Bahamas Background
The Bahamas comprise an archipelago of about 700 islands and islets and nearly 2400 cays and rocks, extending for about 750 miles from a point southeast of Palm Beach, Florida, to a point off the eastern tip of Cuba. The Biminis, the westernmost of the group, are about 60 miles east of Miami, Florida. Only about 40 of the islands are inhabited. New Providence is economically the most important of the group and contains more than half of the Bahamas' total population, which is about 85 percent black. The other chief islands, all of which are low-lying, include Acklins, Andros, Cat, Crooked, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Great Inagua, Harbour, Long, Mayaguana, and San Salvador (Watling). The capital of the islands is Nassau on New Providence. The second largest town is Freeport on Grand Bahama, and the third largest is Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco.
When Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador (Watling Island) in 1492, the Arawak Indians were the only inhabitants there. Today, nearly two-thirds of Bahamians, independent from Britain since 1973, live on New Providence and Grand Bahama.
Possessing a pleasant subtropical climate and splendid beaches, the Bahamas are one of the most popular year-round resorts in the western hemisphere, visited annually by some 3 million tourists. Tourism represents about 50 percent of the gross national product. Because of favorable tax laws, the Bahamas have become an international banking center. Industrial activity is limited; it includes the transshipment and refining of petroleum and the production of steel pipe, pharmaceuticals, salt, rum, and shellfish. The unit of currency is the Bahamas dollar (1 Bahamas dollar equals U.S.$1).
International banking and investment management augment the economy. But tension exists over bank-secrecy laws and drug trafficking via the islands-reminiscent of smuggling during the American Civil War and rum-running during Prohibition.
Area:
13,939 sq km (5,382 sq mi)
Population:
301,000
Capital:
Nassau 172,200
Religion:
Protestant, Roman Catholic
Language:
English, Creole
Literacy:
98%
Life expectancy:
74 years
GDP per capita:
$19,400
Economy:
Industry: tourism, banking, cement, oil refining.
Agriculture: citrus, vegetables; poultry.
Export: pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crayfish.
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Rules - The cruising life is different in many aspects in the Bahamas than in the States. First there is the lack or rules or regulations for things that can easily get you stopped or given a fine for; such as standing up in the dinghy while riding, not having proper dinghy lights at night, not having the right type of life preservers onboard, or not having the current state registrations stickers displayed on your vessel or dinghy.
Fuel and Water - The ease of pulling up to a marina fuel dock to fill water tanks and fuel tanks is not widely available, especially in the southern Bahamas. All of the fuel and water we've added to our tanks had been hauled by our dinghy using our various jerry jugs until we got to the Abacos. Fuel is about 2 to 3 times the price and water is not free, although it's much cheaper in the Abacos (.10 to .25 per gallon). Desalinated (reverse osmosis) drinking water in the southern Bahamas costs about .50 per gallon and some places even charged for questionable drinking water. A few places we even hauled water out of a well and out of water taps available in the settlements. We've learned the fine art of conserving water. We rinsed our dishes in salt water for awhile, but it took a toll on our stainless steel. In some places we were able to get slightly brackish water for free which we kept separate in containers and used only for showers and dishes. We didn't have a good raincatch system worked out, but the Bahamas don't receive much rain anyway during the winter months.
Crime - Even though the Bahamas are a third world country and have considerably less resources than those of us in the States, we found a virtual lack of crime and felt very safe. The only place we've locked our boat, dinghy, or even the outboard engine was in Nassau. The Bahamian people are very friendly, extremely helpful and we've not experienced any begging. If we asked if it was okay to leave our dinghy at a particular dock, the response was always "No problem, mon," whereas in the States it was common to get chased away or asked to move the dinghy. People in the Bahamas are much more laid-back and never in any kind of hurry.
VHF Radio - The use of VHF radio is quite different as most locals and cruisers use it as their primary means of communication, especially in the out islands. Not as many rules are followed and in many places any channel is acceptable to use, although channel 16 is still as the hailing and distress channel. Although at times we have heard music playing and entire conversations all on channel 16. Sometimes you would hear a Bahamian calling someone repeatedly every 10 seconds and usually louder each time until they actually answered. In the States, it's illegal to use a VHF on land unless you a have a special land use license.
Navigational Aids - There are virtually very few if any navigational aids and you must rely on eyeball navigation in conjunction with the charts available or the results can be devastating. The rare aids found are simply stakes or small round buoys (and not the standard red and green). It's much more of a problem running aground in the Bahamas as there are coral heads in many places rather than the soft forgiving mud of the Chesapeake. You have to plan your passages with good visible light and there's is essentially no movement at night as that would be extremely hazardous; kind of like wandering around a mine field.
Marinas - Marinas are not as common in the Exumas and out islands and don't have the amenities of the States such as showers, pool, etc. as water is just too precious. Most marinas south of the Abacos are not protected, unless they are in specifically dredged harbors. Water and electric are not free and most are metered at high rates. We've seen some marinas charge as high as $25 per night if you want to plug in to get electricity. There are many more marinas available in the Abacos and some even have the feel of a resort.
Garbage - Trash disposal is also treated much differently. In the States it's illegal to discard any garbage within 3 nautical miles from land. In the Bahamas trash disposal is quite a problem and you are encouraged to throw all perishable scraps into the water. As there is a good tidal flow in most areas it's not a problem. In some places, they routinely burn trash that has accumulated and you may have to pay for trash disposal. (We paid $5 to get rid of our trash in Staniel Cay.) There is virtually no recycling of cans or glass.
Weather Information - The availability of weather information is a bit different. There isn't any NOAA forecasts on VHF for the Bahamas, although in the western area of the Bahamas you can still pick up the Florida forecast. Good weather information was given on the VHF in the Exumas in Highborne Cay, Overyonder Cay and George Town, and also available on the Cruiser's Net in the Abacos daily. While in the Exumas we usually listened to the morning weather on the SSB (Single side band radio) given by BASRA (Bahamas Air & Sea Rescue Assocation). It's important to know what the wind direction will be as most of the anchorages are not protected from all wind directions.
Anchorages - Which brings us to the anchorages. In the Exumas and out islands most anchorages are pretty exposed, nothing like the snug protected coves available on the Chesapeake. The places to anchor are usually just in the lee of an island, sometimes with the banks or ocean behind you sometimes creating an uncomfortable swell. Some anchorages have a lot of current and two anchors must be set in a "Bahamian moor" -- the use of two anchors about 180 degrees apart usually up and down current. Better enclosed harbors are available in the Abacos, which explains why some cruisers don't get care to go much further south and leave the comfort zone.
Water Clarity - The water clarity is definitely a big difference in the Bahamas. In our home waters of the Chesapeake we were lucky to see a foot and while sailing in New England sometimes up to 3 or 4 feet. In the Bahamas we have been in water 40 or more feet and have clearly seen the bottom. While anchored we have seen starfish and conch besides our boat and even our anchor rode and anchor resting on the bottom. Jim has dove down to check our anchor and reset it if needed by hand. In most places we've anchored in soft white sand with good holding.
Self Sufficiency - You must be able to fix things or deal with the high expense of having replacements shipped in which could take a long time. There's no local West Marine or Boat U.S. available. Even in the largest settlements, we found it was difficult to find exactly what we needed. Until we got to the Abacos we couldn't find a standard 1" shaft zinc (our zincs needed to be replaced twice as fast due to the salter water). Also the Coast Guard is not on hand for rescue operations. While the Bahamas does have a counterpart in BASRA, it is a volunteer organization with very little resources.
Communications - Communications are much tougher and expensive. We found Pocketmail worked great for keeping in touch with family and friends via email. While sending and receiving mail using Pocketmail in the States is done with a toll-free 800 number, in the Bahamas it's a long distance call. We saw some cruisers lug their laptop computers ashore to the local Batelco office to plug in, but it seemed very costly. In the Exumas, many islands were uninhabited and those that had a settlement had very few public phones available (sometimes only one). In Eleuthera many phones were still out of order due to damage from last years hurricanes. Phone calls from the Bahamas are $1 per minute using Batelco debit or prepaid cards. Some cruisers we knew tried to activate their cell phones for Bahamas use, but it didn't seem to work reliably and was still very costly. Toll-free 800 numbers don't work from the Bahamas unless they are special access numbers for calling cards.
Mail - Receiving and sending mail in the Bahamas is a lengthy process. The Exumas and out islands rely on mail service (and all other supplies) via the weekly mailboat. In January, two mailboats sunk during the same storm and friends lost their outgoing mail (thankfully no lives were lost). In George Town, Exuma we heard it took about 4 weeks to receive mail sent first-class from the States. We had an envelope sent via UPS which took 3 days (and $30). If a box gets sent, this could cause it to be held up in Nassau customs and the recipient could be charged a hefty duty tax to receive. It's best to request only flat mail be sent. In Eleuthera we mailed something via Bahamas Airmail and was told it would take about 1 week; it took almost a month. We found the most reliable method of sending mail was to give it someone returning back to the U.S. via airplane.
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For any who may wish to sail in the Bahamas, perhaps I should spend a paragraph or two talking about the practical aspects of navigation here; particularly since it's quite different then anywhere in the States. During our first few weeks here, we fretted about running aground in the rather shallow waters and found ourselves being overly cautious. As there are no commercial towing firms here such as Seatow or TowBoat U.S., we had the notion that we would be completely on our own should we make a navigational error that put us in a spot. As such, we avoided some very good anchorages in favor of easier entered but less protected ones and we took longer routes then we needed until we gained confidence.
In the States, the lateral buoyage system is so very excellent that we could have easily negotiated the entire 1,000 miles of the Intracoastal Waterway without benefit of any chart at all (well maybe). But in the Bahamas, apart from a rare stake here and there, there are almost no aids to navigation, no buoys or channel markers that is. So just how do you negotiate your way through narrow channels into bays or anchorages in the Bahamas? Well, these days, a couple of private groups have made up for the lack of good government charts by printing pretty decent guides complete with GPS way points into most areas. It's quite possible and we have seen boaters go all the way through the Bahamas to George Town, Exuma exclusively by following the charted way points. But most sailors feel comfortable only after gaining some proficiency in the art of reading the water... that is telling the depth and ascertaining the channels by the color of the water. For the most part, it's not really that difficult for in general, the paler the water, the shallower the depth. Conditions that make this more difficult are cloudy weather, rough conditions and particular, grass bottoms. In each case, the water color is obscured making gauging the depth much trickier.
The best guides we have found, those used by the majority of cruisers are the Explorer Charts by Monty and Sarah Lewis that cover all areas except the central Abacos. For this area, Steve Dodge has produced a guide with chartlets. While somewhat frustrating given the number of advertisements, and lacking the detail of the Explorer charts, the Dodge guide is the best that we've seen. The BBA Chartkit for the Bahamas is disappointing at best, perhaps okay for an overview and color overhead pictures, but almost worthless for close in navigation.
Much of the sailing is done on the shallow banks in the lee of various islands. But eventually, you will have to transit one of the cuts into either the Atlantic Ocean or Exuma Sound, the two being indistinguishable as both present deep ocean conditions. Due caution must be exercised here, as an moderate to strong onshore winds against an outgoing tide can create dangerous breaking conditions. Swells from faraway storms can also produce similar conditions even though local conditions may be benign. Waiting for passable conditions is the only good call here. The tide ranges 3 feet or less throughout the Bahamas and this can often be used to an advantage to negotiate the shallower channels.
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What we miss in the Bahamas
What we look forward to being back
What we don't miss in the States
Things that were helpful to have
What things cost in the Bahamas
