Bahamas - What am i missing?

How fortunate are we to have opportunities to cruise to such destinations as Newfoundland, the Bahamas, Desolation Sound and North to AK.

As each of us have out own taste in boats, we too have our taste in destinations.

Glad you posted this Guru. Nothing like a good healthy debate to put a bunch of options on the table! Well done. BTW, we are in Newfoundland, with the Bahamas as next years destination next winter, followed by "The Loop", then British Columbia to AK!

Going to the islands is like going for a weekend at the Orlando Parks, just something we do routinely.

Sitting on our porch with a cold Kalik Gold, watching a ray browse at low tide. Don't come, it's horrible here!

You wouldn’t want to go to the Bahamas. It’s awful. They let pigs swim in the same water your boat floats in!

I heard the water was cloudy and very polluted. Lots of red tide there.

cardude01 said:

I heard the water was cloudy and very polluted. Lots of red tide there.

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What? We’re going to Sarasota then.

... and the drug runners and pirates - OH MY GAWD!

Larry M said:

What? We’re going to Sarasota then.

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Yes. Come to Sarasota, where the water is not brown, and the fish definitely don’t float dead on the surface. [emoji40]

I cruised into the Bahama Bank's very clear and shallow water from Vero in a 65-footer headed to Walker's Cay to be suddenly passed at high speed by a relatively small outboard motorboat with a young man and a couple of ladies who had clearly come from Florida in a few hours as opposed to the overnight run we were on. I thought to myself as I looked down into the passing boat that these young folks could have been in a bunch of trouble in their single engine and sparsely equipped boat with most any problem. Yes, it was easy and fast for them, that day.

And it is really boring when there is no one around to talk to...

Nice shot. You can aways use SSB in these spots. Nobody around plus someone to talk to[emoji106]. The best of both. I loved calling into the bahamas weather nets and even the locals had not heard of our anchorage.

As has been meantioned, the run to the Bahamas from Florida is a regular one for some people.

Bimini has become "Miami east" with go fast boats running over for the day and the high speed ferry.

West End is a mess in my opinion. The marina is nice but you get the same types of groups - people who shoot over for the weekend and make it work but to me it's not the real Bahama experience.

I'm moving my boat over to the Abacos for a few months just to spend some more time over there. We spend as much of our time there already and hi on the priority list is to get to know more of the people on the island.

We even bought a plane so we could justify leaving the boat over there (that was hard to sell to the wife though...)

Cruising is far to dangerous! Pirates, drunken sailors, sharks, reefs, smugglers! Buy our house instead! ( So I can get back to cruising)

Tingum said:

Buy our house instead! ( So I can get back to cruising)

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Owner finance for me!

Seems to be the only way I will be able to afford a house on the rock. We even talked about selling our boat to buy a house where yours is.

rgano said:

I cruised into the Bahama Bank's very clear and shallow water from Vero in a 65-footer headed to Walker's Cay to be suddenly passed at high speed by a relatively small outboard motorboat with a young man and a couple of ladies who had clearly come from Florida in a few hours as opposed to the overnight run we were on. I thought to myself as I looked down into the passing boat that these young folks could have been in a bunch of trouble in their single engine and sparsely equipped boat with most any problem. Yes, it was easy and fast for them, that day.

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Huh? Sounds like they have it figured out. All types of "small" fast boats have been designed, built and used for the Florida - Bahamas run. When I first started boating on the East Coast a guy named Don Aronow was just starting his Donzi line which lent itself to fast safe travel between the Islands and FL.. Many others followed.

k9medic said:

We even bought a plane so we could justify leaving the boat over there (that was hard to sell to the wife though...)

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I would love to have heard that justification.

k9medic said:

We even bought a plane so we could justify leaving the boat over there (that was hard to sell to the wife though...)

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How many people can you fit on that thing, just asking for a friend!

BandB said:

I would love to have heard that justification.

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It kinda went like this...

Me: "We need to buy a plane if we are going to fly back and forth a lot to the Bahamas.

Wife: Let's borrow the same one we have been using until we can make sure that it makes sense to keep the boat there.

Me: But I found a 6 seater at a really good price.

Wife: No.

Me: But (using fuzzy math) it's actually cheaper for us to buy a plane and use it rather than to keep borrowing our friend's plane.

Wife: No.

Me: Well our other friend said he would be interested in being a partner and I might have accidentally submitted a ridiculously low offer on one that was accepted...

Wife:

Me: I love our new plane

Wife: You're lucky I love the Bahamas.

Six seater you say...

Pa32?

diver dave said:

Pa32?

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Yep.

Six seater you say...

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Technically a 7 seater but we fly with 6.

Headed to GTC on the 18th for the weekend...

Financing possible with enough down, stop by!

It’s pretty bad in the Bahamas these days.

First of all, the weather ain’t that great


Then you find a nice beach and there’s no one there


I mean no one. C’mon now!


By you time you get settled, the sun disappears. What? I’m just ready to get going.


You want to go swimming. There’s them big 7’ sharks. Scary for the women folk.


So we just stay on board and do nothing. How boring!


Occasionally you find an outpost of civilization with a few other folks around.

All in all it’s not worth your trouble. Stay home and save the fuel money for something more worthwhile.

Nice; I've been to CrackerP's; but awhile back. lubbers??

My day, not quite as good. Icing all over my car an hour ago in the work lot. Saw cars wrecked on the way home. crazy.

Nice! Yes Cracker P’s is on Lubbers. Cool place. Jealous!

Is that your boat in the sunset pic?

I use to patronize the Bahamas a lot, but only by private plane (yes, 6 seater, but a Beechcraft, not a Piper that flies like the box it came in.....). Went thru a time when the hospitality just sucks so we went elsewhere, but things have improved and going back, this time by boat.

I could see leaving the boat there for an extended time and just flying over. Only takes an hour and a half in the plane... take the better part of a week or two in the boat. I have a few friends that do this, so I have an invite or two.

Our best trips were to place other than Nassau, Freeport and Bimini, which I'll never go to again. Marsh Harbor, Club, Great Harbour, Stella Maris... and a few others.

Need to regroup and do this. But need advise as to where to go....

Did someone say Cracker P's!

Beautiful Beaches, Fabulous Bars, And Mad Dogs And Irishmen | AtAnchor.com

SeeVee, give me a shout when you are ready to go over. We have been going since 2002. Off over again in March. Done it all ways, on our own boat, flew over and rented a house and center console, flew and rented a mooring cat with six others. All good which ever way you do it!

Seevee said:

I use to patronize the Bahamas a lot, but only by private plane (yes, 6 seater, but a Beechcraft, not a Piper that flies like the box it came in.....). Went thru a time when the hospitality just sucks so we went elsewhere, but things have improved and going back, this time by boat.

I could see leaving the boat there for an extended time and just flying over. Only takes an hour and a half in the plane... take the better part of a week or two in the boat. I have a few friends that do this, so I have an invite or two.

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This is what we are doing.

As for the Piper... 6 hours of fuel, 4 adults, a dog and still have 400lbs. for baggage! It's slow though. Only making about 135kts.

menzies said:

Did someone say Cracker P's!

Beautiful Beaches, Fabulous Bars, And Mad Dogs And Irishmen | AtAnchor.com

SeeVee, give me a shout when you are ready to go over. We have been going since 2002. Off over again in March. Done it all ways, on our own boat, flew over and rented a house and center console, flew and rented a mooring cat with six others. All good which ever way you do it!

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Really appreciate that and I'll be calling sometime!

k9medic said:

This is what we are doing.

As for the Piper... 6 hours of fuel, 4 adults, a dog and still have 400lbs. for baggage! It's slow though. Only making about 135kts.

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Don't get me wrong, you have a Cherokee 6 or the later version of that? Good load hauler and better than the Baron I have.

But the Baron has been a GREAT and economical plane for years. Can go 1000 nm, or off load fuel and take 6 and baggage 600 nm. And burns about the same fuel per mile than the 6 does.

Did have a Navajo Chieftain for awhile and that was a real party plane. We flew it all over the place, 8 pax or 6 with real comfort. I think it was the best plane Piper ever made. Better than the Cheyenne I leased for awhile. Could put the kids in the wing lockers. Very reliable and honest, but flew like the box it came it. Love it, but was more plane than I needed for a personal plane with only 2 of us.

We could start a threat about flying boaters.......