# Need a Bahamas Cruise Itinerary



## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

Hi all,

Planning for summer vacation. Our thoughts are to leave SE Florida and head to the Bahamas around the 4th of July. The cruise would be the weekends bookending the holiday...and the week between. That would be a total of 9 days total, but would need to include time to and back from the Bahamas, as we keep the boat in Fort Lauderdale. We would be joined by 1-2 couples.

Our boat is a Beneteau 343 that is fairly up to date on safety equipment (lifesling, radar, plenty of pfds, EPIRB, a couple of plbs, up to date charts). We do *NOT* have a watermaker aboard, but can hold 120 gallons of freshwater. I have a Honda EU2000 generator and a dinghy with an outboard that uses gasoline, so the plan is to travel with at least 10 gallons of gasoline. My fuel tank is 20 gallons of diesel, but I plan to carry another 10 gallons in jerry jugs...giving us a range of 300+ miles on motor alone, but we plan on sailing a lot if the wind gods provide.

So what I need help with is this:

1) ITINERARY

Need a list of places to visit - ie "Do bimini, or do the abacos, etc"
Anchorages
Things to do (ie visit the wreck of the Sapona)
Approaches to tricky locations/anchorages, etc

2) Things to prepare for

Provisioning 
Locations to provision/fuel while under way
Recommended cruising guides/books/documentation
Recommended gov't/regulatory things. I know I'll need a customs decal again (let mine expire last year) as well as a cruising permit for bahamas. Last time I went to bimini, they let me in with a $150 permit for 90 days...has this gone up?


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## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

not a single reply after 8 hours. Guess I have to go to the other forums


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## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

For a 2 ~week cruise Id recommend the Abacos. 

With the proper weather window ... Leave Ft. Lauderdale for West End (Old Bahama Bay Marina to check in and overnight) or direct to Sale Cay via Memory Rock - about 24 hrs. and then check in at Spanish Wells, etc. Leave from Ft. Lauderdale well before dawn to cross the memory rock in good daylight ... its all 'visual piloting' at Memory Rock. 
From there are plenty of anchorages from Great Sale all the way to Marsh Harbour and Hopetown (not to be missed). Only difficulty will be needing a good weather window to pass the Whale Cut between Guana Key and Marsh Harbour. Powell Cay, Manjack Cay, Guana Cay (Nippers !!!), Green Turtle Cay, ManOWar Cay, Anglefish Cay, Treasure Cay (harbor), Marsh Harbour, Hopetown. Hopetown is not to be missed ... its shallow getting into Hopetown, just wait for tide and scape bottom a few times; take the southernmost channel into Hopetown for the (relative) deepest pass. Pick up a mooring inside Hopetown Harbor (fee). 
Snorkling is good on most reefs and there is a small 'fantastic' reef (Mermaid Reef) within walking distance from the 'Jib Room' in Marsh Harbour, on the (inland) Sea of Abaco ... for when its 'rough' on the 'outside'.

If this is your first time to the Bahamas, suggest you get the Explorer chart book for the Abacos ... contains all the dos and donts including the Gulfstream crossing, etc. The EXPLORER charts are probably the ONLY charts that come close to accurate for these waters. The newer Garmin Chartplotters also come preloaded with Explorer Charts for the Bahamas. 

When Crossing the Stream follow a MAGNETIC course to West End and ADD ~15-20°M ... to your course to compensate for the Gulf Stream Flow this will produce an S course and will give the fastest passage across. If you follow waypoint to waypoint on a GPS you'll buck the stream and wind up too far north of West End. Coming back head for Lake Worth and SUBTRACT 15-20° from your magnetic course. 
The best advice I can give for this crossing ... when you go out the inlet and look at the far horizon, if you see what looks like 'elephants' marching in phase along the horizon, do a 180 and go back and anchor. 
;-)


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

I do not recommend taking your boat to the Bahamas during Hurricane season.

Not at all


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## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> I do not recommend taking your boat to the Bahamas during Hurricane season.
> 
> Not at all


Fourth of July weekend and arounds abouts is Abaco race week. Lots of our local boats go there. Yes, storms are a risk, but having been in Florida for almost a decade now, I've learned that the August/September/October ones are the ones to look out for. Early season storms aren't as bad (knock on wood). Look at this year...Isaac & Sandy. August and later.


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## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

RichH said:


> For a 2 ~week cruise Id recommend the Abacos.
> 
> With the proper weather window ... Leave Ft. Lauderdale for West End (Old Bahama Bay Marina to check in and overnight) or direct to Sale Cay via Memory Rock - about 24 hrs. and then check in at Spanish Wells, etc. Leave from Ft. Lauderdale well before dawn to cross the memory rock in good daylight ... its all 'visual piloting' at Memory Rock.
> From there are plenty of anchorages from Great Sale all the way to Marsh Harbour and Hopetown (not to be missed). Only difficulty will be needing a good weather window to pass the Whale Cut between Guana Key and Marsh Harbour. Powell Cay, Manjack Cay, Guana Cay (Nippers !!!), Green Turtle Cay, ManOWar Cay, Anglefish Cay, Treasure Cay (harbor), Marsh Harbour, Hopetown. Hopetown is not to be missed ... its shallow getting into Hopetown, just wait for tide and scape bottom a few times; take the southernmost channel into Hopetown for the (relative) deepest pass. Pick up a mooring inside Hopetown Harbor (fee).
> ...


I've done Bimini a few times, but not the Abacos. Is 9 days enough to reach and enjoy Abacos..then get back? I have a 2010 explorer near bahamas, will likely update it. I wont have 2 weeks proper (14 days). We'd also leave out of Port Everglades. ON the way back, I'd assume I need to head for Haulover INlet in order to land at Port Everglades. I'm aware of the guidance to not enter the stream in anything from the NOrth over 10 knots. Heck, in our club races, you can SEE the change in sea state...so I try to hug the stream or stay right outside of it in order to catch some of the 3-4 knots when its ripping north.


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## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

Even from the far eastern Abacos you're only 36-48 hrs. of sailing to get back to Ft. Lauderdale and find a hidey hole. 
Just keep an eye on the NOAA 'ocean prediction center' forecasts and listen to Chris Parker on CaribWx on SSB @ 4.045 mHz USB at ~ 7AM for 'surprises' that are beginning to form.

For early July its a pretty far remote possibility that there will be a 'Caine that far north.


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## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

Anyone use the ActiveCaptain route sharing feature? Any suggested routes on there to follow/modify for my own plotter?


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## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

A total of 9 days (allow 4 for the crossing and wx windows) will leave you only with 4-5 'easy' days in the Abacos. 
All depends on the weather and the general 'flow' that will delay a safe/easy crossing of the Gulf Stream. 
Going west to Ft. L will require bucking against the GS ... I think it better to cross to Lk. Worth inlet and then either take the small countercurrent down along close to the beach or take the dreaded ICW south from Palm Beach.


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## priscilla (Mar 20, 2000)

RichH Has it right! The Abacos via Memory Rock then an easy nite sail to Great Sale Cey. When you awake you are in paradise! Don't go ashore as you need customs first,..
,just sail around to Green Turtle key. Do customs, then sail the Abacos...and don't miss the 7 mile beach at Treasure Cay. All the places he suggested are perfect!


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## blowinstink (Sep 3, 2007)

night0wl said:


> Is 9 days enough to reach and enjoy Abacos..then get back?


No way. It is not even close to enough time.

Even if you completely leave out the "enjoy" part, I am not sure it is enough time even to find a weather window, get there, find a weather window and return. That is particularly true if, by Abacos, you mean the Hub of Abaco (Guana, Marsh Harbor, Hopetown, Man-O-War, etc).

It is a long overnight run to Great Sale from Ft Worth. It is another long run to Green Turtle from Great Sale (not even sure if that is doable in a day -- or why you'd want to skip all the possible stops in between). Add a full day to check in -- the Bahamians are not on NYC schedules. So, there and back to Green Turtle (not including finding weather windows in either direction) is 5 days. You still haven't had a drink and you still have to find decent seas to get around the Whale Passage and into the Sea of Abaco where you will find another long day to get to the Hub of Abaco.

Realistically, 9 days *might* be enough to plan to get the boat to the Sea of Abaco, find a spot to leave it and fly home (with a bad stretch of wx or some other probs -- it also might not). I know that is not ideal with storm season, but it is much more realistic. Even then, I think you'll find that you are not going to have enough time to downshift to "island speed" on the first part of the trip.

-M


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## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

So my options for Abaco are to:

1) Break the trip into 2 chunks. Perhaps the weekend before everyone arrives, I make the gulfstream crossing with a friend over to West End. Park the boat at the marina at Old Bahama Bay, which should be $1 a foot since it will be offseason. Thats $250 for the week. $70 cab ride to Freeport airport, and $100 for the flight back to Fort Lauderdale. We then can all fly to Freeport and pick up the cruise from there

2) Shorten the trip. Would making it to Hope Town and back be too much for a 9 day itinerary. I'd like to do Little Harbour, but that seems too far. If not Hope Town, what would be the recommended turning around point to give us a reasonable chance at stopping and smelling the roses. What cays/locations are must-do (i hear nippsers).

3) Perphaps a different itinerary altogether. Bimini + Cat Cay + Berry's possible? I dont hear much about the Berrys. Are they good cruising grounds?


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## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

Berrys are OK, its remote and depending on the wind/swell direction you may find limited usable anchorages. 

I would suggest, 'racing' to Hope Town including night sailing down the wide channel to the Whale Passage, etc, weather permitting, and then slowly as allowed by weather 'work your way back' to either Great Sale, Mangrove Cay, or West End as a jump off spot to cross back across the Stream or to wait for a weather window. If you have SSB, youll be able to listen in to Chris Parker/CaribWx to determine the 'best' weather window to cross the 'stream'. 

With only 9 days, you'll "be pushing it". Nothing will ruin a relaxing 'sailing trip' faster than a schedule and time restraints. 

Bimini is nice but its quite limited for a 9 day trip, especially with 'guests aboard'. And if you've been there before you already know that there is limited 'safe' anchorage, even in AliceTowne ... so youre going to need a 'slip' if weather is 'squirrely'. The advantage of Bimini (or even West End) is the extended ability to wait for the proper 'weather window' because you wont be 'deep' into the Bahamas.


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## JSailer (Mar 11, 2005)

night0wl said:


> So my options for Abaco are to:
> 
> 1) Break the trip into 2 chunks. Perhaps the weekend before everyone arrives, I make the gulfstream crossing with a friend over to West End. Park the boat at the marina at Old Bahama Bay, which should be $1 a foot since it will be offseason. Thats $250 for the week. $70 cab ride to Freeport airport, and $100 for the flight back to Fort Lauderdale. We then can all fly to Freeport and pick up the cruise from there
> 
> ...


Last year we sailed to Man-O-War Cay from Lake Worth. The trip over was simple and easy. But returning (early May) was a lot more challenging. I had given ourselves 4 days from Man-O-War back to Stuart. We stopped in Green Turtle the first night then left early to try to sail back to Stuart overnight. It's an easy trip but we ended up limping into West End to get some rest because we were hit by so many squalls, especially during the night, that we were simply exhausted. The shallow water on the Little Bahama bank can turn into steep and short spaced waves that are just a pain to pound against... I ended up flying home from Freeport with my son home and came back to pick up the boat.
My point is that in the summer time, and living in South Florida you know that, the thunderstorms are simply hard to avoid and they are very big and nasty. So, depending on your search for thrill and especially your boatmates', the trip home when trying to keep a schedule could turn into a very uncomfortable and possibly frightening experience for some folks. Seeing lightning for hours around you at night is not my favorite 

I'm my opinion, 9 days is very short to make it to Hopetown and back unless you have a diehard crew willing to sail through anything to get there and back. 
I agree that Bimini doesn't have much to offer but it's a much easier trip with more schedule flexibility. Then, doing day trips to some of the surrounding islands, including overnightning in the Berries is worth it.
If you want to truly enjoy the Abacos, I believe you need more time otherwise you will be constantly focusing on getting back in time and possibly be forced to make some poor choices weatherwise.
If you could take the boat to Marsh Harbour, Man-o-WAR or Hopetown on you own time and leave it there (inexpensive moorings), fly home and come back at a later with your crew and take the nine days to work your way back, it would be more enjoyable.
Just my two cents...


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## Melrna (Apr 6, 2004)

Bahamas in the summer. As a local, I am not sure you can do the Abacos without Rush, Rush Rush. You can leave from Ft Lauderdale and ride the GS to Memory Rock and than cut over as others have suggested. In your 34' boat your average speed might be 5kts. There is always an east wind. You will motor almost your entire way there. The east wind will be light too. So sailing back home would iffy at best too. So a good strong motor is a must as well as tankage. Next is the heat issue. 90's during the day and low 80's during the night. 
GS crossing for the most part is not a problem during the summer because we rarely get a cold front and north winds. Winds are usually light throughout most of the summer like I said. One can spend 9 days in Bimini and have a good time. There is a ferry service now from Miami for guest to arrive. There is good fishing and snorkeling especially the southern islands of Bimini. Check-in is painless in Bimini. Bluewater Marina even has the forms for you to fill out. Don't forget Bimini bread at the store down the street from customs.


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## blowinstink (Sep 3, 2007)

night0wl said:


> So my options for Abaco are to:
> 
> 1) Break the trip into 2 chunks. Perhaps the weekend before everyone arrives, I make the gulfstream crossing with a friend over to West End. Park the boat at the marina at Old Bahama Bay, which should be $1 a foot since it will be offseason. Thats $250 for the week. $70 cab ride to Freeport airport, and $100 for the flight back to Fort Lauderdale. We then can all fly to Freeport and pick up the cruise from there
> 
> ...


I've got it.

You could do a modified #1. Cross the GS with your friend, but go straight to Green Turtle instead of West End. I haven't checked distances, but I bet you can do it in 36hrs. Clear in there. Leave you boat at a marina or on a mooring in GTC and take a much cheaper cab to a flight back to the states (prices are surprisingly reasonable).

Then, in Part II you can do your tour of the Hub of Abaco leaving from GTC. You'll still probably miss Little Harbor, but you'll be able to do a GTC-Treasure Cay-Guana-Marsh-MOW-Hopetown-GTC run and maybe even have a chance to get the boat back to FL if all the stars align on Part II of the trip.


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

priscilla said:


> RichH Has it right! The Abacos via Memory Rock then an easy nite sail to Great Sale Cey. When you awake you are in paradise! Don't go ashore as you need customs first,..
> ,just sail around to Green Turtle key. Do customs, then sail the Abacos...and don't miss the 7 mile beach at Treasure Cay. All the places he suggested are perfect!


+1 on the Abacos

Be sure to visit the Hope Town light house and eat some cracked conch.

BUT and it is a really big but be very very aware of the weather. Is your boat insured? Do you have coverage for that area in hurricane season?

ALSO crossing the Gulf Stream on a fixed date is a mega carp shoot. If the wind in in the North and 15 to 20 or more you will take a real beating getting across. Most boats of your size will turn back after a short while.

Forget the extra dinghy gas. if you run low it is available.


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## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

Melrna said:


> In your 34' boat your average speed might be 5kts.


Thats a slow boat! This weekend, with sails that need to be replaced, I was going 8 knots in the gulfstream...I rarely go below 6 knots under sail so long as theres at least 10 knots of wind!

But point taken


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## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

Melrna said:


> Bahamas in the summer. As a local, I am not sure you can do the Abacos without Rush, Rush Rush. You can leave from Ft Lauderdale and ride the GS to Memory Rock and than cut over as others have suggested. In your 34' boat your average speed might be 5kts. There is always an east wind. You will motor almost your entire way there. The east wind will be light too. So sailing back home would iffy at best too. So a good strong motor is a must as well as tankage. Next is the heat issue. 90's during the day and low 80's during the night.
> GS crossing for the most part is not a problem during the summer because we rarely get a cold front and north winds. Winds are usually light throughout most of the summer like I said. One can spend 9 days in Bimini and have a good time. There is a ferry service now from Miami for guest to arrive. There is good fishing and snorkeling especially the southern islands of Bimini. Check-in is painless in Bimini. Bluewater Marina even has the forms for you to fill out. Don't forget Bimini bread at the store down the street from customs.


I guess a 9 day itinerary for Bimini it will be...


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## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

night0wl said:


> not a single reply after 8 hours. Guess I have to go to the other forums


Seriously?


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## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

chucklesR said:


> Seriously?


ancient history...i should delete that one.


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## wmarinecanvas (Dec 13, 2012)

Staniel Cay and Big Major's Spot in the Exumas.

Also, Black Point on Great Inagua.


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