Bahamas Update
Crackdown on crime, services improved, marinas reopen with cruiser incentives.
By Sara LewisSPECIAL EVENTS
To inaugurate the New Year, Staniel Cay sponsored a unique event. Normally, the local A-Class Lady Muriel challenges cruising boats in the New Years Regatta and a regular crew is supplemented by island tourists and cruising yachtsmen. Instead, on New Years Eve, a large group of spectator boats got to see not one, but three of the beautiful A-Class boats race each other in a Bahamian-style anchored start three-race regatta, and those who wanted to experience racing on an A-Class boat could enjoy hiking out on the pry. The keen competition between two Staniel Cay national champion boats, Tida Wave and Lady Muriel, was augmented by the Ragged Island competitor Courageous, which arrived on the mailboat. Tida Wave outperformed the other two in all events, but the “fun for all” was more important than the winner.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The annual Ragged Island Valentine’s Day Party will once again be held on Hog Cay, Ragged Islands. Maxine, from the grocery in Duncan Town, provides food for the event where cruisers join the locals and bring a dish to share.
The second annual Abaco Marine Flea Market will take place February 25th at the Treasure Cay Primary School. The school’s athletic field will be transformed into a huge nautical ‘swap shop’ with all sorts of new and used nautical gear and equipment being sold at unbelievably low prices. This year’s vendors include Marsh Harbour Marina, Abaco Outboards, Island Boy Tackle, Marsh Harbour Boat Yards, Sea Horse Boat Rentals and Abaco Suzuki. Unlike a boat show, the Abaco Marine Flea Market offers an informal, almost party-like atmosphere where shoppers enjoy a wide variety of Bahamian food and drinks while they wander in search of a wind scoop or spare propeller. The Treasure Cay Marina will again offer special reduced dockage rates for those visiting the Abaco Marine Flea Market.
Visit abacomarinefleamarket.com for complete information about the event. Vendor Space Request Forms are available on the website, or contact Donnie Albury at 242-427-0412 or email your request to albehrendt@oii.net.
COMMUNICATIONS
A caution when purchasing prepaid phone cards for either data or voice: check the expiration date. These cards do have a shelf life and if you inadvertently get an expired one, you may not be able to get a refund.
NEW TRANSPORTATION
Sun Air International, a Fort Lauderdale-based regional airline, announced its new service to Cat Island; New Bight Airport, Eleuthera; Rock Sound Airport; and Andros Town Airport. Sun Air International has also been serving Chub Cay and Great Harbour Cay, along with on-demand charter flights throughout Florida and the Bahamas. Its new schedule also provides nonstop service to both Great Harbour and Chub Cay. All Sun Air flights will depart from the Commuter Terminal at Fort Lauderdale, located on the lower level of terminal four. For more information, go to gosunair.com or call for reservations at 877-226-2040.
Travelers from south Florida to the Bahamas now have a new choice of transportation. A high-speed ferry, the Pinar del Rio, will be making the 76-mile trip from Port Everglades to Freeport in two and a half hours. The Bahamas Express is a shipping company from Spain that operates the service. Designed for tourists and the resort industry, this service also has implications for the cruising community. It would certainly make it easy to get guests over to the Bahamas with less hassle and expense.
The ferry departs every day, except Wednesdays, at 10AM and arrives at Grand Bahama at 12:30PM. It departs the Bahamas at 7:30PM and arrives back at Port Everglades at 10PM. Besides the economy and first class accommodations, there is duty-free shopping and a bar/cafeteria onboard.
NEW RESTAURANT TO
OPEN AT HIGHBOURNE
For those around the Highbourne Cay area in February, you will be in the perfect position to try out the beautiful new outdoor restaurant at Highbourne Cay Marina. The restaurant expects to be open around February 1st and will be a welcome addition to the island and the surroundings for those who would like to go out for some good food and pleasant atmosphere.
CHANGES IN THESE LATITUDES: BIMINI
A dredge is currently working in the entrance of the channel to Bimini Harbour. Depths should be over 3 meters (9-10 feet) in the area of previous shoaling shown on Chart BIM 3, page 54, Explorer Chartbook Near Bahamas, Sixth Edition. Vessels entering the harbour may try to contact the dredge on channel 13 or 16 until the project is completed. Upon occasion, the dredge pipe may block the channel. Proceed with caution in this area.
BERRYS
The Berry Islands Club is currently closed until further notice. There is a caretaker, Howard, who manages the moorings and collects the $20/night fee. No other services are available. A word of caution here is that a mooring recently failed in a blow and a sailboat was washed ashore. If you take a mooring at the Berry Islands Club, make sure to dive on it and check its security. The Club has apparently changed ownership, but it is not known when it will reopen.
EDITOR’S NOTE-
Reader Nick Wardle, of the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA), Cruising Station Nassau, emailed the following clarification to last month’s Bahamas Update:
Your piece about clearing into the Bahamas under Bahamas Update for January needs correction and clarification.
When clearing in there are two formalities—Customs for the yacht, and Immigration for the occupants.
While you [were] correct in stating there are variations at different ports of entry, the yacht itself is granted a 12-month Temporary Cruising Permit (in spite of the form still saying “6-months”!). This Permit may be extended for a further two years on application and payment of a fee of $500 per extension year. Three years is the maximum before a yacht must leave the Bahamas. There is no requirement to clear outbound, as you said.
Immigration, however, can give a varying amount of time for the personnel aboard. The maximum time allowed altogether is and always has been eight months. If granted a shorter period initially, you can wait until the last week of the period to visit another port of entry, which can be tricky with weather considerations, or, if passing through Nassau, you can visit Immigration’s head office and apply there at any time for a suitable extension.
