Bimini Trip
 

Planning on a trip to Bimini any advice from anyone who has been???? Planning on leaving from Homestead Bayfront Park.

Re: Bimini Trip
 

1.)LOCK UP THE BOAT/MOTOR TO THE PIER w/ a Hidden Kill Switch
2.) Leave NOTHING on board. Anything left after dark will never see the Bahama Sunrise
3.) Bring a 5cu ft freezer. Fill it with Ice/ food / Bait / Chum/ Filet Fish you catch during the week. Can be puchased for approx $125. Lock it on the dock next to your boat. Upon leaving, sell it to the locals for $100... Last trip there ice was approx $15 a bag :eek:
4.) Bring no cash bills over $50, Passport, Local Charts, Spare Parts, Bahamas & yellow Quarentine Flags.
5.) Fill out entry / Customs Paperwork prior to entry (go to Bahamas web site)
6.) File a float Plan & Cross with a Buddy Boat

Re: Bimini Trip
 

When are you going? We plan on going July 25th. :cool:

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Everything Chuck said, and:

7. Carry enough fuel for double the distance.
8. Carry 32oz of bottled water per person per day before leaving the US.
9. Burn portable fuel supply first.
10. Carry extra water separating filters.
11. Carry photocopies of all important documents, including passport #, boat registration, other ID, etc.
12. Call home immediately upon arrival.
13. Do carry and declare a shotgun if you are staying aboard. The fact you are armed will then be known to potential thieves/pirates.
(Do NOT carry handguns in Bahamian waters unless you have a diplomatic passport or you are a federal law enforcement officer.)
14. Do not bring any cash back to the US for any Bahamian, even if they are law enforcement or government officials.
15. Do not bring any lobster or fish back to the US without specifically declaring it with customs before leaving the Bahamas.
16. Oh yeah, use a prop lock.

I used to live in the Bahamas on New Providence Island in '94-95, and I have made the crossing more than 100 times. I have crossed in everything from David Anheuser's old 77' Broward FDMY "TICA" as a deckhand/steward, a '43 Rybovich, to more than a half-dozen trips from Palm Beach to Grand Bahama in a 13' Whaler (accompanied by other boats).

I have made the greatest number of my crossings, however, in a 20' SeaCraft Seafari. I used to go across 2 or 3 times a week to dive, and return same day.

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Cool thanks for the info keep it coming.....We are trying to plan it for late july or early august. Anyone know of any cheap airlines we are going to send the girls on a plane and meet them there they are not as excited about the boat trip as we are!

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Take plenty of $$ for gas and try to take as much from here to there as the prices go up 2 to 3 times

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Island Air should be able to drop them on South Bimini

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Leave the "Bling" at home..
Strap on the Casio G shock watch and be happy.. :D
Make sure you try a Yellow Bird at the bar.
and look out for "Conchy Joe" :rolleyes:

See ya, Ken

Re: Bimini Trip
 

. . . or just go to the Abaco's instead, esp. Man-O'War Cay; they're a little more law abiding there, although they almost seceded when Bahamas got their independance from UK in 1972! Their loyalties still remain with the Queen. That particular island is dry however, so you'll have to bring your own booze! Be careful with the rum raisin ice cream at the Dock & Dine however - you can get a hangover on that stuff!

Re: Bimini Trip
 

My back hurts just reading that. :eek: That boat must have been a floating gas can.

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Denny-I agree on the Abaco's as you know ;) I grew up sailing over there in the Summers, going from island to island, spending about 2 weeks at a time. Cruising by power boat should be at least 1 week in the Abacos IMHO. Reelclassic wants a quick run to Bimini. I would still consider West End and Jack Tar-oops, wrong decade :D Hopefully this thread will move to The Gatherings Section of CSC in the near future :cool: :cool:

Re: Bimini Trip
 

13' Whaler side console with a 35 hp Johnson. 18 gallon underseat fiberglass tank. We'd use about 12 gallons going across. It's only 54 miles from Lake Worth Inlet to West End. Steer a course of 101* to allow for the Gulf Stream current

2 guys, 4 tanks and scuba and fishing gear on the boat. Leave around 5 am, before daylight, while the sea is glassy and run 20-25 mph all the way across. We'd hit Jack Tar about 7:30am or so and refuel (and buy the fishing tackle we forgot). Dive and fish all day. Refuel again at the end of the day. Stay overnight at the Islander Inn (long gone now), and go back in the morning again while it was glassy.

You can only do this with such a small boat in the middle of summer when it's often like glass all the way across in the early morning. Normally it was 3 or 4 boats and about 9-10 people making the trip. The big boat that we always travelled with was a 28' John Allmand. On a couple of occasions, we came back the same day, and just towed the whaler home, cause the seabreeze kicks up the chop late in the day.

Today my back is part titanium, probably due in part because I did stuff like the above. :o

POST SCRIPT: I agree the best small-boat cruising in the Bahamas is the Abacos down through Eleuthra, and I would add the Berry Islands to that list.

Re: Bimini Trip
 

One rule we always had in all the crossings I made was that every boat in flotilla would be equipped to tow or be towed at a moments notice. Rationale: Murphy's Law predicts that when someone breaks down, it'll be in the middle of a thunderstorm, blowing 40+ kts with rain coming down sideways and visibility about 10', so you want to hook up quickly! Think I've posted a How-To on this before, but here it is for what it's worth:

For the Tow-ee: Get a SS carabiner hook and put it thru your bow/towing eye. Run your anchor line down thru this hook and back up to deck; shackle a big snap hook to end of anchor line and secure to bow cleat. Now your 300' anchor line will provide the nice long tow line with the elasticity you'll need if it gets rough. (You can still use anchor in an emergency if you put a big shackle on another carabiner hook in end of chain and then snap hook thru that. I'd replace snap hook with a shackle for overnight anchorage however!)

For the Tow-er: Rig up 2 stern lines, 20' min length with an eye/thimble/snap hook in one end and an eye spliced in other end. Attach snap hook to towing eye in transom, coil up line and hang on stern cleat. The two lines can then form a bridle . . . To tow, just hook Tow-ee's anchor line snap hook on to the eyes in the end of the Tow-er's stern line and you're in business!

One other tip for trip planning - Statistics show that you'll probably have the least wind in mid-July and not too much rain, once the Bermuda high gets established. June tends to have more rain, and August is getting closer to peak of hurricane season with higher probability of encountering tropical depression, etc. Bimini is a pretty short hop so you don't need much of a weather window, but having an extra day or two in the schedule will give you some flexibility in picking the best weather for the crossing.

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Danny - it should be TWO weeks minimum! Reason: it takes ONE week just to unwind enough to enjoy the pace of life in the Abaco's! :D The banking hours posted on outside of bank in downtown New Plymouth will give you a clue: "Thursday, 10-2". (Every Thursday, whether you need it or not!) :eek: Time just doesn't mean much to the folks over there!

Re: Bimini Trip
 

And never forget that 10-2 is figured in Island Time, not Chronos time!! :D

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Alright, I guess we need to personally determine the 2 week rule cruising the Abacos on a power boat. Anyone interested in July 09??

Re: Bimini Trip
 

my 20 will be ready to go on that trip...Im in!

Re: Bimini Trip
 

what made u decide to do this trip? whos going with u?

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it will be me and hopefully some more to help with gas but the boat may not be here to see the trip but i will have something soon to replace my 23

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Boy! Some people will use ANY excuse to have a SeaCraft party! :eek: :eek: :D

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Anyone say party???? :D

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Lets go....The more boats the better!

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Mt Girl and I with our 23 savage were thinking about making that trip. How expensive is gas over there currently?

Re: Bimini Trip
 

Ive heard 2 to 3 times more than here! I would plan on bringing as much extra as I can....