. Your course over ground will always be north of your heading. (One time a member of our flotilla decided to leave mid day as they were on vacation. So, 2-4 could produce an 8 foot wave Sail was the most fun as we left from Marathon , jumped into the Gulf Stream and rode that puppy North. The average is the important thing for route planning. That means Lake Worth to West End is a bad idea. Weather preparing to cruise • overcoming problems. Upon arrival, boaters must visit Bahamas Customs and Immigration at their Port of Entry to obtain this permit. Dear Carolyn, My husband and I have been cruising over 13 years and 12,000 miles, first on a Tayana 37 monohull and now on a 34' Gemini catamaran. Lake Worth is too far North to cross to West End. Some hours you’ll go more north and some less, depending on whether you’re at the edge of the Gulf Stream or right in the center. Entering Policies . The Resource Center has four FREE mini-courses to guide you to just the info you need, whether you’re discovering what living on a boat would be like, preparing to cruise, overwhelmed with the first-year learning curve, or needing help with cooking aboard. The only down side was leaving on Sunday, lots of. I'm Carolyn Shearlock. First, your heading is where you are pointing the boat. PICK YOUR DAYS! We had a great motor sail down to Nassau arriving early afternoon. (You are still technically required to have a permit for pets – such as cats – that won’t leave the boat and one will definitely be required if you should have to fly out for any reason, such as an emergency at home or medical issue that can’t be treated in the Bahamas.) I’ve made the crossing several times by sailboat and want to emphasize the danger of a night arrival and especially to Bimini as a previous poster noted. So I'm starting to work on my bucket list for the future. Fixing stuff in the bahamas is often difficult but MArsh HArbor does have one of the best hardware stores I have ever seen. This is supported by the fact that a rise in small boat crossings has coincided with a fall in the overall number of people seeking asylum. Plan to cross the wake (which is traveling the same direction as you) at between a 45- and 90-degree angle. That being said, if someone was to organize a crossing … 9 hour crossing for a total time of 13.5 hours. [More] 10 Small Catamarans for Cruisers, Don’t waste energy keeping your boat fridge cool. Even a 25-year old Sabre 38 will still command a price of $75,000 for MK I, and well over $100,000 for a MK II. Maintain speed until you reach the wave. However, if you are coming from the south like the FL Keys to Bimini you can use the stream to your advantage. This fast-flowing current is part of the North Atlantic Gyre and flows northward from the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Try to avoid a north wind. G3a to G3 center channel 5.7′ My 28' S2 does not even have a connection for shore power. Three Things to Know for Route Planning As we got swept north of that rhumb line, I pulled up the next route to the north. Either way, you’ll be looking at a fast, easily-managed boat that will cruise in style. Route The Gulf Stream greeted us with some formidable waves that at times appeared as tall as our 14-foot mast. Our average speed, without current, is about 6 knots, so we know it will take about 9 hours (6 x 9 = 54 which is close enough for estimating). R12 50′ off 9′ It’s what your ship’s compass will show or your autopilot heading. I’m going to discuss crossing the Gulf Stream from Florida to the Bahamas (and return) in this article. Wind over current causes an uncomfortable chopCheck Offshore Weather, Sea State But if you can travel at 8 knots or more, then there may be better tactics, especially if you are not trying to stop in Bimini or West End and are wiling to go overnight to Chub, Great Harbour Cay or New Providence. and learned a ton about what does and doesn't work! Then figure the steering course for this route. And so on, until we got to the reef and made our way into Hawk Channel, where we had a glorious sail south — out of the Gulf Stream — down to Angelfish Creek. I would love to hear more about “not fighting Mother Nature”. I know that a lot of cruisers start at the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area and head for Bimini, but Bimini is actually south of Miami. Robert Munro and Ian Campbell, the two elderly Scots who set out from Greenock in a small boat on 25th August 1970, put into Hope Town in the Bahamas on Monday, 22nd February 1971. It should be less than 90 This is your heading to steer and should — on average — keep you near the rhumb line course to your actual destination (you will probably be north of the rhumb line in the middle of the trip, where the stream is the strongest, then come back towards the rhumb line in the second half). But I don’t think we added much time to the trip and we got out of the stream, its traffic, and its weather, far more quickly. Want more information about going to the Bahamas? Click here. As your bow passes past the crest of the wave, you may want to increase throttle just slightly to avoid the bow dropping into the trough and t… US Customs decal. A late start in the morning and you’re ariving at night. Angelfish Creek Soundings: Oops! Excellent article. Somewhere as you’re crossing the Gulf Stream, it’s likely that you’ll have to cross, duck or wait for a ship to pass. Should you have engine problems on the crossing and have to sail at slower speeds, be aware that you’re almost certainly going to end up further north than you had expected. As I said, in goid weather you won’t get lost as you can see the glow of Bimini from about half way there. Planning to cruise the Bahamas? Bahamas Crossing : From South Florida to Bimini. You can learn how to get the exact location and speed of the Gulf Stream here. The tidal flow between North Bimini and South Bimini is quite strong. There really aren’t nearby alternate “starting points” on the Florida side, so I look on the Bahamas side . The result? You can look at my November 19 blog post, “Gulf Stream Crossing” at mvprivateer.com. Read our privacy policy. and waiting for a window that is more favorable than another. An overview and comparison of 10 of the most popular small catamarans. R14 100′ off 6.5′ G3a center channel 5.9′ Very confused seas as the current fights the wind. The Gulf Stream is literally a river of water in the Atlantic Ocean that runs north between Florida and the Bahamas (or east between Florida and Cuba). Because the trip is longer and you’re in the stream longer, the estimated steering heading is less likely to be “perfect” and may need a little tweaking as you see how conditions are actually developing. . For U.S. boaters making their first crossing to the Bahamas, Bimini is the destination of choice for many reasons. For the return trip from Bimini to Florida, the planning was similar to our eastbound crossing. . One key to faster speed is making sure the bottom of your boat is clean. Having done the crossing dozens of times in our Dufour 34, I can tell you the best and easiest way to get to Bimini is to leave from Cape Florida…. To figure this with a real-life example of leaving from Angelfish Creek: I always plan for alternate “destinations” on the crossing so that if we get swept more or less than expected we have options already plotted and examined. Cruise ships leaving Port Canaveral that evening, talked with most of them via VHF, they had us on radar and turned to avoid us. Hi! Get my self-paced online course, Get Ready to Cruise the Bahamas, for step-by-step details on 30 critical tasks. Enjoy the comfort of the marinas, and then hop off the boat to explore the beauty of the islands! The Boat Galley can be overwhelming with over 1,200 articles. Fuel Either on a paper or electronic chart, mark a point this number of miles due south of your intended destination. If you've not been there before, you're in for a splendorous treat. Weather is a different component. The same principles apply for Florida to Cuba and return. FAILURE TO REPORT A VESSELS RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES IS A FEDERAL CRIME WITH CIVAL AND CRIMINAL PENEATIES WITH FINES AND IMPRISONMET AS WELL AND SEIZURE AND FORFETURE OF VESSEL tips, reviews and how-to's for your liveaboard cruising, Published on March 8, 2020; last updated on June 12, 2020 by Carolyn Shearlock. The latest official data on the nationality of people crossing the Channel in small boats is also found in the Home Secretary’s letter of 2 September 2020. It’s perfect as you progress across the stream, you wash northwards toward Bimini. The sea state is characterized by statistics, including the wave height, period, EXAMPLE 'Seas 3 to 5 ft' Period 6 seconds YOU PROBABLY WANT LESS THAN 2 TO 4 A further 166 are due to be returned, the home secretary said last month. Bahamas Boating Regulations . We always left at around 8pm or so…. I think this is really important, especially if the weather turns snotty or the trip takes longer than expected and sunset is close . The gulf stream is about 60 miles wide in some places and is only a few miles offshore in southern FL. it's been my experience that the seas are slightly higher in the stream. But we were able to add a bit of a twist on this by using a day with northeast winds (not good for making the crossing) to head south along the Bimini chain to Riding Rock — taking advantage of a counter current as well. Boats 30 feet or longer in length must pay an annual fee of $27.50 for a border crossing decal (also called a “user fee decal” by … I agree with Fred on the merits, importantly that provisioning opportunities near Ft Lauderdale are better than Hillsboro. Sorry for the confusion there. We will never sell your email or send spam. • Popular articles you may have missed Filed Under: Cruising & Chartering Tagged With: Bahamas, Cruising the Bahamas, International Cruising, Underway. Divide the east-west distance by your average speed to figure out how long it will take you to make the east-west distance. When first researching, it may seem like a crazy dream to take a trailer boat to The Mouth of creek, visual center 8′ The master of the boat must report to CBP telephonically and be directed to the nearest Port of Entry to satisfy the face-to-face requirement, or report to the nearest designated reporting location along with the boat's passengers for inspection. You will not follow the rhumb line and your chart plotter will keep showing you being further off course until you make that turn on the far side of the stream. R10 visual center 14′ With a 3 kt stream it makes my 56 NM direct distance approx 62 NM sailed. Since we live aboard the boat, it’s no trouble to use a day that isn’t good to cross (generally due to north winds) to move to a more southerly jump-off place! With the Gulf Stream, your heading and course will never be the same. Along the way, we sold pretty much everything we owned (twice! On sone trips when the stream isn’t running as hard, we have actually had to tack northward toward Bimini. This means that you’re going to have to do one of two things: (1) fight current all day, which will cut your speed considerably or (2) allow the Gulf Stream to sweep you north by heading due east, then turning and heading south once you get on the far side of stream (with luck, you’ll find a counter-current to help you). Don’t fight mother nature. Every crossing I made was begun in the evening so that we would be arriving in the Bahamas in full daylight. It is worth noting that “conventional wisdom” is often unwise. Destination was Bimini, but they ran aground in the dark between the islands). The cruise ship traffic in Ft Lauderdale doesn’t worry me. Just $39. See the soundings, below. We met two other cruising boats there and got recharged for our crossing to Nassau the next day. Upon entry into Bahamian waters it necessary to fly the yellow quarantine flag until the entire crew and passengers have cleared Customs /Immigration. But what’s the minimum amount south? Take a day as you’re waiting for your weather window and head south to a different anchorage — which one you choose will be determined by your draft. It may be necessary to carry extra fuel in jerry cans, keep in mind transferring the fuel from the cans to the vessels tanks in seas presents a new challenge. [More] Boatcards and Memories. It has been tested a number of times since by friends. If you decide to do the “fight the current” route, you can simply set your waypoints as usual and steer to follow the rhumb line across (your heading will change as the stream is stronger in some places than others). If you leave Florida and head due east (90 degrees), every hour that you travel you’ll go eastward whatever your speed is AND north 2 to 2.5 miles. Fighting the Gulf Stream is, to put it bluntly, a sucker bet. It is also very busy with lots of large cargo ships heading up and down the east coast and many small to medium-sized boats going between Florida and the Bahamas. Heading North from the Keys, use the Gulf Stream, if there is a Northerly component in the wind, STAY OUT OF THE GULF STREAM!!! This article was originally written on January 18, 2018. January 23, 2021 By Carolyn Shearlock/Rick Marcarelli, Looking for a simple, affordable, and comfortable cruising boat? Click here. Everyone must have proof of citizenship and fill out an immigration card. US citizens must present a passport Required Cruising /Fishing Permit Fees are $150 for boats up to 35 feet , and $300.00 for over 35 feet. . Hmm, I discovered that Angelfish Creek is more like 15 miles south of Gun Cay. DTOPS for Private Vessel (30+ ft.) or Report Arrival By Phone, For more information please see my Rates/Fees And But while the stream exerts influence on almost the entire trip to/from the Bahamas, it does not cover the entire Florida Straits between the Keys and Cuba and thus you can get some westing on either side of the stream. Admittedly, we would have traveled fewer miles had we just fought the stream. Now, that north amount is an average. Slow down until your speed just slightly exceeds the speed of the wave, then cross. It typically averages between 2 and 2.5 knots. more than twice the significant wave height'. It was substantially updated and republished on January 4, 2019. We left the Keys around 4:00 pm and were in West End around 2:00 pm. Required fields are marked *. It is also very busy with lots of large cargo ships heading up and down the east coast and many small to medium-sized boats going between Florida and the Bahamas. 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