CSR Bahamas Rendezvous (Spring Break 2015)

[trit21]

I agree about fuel with Randy except don't get the bottom of the tank as they freequently pump their tanks to the bottom and if that is you, you get all the water and crap. Try to time it 1-2 days after they fill the tank. We also look for marina's that use alot of fuel and get delivery from a truck sitting on a barge and not pumped from the bottom of the barge. GTC, Guana only if you know the fuel delivery schedule, and West End (should be the cheapest and I assume you will all go there as I don't think you have enough fuel to get to GTC, although you can get to Spanish but bring money, it is expensive there.

The Dodge book is the correct one as well and yes, GoPro.

 

[trit21]

That path looks correct, thought it was a little longer to WE to GTC but if that is what you got, that is what it is.

 

[nautic_32]

HI GUYS: I have been looking at the routes suggested here and both seems OK! I will choose the 7 days/6 nights, not knowing for sure the days of the trip I can take off 4/3-4/12, my boat has a 170 gals tank so I might say that's roughly 345 mile range? anyhow if we do the trip I will refill on west end and play it safe. Sorry I cant suggest trips I only been in bimini once but any other help count me in. Thanks!!

 

[Odyssey]

I believe your route is correct. here is mine in a little more detail. I can provide a more detailed route if necessary. The route heading to the NE is the Double Breasted route

 

[islandhopper00]

Alex, if you allow small boats to tag along, fuel (gas) will be an issue. West End will be a must stop for them. Gas, clear customs, rest and get mind together. I don't want to scare anybody either but, anybody that hasn't ever crossed the stream will be exhausted after the crossing. The captain will be in full concentration mode for at least 4 hours. Every "newby" I've taken needed to unwind for an hour or so at West End.

Good jumping off port for trailer boats is Stuart/Juipter. The boat ramp there has free secure parking.

Next gas stop for small boats is Grand Cay (Rosies), to top off before anchoring up at Double Breasted. Rafting is good at DB, but space is limited. We have rafted 4 small boats 24-30ft but you big boat folks will take up alot of space. Better figure out Bahamas anchoring, and I would think 3 boats per would be best. We have rafted 4 boats near the sand beach, put out bow and stern anchors so as to not swing, but better dive on each anchor to ensure they are properly set. If a storm pops up, there usually isn't time to be messing with anchors.

Next island I like is Carters Cay. Actually west of Carters, near the hog hole. This is a great place to explore by dingy. The hog hole and surrounding area is shallow, clear water, and fish, sting rays, and such are everywhere. Alot of good snorkling right in the anchorage.
This is as far as I would go on a short trip. Actually I return by way of Grand Lucyan waterway to Port Lucaya, over night, then West End for last stop gas and decision on weather window for run home.
Grand Lucyan waterway is getting shallow and may not be a good idea for larger deep draft boats though.

Just thinking out loud for y'all. There may be a small chance I'd tag along.....but spring is tough weather. Big seas for small boats.

 

[nautic_32]

Mike, thanks for suggestion and inf. for us small boaters. And you are right on my first crossing it took me 4 hours and I was fryed I gave the wheel to one of my buddies once I saw the island, not bad for first time but seas were 4-5'. I sure needed to take a breather.

 

[slinky75]

Hello.
Alex, thanks for welcoming me.
Just logged in and saw you guys got busy today.
As for the plan,looks like a whole a lot of boating... my type of vacationing is more time fishing, diving and relaxing...
I have a small boat and planing on leaving from lake worth inlet, A good spot to join you guys will be at west end ,since there is no final decision on the route and plan, I will just wait and let you guys decide, then I will be able to decide if i can say yes for sure.

Sharon Z. (Aka- Shawn)

 

[Alex F]

Alex, if you allow small boats to tag along, fuel (gas) will be an issue. West End will be a must stop for them. Gas, clear customs, rest and get mind together. I don't want to scare anybody either but, anybody that hasn't ever crossed the stream will be exhausted after the crossing. The captain will be in full concentration mode for at least 4 hours. Every "newby" I've taken needed to unwind for an hour or so at West End.

Good jumping off port for trailer boats is Stuart/Juipter. The boat ramp there has free secure parking.

Next gas stop for small boats is Grand Cay (Rosies), to top off before anchoring up at Double Breasted. Rafting is good at DB, but space is limited. We have rafted 4 small boats 24-30ft but you big boat folks will take up alot of space. Better figure out Bahamas anchoring, and I would think 3 boats per would be best. We have rafted 4 boats near the sand beach, put out bow and stern anchors so as to not swing, but better dive on each anchor to ensure they are properly set. If a storm pops up, there usually isn't time to be messing with anchors.

Next island I like is Carters Cay. Actually west of Carters, near the hog hole. This is a great place to explore by dingy. The hog hole and surrounding area is shallow, clear water, and fish, sting rays, and such are everywhere. Alot of good snorkling right in the anchorage.
This is as far as I would go on a short trip. Actually I return by way of Grand Lucyan waterway to Port Lucaya, over night, then West End for last stop gas and decision on weather window for run home.
Grand Lucyan waterway is getting shallow and may not be a good idea for larger deep draft boats though.

Just thinking out loud for y'all. There may be a small chance I'd tag along.....but spring is tough weather. Big seas for small boats.

Great and very informative post, Mike. Thanks for helping out.

I hope you can make the trip with us.

 

[Odyssey]

question for everyone considering this trip - does anyone like to cruise slow (10kts)? This can conserve fuel for diesel boats and help with fuel stops. The down side is it obviously takes longer. Also, do gas boats save fuel by cruising slow? I have heard differently on that question

 

[Alex F]

Ok guys, I've been digesting all the info we've gathered so far and here's my observation.

Bimini - it's only about 60NM away and based on activities there, it sounds like a great long weekend getaway, but doesn't really qualify for a 10 days trip, unless of course you mainly want to just chill on the beaches, and do some diving and fishing. Having said that, I'm concluding that if we only have 4-5 days, this is the place to go to.

Now, let's look at the 10 days trip options. First of all, let's have an overall pics.



It seems like we have two primary areas, Northern and Southern Abacos. Here's the list of proposed ports I've compiled so far, broken by the region:



Distance wise, from what I understand, we're looking at approx 130NM run from FTL/Boca to Northern Abacos and around 180+NM to Southern Abacos.

The way I understand, Southern Abacos offer the most and doing the 10 days trip there would be just bare minimum to get a good taste of it. Granted, it's the longest run there and back. With chain of islands sprinkled around, by the time we're all done, we're looking at about 400-450NM round trip.

If we look at Northern Abacos, distance wise we're looking at about 300-350NM round trip. This leads to the following question, what are other cool ports/destinations in Northern Abacos that would makes us make it the final point of traveling?

Just a quick note regarding the trips, I usually try to have mixed destinations. As many of you, we love nice and secluded anchorages and beaches, love water activities, ect. But, we also like visiting cool towns. Is there any Cay in Northern Abacos that has a "town"?

 

[Alex F]

question for everyone considering this trip - does anyone like to cruise slow (10kts)? This can conserve fuel for diesel boats and help with fuel stops. The down side is it obviously takes longer. Also, do gas boats save fuel by cruising slow? I have heard differently on that question

Great question, Randy. I love going slow as I love enjoying the cruise as long as I can and saving on fuel. But, here's the big but, it all depends on a lot of variables. Two primary variables are the time we have for the trip and the seas condition. So, in general, I found that doing the mix between fast and slow breaks it up into sort of a happy medium.

I'll give you a good example with my Keys trip. Going there (southbound) we mostly did slow cruising and pumped it up when we needed to make up time. I broke up the legs in very comfortable distances. When I take off early in am, my crew is still asleep and I enjoy how the nature wakes up as we putt along at displacement speed (8-10MPH, depending on the tides). In few hours I cover good 40-50 miles, which was mostly the distance between all the ports we had. When we leave a port in mid day, it's the hammer down and let's get there mode. So, all in all, going there we were in "smell the rouses" mode. The weather was perfect, we had the time, so it all made sense.

However, on the way back, we used our reserved time in KW, the wind was gusting over 20-25kts the seas were not very pleasant, so it was hammer down all the way cruise.

IMO, the cruise to Bahamas will depend also on a lot of factors, and one of them is the distance we'll be looking to cover. I'll hold my thought for now on proposing cruising approach until we get closer to finalizing itinerary.

But, just so you know, I'm flexible to anything, slow, fast, day or night or overnight.

P.S.
Cruising mode will be included in our FAQ section on the first page.

 

[trit21]

The only place in Norther Abacos is Grand Cay and if you don't fish, ain't nothing to do there. Fuel is even suspect there, sometimes they have it, sometimes they don't. Sometimes its good fuel, sometimes it ain't. West End is the only other place in the area really and has the most to offer, it has a pool and a beach. But if you fish, you're in luck once again. Of course you can ride into Freeport. You guys are planning your trip on a prime time for fishing the bank out of West End/Freeport/Grand and the souther Abacos as well. Expect to see some while you are there. IMO, not the best for cruising but pretty darn good for sailfish,dolphin,wahoo.

 

[ttmott]

The only place in Norther Abacos is Grand Cay and if you don't fish, ain't nothing to do there. Fuel is even suspect there, sometimes they have it, sometimes they don't. Sometimes its good fuel, sometimes it ain't. West End is the only other place in the area really and has the most to offer, it has a pool and a beach. But if you fish, you're in luck once again. Of course you can ride into Freeport. You guys are planning your trip on a prime time for fishing the bank out of West End/Freeport/Grand and the souther Abacos as well. Expect to see some while you are there. IMO, not the best for cruising but pretty darn good for sailfish,dolphin,wahoo.

Very true and Rosie is proud of his fuel. As far as diesel and availability in the Abaco, West End and Treasure are the most reliable; they sell the most fuel. I needed gasoline for the dingy a couple of years ago - the only place that had it was Treasure...

So, if more interested in the social side of a 5 to 10 day cruise I would track from West End right to Green Turtle then Great Guana, and make my way down to Hope Town, Marsh Harbor, and Little Harbor then back. Then there are all of the great little stops enroute.

If more interested in out of the way and the remote areas (other than all the way from Bimini to the Berrys) I would then go from West End up to Grand then work East to Double Breasted, Strangers, fish and my favorite Morain then down to Alans Pensacola and end up at Green Turtle then back.

For fishing as Tom says the banks are it unless you would want to venture East of the Abacos where the big boys play.

 

[Alex F]

Very true and Rosie is proud of his fuel. As far as diesel and availability in the Abaco, West End and Treasure are the most reliable; they sell the most fuel. I needed gasoline for the dingy a couple of years ago - the only place that had it was Treasure...

So, if more interested in the social side of a 5 to 10 day cruise I would track from West End right to Green Turtle then Great Guana, and make my way down to Hope Town, Marsh Harbor, and Little Harbor then back. Then there are all of the great little stops enroute.

If more interested in out of the way and the remote areas (other than all the way from Bimini to the Berrys) I would then go from West End up to Grand then work East to Double Breasted, Strangers, fish and my favorite Morain then down to Alans Pensacola and end up at Green Turtle then back.

For fishing as Tom says the banks are it unless you would want to venture East of the Abacos where the big boys play.

Thanks for your suggestions. It's all helpful.

I'd like to think positive and going with assumption that the weather Gods will be on our side. I just ordered the cruising guide Tom and Randy suggested, so I don't have much details on preferred Cays. But going based recommendations in this thread, I'd like to propose the following 10 days trip float plan draft.



Oops, I just noticed that I have last stop at West End as mooring. It's actually a marina (spreadsheet has been corrected), unless we wish to anchor out.

Once we get to southern Abacos, the Cays are close together, so shuffling them around on our plan is easy. We'll just have to see which get most votes.

What you guys think, does this look like something that might work for 10 days/9 nights?

While we gather feedback for Plan A (for South Abacos), let's try to see what could work as Bahamas Plan B. What I mean is that, let's say the weather had couple of not good days and out of 10 days we see an opening only for 5-6 days. I'm thinking this would be a good widow of opportunity for doing a run to Bimini. If this sounds like good plan B, where would like to have a jumping off point? Should we pick a common place where we all can get together (rafting the night before) for the run in the following morning? If costal weather is ok, we could do a day or two in Miami or go to Boca Chita and use that as a jumping off point to Bimini.

Once in Bimini, where do you want to stay, anchoring or marina?

I remember that Bimini Big Game had decent reviews. I checked their prices and they looked very reasonable, only $1.50 p/f + water + electr. For my boat its just over $100 p/n.

 

[cod]

I like it Alex.... But we may want to consider staying at the Hopetown Inn and Marina rather than be on a mooring. Let's see what the majority want to do....

 

[Alex F]

I like it Alex.... But we may want to consider staying at the Hopetown Inn and Marina rather than be on a mooring. Let's see what the majority want to do....

That's great, Steve. I didn't see Hopetown Inn earlier (I was more focused on the ports themselves), but now that you've mentioned it, I found it and I like it as well. If you have ideas on where to stay in other ports, let us know.

Also, what you think about proposed Bahamas Plan B (Bimini)?

 

[cod]

Alex,
I don't think Plan B works for me considering I'm coming from the west coast. Just not enough "bang for the buck" Certainly it's an option for those on the east coast which is most of the group. So we will be on board for Plan A, and if for the unfortunate reason the weather is not cooperating, we will postpone the Bahamas trip for a later date.

 

[Alex F]

After having some discussions between Randy and Steve, we came to some conclusions and here's our updated Float Plan Draft.




Having different departure and jumping off points creates two different tracks that later on unite. Steve (and anyone else coming from West Coast) we'll be using St. Lucie inlet, while Randy and I (and anyone from the East Coast) will be using FTL or Boca inlets. Since it's a straight shot from St.L to Walkers Cay (~100NM), Steve (or the whole West Coast Group, if we have more boats) will go there directly and clear the customs, while Randy and I (East Coast Group) will head to West End to clear customs and refuel.

Both groups will unite in Double Breasted (Grand Cay has marina only 1-1.5NM away). From there on we'll continue on to S. Abacos. On return trip, we'll go to West End for refueling and getting ready for gulf crossing. We'll pick a mid point to cross together and when we'll get to over the gulf and be closer to coastal waters we'll split up and head to desired inlets.

Blue arrows show West Coast Group track, red arrows show the East Coast Group and then our run together from DB to S. Abacos.



How does this sound? Did I miss anything?

We flipped couple ports the other way around with a thought of slightly shortening the return leg. This is why we're going from GT to HT and then to GGC.

WHO ELSE WANTS TO JOIN US? WE'VE GOT TWO TEAMS GOING, EAST COAST AND WEST COAST. PICK ANY AND JUMP ON BOARD.

At this point we have 3 boats from the East coast and 3 boats from the West coast on the list of participants.

Just another quick note, the ports in South Abacos we picked based on preliminary findings. This is still a draft of the overall plan, so if anyone has other suggestions, feel free to post them. We're all ears.

 

[Xplicitlnck]

I hate to make you guys go off topic but I have as question if anybody feels like explaining. When you arrive by boat how do you clear customs?

 

[Alex F]

I hate to make you guys go off topic but I have as question if anybody feels like explaining. When you arrive by boat how do you clear customs?

It's actually very much relevant question, which we would need to cover anyway.

Randy has put together very nice and informative guide, so here's the section from his guide, which answers customs question:


How to enter Bahamian Waters and check into Bahamas Customs;

· Hoist the yellow quarantine flag near a port of entry and dock your vessel as usual
· Report to a Customs and Immigration facility as soon as possible upon entering Bahamian waters. Make sure your vessel is properly docked and tied off
· Only the captain may go ashore to clear Customs. No others are allowed off the boat until the vessel is cleared.
· The captain should have the following information ready for Customs officials: ship’s documentation/registration, passports for all persons aboard, pet import permit and firearms information (make, model, serial number, and number of rounds or ammunition—don’t carry weapon in).
· Treat officials with respect; follow their instructions.
Be courteous and neatly dressed. Officers may limit the stay of anyone deemed a security threat or who may be seeking to take the jobs of Bahamians.
· After receiving your cruising permit, take down your Quarantine (yellow) flag and hoist your Bahamian courtesy flag (cruising pennant).

Passports; Required

Bahamas Customs forms;

It is a good idea to print and fill out the customs forms in advance of arrival. The forms are available for downloading from the Bahamas.com website however that website is not functioning correctly at the time of this printing so the link cannot be provided. If necessary, I can email the forms as I have them in my computer.