New Member - First timer

[Vicki]

Hello all! I am a new member of your forum, making my first trip to Abaco in May. I just wanted to introduce myself and say "thanks" for all the great tips and pics on this board. My husband and I are USVI (St. John) junkies and have been for some time now. However, he is a private pilot and I am a private pilot in-training, and this year we upgraded to a plane that is worthy of flying farther than 30 miles from home! We are not brave enough yet to fly all the way down to St. John, so we are trying to find a great place closer to home. From what I have seen so far, Abaco looks pretty darn good. I do have a little pang in my heart at the thought of not seeing St. John this May, but something deep inside tells me I am going to love Abaco.

We will be flying down from Knoxville, TN 5/27 and are staying through 6/3. We have rented Shorecrest II on Guana (I think there is another Tennessean staying in June!). Our first thought was to stay on Elbow, but we loved the "remoteness" and beauty of Guana, so I think it will be a good choice for us. We've got the cart and boat rented. Nothing else to do now but wait.

Any tips, general info., or advice are appreciated. Any info. from private pilots would be nice too (we've flown to Bahamas once, to Grand Bahama). My husband wishes there was an IFR approach at MHH, but I guess we'll take what we get!

Otherwise, I'll just keep tuning in to see what all of you have to say. Thanks for the great information.

[AbacoPeach]

We will be on Guana from May 27 through June 12. We will be staying at L'il Gecko the first week and Tranquility the second week. My husband and I would be more than happy to introduce you to your first Nipper! :D

[dogfish]

Vicki,
Just pick your weather window well and you will be fine. Most private pilots get into trouble over the Bahamas because they do not pick a good weather window or mismanage their fuel. We fly out to Marsh Harbour every year in my buddy's plane (he is the pilot). We have learned from experience that you need to have "outs" as far as not making your chosen destination. Last year flying back to Ft. Lauderdale we knew the weather over Florida was full of T-storms while the weather over the ocean was nice. We decided to go anyway, but instead of flying direct we planned to over fly Bimini. Once in the area of Bimini we got a Miami weather breifer on the radio who told us we were closed out, so we set down in Bimini for the night and left the next morning.

The point is that there are other airports on other islands that may be good "outs" if you find your window closing.

We try to stay away from the south side of Grand Bahama becuase you end up flying through Freeport airspace where you have 727s and such cooking in at 400 mph and no Tower radar. You have to let them know where you are, but 4 miles southeast of the airport at 1500 feet just gives them an idea of where you are. Freeport tower telling you to be adviced that a 727 is 10 miles out decending through you altitude in your general direction can make for a tense moment or two.

The last thing I will say, is that the weather down here that will send you into IFR is usually convective in nature. My buddy (the private pilot) always tells me that a good thunder storm has no regard for your IFR pilot rating as it is turning you upside down and throwing you at the ocean.

-Doug

[floridacargocat]

A few bits of advice when flying to and from The Bahamas:
1. Planning includes a.o. getting the latest weather information, managing your fuel and be knowledgeable about your alternate airfields on the way out and in to the US
2. In summer we do have situations, where the weather is fine in Florida and The Bahamas, but in-between it is definitely not recommended to fly, as fronts and areas of thunderstorms are incompatible with smaller (and larger) aircraft, and it has nothing to do with your IFR experience
3. Be more than careful with your fuel management, as not every airfield has 100LL.
4. Be very careful in the vicinity of airfields like MHH or TCB (and others), as traffic controllers are not always available and you have to listen to the radio in order to get the "picture"
5. Be knowledgeable, which airfields are open, and which airfields are closed. You would be surprised at the accuracy of your charts.

[Vicki]

From you guys, it sounds like the biggest issue we'll deal with in May are storm cells, not general cloud cover. We do have weather radar in the plane so that at least gives some peace of mind, but you never want to rely too much on a gadget. We'll consider the chance of storms in advance and plan accordingly. We'll look at some alternate routes "just in case." Our experience flying in before was that the traffic controllers definitely are a "challenge" compared to what we are used to in the states! We did notice the lack of fuel and planned to fuel up well before leaving the coast. Although, I think we'll avoid Palm Beach Internation this time. $5.50 a gallon!!! Ugh.

[justsue294]

Hi Vicki, Welcome!!!
I'm new too, I"m from Oneida, up by the line on 27. What are the odd of staying
in the same house. Everyone here on the board are great and they have given me lots of great pictures but you just can't have to many. I hope you have lots to share with
us when you get back. Hope you have a great time.Say hello to Pat W and Troy and Maria at Dive Guana and tell them I'll see them soon. Safe traveling.
Sue

[Abacosdreamin]

We too were St. John junkies (honeymoon and onward for many years..) but after our second child we felt it was too far to go so we gave the Bahamas a try. First to Harbour Island a couple of years. Last year was our first in Abaco on GTC. I think you are really going to like Abaco and all it's incredible little Cays.

Have fun

[grasshopper]

Vicki
sent you a private message.

[Vicki]

We'll have to make a "date" to meet at Nippers!

[AbacoPeach]

What handle will you be using on the VHF? OR you can call AbacoPeach and we can set something up while we are there.

[Vicki]

Oh gosh. Another decision to make! LOL. I hadn't thought that far. I'll remember Abaco Peach. I'm originally from Georgia!

[Windswept34]

As a 21 year veteran pilot in the Marine Corps and a Florida native you can not pay enough attention to weather and alternate airports. We fly a Cessna 414 and have had to turm back to FLL a few times. Be humble. Be smart. Other wise it is some of the best flying you will ever have. My wife just recieved her SEL last week. Its nice to have your best friend as co-pilot! I can't wait until she get's her multi-IFR.

[Vicki]

Nice plane. We have a Piper Seneca and I now fly my husband's "hand me down" Cessna Skyhawk. We must love flying to be a two plane family! I really do love flying. And Good for your wife. I think it's pretty cool when husbands and wives can fly as a team! If she goes multi-IFR, that will be extremely cool. Me, I am probably going to stop at single-VFR. At least for a long while. My husband wants me to become multi-IFR, commercial like he is, but, whew, I don't know if I have all that in me. Maybe your wife can inspire me!

Thanks for the input. With the weather considerations and over-the-ocean aspect, trips to the Bahamas are just a really new thing for us. There are so many things to worry about. Like you said, we'll be smart, fly conservatively, and be safe. I guess that's all you can do!