Explorer Chartbooks, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.

Bahamas Chatter: “VAT Surprise” plus 1 more
VAT Surprise
Posted: 17 Mar 2016 03:54 AM PDT
We recently had parts shipped to us in Marsh Harbour. We’ve discovered Abaco Freight in Jupiter, but that’s another blurb. Our water heater sprang a leak and needed a gasket. Parts supplier was in Boston, so we had gasket Fedex’ed Overnite to Jupiter and then Abaco Freight shipped it to MH via Cherokee Air. The parts were $52, Fedex US shipping was $70 (remember this number), Abaco Freight was $20. The invoice from the parts house showed $122. When I picked up the package the VAT was $11.41. I assumed the VAT would be on $52 + $20. Wrong! Remember that $70 US Fedex charge, that was also included.
The moral of the story is try to minimize your TOTAL shipping cost, including all US shipping.
John (MV Duetto)

Shipping into Marsh Harbour (Abaco)
Posted: 17 Mar 2016 03:53 AM PDT
This is a quick note on getting packages shipped to Marsh Harbour from the US.
We recently needed to have 2 steering cylinders shipped from the US. We’ve had small items sent in the past and have used Fedex with good results. The cylinders were approximately 3″x3″x36″ and weighed 7 lbs each. I priced the cylinders from 2 distributors and they were virtually the same price. The Fedex charge was vastly different, $275 vs $125. Even at the lower price I thought that I would explore alternatives. I called Aramak shippers in Marsh Harbour. They said it was too small for them but they put me in touch with Abaco Freight in Jupiter, FL. I emailed them and Kimber Mazzeo (nick@abacofreight.com), the owner, got back to me right away. She explained that based on my sizing, the shipping cost would be $40 and they take care of getting parts through customs. She also explained in detail that she needed electronic copies of the cruising permit and an electronic invoice with the boat’s name on it. So the process is the distributor ships to Abaco Freight c/o you. They put it on a Cherokee Air flight (m-w-f) and you pick it up at the Marsh Harbour airport. I have to say from the time we placed the order we had the parts within 5 business day with no drama.
As an aside one of the distributors shipped for free, so the end to end shipping cost was $40.
John (mv Duetto)