2017 June Bahamas Gathering

[Old'sCool]

Originally Posted by Snookerd

The idea is still floating out there, just like a boat anchored off hole in the wall!

I see what ya did there.......

Did the destination survive Mathew or if not, did they or are reconstructing??

[Snookerd]

Grand Bahama was hit pretty hard. Abacos were spared mostly. Plenty of time for things to going next Summer!

[martin]

So , how many miles are we talking round trip... Just trying to figure out how many banks I need to rob on my way down to west palm to pay for this trip of a lifetime... Seriously..though.. how many you think??

[cdavisdb]

If the trip is to the Abaco Cays, Walkers, Grand Cays, etc it will be maybe 100 miles less than my trip last year, which showed 600 miles on the chart plotter. Add the Green Turtle area and it might be a bit farther. Do a lot of running around/diving/fishing and the total could rise a bunch. Right now, fuel is just over $5.00/gal.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by martin

So , how many miles are we talking round trip... Just trying to figure out how many banks I need to rob on my way down to west palm to pay for this trip of a lifetime... Seriously..though.. how many you think??

It's about 165 NM from Palm Beach (Lake Worth) Inlet to Green Turtle via Walkers Cay. May be a little shorter via West End, but clearing customs was always more of a hassle at West End. Made that trip 6 times, and typically burned about 60 gallons with my old 1975 115 Evinrude, which averaged about 2.8 mpg on those trips. I'd expect the E-TEC to get at least 4 mpg. How much you burn while over there depends how much running around you do; reefs are close in, but we always made at least 1 run down to Man O'War and Hopetown/Elbow Cay area and that's another 20-25 NM. Gas is expensive, yes, but you'll probably spend more on booze, meals and lodging unless you can stay on your boat like Connor does!

[Capt Terry]

Denny or others-
Is there still customs at Walkers Cay? I recently heard from a friend that Walkers had been pretty much destroyed by a past hurricane & there had been virtually no rebuilding there.

[feltonmichael]

I'm Planning a trip in June to West End with my Seacraft20 cc and would like to meet some other Seacraft Owners has anyone suggested Dates? I'm from Missouri so it takes a little more planning on my part to get down to Florida, Also where are you all leaving from? and any Suggestions on where I could leave my truck and trailer. Thanks

[Bushwacker]

Palm Beach/Lake Worth Inlet is the closest distance to West End, which bears due E, about 60 NM. However if you leave from other inlets further south, you'll get a lift from the Gulf Stream instead of having to head S of due E to compensate for a 2-3 kt current.

Early morning crossings are best (like leave the inlet at dawn.)

If wind is out of any northern quadrant, stay the hell out of the Gulf Stream! A 5-10 kt wind from NW, N, NE is much worse than a 15 kt SE, S or SW wind.

Mid-July is statistically the least wind and also lower chances of rain than June. August is getting too close to hurricane season.

Lake Park Marina is a decent place to leave boat.

Considering the expense & amount of prep work required just for a crossing to West End, you might as well press on another 40 NM to the Abaco's, which have much better diving and fishing! Although Walkers is essentially abandoned (although I think Snookerd said they had customs guys there?), gas and other limited supplies are usually available at Grand Cay.

Beware of having a schedule, the most dangerous thing you can have on a boat! Most folks get into trouble or have rough crossings because they don't have the flexibility to wait for good crossing weather!

[feltonmichael]

Thanks for the advice, I will look into July. I've been across the stream several times mostly doing it by sailboat or larger cuddy cabin boats. It will be a first for the 20cc. But have spent several weeks fishing Palm Beach and Boynton and the boat performs great. I have been thinking of heading back to Green Turtle but I have some timeshare points about to expire and the only place in the Bahamas I could use them up is in West End or Nassau. Is the fishing and spearfishing that much better in the Abacos My Schedule Is pretty flexible for the crossing and return trip. My hardest part is getting away from my job in Missouri. I have to start rescheduling my clients now or I'd never be able to get away. I'm planning on about three weeks off and will spend some time fishing in Florida if I'm waiting for weather. I

[Bushwacker]

The only spearfishing you can do is free diving with pole spears or slings, so unless you can free dive to 65-80' like Connor, that eliminates the West End area, as I don't know of any shallow reefs around Grand Bahama. Lots of nice 20-30' reefs in the Abacos, although I understand they're pretty fished out compared to 30-35 years ago when I was last over there.

As for hook & line fishing, I'm no authority, but it should be good in the deep water off Grand Bahama, but it's hard to beat Matanilla reef off Walkers.