Bahama's for a Couple of Days.

[Diesel]

O.K. I'm getting tired of being tied up to the dock. Work has kept me pier bound, but may be getting a week to ten days off. I was thinking of heading over to the Bahama's for a couple of day's. Trying to decide where to go. As this will be my first time there, excluding a brief port visit during my US Navy days 1980's, any info would be appreciated. my boat is in a Marina between Ft Pierce and Port St Lucie inlet. boat is an older 36 FT Carver with twin diesels and 250 gallons of fuel capacity. I have the decal and friendly boater card for clearing back in. I was thinking for an initial crossing to run from Stuart Fl to West End, stay a couple of days, then return when weather permits. my main question is West End worth going to or should I head south to Palm Beach and go to Bimini. Thanks for info,

[hogfighter]

West End is basically a marina....not much to do there. Bimini is better, with the Big Game Club and good snorkeling nearby and a nice beach. If you want to get away from it all, head straight over to Walkers Cay in the Abacos...beautiful and desolate, and from where you are pretty much a straight shot. Enjoy!

[Abaco]

Lacaya in Grand Bahama is another good option from that far north.

[Diesel]

Thanks for the information. been researching as much as I can on the web but gets a bit confusing. My main concern is being able to clear in and take on fuel. Some of the threads, thought dated, I've been reading were saying that their are occasional fuel shortages. As we haven't run this boat enough to have good fuel burn figures I want to try and not go below 50% ROB, in case of emergencies, etc. Also as I have to make it back to work, if we get stuck there by weather having access to an airport to fly back to the states would help. So I would need a marina where I could leave the boat for a couple of weeks.

[Tingum]

Fleaport/Lacaya is all that makes sense under your requirements but bear in mind it is not representative of the "real" Bahamas.

[hogfighter]

Bimini has fuel, you can leave your boat there, and has an airport in case you get stuck.

[Diesel]

Thanks all. I realize we will not get to see a lot of the Bahama's in the short time we have. We plan on doing more extended cruising later. This will be a trial run to see how the boat handles the crossing, fuel consumption, maybe get a feel for the weather, see if our dingy is adequate, learn some anchoring skills for that area. just a introductory trip I guess. I have learned from this site to not make a trip if there is any northern component to the wind. local cells can be very bad. Anchoring is tricky. Sands shift. no see-um's are hell. Explorer Charts are the best. Beer is expensive. A 300.00 entry fee applies to us. Rum is cheap. People are friendly and crime is localized in a few urban area's. You guy's are a great source of knowledge. Please feel free to let me know of anything else I need to know. maybe I will run in to a couple of y'all out there and can share a sundowner one evening.