Bahamas Fling

F

fsudelt

Member
Jul 25, 2008
190
Orlando, FL & Port Austin, MI
Boat Info
2019 230 SLX
Previous:
2006 Malibu Ride XTi
2007 210 Select
2007 310DA
2007 240DA
Engines
6.2L Mercruiser 300HP w/ Bravo III Drives
I saw in some previous threads about the Bahamas Flings the tourism board puts on. I was at first thinking of going to the Keys alone (my wife and I and another couple) in June because we can't make our Dealership's Bahamas trips in July. Anyone else thinking of making any of the flings? We are looking at the Bimini one June 17-21. Look forward to hearing anyone else's thoughts. Also anyone ever been on these flings before, wondering what you thought of them?

Thanks,
Brian
 
They are a lot of fun.. A few of us-CSR members went to Bimini last year, and will go again this year. We went over with about 20 other boats and met a lot of great people and really enjoyed the trip and the time over there. The water was amazing. We will probably go on the first and possibly the last trip to Bimini...

Here's a link to the photos from my trip

http://web.mac.com/barry.g

Keep in touch and we will see who else will join as it gets closer.

Barry
 
Barry,
1st page looks great, but get error can't find second page.

itms://itunes.com/link?n=Brown%20Eyed%20Girl&an=Jimmy%20Buffett&pn=Boats,%20Beaches,%20Bars%20%26%20Ballads
 
Barry, yep that works. The small arrow at the bottom is what gave me the error.
Boy those are some great pictures! Thanks for sharing.
 
barryg said:
They are a lot of fun.. A few of us-CSR members went to Bimini last year, and will go again this year. We went over with about 20 other boats and met a lot of great people and really enjoyed the trip and the time over there. The water was amazing. We will probably go on the first and possibly the last trip to Bimini...

Here's a link to the photos from my trip

http://web.mac.com/barry.g

Keep in touch and we will see who else will join as it gets closer.
Barry
Click to expand...


Sounds good, yea I'll def keep in touch because I'm pretty sure we are in for the 1st one. When do you start registering w/ the website and all that stuff that goes along with getting ready for the trip? Haven't been on a trip to Bahamas yet since we got our new boat last fall.
 
We will probably be going on the Bimini trip in June. May be a bit premature, for me, at this time as we are going on a Port Lucaya trip over Memorial Day weekend. We went to Bimini last year and it was a blast.

Ray
 
Well I went ahead and filled out the registration form and sent it off to the Bahamas Tourism office for the Bimini trip in June. Sounds like it should be a good time (will be myself, my wife, and a college buddy and his wife on our boat). Talked to the guy (Carlton) there that said we would actually be leaving June 18-21. June 17th is just a captains meeting in early evening and drinks and hourdours. He said the marina they will be staying at for this trip is Bimini Sands Resort & Marina(www.biminisands.com). I couldn't believe how cheap the slips are there (only $43/night for me- being a 31ft including electricity, water is $.20/gallon extra).

The question I have now though is what all do I need to do in regards to customs for going there and coming back? Have not made a trip to the Bahamas yet. I know he said there's a $150 fee for boats < 35 ft, but I've seen on other threads there's a decal I need to get and other things? And something about a number to call to pre-clearance from customs? Thanks for any advice there, the customs thing is all new to me! Just want to be prepared in advance so I'm all set by the time June comes around.

Thanks again,

Brian
 
Hi Brian,

Glad you're making the trip..If you don't already have a quarantine flag, as well as a Bahamian and US flag, you should get one of each, as you will need to fly the quarantine flag once you get into Bahamian waters, until you as the captain go on shore and go thru customs. Your passengers must stay on board while you go (in Alicetown) on land to take care of this. Once you're done, you should then fly the Bahamian flag.

You should also get the LBO (Local Boaters Option) taken care of before you go. With this for you and all your passengers, you can call US Customs once you get back to Port Everglades from your cell, and give them all the names, passport numbers and LBO numbers of all your passengers and yourself and you can be cleared over the phone. Otherwise you all have 24 hours to go in person to customs. You can call ahead and make an appointment, and everyone going must go to get their LBO. Call the following:
Port Everglades
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
1800 Eller Drive
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
(954) 761-2004

There is also a decal, DTOPS, and the web site is https://dtops.cbp.dhs.gov/

I took the trip last year with Carlton and Richard, and we stayed at Bimini Big Game, which was great...Unfortunately it is closed right now, so that is why they moved..

Barry
 
We've been to Bimini 4 times on the Bahamas Flings. They have been great times and we've met some terrific people. We choose the Keys last year, mainly due to the cost of fuel. We're doing the Keys this year again, mainly because Big Game is closed. We like it's location better.

Help me understand the LBO. You still have to show up in person, so what's the difference in doing it before <LBO> or after <non-LBO>. Also, you can clear in at Ft Lauderdale Executive Airport. We've never had to wait there.
 
LMBoat said:
We've been to Bimini 4 times on the Bahamas Flings. They have been great times and we've met some terrific people. We choose the Keys last year, mainly due to the cost of fuel. We're doing the Keys this year again, mainly because Big Game is closed. We like it's location better.

Help me understand the LBO. You still have to show up in person, so what's the difference in doing it before <LBO> or after <non-LBO>. Also, you can clear in at Ft Lauderdale Executive Airport. We've never had to wait there.
Click to expand...
With the local boater option you DO NOT have to show up in person. All you do is call them. It's that simple.
This is the way it was explained to me at US customs in Tampa.
You do have to personally go to customs and register for the LBO but that is a one time deal.
Jack
 
fsudelt said:
I couldn't believe how cheap the slips are there (only $43/night for me- being a 31ft including electricity, water is $.20/gallon extra).

The question I have now though is what all do I need to do in regards to customs for going there and coming back? Have not made a trip to the Bahamas yet. I know he said there's a $150 fee for boats < 35 ft
Click to expand...


I know I'm being tightwad but the $300 fee frosts me. I think a lot times when I would run to Bimini for a long weekend but I will not do it because of the tariff. Seems like they should be happy with you spending money there. End of rant.
 
barryg said:
Hi Brian,

Glad you're making the trip..If you don't already have a quarantine flag, as well as a Bahamian and US flag, you should get one of each, as you will need to fly the quarantine flag once you get into Bahamian waters, until you as the captain go on shore and go thru customs. Your passengers must stay on board while you go (in Alicetown) on land to take care of this. Once you're done, you should then fly the Bahamian flag.

You should also get the LBO (Local Boaters Option) taken care of before you go. With this for you and all your passengers, you can call US Customs once you get back to Port Everglades from your cell, and give them all the names, passport numbers and LBO numbers of all your passengers and yourself and you can be cleared over the phone. Otherwise you all have 24 hours to go in person to customs. You can call ahead and make an appointment, and everyone going must go to get their LBO. Call the following:
Port Everglades
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
1800 Eller Drive
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
(954) 761-2004

There is also a decal, DTOPS, and the web site is https://dtops.cbp.dhs.gov/

I took the trip last year with Carlton and Richard, and we stayed at Bimini Big Game, which was great...Unfortunately it is closed right now, so that is why they moved..

Barry
Click to expand...


Thanks for the advice, for X-mas i got all the flags needed as you speak above. Just need to get a flag holder as I have nothing to fly the flags with right now. I'll look into the LBO as well.

Thanks for all the help!

Brian
 
No problem..There's a company that sells a flag holder that fits on your vhf radio antenna that I use. They are always at the different boat shows, so you might find one there..(the next one around here is the West Palm Show the end of March..
 
barryg said:
There is also a decal, DTOPS, and the web site is https://dtops.cbp.dhs.gov/

Barry
Click to expand...


Barry, so this decal is something that is required for entry into Bahamas? When speaking to Carlton about what is needed he didn't mention anything about a decal. Thanks for your help, just want to make sure I got all areas covered before trip and I'm all set.

Brian
 
I honestly didn't have this decal last year, but Randy and some of the other CSR members say that it's needed for customs here...just another way to get money out of us...

Keep in touch and let me know if you need anything else.

Barry
 
Are passports required for everyone going to/from bimini?
 
Yes, only if you want to get back into the US (Grin)
 
Is Bimini Big Game closed? Are they renovating? Last year I stayed at Bimini Sands (south Bimini). Nice facility and very well protected but Big Game was the place to be/hang-out. I took my 260 and it performed beautifully. It was rough on our way there from Ft. Lauderdale. Por Fin! handled the 5-8 feet waves like a champ but it took us 4 hours to get there! One of the boats could not return to the US! It was flat on our way back. It took the fling 2 hours to return to Ft. Lauderdale. Will do Key Largo this year.
 
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