We plan to go around the 10th of January, but I have a couple of questions.

1. Cash: Everyone says bring a lot, but how much assuming we'll be there
about a month and use marinas and restaurants about every other day?

2. Abaco: I've read that Abaco in Jan-Feb is chilly. Others, however, have
enjoyed visits there in Winter. How good or bad is it in Jan-Feb?

3. Gulf stream crossing: How does one find boats to buddy up with for the
crossing? Where would we want to hang out waiting to depart from either Lake
Worth or Miami/Ft Lauderdale?

4. Reservations: Guide books say to make reservations for popular marinas.
Since the cell phone won't work, how do we do that? Will VHF reach
adequately?

Thanks. Appreciate the info.

We went last winter and had a good time. We took a
mooring at Man-O-War Cay as our home base and
went on short trips to other places in the Abacos.

More comments below.
Doug
s/v Callista

"George C." wrote in message
news:UcqEb.7681$PK3.5907@okepread01...
We plan to go around the 10th of January, but I have a couple of
questions.

1. Cash: Everyone says bring a lot, but how much assuming we'll be there
about a month and use marinas and restaurants about every other day?

Most of the marinas we stayed at had winter specials of
around $0.65 to $1.00 per foot per day. Electricity is
around $5 to $8 per day (Treasure Cay was $17/day).
Water was metered at $0.15/gal or flat rate at $5 to $8.
The Green Turtle Club had a deal going where anything
you spent at the resaurant or bar was deducted off of
the slip fee. Treasure Cay was the most expensive.

2. Abaco: I've read that Abaco in Jan-Feb is chilly. Others, however, have
enjoyed visits there in Winter. How good or bad is it in Jan-Feb?

It took us until Jan 22 to get a decent weather window.
It was generally in the 70's to low 80's during the day and
in the 60's at night. Might have dipped into the 50's once
or twice.

3. Gulf stream crossing: How does one find boats to buddy up with for the
crossing? Where would we want to hang out waiting to depart from either
Lake
Worth or Miami/Ft Lauderdale?

Most folks going to the Abacos leave from Lake Worth. We
left at 4am, crossed onto the bank south of Memory Rock and
continued directly to Great Sale Cay. We just talked to folks
anchored in North Lake Worth and managed to get a group
of 6 boats.

4. Reservations: Guide books say to make reservations for popular marinas.
Since the cell phone won't work, how do we do that? Will VHF reach
adequately?

Some folks cellphones work and some don't. One of our
group have an AT&T phone that worked fine and to top
it off he never got charged for any calls. That was 2 winters in a row!
Nobody else we came across could use their phones
though. Marinas monitor CH 16 if I recall correctly.

Thanks. Appreciate the info.

We went last winter and had a good time. We took a
mooring at Man-O-War Cay as our home base and
went on short trips to other places in the Abacos.

More comments below.
Doug
s/v Callista

"George C." wrote in message
news:UcqEb.7681$PK3.5907@okepread01...
We plan to go around the 10th of January, but I have a couple of
questions.

1. Cash: Everyone says bring a lot, but how much assuming we'll be there
about a month and use marinas and restaurants about every other day?

Most of the marinas we stayed at had winter specials of
around $0.65 to $1.00 per foot per day. Electricity is
around $5 to $8 per day (Treasure Cay was $17/day).
Water was metered at $0.15/gal or flat rate at $5 to $8.
The Green Turtle Club had a deal going where anything
you spent at the resaurant or bar was deducted off of
the slip fee. Treasure Cay was the most expensive.

2. Abaco: I've read that Abaco in Jan-Feb is chilly. Others, however, have
enjoyed visits there in Winter. How good or bad is it in Jan-Feb?

It took us until Jan 22 to get a decent weather window.
It was generally in the 70's to low 80's during the day and
in the 60's at night. Might have dipped into the 50's once
or twice.

3. Gulf stream crossing: How does one find boats to buddy up with for the
crossing? Where would we want to hang out waiting to depart from either
Lake
Worth or Miami/Ft Lauderdale?

Most folks going to the Abacos leave from Lake Worth. We
left at 4am, crossed onto the bank south of Memory Rock and
continued directly to Great Sale Cay. We just talked to folks
anchored in North Lake Worth and managed to get a group
of 6 boats.

4. Reservations: Guide books say to make reservations for popular marinas.
Since the cell phone won't work, how do we do that? Will VHF reach
adequately?

Some folks cellphones work and some don't. One of our
group have an AT&T phone that worked fine and to top
it off he never got charged for any calls. That was 2 winters in a row!
Nobody else we came across could use their phones
though. Marinas monitor CH 16 if I recall correctly.

Thanks. Appreciate the info.

George C. wrote:
We plan to go around the 10th of January, but I have a couple of questions.

1. Cash: Everyone says bring a lot, but how much assuming we'll be there
about a month and use marinas and restaurants about every other day?
Almost all marinas take plastic.... bring a couple in case there are
issues or you lose one. $300 customs fee-CASH (over 35 ft) Many
restaurants and groceries do NOT take credit. (50-100+per day)

Split it up and hide it inside the vessel...(don't forget where you hid
it!!)



2. Abaco: I've read that Abaco in Jan-Feb is chilly. Others, however, have
enjoyed visits there in Winter. How good or bad is it in Jan-Feb?

SImilar to SFL.... could be 75, could be 40... the further south the
better but the cold fronts do go deep in JAN.


3. Gulf stream crossing: How does one find boats to buddy up with for the
crossing? Where would we want to hang out waiting to depart from either Lake
Worth or Miami/Ft Lauderdale?
Assuming a powerboat....
Going to Freeport... leave from FLL or WPB....
Going to Bimini Leave from FLL or Miami.
If it is a sailboat... plan on leaving 20-30NM SOUTH of where you want
to cross to...

Depending on the size of the vessel... you may have to wait up to a week
for decent seas... remember.. any wind with a NORTH component... add a
couple feet to the stream.

Call around on Channel 16 for other crossers... I always go alone but
usually get in contact with others on 16 and we check up on each other
once in a while...


4. Reservations: Guide books say to make reservations for popular marinas.
Since the cell phone won't work, how do we do that? Will VHF reach
adequately?
Cell phone MAY work.... Bellsouth...YES (may require pre-registering...
DO IT NOW)
Call NOW for reservations... changes are usually OK if weather based..
Be prepared to anchor out in a pinch...(you might just never go back to
a marina... we rarely do anymore)
most marinas have really bad VHF sets... many times handhelds. Try 16,
68 and 9 for hailing.






Thanks. Appreciate the info.

George C. wrote:
We plan to go around the 10th of January, but I have a couple of questions.

1. Cash: Everyone says bring a lot, but how much assuming we'll be there
about a month and use marinas and restaurants about every other day?
Almost all marinas take plastic.... bring a couple in case there are
issues or you lose one. $300 customs fee-CASH (over 35 ft) Many
restaurants and groceries do NOT take credit. (50-100+per day)

Split it up and hide it inside the vessel...(don't forget where you hid
it!!)



2. Abaco: I've read that Abaco in Jan-Feb is chilly. Others, however, have
enjoyed visits there in Winter. How good or bad is it in Jan-Feb?

SImilar to SFL.... could be 75, could be 40... the further south the
better but the cold fronts do go deep in JAN.


3. Gulf stream crossing: How does one find boats to buddy up with for the
crossing? Where would we want to hang out waiting to depart from either Lake
Worth or Miami/Ft Lauderdale?
Assuming a powerboat....
Going to Freeport... leave from FLL or WPB....
Going to Bimini Leave from FLL or Miami.
If it is a sailboat... plan on leaving 20-30NM SOUTH of where you want
to cross to...

Depending on the size of the vessel... you may have to wait up to a week
for decent seas... remember.. any wind with a NORTH component... add a
couple feet to the stream.

Call around on Channel 16 for other crossers... I always go alone but
usually get in contact with others on 16 and we check up on each other
once in a while...


4. Reservations: Guide books say to make reservations for popular marinas.
Since the cell phone won't work, how do we do that? Will VHF reach
adequately?
Cell phone MAY work.... Bellsouth...YES (may require pre-registering...
DO IT NOW)
Call NOW for reservations... changes are usually OK if weather based..
Be prepared to anchor out in a pinch...(you might just never go back to
a marina... we rarely do anymore)
most marinas have really bad VHF sets... many times handhelds. Try 16,
68 and 9 for hailing.






Thanks. Appreciate the info.

x-no-archive:yes



"Doug Dotson" wrote:

We went last winter and had a good time. We took a
mooring at Man-O-War Cay as our home base and
went on short trips to other places in the Abacos.

More comments below.
Doug
s/v Callista

I have not been to the Abacos yet, but I'll add the comments.

"George C." wrote in message
news:UcqEb.7681$PK3.5907@okepread01...
We plan to go around the 10th of January, but I have a couple of
questions.

1. Cash: Everyone says bring a lot, but how much assuming we'll be there
about a month and use marinas and restaurants about every other day?

Most of the marinas we stayed at had winter specials of
around $0.65 to $1.00 per foot per day. Electricity is
around $5 to $8 per day (Treasure Cay was $17/day).
Water was metered at $0.15/gal or flat rate at $5 to $8.
The Green Turtle Club had a deal going where anything
you spent at the resaurant or bar was deducted off of
the slip fee. Treasure Cay was the most expensive.

We didn't use cash much. We charged almost everything, except on
Highborne Cay in the Exumas where they preferred a personal check to a
charge card and Frazier's Hog Cay in the Berry Islands where they
would only accept cash. There were no winter specials at marinas
because the marinas etc were full and they didn't need to do the
specials.

2. Abaco: I've read that Abaco in Jan-Feb is chilly. Others, however, have
enjoyed visits there in Winter. How good or bad is it in Jan-Feb?

It took us until Jan 22 to get a decent weather window.
It was generally in the 70's to low 80's during the day and
in the 60's at night. Might have dipped into the 50's once
or twice.

This depends a good bit on what you want and what you consider chilly.
It's way warmer than Canada - about what it is like in St. Augustine
or Ft. Pierce in the winter. The water is too cold to swim for any
length of time without thermal protection.


3. Gulf stream crossing: How does one find boats to buddy up with for the
crossing? Where would we want to hang out waiting to depart from either
Lake
Worth or Miami/Ft Lauderdale?

Most folks going to the Abacos leave from Lake Worth. We
left at 4am, crossed onto the bank south of Memory Rock and
continued directly to Great Sale Cay. We just talked to folks
anchored in North Lake Worth and managed to get a group
of 6 boats.

Even the first time, we always went alone. We did not want to have to
depend on other folks ideas of what was the proper window - i.e. we
wanted to make the decision and go or not go without waiting for a
committee. We are quite a bit slower than most boats and we also
didn't want to hold the others back.

We did not go over from either Lake Worth or Ft. Lauderdale. I know
folks who go from Ft. Pierce but we don't like fighting the Gulf
Stream - we are slow enough without that. Both times we went to
Bimini because it is the closest and we like it - since it is close we
don't need quite so big a window. We left the first time from the No
Name Harbor area south of Miami, and the second time from Rodriguez
Key.

4. Reservations: Guide books say to make reservations for popular marinas.
Since the cell phone won't work, how do we do that? Will VHF reach
adequately?

Some folks cellphones work and some don't. One of our
group have an AT&T phone that worked fine and to top
it off he never got charged for any calls. That was 2 winters in a row!
Nobody else we came across could use their phones
though. Marinas monitor CH 16 if I recall correctly.

One thing you can do is call before you leave to the first place. My
AT&T phone never worked although my Verizon bag phone did. I don't
know what the deal is now - I suspect no phones work there now. We
used the VHF radio quite a bit and also SSB (although not for
marinas).


grandma Rosalie

x-no-archive:yes



"Doug Dotson" wrote:

We went last winter and had a good time. We took a
mooring at Man-O-War Cay as our home base and
went on short trips to other places in the Abacos.

More comments below.
Doug
s/v Callista

I have not been to the Abacos yet, but I'll add the comments.

"George C." wrote in message
news:UcqEb.7681$PK3.5907@okepread01...
We plan to go around the 10th of January, but I have a couple of
questions.

1. Cash: Everyone says bring a lot, but how much assuming we'll be there
about a month and use marinas and restaurants about every other day?

Most of the marinas we stayed at had winter specials of
around $0.65 to $1.00 per foot per day. Electricity is
around $5 to $8 per day (Treasure Cay was $17/day).
Water was metered at $0.15/gal or flat rate at $5 to $8.
The Green Turtle Club had a deal going where anything
you spent at the resaurant or bar was deducted off of
the slip fee. Treasure Cay was the most expensive.

We didn't use cash much. We charged almost everything, except on
Highborne Cay in the Exumas where they preferred a personal check to a
charge card and Frazier's Hog Cay in the Berry Islands where they
would only accept cash. There were no winter specials at marinas
because the marinas etc were full and they didn't need to do the
specials.

2. Abaco: I've read that Abaco in Jan-Feb is chilly. Others, however, have
enjoyed visits there in Winter. How good or bad is it in Jan-Feb?

It took us until Jan 22 to get a decent weather window.
It was generally in the 70's to low 80's during the day and
in the 60's at night. Might have dipped into the 50's once
or twice.

This depends a good bit on what you want and what you consider chilly.
It's way warmer than Canada - about what it is like in St. Augustine
or Ft. Pierce in the winter. The water is too cold to swim for any
length of time without thermal protection.


3. Gulf stream crossing: How does one find boats to buddy up with for the
crossing? Where would we want to hang out waiting to depart from either
Lake
Worth or Miami/Ft Lauderdale?

Most folks going to the Abacos leave from Lake Worth. We
left at 4am, crossed onto the bank south of Memory Rock and
continued directly to Great Sale Cay. We just talked to folks
anchored in North Lake Worth and managed to get a group
of 6 boats.

Even the first time, we always went alone. We did not want to have to
depend on other folks ideas of what was the proper window - i.e. we
wanted to make the decision and go or not go without waiting for a
committee. We are quite a bit slower than most boats and we also
didn't want to hold the others back.

We did not go over from either Lake Worth or Ft. Lauderdale. I know
folks who go from Ft. Pierce but we don't like fighting the Gulf
Stream - we are slow enough without that. Both times we went to
Bimini because it is the closest and we like it - since it is close we
don't need quite so big a window. We left the first time from the No
Name Harbor area south of Miami, and the second time from Rodriguez
Key.

4. Reservations: Guide books say to make reservations for popular marinas.
Since the cell phone won't work, how do we do that? Will VHF reach
adequately?

Some folks cellphones work and some don't. One of our
group have an AT&T phone that worked fine and to top
it off he never got charged for any calls. That was 2 winters in a row!
Nobody else we came across could use their phones
though. Marinas monitor CH 16 if I recall correctly.

One thing you can do is call before you leave to the first place. My
AT&T phone never worked although my Verizon bag phone did. I don't
know what the deal is now - I suspect no phones work there now. We
used the VHF radio quite a bit and also SSB (although not for
marinas).


grandma Rosalie

We have not cruised The Abacos, but where there for a week the first of
November, comments below. We visited Marsh Harbour, Man-O-War, and
Hopetown. If you have any question you can send them to bcleveland AT
charter DOT net and I will tell what we know.

brian

"George C." wrote in message
news:UcqEb.7681$PK3.5907@okepread01...
We plan to go around the 10th of January, but I have a couple of
questions.

1. Cash: Everyone says bring a lot, but how much assuming we'll be there
about a month and use marinas and restaurants about every other day?

You can spend as much as you want. The restaurants and grocery stores
in Marsh Harbour all took credit cards. Getting cash while in the Abacos
can be tricky as most of the banks we saw where only open 1 or 2 days a
week. Restaurant prices were a little higher than here in central Alabama -
$7-10 for lunch, $10-16 for supper. Grocery prices were 10 to 25% higher.

2. Abaco: I've read that Abaco in Jan-Feb is chilly. Others, however, have
enjoyed visits there in Winter. How good or bad is it in Jan-Feb?

3. Gulf stream crossing: How does one find boats to buddy up with for the
crossing? Where would we want to hang out waiting to depart from either
Lake
Worth or Miami/Ft Lauderdale?

4. Reservations: Guide books say to make reservations for popular marinas.
Since the cell phone won't work, how do we do that? Will VHF reach
adequately?

Our cell phone worked (cingular) did not make any calls locally but the
couple of calls back to the kids were about $1.95/min.

Just about everybody (marinas, taxis, car/skooter rental, police) seemed to
be on 16.

Thanks. Appreciate the info.

We have not cruised The Abacos, but where there for a week the first of
November, comments below. We visited Marsh Harbour, Man-O-War, and
Hopetown. If you have any question you can send them to bcleveland AT
charter DOT net and I will tell what we know.

brian

"George C." wrote in message
news:UcqEb.7681$PK3.5907@okepread01...
We plan to go around the 10th of January, but I have a couple of
questions.

1. Cash: Everyone says bring a lot, but how much assuming we'll be there
about a month and use marinas and restaurants about every other day?

You can spend as much as you want. The restaurants and grocery stores
in Marsh Harbour all took credit cards. Getting cash while in the Abacos
can be tricky as most of the banks we saw where only open 1 or 2 days a
week. Restaurant prices were a little higher than here in central Alabama -
$7-10 for lunch, $10-16 for supper. Grocery prices were 10 to 25% higher.

2. Abaco: I've read that Abaco in Jan-Feb is chilly. Others, however, have
enjoyed visits there in Winter. How good or bad is it in Jan-Feb?

3. Gulf stream crossing: How does one find boats to buddy up with for the
crossing? Where would we want to hang out waiting to depart from either
Lake
Worth or Miami/Ft Lauderdale?

4. Reservations: Guide books say to make reservations for popular marinas.
Since the cell phone won't work, how do we do that? Will VHF reach
adequately?

Our cell phone worked (cingular) did not make any calls locally but the
couple of calls back to the kids were about $1.95/min.

Just about everybody (marinas, taxis, car/skooter rental, police) seemed to
be on 16.

Thanks. Appreciate the info.

We plan to go around the 10th of January

I am sorry to see anyone going to the Bahamas as long as they have that
ridicules $300 entry free in place. It will be corrected only when enough
people stay away.