Checked off a bucket list item.....Bahamas!

GBSoren

GBSoren

Pre-takeoff checklist
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GBSoren
We just got back from a trip from MN to the Bahamas in our TB20. Flying the entire trip VFR is a challenge, so you have to be ready to make a few changes along the way.

We left MN Friday March 9th, flew from KOTG to KSTP to pick up our daughter, she worked until 5 that afternoon but I'd decided to leave that evening to get ahead of some weather moving through central/southern states. We left KSTP a little after 6, landed at KCKV around 10, long flight but we put a lot of miles behind us and got ahead of most of the weather.

The next day we flew from KCKV to 70J in northern FL, put on some gas and continued south. The plan was to got to Fort Meyers to catch a spring training game on Sunday, but because of some thunder storms south of Tampa I decided to stop at KBKV (just north of Tampa) and spend the night there instead.

After a family meeting, we decided to skip the spring training game as fly to Fort Pierce (our departure and arrival port) the next day instead, so KBKV to KFPR. We got in there about noon so had lunch (and I had a beer...mistake!) at the APP FBO and a lyft ride to our hotel...after looking at the weather for the next day, we should have attempted to get to the Bahamas Sunday.

Next day, get to KFPR, talk to Customs officers to make sure I'm doing everything correctly. File my eapis forms, VFR flight plan and get weather brief....VFR flight NOT recommended! Thunderstorms between KFPR and MYEM (Governors Harbor). I watched the weather for an hour or two but seeing no break in site decided to cancel flight.

Next day got to KFPR early, had already resubmitted eapis and new flightplan and gotten weather brief. Flight from KFPR to MYEM was beautiful. We were lucky enough to add an extra day to the end of our stay, so instead of leaving Friday we departed MYEM Saturday.

Saturday, 9:30 depart MYEM back to KFPR, get through customs without a hitch, lunch at the FBO restaurant, fuel and back in the air....first fuel stop was KHAB (NWAB), then on to KVER in MO, landing at 8pm. The weather looked terrible for the next day, so I put on more gas and continued all the way back to KOTG that night, landing just before 11. over 1700 miles that day!

Awesome trip, we call it a trip of a lifetime, but hopefully we'll do it again. 20180314_120640.jpg 20180314_115721.jpg 20180314_120752.jpg
 
Reported. Mods, isn’t there a minimum number of posts that a person must make before posting one that makes others insanely jealous?

:D


Looks like a great trip. Congrats!!!!!!
 
Sounds like a nice trip. It's been a few years since we did our trip to Stella Maris and Harbour Island. It's definitely a fun and challenging flight. Even IFR it's a challenge as thunderstorms don't really care what flight rules you're flying under.
 
Flew quite a bit into Freeport, Nassau, and Eleuthera from ATL scheduled service. By far Eleuthera was the most fun flying into, no ATC there and short runway (for a jet). Just wished we could have had an overnight there lol. Thought about "breaking the jet....
 
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We are in Andros right now from MN, we are here for three weeks. We are planning our first out island trip this thursday. We came here two years ago for the first time and had to come back. We left last Thursday night and flew to kcsv in TN and finished the trip with a stop in it is Titusville, fl then myan. This time we had great weather, last time we were about an hour ahead of the weather all the way down. I hope to do atleast 5 day trips to other islands while we are here.
 
Any recommendations for things to see in Governors Harbor? I have not been there and it's always nice to know what are must see stops.
 
Fly over the SW side of the island, large shallow flats are beautiful! Tippy's is a good place to eat, but expensive. To be honest, the best meal and most fun was the Friday night fish fry at Governors Harbor, if you get a chance hit that! Food was good, and cheap for Bahamas, $12/person. We hit several beaches and to be honest the nicest one we thought was right across from where we stayed at Hut Pointe.
 
Congrats. Have done the Bahamas several times,always a good time.
 
Looks like a great trip. Congrats!!!!!!
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Looking at doing the same route, Ft. Pierce to Governor's Harbor, sometime this year. Got all my paperwork done (stickers & licenses), and only have our PFDs still to get. This will be our first trip as well, so look forward to any tips you have to give.
 
BGF_Yankee said:
Looking at doing the same route, Ft. Pierce to Governor's Harbor, sometime this year. Got all my paperwork done (stickers & licenses), and only have our PFDs still to get. This will be our first trip as well, so look forward to any tips you have to give.
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Yes, I can give a few, nothing probably knew but it may ease your mind a bit. Day of the flight do you eapis forms on line, unlike others I don't recommend doing them early (or return flight at the same time). After doing mine, then doing flight plan and calling for a weather brief I decided to scub the flight and go the next day, at that point I wished I would have done the weather brief first. We just had to many thunderstorms in route to make it a comfortable VFR flight! Over land I would have probably went, because I could have always landed and waited them out, but not over open ocean. Doing the eapis, make sure you list only yourself as crew (pilot must be listed as crew), then skip forward to list the passengers, I screwed this up the first time also, listing all of as crew instead of 1 crew and 3 passengers. I did it correctly the next day.

I filed my VFR flight plans using Garmin Pilot, worked fine but I confirmed them in the system when calling for the weather brief, just piece of mind knowing it's filed. When calling to notify customs of our return they gave me a squak code for crossing the ADIZ, I put that in right away and when calling Nassau told them the squak I'd been assigned. When I called Miami after being handed off by Freeport, I requested flight follow and they wanted to issue me a new code, I wasn't comfortable with that so I cancelled flight follow and kept the code customs had told me to have in.

Landing back in Fort Pierce and going through customs was a non-event. It took maybe 20 minutes, but that's because we arrived just after another family of 4. Was never asked for my radio lic, my planes radio lic, my reg, customs sticker, proof of ins....nothing! Passport and pilot's license is all I would have needed, I had the rest and wouldn't do it without but most likely you won't be asked.

Fort Pierce is the busiest GA airport I've ever been in and out of....but then again, I'm from rural MN!

Hope this helps....fun trip and we'll go again! It'll be much less stressful the second time!
 
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