Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Posted: 24 May 2018 04:58 AM PDT We have a 90 day cruising permit and are exploring the Bahamas. A $500 replacement halyard will be shipped to us in the Bahamas via Watermakers Air. What do we need to do to avoid or minimize any duty charges? Thanks for your advice. Steve Johnson
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Susan- May 25, 2018 - 4:16 pm
Good luck with that. Let us know the outcome. 2 or 3 years ago we had a main halyard shipped to us in the Bahamas and we had to pay 45% duty on the cost AND the shipping for it! Since it is essentially not an “engine part”, it was not exempt.
Our sincerest thanks to Greg and Barbara Allard for sharing their thoughts and beautiful photography from their Bahamas cruises. These photos and descriptions will have you aching to follow in the Allard’s wake! Stay tuned for more letters in the weeks ahead.
Letter # 3
Our next stop on this year’s Bahamas cruise was George Town, on Great Exuma Island in the most southerly part of the Exumas. George Town is a milestone destination for many cruisers. In the winter and early spring up to 500 boats spend several months in the huge harbor. There is decent provisioning (places to buy food and boat parts), good anchorages, and shoreside facilities better than anywhere else in this remote area.
The Bahamas are a series of 750 islands and cays, spread out in an archipelago 590 miles long and 185 miles wide. For centuries the Bahamians depended solely upon wooden sailing boats for travel between islands, and for earning a living through activities such as fishing, sponge harvesting, and trade.
George Town is the site of the annual Family Islands Regatta, the Bahamian world-series of sailboat racing. In the 1950’s a group of people recognized that the “age of working sail” was drawing to an end, and they looked for a way to preserve the boat building and sailing skills of the Bahamian people. Their plans resulted in the first Family Islands Regatta, first run in 1954. Steven Pavlidis in The Exuma Guide describes the guidelines:
“The rules that govern Bahamian sloop racing are quite clear: competing boats must be designed, built, owned and skippered by Bahamians. The overall length (LOA) may not be more than 28’3”, the sails must be of canvas, the hull must be of wood, and the single wooden mast may not bend. The rules do not permit vertical transoms, bowsprits, spreaders, winches, or any sort of wind or speed instruments including tell-tales.”
If you are a sailor, you will appreciate that these rules are quite strict, and eliminate many features found on modern sailing vessels.
“The sloops race three times around a triangular course…As the boats take the wind and heel they must shift their ballast….Each boat has prys, wooden planks which extend about 4’ or so on the windward side of the boat. The crew then climbs out onto the prys to balance the boat…..” It does happen that sometimes a crew member falls off the pry, and “any boat that does not stop for a MOB (man over board) is disqualified.” (Pavlides)
The last time we were in George Town for the Regatta was in 2011, and we had enjoyed it so much we wanted to see it again this year.
This is the boat we always root for: Tida Wave, which hails from Staniel Cay. (Boats come from all over the Bahamas to participate.)
The first thing to notice is the size of the “sail plan”. The sails are huge compared to the size of the boat. That feature makes the boats sail really fast, but it also makes them difficult to control. More on that later.
The original captain of Tida Wave was Rolly Gray, a legend of sailing in the Bahamas. He won (at least according to most people on Staniel Cay) all of his races. He died in 2007, and is buried on Staniel Cay. Rolly Gray is so revered in the Bahamas they named one of their largest Royal Bahamas Defense Force cruisers after him. One of the most famous Bahamian pieces of music is “Sailor Man Song” by Basil Smith, which is about Rolly Gray. A close up of Tida Wave under sail, with the ballast (men) out on the pry bars to help keep the boat level. If the boat tacks (turns into the wind to sail in a different direction), the men scamper down the pry boards into the boat, drag the boards to the other side, and climb out on them….all in a matter of ten seconds or so! The concentration of the crew is intense.
Yes, there are collisions, and here – a near collision. Three in a row, on the same point of sail.
Some of the crew on Tida Wave give course directions to the helmsman. Sometimes the boats encounter significant wind gusts. In this dramatic moment the crew of Tida Wave struggles to move as much of their weight to the end the pry boards as possible, to keep the boat from tipping over on her side. Simultaneously one of the crew at the stern lets out the main sail to help keep the boat from foundering. The sail is out so far that it is dragging in the water. Later in the day the rains arrived, but the race continued. This is a view from our boat, of ghost ships sailing in the rainstorm.
Unfortunately, Tida Wave did not take first place this year, but a boat from our next stop south, Long Island, did. Not all of the fun is out in the harbour. The event triggers shoreside parties, food, and yes, some drinking. Kalik (rhymes with “click”) is the national beer. Food stalls offer the best of traditional Bahamian cooking: cracked conch (conch which has been pounded and tenderized with a mallet and then deep fried); conch salad, macaroni and cheese, and peas and rice. With music loud enough to lift you off the ground. There’s an old nautical saying: “Red sky at night, sailors’ delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.” This was a night sky, but….
When doing this type of cruising, hundreds of miles from the U.S. coast, it’s “all about the weather.” We are at the mercy of what mother nature throws at us, and sometimes it is not pretty. We have been watching a bad weather system which is approaching the Bahamas, with winds forecast for 30+ knots. That series of fronts is north of us, so we and our friends on Latitude have decided to run south four hours to Long Island, where there is a good anchorage at Thompson’s Bay, protected from the NE winds, and a small marina nearby if necessary. That choice is not without risk, since we may wind up being pinned down there for a while.
Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Our thanks to Southern Boating Magazine for permitting Cruisers’ Net to present this article to our readers.
An Abacos Island Hop One of the best things about traveling in The Bahamas (and there are many), is the sheer number of islands. The archipelago contains over 700 islands, all unique, beautiful, and cruise-able in their own right. But it’s the Abacos, a 120-mile sprawling island chain that stands out as a cruiser’s paradise.
Our sincerest thanks to Greg and Barbara Allard for sharing their thoughts and beautiful photography from their Bahamas cruises. These photos and descriptions will have you aching to follow in the Allard’s wake! Stay tuned for more letters in the weeks ahead.
Letter # 2 Hello Everyone, After we departed Nassau, we worked our way south, down through the Exumas – a string of cays which is one of the most beautiful areas of the Bahamas.
One of our favorite places in the Exumas is Highbourne Cay. (The Bahamians pronounce “cay” to rhyme with “key.”) Highbourne is a private island with a small, well run marina, beautiful beaches and a single restaurant.
The week before we arrived there, an Austrian had rented the entire island and marina for his 60th birthday party – for 150 people. Everything (literally) had to be brought to the island on a big workboat: food, generators, extra water, portable lavatories, and dozens of workers. While we were there, the workboat was re-loaded with all of the items (including two huge containers) which were being returned to Nassau.
We watched the boat as it left the marina. It is a tricky exit, since the current runs sideways to the channel, and there are sandbars and coral reefs everywhere. Well, the captain ran the boat aground. In this photo you can see that he has powered-up his engines in an attempt to break free. All he did was to dig a deeper channel behind him, while shoving the boat harder aground. Fortunately the tide was rising, so after about three hours the boat floated off, and was finally able to get underway.
As we do our cruising, we do make mistakes on occasion; it was refreshing to see that a professional captain can also make them.
There is a fish-cleaning station at Highbourne, on the end of the jetty. After the fish are cleaned, the carcasses are thrown into the water, attracting many sharks. These are nurse sharks, and many people say they are totally harmless – in fact we have seen people swimming with them. However, when the fish carcasses were thrown to these “tame” sharks, a wild frenzy ensued as the sharks tore into the fish remains. Tame? Swim with them?
Seagulls too must eat. These two were waiting for the sharks to be done so they could get to the scraps.
It is a tradition on some of the cays that cruising boats leave a board with their boat name and date of visit. Here is “Meander’s board, showing that we have been there a number of times; our companion boat on this trip, “Latitude”, also put up a name board last year, as did our friends on “Soul Asset” in 2014 who used a coconut!
On a dinghy exploration we traveled to the eponymously named “Two Trees” cay, a great diving spot. The French sailboat to the left was working her way through the shallow water looking for a good place to anchor.
After we secure the bigger boats, either by anchor on in a marina, exploring by dingy is one of our favorite activities. This photo, of our friend Jim Pope (from the vessel “Latitude”) is off a small cay called “Tea Table” which is good for beach combing.
Barbara and our friend Ellen Pope return to the dinghy with their finds including some beautiful shells and a fan coral. You are only allowed to take coral which has washed up on shore; taking live coral from a reef is prohibited as it will destroy a reef.
The fantail of a beautiful old wooden boat, “Freedom”, built in 1926. She hails from Newport, RI.
Over Yonder Cay, owned by an interesting entrepreneur, Mr. Ed Bosarge. The island has four villas, and is 96% powered by solar and wind. You can rent the island for $44,000 a day. Mr. Bosarge has a fascinating background and it is worth reading about his career. Here’s a link to one of his bio sheets from a conference he attended. http://www.worldstemcellsummit.com/speakers/ed-bosarge-phd/
While anchored in “Big Majors Spot” at Staniel Cay, we saw this ominous looking boat. While it looked like a military craft, it is actually an 84’ Italian-built Arcadia yacht.
We’ve always said that we would never own a boat that wasn’t beautiful to look at. I guess we’ll never buy one of these.
A night time view from the top deck of “Meander”, looking down on our dingy. Our underwater lights were on, and the water is so clear that it makes the dinghy look as if it is suspended in air. The water in this picture was about 12’ deep.
Some of you will remember “Shark”, the dockmaster on Cave Cay.
People ask us why we cruise to the Bahamas. Yes, the waters are some of the most beautiful on earth, but the real reason is to meet the people, the friendliest and warmest folks anywhere.
Shark led us on a tour of one of the many caves on the cay.
In one of the caves, we came upon this huge hermit crab, the biggest we had ever seen. Its shell was the size of a softball.
Our next stop was Little Farmers Cay. Many of you remember our friend Ali, who used to run a small liquor store and bar on the island. Three or four years ago he suffered a massive stroke, and when we saw him two years ago he was not doing well. At that time we wondered if we would ever see him again.
When we returned to Little Farmers this year, we were excited to find Ali, and see that he had improved tremendously. He even drew us an accurate map, from memory, showing a good snorkeling site.
Ali is on the left, and his wife Brenda is on my other side. Brenda was the key person who helped in Ali’s recovery.
This is J.R., a woodcarver on Little Farmers. He often works in wild tamarind wood, as he is doing here. In this photo he is finishing a beautiful dolphin (mahi-mahi) carving, which our friends purchased.
Also on Little Farmers, we saw that a yellow building had been erected next to the government dock. We went inside, and found that it was a new bar, with a restaurant to come.
The woman owner who served us is on the left, Katie, and the man on the right is Barry, who built the new structure. We then learned that they were engaged. I asked to take their picture, and Barry just couldn’t look at the camera; he was mesmerized by Katie. After about six photos I finally got him to look at the camera, but this photo is much better when you understand the background.
A woman giving a young girl a swim.
We had lunch at Ocean Cabin, hosted by old friends Ernestine and Terry Bain. Ernestine is an excellent cook, and Terry – one of the most well-spoken, thoughtful thinkers in the Bahamas.
Our sincerest thanks to Greg and Barbara Allard for sharing their thoughts and beautiful photography from their Bahamas cruises. These photos and descriptions will have you aching to follow in the Allard’s wake! Stay tuned for more letters in the weeks ahead.
Letter # 1
We left our home dock in Palmetto, Florida in mid February. We’ve owned Meander for five years, and she has served us well.
As we did last year, we are traveling with another boat, Latitude, owned by Jim and Ellen Pope; they are wonderful cruising friends.
On the west coast of Florida on Gasparilla island, we saw this small rowing boat. It doesn’t have quite the comfort of a larger cruising boat, but we imagine that the rower is having just as much fun. We couldn’t tell whether there was a child or a pet under the smaller umbrella.
Lake Okeechobee is a huge lake in the middle of the state. To move our boat from the west coast of Florida to the east coast (before we continue to the Bahamas), we cross Florida by using a series of rivers and man-made canals which connect the lake to each coast, a total journey of 150 miles. The Okeechobee Waterway was created in 1937 for commercial boats, but now is used mostly by recreational vessels.
In this photo Meander is traveling in one of the man-made canals which run along the southern side of the lake.
Ahead of us we spotted this huge fire, which dumped ash on the decks of the boat. Such fires are a regular occurrence in late winter and early spring: they are related to the sugar cane industry. In Florida, the sugar cane is burned just before harvesting to remove dead leaves. The burning does not harm the stalks of cane. From friends in Louisiana, we learned that there is another reason: sugar cane can be harvested yearly (from the same plantings.) However, after five years or so, the plants are exhausted, and they must be burned so that new plantings can be made in the field.
As you might imagine, there is serious pressure on the sugar cane industry to stop such burnings, which deposit soot and ash as far east as Palm Beach. But there are equal pressures based on the economics of the industry. Florida is the second largest producer of sugar cane in the U.S.
Lake Okeechobee is usually 13’ or so above sea level. A series of five locks lift the boats up as they approach the lake, and then lower the boats back down to sea level on the other side.
The locks can be tricky. This is the St. Lucie lock in Stuart, Florida. It has the highest lift or fall (depending on which way you are traveling) of all the locks, at about 12’. As you enter the lock, there are lines hanging down from the sides, and to reach them you have to carefully maneuver the boat towards the hard concrete wall. We have fenders (bumpers) hanging over the sides of the boat to prevent damage. Then one of us has to grab the bow line (at the front of the boat, temporarily tie it off, and then move quickly to the back of the boat to reach for a stern line. At that point each of us is positioned at one of the lines, and we have undone the temporary knots to the cleats.
In this photo, the lockmaster has opened the doors of the lock to lower us down; the rush of water out of the lock is tremendous, and it causes the boat to lurch and tug at its lines. You have to be careful not to actually secure the line to the cleat of the boat, because as the boat falls, you must gradually let out more line. Each of us carries a knife, in case the line gets hung-up; cutting the line is preferable to having the cleats literally ripped off the boat.
We crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas in early April. We passed close to this container ship just off Freeport on Grand Bahama island. The small black boat on the left is the Pilot boat; it will drop off an experienced pilot from the area, who will assist the captain in bringing the boat safely into the harbor.
Approximately 90% of the world’s goods are shipped by sea, and 75% are in “containerized cargo.” Containers are large steel boxes (often transported on land as part of a “tractor-trailer” combination). Their design make it easy to load and unload them from the ship by crane. The containers are stacked quite high on the deck, and are held together with strong (?) connectors.
Why is there a question mark after “strong”? On March 5, 2018, off the coast of North Carolina, a sister-ship to this one, also owned by Maersk Lines, lost between 70 and 73 containers off its deck due to high winds and heavy seas in a bad storm. The simple explanation is that the connectors broke, or had been improperly installed. The U.S. Coast Guard issued an alert: some of the containers sank, but others were floating end-on-end, with as little as one foot sticking out of the water. This situation creates a huge risk. A container floating at or just below the surface would severely damage – or sink – any smaller boats who struck it.
This picturesque boat house (with residence) is at Port Lucaya on Grand Bahama. If there were no palm trees, it would look very much like something that Jay Gatsby would have built on the north shore of Long Island. We may not be the only ones who thought that: take a close look at the name of the boat inside.
We went for dinner on Chub Cay, at the southern end of the Berry Islands, and this man was our waiter. His name tag read, simply, “Remedy.” He is originally from Nassau, but has worked on Chub Cay since 1976. He came to Chub looking for a temporary job as a waiter, and stayed there as a waiter for his career. He is 67 years old. We had a wonderful conversation with him, so good that we forgot to ask him about his name.
In front of the club house at Chub there was a bronze sculpture of a woman holding up a dolphin. Barbara just couldn’t resist mimicking the pose.
Chub Cay is in an area of the Bahamas which has some excellent fishing. As a result, sport fishing boats congregate there, and in the evening each of them tries to outdo the others with dramatic displays of lights, both above and under water. The mega-yacht at the bottom of the dock, La Sirena, is 43 meters long (141’).
Nature always surprises us.
During one of our open water ocean crossings to the Berry Islands, we saw a huge disturbance in the water ahead of us, which is usually a school of fish.
It is not uncommon to see dolphins as we travel. They are usually in pods of 4-6. As we got closer we were astonished to see that the disturbance was caused by around 150-200 dolphins! They were in an area about the size of a basketball court. We thought at first that they were feeding on a school of fish, but there were no fish around. They were just traveling together, and playing. There were many small dolphin calves in the group. As we proceeded, the group moved towards us, until it completely surrounded our boat. Dolphins were jumping in the air everywhere, and a large one jumped three feet from the boat, about ten feet into the air. I immediately slowed the boat down, but they are so quick that there is no risk that they will be hit by the boat. I couldn’t get to my camera fast enough to record the initial bedlam, and within a minute or so they started to move along.
The dolphin in this photo ran along side of our boat and made a spectacular leap; at the top right of the photo is a disturbance in the water which was from another group of perhaps six dolphins.
Another photo of our dolphin meeting. Two leaping at the left, two at the surface in the middle, and a third group underwater to the right.
Sometimes the best photos are accidental. This is David, who makes conch salad at Great Harbor Cay. It was not until I looked at this photo later that day that I saw the sign to the right. The sign refers to manatees, but having met David, the cautions could apply equally to his independent spirit.
On our way south to the Exuma islands, we stopped in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. One day we came upon this Bahamian wedding. Very much like any wedding we would have attended in the U.S. except for one thing. The outfits are so much more colorful.
Just down the street from the wedding, and directly across from Parliament, was this public service sign. It’s playful, in that the Bahamians are making fun of their habit of dropping “th” from many words. So “thing” becomes “ting”.
In Downtown Nassau there is a shop that specializes in white clothing made from Egyptian and Turkish cotton.
These three sales women were just as they appear – warm, Bahamian people; yes, the one on the right was a handful! The one in the middle was named “Peachy” and the woman on the left appeared to be the voice of reason.
We were in Nassau while we waited for some strong winds to lay-down, docked at the Palm Cay marina on the southeast corner of New Providence island, about 10 miles from downtown Nassau.
This sailboat had left the marina a couple of hours earlier, in heavy southeast winds. It was owned by a Canadian, who had just bought it. We are not quite sure how much experience he had, but he wanted to go, so he went.
Somewhere offshore, in heavy seas, his rudder failed, which means that while his engine worked, he could no longer steer the boat. The channel coming back into the marina is narrow, it makes a hard turn left and then an immediate turn right. Three dinghies went out to meet him, and acted as mini tug boats to push his boat back and forth to keep him in the channel, while the 20+ knot winds threw the boat all over. As his boat was corralled into marina there were many close calls, including narrowly avoiding several yachts worth millions of dollars.
His boat was an older one, and with many untried systems it was foolhardy for him to have departed in such conditions.
God protects fools.
The end of the day, and the end of this Letter. We’ll be back again soon.
Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
How is the Bottom Harbour Inlet in Eleuthera lately (the inlet just South of Valentines Marina at Harbour Island)? Are both the North and South Channels still OK? See picture below. It appears that the South route has more water, but it gets very narrow at one point. While the North route has less depth, but is wider and a straight run. Our draft is 3 feet. Which route do you recommend? Thank You! ???? By the way, we plan to take Harbour Inlet on the way in and take the Devil’s Backbone with the pilot A1 Brod Shad on the way out.
We recently spent time in Spanish Wells. While there we stumbled on a unique radio station. It’s on 89.9 FM and is very low power so you can only listen in the immediate Spanish Wells area. This is no normal commercial radio station. It is the most ecletic station that I’ve found. In one set you can hear Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, Glenn Campbell, Depeche Mode, Bruno Mars, and the list goes on. The breadth of the playlist is truly amazing and entertaining. The “station” is run out of the back of the liquor store on the north road. While there check out the ultra-light in the front yard.
Chris, the owner of the station is wonderful! He also built an ultra light and you can see his video of his plane and learn more about it on his you tube site -just google Chris Weed Hopper 2018. Chris is multitalented and full of personality and love of life! We enjoyed meeting him this week.
Our thanks to Monty Lewis of Explorer Charts, long the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, for this update on SVRS in the Bahamas.
SVRS will be replaced by CBP ROAM app Published April 28, 2018 | By Marc-Juno The U.S. Customs CBP ROAM app allows pleasure boaters to report their arrival using their smartphone. After submitting a report of arrival using the app a video chat with a Customs officer will begin.
I called U.S. Customs. The CBP ROAM app is available for use in Florida. In addition, the SVRS – Small Vessel Reporting System – Local Boater Option will be discontinued at some time in the future, if not soon. They are encouraging everyone, including SVRS members, to use the App now.
The exact app name is: CBP ROAM Available for Android and Apple
It is always a pleasure to get good news from the Bahamas after hurricane damage many facilities and resorts suffered. Our thanks to William Cannon for this review.
Great time at Chubb Cay Bahamas After watching and hoping Chubb would be finished one day, that time has come . The clubhouse is amazing, with very friendly staff and amazing food. Tito, the Operation Manager , was very proud to talk about even more to come… adding 1000’ Ft to the runway, new spa coming in May. Seems they are really becoming a destination, not just a stop over… so great to see. William Cannon
Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
NASSAU, The Bahamas, 24 April, 2018….. News that the Government has suspended the Flats Fishing Regulations has been welcomed by the Association of Bahamas Marinas, which had protested the passing of the regulations when they were passed in 2017 out of concern for a detrimental impact on the country’s appeal as a destination for fishing enthusiasts.
The association regrets that its concern has, in fact, proved to be well founded, given reports of a subsequent decline as high as 40 percent in bookings at bonefish lodges.
Now experiencing a bumper season in marina activity, the association regards the government’s decision as well timed and expects it will give the fishing lodges an opportunity to regain momentum and re-establish The Bahamas’ reputation as a premier fly-fishing destination.
Marina users spend large amounts purchasing goods and services in The Bahamas. Boaters, drawn to The Bahamas to fish will purchase fuel, groceries, supplies and repairs, gifts and souvenirs, entertainment, taxi services, food and beverages. The association recognises the impact the 2017 regulations has had on lodges, taxi drivers and Family Island communities and hails the government’s decision as well-timed.
The ABM expressed relief that onerous and impractical regulations will not now place a damper on the country’s ability to capitalise on the buoyant market conditions in the US and is convinced that regulations can be developed that will serve the interest of both supplier and consumer, while generating even greater economic benefits for the country.
Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Remember, you will only get an email when the FIRST user creates a new topic post in Bahamas Chatter. You will NOT get an email when a user replies to this first post. You must click on the link in the first email periodically to review replies to the original topic. Hopefully Explorer Charts will update to a forum someday. 🙂
Explorer Chartbooks, A 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: “Is Flo’s Conch Bar still open?” plus 1 more Posted: 21 Apr 2018 10:30 AM PDT
The National Family Island Regatta begins Wednesday, April 25 in Elizabeth Harbour, Exuma.
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Larry Annen S/V AbbyGale- April 27, 2018 - 1:29 pm
Yes, Chester is open. He’s working alone most of the time so he may not answer the phone. He’s got two groups in there today, had to make reservations.
Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
As of April 15, the SVRS and float plan system has been replaced by a new app called ROAM available for ios and droid.
We used it to clear coming back into Miami a few days ago.
Once you download the app, you need to create an account at login.gov.
The app allows you to enter passenger and vessel data (including photo of each passport).
Upon return to the US, you select the passengers, vessel and answer a few basic questions about the trip. After submitting the data, a customs officer will initiate a video call inside the app. You will need to have person show their face and passport.
Quick and easy. Then you get a clearance confirmation by email.
And the best is that Non LBO US citizens do not have to go to immigration.
Garmin charts and Nobeltec TZ app have conflicting depth info for Staniel Cay YC approach from the West. Do most deep draft vessels enter the marina from the East (Atlantic), or is the bank side ok? I have 5′ draft…
Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
I have sent an email to exumapark@bnt.bs to try to reserve a mooring in a couple of weeks but not response. I’ve also try to call but you leave a message and not call back. Any other suggestion to reserve a mooring or you just drop in and deal with the park when you’re there?
An endurance paddle from Bimini to Lake Worth will raise funds for
Cystic Fibrosis.
Crossing for a Cure began after Travis Suit’s daughter Piper was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Piper was just four years old at the time and Suit felt helpless, but like any father, he knew he had to make the best of it for Piper. After some tears and extensive research, Suit learned of the incredible health benefits the ocean has on those living with the disease… and so the first Crossing for the Cure was born.
Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Posted: 18 Apr 2018 04:08 AM PDT Hello, Anyone know if there is wifi available (for purchase) these days at the Warderwick Wells office or moorings? Thanks!
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Scott McConnell- April 20, 2018 - 2:53 pm
Wardwells had WiFi for purchase a month ago $10 per day
Hello. Husband and I would like to cross from Lake Worth Inlet to West End on or around June 2, 2018. We are looking for a crossing buddy. We are in a 30′ Proline walk-around cutty cabin, with twin 250′ motors. Please contact me at betsyrosander@yahoo.com if u are interested.
Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Can you please confirm that the current Garmin cartography and the Garmin Active Captain cartography is displaying the Explorer Chartbook course lines? Can you also let us know which other cartography choices have these lines embedded?
Having cruised the Bahamas for the past ten years aboard a 42′ catamaran, I have only deployed a stern anchor once, in a narrow cut near Double Breasted Cay. We have a Rocna anchor for our primary (bow) anchor on 250′ of chain and a Fortress FX-85 anchor on 25′ of chain with a 150′ rope rode that I used as a stern anchor. My learning experience was to have enough rode (chain or line) to reach the opposite anchor when the current switches direction. When pulling off from the anchorage, you need to retrieve the down current anchor first so you have to let our enough rode to end up over the top of the downcurrent anchor. As it relates to scope, I would suggest using the maximum because of one anchor slides, you’re going to end up with a huge mess. My opinion is a single anchor is preferred over a double anchor and a strong mooring ball is preferred over a single anchor in some situations. I prefer to find an anchorage where a double anchor is not required. Good luck. Safe cruising! Blades R.
I’ve have heard anecdotally that with the transition from Garmin Blue Charts to Garmin Active Captain that they would be moving away from Explorer datum. I have no confirmation of this and will follow this thread.
Comments from Cruisers (1)
Good luck with that. Let us know the outcome. 2 or 3 years ago we had a main halyard shipped to us in the Bahamas and we had to pay 45% duty on the cost AND the shipping for it! Since it is essentially not an “engine part”, it was not exempt.