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A reader wrote to me recently, inquiring as to my suggestions for a
one-week itinerary. They
are picking up a Power Cat from the Moorings base in Miami later in May. Their boat should be ready for them to leave about 3 in the
afternoon. Their boat has a
draft of about 3 feet and cruises at 23 knots.
Author’s note: After my last correspondence with this particular reader went
out, I lost a bunch of e-mail, and so no longer have your address.
I would appreciate it if you would write back.
I’d particularly appreciate hearing how your trip went.
Their
first question basically ask, is this too late to leave for a trip
across the Gulf Stream, and is Bimini a worthwhile stop?
The second part of their inquiry, was basically how much can we
pack into a one-week trip? We
don’t want to spend all day long every day, just driving the boat! We’d like to spend some time on an anchor at a remote
island, some time fishing, and some time visiting.
What do you suggest?
My
first suggestion was that if they wanted to maximize their time in
Abaco, they might pick up the same boat at the Moorings base in Marsh
Harbour. Given that they
only have one week to play, they might not want to spend quite so much
of their time getting to and from their destination, and spend more time
“on site”. That option was not available for the particular week they
were scheduled, out of Marsh Harbour.
My
response was basically; this is a great
time to visit Bimini! I would
enjoy the first night in Bimini, and use the first full day to cruise to
Freeport and use the Grand Lucayan Water Way to cut across Grand Bahama
Island to Abaco. This will
be the only day of running all day.
I estimate about 6-8 hours of running this day, but there are
plenty of places along the way to stop if they decide that is too much
for one day. I would also
plan to make Bimini my last stop, before returning to Miami.
The
way I would design an itinerary for this set of circumstances, would be
to depart for Bimini late in the afternoon, only if the seas are
relatively flat and the weather forecast perfect.
Sunset in Bimini at this time of the year is about 8 EDT, so in
good weather, they should have enough time to make the two-hour crossing
and have a reasonable reserve of daylight.
It is nice to have the sun high and behind you when entering an
unfamiliar harbor, but they should be okay at 5 p.m., especially since
their vessel does not require a great deal of water depth.
If weather or circumstances, delay the departure from Miami, so
that they depart early the next morning, I would recommend by-passing
Bimini, and get the long leg of the trip out of the way on that first
full day. Catch Bimini on
the way back. If everything
works out just right, these lucky cruisers get to spend their first and
last nights of their cruise in Bimini.
Day One, Miami to Bimini, 45 Miles
Once
you’re sure you have a good weather forecast, calculate a correction
for crossing the Gulf Stream, given your estimated speed. I did this for 20 knots and came up with a correction of
about 7°. Don’t forget
to add about 4° to convert from our true course of 92°.
By my estimate, this gives me a magnetic heading of 103° for
their boat from Government Cut in Miami to Bimini.
If the seas are anything less than perfect, adjust your estimated
boat speed downward accordingly. One
could easily find oneself making only 15 knots instead of the expected
20; suddenly the crossing time becomes closer to 3 hours rather than the
planned 2 hours-and the reserve of daylight starts to get a little thin!
If that happens to recalculate the heading correction.
Don’t wait until the GPS shows you are north of course, or
you’ll have to correct even more costing still more boat speed and
time.
Bimini
is a delightful island to visit. Bimini
is the island (two actually), Alice Town is the town. Here, for brevity, I’ll simply use Bimini
collectively.
Bimini
has much to offer. It is
much like many of the small villages in Abaco, and will give our
cruisers a taste of what’s to come.
In many ways, it will make up for the villages in the hub of
Abaco, which our cruisers will miss on this particular itinerary.
Bimini also has much to offer in the way of fishing and diving. There is a full service dive shop, so don’t forget to bring
the SCUBA gear and your certification cards.
Bimini
is a delightful island to visit. Bimini
is the island (two actually), Alice Town is the town. Here, for brevity, I’ll simply use Bimini
collectively.
Bimini
has much to offer. It is
much like many of the small villages in Abaco, and will give our
cruisers a taste of what’s to come.
In many ways, it will make up for the villages in the hub of
Abaco, which our cruisers will miss on this particular itinerary.
Bimini also has much to offer in the way of fishing and diving. There is a full service dive shop, so don’t forget to bring
the SCUBA gear and your certification cards.
There
are adequate facilities on the island, but call in advance to make sure
they have room for you, if you require dockage or a hotel room.
Particularly in the summer month, they get a lot of business from
people who come over from Miami in relatively small boats, and stay in
the hotels on the island. Sometimes
dock space and rooms can be a bit on the short supply.
Day Two, 132 NM
Abaco via Grand Lucayan Waterway
This
is a long day of running, even in a fast powerboat. Plan on running the north end of the Grand Lucayan
Waterway on a rising tide if at all possible.
Freeport
makes a great destination, in it’s own right; but certainly makes a
good fuel stop. You may
like it so well here, that you chose to stay over for the night.
There is nightlife here, and shopping like you won’t find in
Abaco. Just remember, if you linger here too long, it shortens the time
in Abaco.
Any
one of the many fine marinas in Bell Channel
will put you close to all
the action, and some very nice beaches.
If
you want to anchor out, there are any number of cul-de-sacs along the
Grand Lucayan Waterway, but you won’t find any services here.
There is a little island, known as Peterson’s Cay about a mile
east of the south entrance of the Grand Lucayan Waterway, which makes a
great day stop for snorkeling. It
might make a suitable overnight anchorage in settled weather.
Enter the anchorage by going past the reef on the east end of the
cay. It makes a great little substitute for Abaco, but for this
particular trip, you may be better off to move on to Abaco.
The
reef all along the south shore of Grand Bahama makes some great diving,
but the section between Bell Channel and the Grand Lucayan Waterway is
not as crowded as it is near Lucaya.
If you need to kill some time waiting for tide on the Grand
Lucayan Waterway, this might be a great spot to stop and burn a tank of
air. For the most part, you
won’t need the SCUBA in the Abaco legs of this cruise.
You’ll be able to get more air in Walkers, or for that matter
back at UNEXSO in Bell Channel.
Grand Lucayan
Waterway
I’ve
called this the “hybrid route” in the book.
It is of the greatest use to powerboats, because of the fixed
bridge and a couple of shallow spots on the north end.
Our cruisers for this trip should have no trouble, especially if
they take the north end of the waterway on a rising tide.
Great Sale Cay
Great
Sale Cay sits squarely in the middle of the Little Bahama Bank, and thus
lacks the beaches or the nearby reef that makes those islands on the
edge of the banks so nice. This has been the traditional stopping point
for sailboats, enroute from West End to Abaco.
For slower boats, it’s the only decent anchorage on a trip too
long to make in one day. It’s
not particularly picturesque, although there is a fairly nice beach on
the west shore, and the old ruins of the old missile tracking station
make for some interesting exploring. Our cruiser’s here don’t have
that limitation. The main
advantage of this stop is that it makes a decent overnight anchorage for
slower boats. For our friends here, it makes a good alternate anchorage
if they chose not to push on to Carters Cay or one of the other outlying
cays.
Carters Cay
I
have selected this as the second overnight stop on this itinerary,
because of the well-protected anchorage and its central location.
Central that is, to the northern Abacos.
From here one has a nice secure anchorage, with some decent
fishing nearby and many islands to explore.
One could do a lot worse than spend every night here, venturing
out during the day to the likes of Hog Cay or Strangers, returning here
for the snug anchorage at night. At this point, I recommend
that you
reassess the weather, how the boat is running, and the mood of the crew.
You now have days 3, 4, and 5 to spend as you chose.
Days 3,
4, and 5
From
here Foxtown is only about 16
NM away, and will give you a nice flavor for an Abaco village, you can
probably pick up fuel there, but watch the draft very carefully.
Once could probably expend the time and fuel to go all the way to
Green Turtle Cay.
What I would probably do from this point is spend the next three
days working my way to Walkers.
Hog Cay
makes a nice stop for some fishing, and may even make a nice overnight
stop if the draft of the vessel and the surf on the outside permit your
entry into the sheltered harbor. One word of caution, if you’re on a short time line, this
harbor could leave you trapped in the harbor for a while, if the ocean
surf should pick up. Given
these two factors, I’d recommend this stop only is perfect weather, or
if you have time to kill.
Strangers Cay
has some excellent beaches, which you will usually have all to yourself.
Grand Cay
offers another chance to visit a small native village in Abaco; you can
usually get fuel here.
Enjoy
picking and choosing!
Walkers Cay is
an excellent out island resort. By
day five on this itinerary it’s time to be here if you are going to
make the stop, which I highly recommend. Fuel is almost always
available. For those
bringing their own boats from Florida, free dockage is available certain
months out of the year. You
can then fly into their small private airstrip in Walkers own airline,
or by seaplane with Chalk’s. They
have a first rate SCUBA facility too.
The hotel and restaurants are worth a visit too.
If
you get to Walkers Cay a day early, say day 4; you could break the long run back
to Bimini at West End.
Right now, West End is in a re-building process and doesn’t
have as much to offer as Walkers, if you have to choose between the two.
In another year or so, be sure to plan on a stop at West End.
Day 6 back to Bimini
I’d
use day 6 to get back close to home.
Bimini makes a good choice, and then you’re a short hop across
to Miami on the last day. You
can stay in the Bahamas as long as the weather and time permit. Alternately, you could cross the Gulf Stream further north
and run down the Florida coast, but as for me, I’d almost always
rather stay in the Bahamas as long as possible.
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