The discussion below is copied from the MTOA List-Serv. All of us at the Cruisers' Net heartily endorse this wonderful organization. As so many contributed to this discussion, it was impossible to secure individual permissions, so I have ommitted all names.

How do you get weather in the Bahamas if you don't have internet on your boat & don't have a SSB???

That depends on where you are in The Bahamas.
In places near Marsh Harbor (Abacos) or Georgetown (Exumas) there are VHF radio nets that provide weather. Some Marinas (Highbourne in Exumas for example) repeat NOAA forecasts on VHF. Listen for announcements on 16 in the AM. Also, when in range some AM/FM local radio broadcasts are available.
Any Bahamas cruising guide has info on how to get weather.

Well there are internet cafes all over. and many restaurants either have a dial up or wifi to use. When anchored, unless you are an isolationistm, there are usually boats around that do in fact have ssb.
And many of those will be on radio service using intranet through that media. Memory escapes me but the latter is Win something. There are also local as a rule AM radio stations available. And in some case the high seas wx forecasts out of the states in specific points. There is also wx through NOAA the time people which almost any receiver capable of receiving ham frequencies can obtain.

Unfortunately, not very well. Some places like Georgetown have a VHF net but without at least an SSB you are not going to get much information. The distances for VHF are too great.

You will find out different ways to get weather information by just chatting with other boaters while in the Bahamas, as has been already mentioned. Before crossing the gulf stream, it would be worth almost any effort to get online and access www.passageweather.com. At pretty much any port on the west side of the Bahamas, you should be able to find an intranet cafe' to verify conditions before crossing back over to the US.

I personally would not be comfortable relying on others to get something all the time, as important as weather. Others will be most willing to share that information but it has been my experience that if you ask five people what the expected weather will be you will get five different answers. Weather in the Bahamas can change quickly and can indeed affect the safety of the vessel and crew. Equipment to receive and monitor the weather in your area is an important piece of safety equipment and not having it installed due to financial or lack of interest to install issues is perhaps not the responsible thing to do. You will need reliable, accurate information so why not just get the proper equipment and sleep better at night. If nothing else purchase a receive only radio capable of receiving SSB and monitor the nets and the voice broadcasts for offshore weather. You can also connect these to your computer and with the right software, download weatherfax.