yacht Club are fully operational. Some of the Port Lucaya restaurants have not yet reopened but food and shops are open in the Lucayan Village. Fuel is available at GBYC but the restaurant is not yet open.

The Grand Lucayan Waterway is open for all vessels of vertical clearance of less than 8.3 meters at high water at the Casuarina Road Bridge. Since our last 7th edition of the Explorer Chartbook Near Bahamas, there is a new bridge across the waterway at The Narrows, where the Grand Bahama Highway crosses. Although we do not have official measurements, it appears to be higher than the older Casuarina Road Bridge.

There are new pole markers in place at the dredged channel entrance to Dover Sound. The controlling depth is 1.2 meters at low water, which is approximately 2 ½ hours later than Nassau tide (on the other end of the waterway). The poles on each end of the dredged channel are currently lighted with red and green flashing lights.

The pole charted northwest of Cormorant Point has been replaced and is currently lighted.

Monty & Sara Lewis
Explorer Chartbooks

Excerpts of article By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor

Sir Franklyn Wilson yesterday said he was “shocked” and “amazed” by assertions from a Government regulator that consumers are being short-changed at 50 per cent of the Bahamas’ gasoline pumps.

The FOCOL Holdings chairman said he was unaware of the Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality (BBSQ) findings, but emphasised that neither his firm – nor any other oil industry player – would seek to deliberately cheat the Bahamian public.

“I couldn’t agree more; you should get what you pay for. There’s certainly no intent from us other than for people to get what they paid for,” he told Tribune Business.”

Dr Ferguson-Bufford gave little insight into her findings at last week’s conference other than the headline ‘50 per cent’ figure, and there was no mention of the gas stations and companies where consumers were not receiving the volume of gasoline they were paying for.

Disclosing the Bureau’s ‘rip-off’ findings, she said an inspection of fuel stations by the Bureau had found only half of the pumps measured volumes accurately.

“We have three major service providers, and we’re talking about all of them; we’re not targeting one over the other. We found issues with all of them. We have work to do. We found deficiencies.”

“We spoke to them, and they got their technicians to deal with the issue right away. You should get what you pay for.”

The Bahamas has three major fuel providers – Sol Petroleum/Esso (Bahamas); Rubis/Texaco (Bahamas) and Freeport Oil Company (FOCOL)/ Shell.
The oil/gasoline industry has subsequently been tight-lipped on the Bureau’s findings, with retail dealers contacted by Tribune Business referring this newspaper to their supplier head offices.

2. Cruisers can now comment directly from email. Once you subscribe to the group, please email info@explorercharts.com and request permission to post to Bahamas Chatter via email. Your forum membership will be changed to “author” status at which point you can post or comment directly by sending your message to chatter@explorercharts.com.

Thanks for your participation in this great group of cruisers willing and ready to share ideas and experiences!
Kate Fears