Bahamas Adventure 2005,
by Michael Tessier
“You haven’t taken a vacation for almost two years. I’ve already booked the Peace and Plenty Hotel in Georgetown. We’re going!” With those words, Theresa, “She Who Must Be Kept”, AKA “S.W.M.B.K.” announced back in December, our travel plans to return to our favorite spot in the Bahamas in February.
The week before departure I called our friends at Homeland Security. They confirmed it would be alright to fly non stop from St. Catharines to Savannah and they even gave me my Customs appointment for 2:30 PM for Friday, the next week, along with a fax number for me to send them my “Form 178”. Not quite pre 9/11, but improving.
With flight plan filed and weather checked we were ready to go.
“CF-MCR is cleared to the Savannah Airport, as filed. Departure Rwy 06, climb rwy heading to 4000 and contact Toronto Terminal 128.27, squawk code 3730.” With that, at 10:30AM, the throttles went forward and our next adventure began. It took a couple of minutes (about half way to Rochester) before Toronto finally picked us up and headed us off in the right direction, “turn to heading 200, direct Dunkirk, climb to 9,000 and contact Buffalo Approach 124.65.
From then on it was an uneventful trip on top of a solid undercast,
consisting only of handoffs, frequency and altimeter changes, with only occasional glimpses of Lake Erie and the mountains until we got south of Charlotte. After that, it was CAVU all the way to Savannah. We had good tail winds pushing the old girl along at almost 185 kts. for most of the trip. We landed about 2:35 but had to hold short on a taxi way till two A-10 Wart Hogs from the Georgia National Guard took off on an intersecting runway. How about that – our own personal air show! Then we trundled off to Signature Aviation where we met our Customs folks. They were pleasant and efficient, but seemed hung up about whether we were importing any Cuban cigars. Ten minutes later we were in the cab headed for downtown for a late lunch/dinner and the procurement of two six packs of “Wood Chuck “cider” for the trip south. While not quite as warm as we wanted, the thermometer at 50’F was at least headed in the right direction.
Saturday morning we were off just before 10:00am, departing rwy 36. After turning to 090, we were given vectors to the airway. Five minutes later we were given vectors away from the airway. Apparently someone going the opposite direction at our altitude, didn’t want to talk to Savannah Approach until they passed us. When they finally did check in, a 45 second discussion ensued with Savannah doing most of the talking to them. “You have got to be talking to me if you fly in my airspace” followed by the obligatory “Sorry it won’t happen again”. Those controllers are good and do their best to prevent aircraft from occupying the same airspace at the same time.
Another uneventful trip till 50 miles south of Nassau. We had started our gradual descent when we lost radio contact with Nassau Approach. This was expected below 6000 ft., but we were still in clouds which were not really expected in the Bahamas! Time to start transmitting blind on the general frequency 122.8 till we were clear of clouds. About 30 miles out we established contact with Great Exuma “Tower” on 118.0. Other than Nassau or Freeport, the term “tower” is a relative thing, more like St. Catharines Radio but without the radar, than a traffic directing entity. However it was reassuring to hear no reported traffic in our vicinity while flying through the visible moisture. We broke out at about 2500 feet and made our way down the island chain to Great Exuma.
Great Exuma International Airport
There were some changes made to the airport since our last visit here two years ago. They built a new Arrival Terminal with Customs. The Line Service was the same as before (excellent) as they filled up the inboard tanks and brought out the luggage cart. “S.W.M.B.K.” suddenly noticed two commercial flights arriving within minutes behind us and became concerned it would take us hours to get through Customs, while waiting in line with hundreds of our newest friends. Not to worry - The same relaxed Customs Official from two years ago was still there. He again helped us out with the paperwork. I almost think he remembered us from the last time. The air felt warm and humid, and we started to relaaaax. We also noted the big friendly smiles on everybody’s faces. The people seemed genuinely happy to see us. We again had the feeling we were returning to a neighbourhood of old friends who remembered us from our previous visit. However my cell phone still did not work, despite assurances from Ma Bell that it would.
A half hour later, S.W.M.B.K. unpacked while I went off to Marshall’s Liquors and the Grocery Store. Fifteen minutes later, shoes off,
sitting on the balcony, it was “Happy Hour”.
Theresa then called our American friends, David and Nancy, who had already been down in Great Exuma for two weeks. They were picking us up at 7:00 pm to go to the Castaways Restaurant for dinner.
I should fill you in on this wonderful couple. We met on the Ramp at the airport during our last visit to Exuma two years ago as we were all trying to head home. David and Nancy fly a beautiful pressurized Piper Aerostar, which had been parked next to “Big Bird”. He is a Nephrologist and she is an Interior Designer with a sideline in Yoga. However the Communications
gods were not being nice to me that day. My cell phone didn’t work. The pay phones couldn’t call out to Miami Flight Service and we were reduced to asking incoming pilots for weather information. After a few reports of thunderstorms over the island of Andros, the four of us called it a day and we drove back to Georgetown to commiserate, tell lies, kill brain cells and generally assuage our feelings of guilt for having to stay one more day in the Bahamas. I cannot think of a nicer way to meet new friends. We have since stayed in touch by email (David being my pipeline for information out of Washington) and when we discovered we would both be back in Georgetown at the same time this year, we had to get together again. David will be retiring later this year. However we learned that Georgetown will be getting a new hospital for the Island and David is making plans to use his medical skills with a new set of patients.
Back to the story. When we got to Castaways, we were introduced to David and Nancy’s long time island neighbours, Walter and Yvonne, from northern Michigan. Walter owned a Cessna 172 and kept up well discussing aviation matters with the “Star Driver” and me. The ladies of course spent the evening discussing more important matters, like the care and feeding of their pilot like husbands. More on Walter and Yvonne in a minute.
Walter, Nancy, Yvonne and David at Castaways
Sunday blew in on a breeze to remind us it is also winter in the Bahamas. We were off to breakfast at one of our favorite little restaurants, the “Town Bakery”, just behind the Esso Gas station. Afterwards it was time to walk around Lake Victoria in Georgetown. We passed St. Theresa’s Church and discovered Mass was starting in a few minutes. Why not, given the care “the Good Lord” gave us in getting us here. Time for some pay back. After Mass, we met our new friends Walter and Yvonne coming out of Church. They were most gracious and drove us back to the airport, so the wise and competent Master of the Airways could retrieve the snorkeling stuff he had left behind in the forward luggage compartment. We then spent the afternoon with this delightful couple at their cottage by the Sea. They gave us the inside story of life on Great Exuma and then dropped us off much later in the afternoon back at the hotel, after inviting us to a Pot Luck Dinner Wednesday night at the local bar in Steventon, just north of the new “Four Seasons Emerald Bay Resort”.
Monday morning we checked in with Percy, the local Justice of the Peace/Real Estate Guru and central font of all knowledge in Great Exuma, before visiting his son at Thompson’s Car rentals to reserve a car. “Come by tomorrow at 9:30. We’ll take care of you.” Then we wandered up to “Mom’s Spot” to order a cake from Mom for the Pot Luck Dinner. We of course bought some of her world famous rum cake for midnight snacking.
On the way back to the the hotel, we walked the docks and checked out the many dream boats of all shapes and sizes. Then off to the bookstores to pick up our fill of books, guide books and local charts in preparation for our continued exploration of this part of Paradise.
Since it was now almost High Noon, it was time to get some lunch by the Pool and visit with one of the most influential ambassadors of the Peace and Plenty Hotel in Georgetown, the ”Doctor of Libation”, Doc Lermon Rolls. He made sure we had adequate refreshments for the rest of the afternoon. No wonder we did not feel the sunburn coming on. Please pass the Solarcane, pleeeeease! Doc meanwhile introduced us to a Brit Software Engineer (recently retired) who was supervising the building of his dream home. He generously shared with us the name of his contractor so we could pass it on to David and Nancy, who are also hoping to build soon on the Island.
S.W.M.B.K. By the Pool, overlooking Elizabeth Harbour
After a really uncomfortable night we showed up at Thompson’s Car Rental at the appointed 9:30AM. Surprise, No Mr. Thompson! We were joined by another Canadian who had retired to the Bahamas from Peterborough (Wimp!). After half an hour we discovered Mrs. Thompson had indeed arrived and was open for business. Even though we were third in line, we were on the road in fifteen minutes. Some lessons for Misters Tilden and Hertz maybe??
“Drive on the left,…ON THE LEFT,… ON YOUR OTHER LEFT!” S.W.M.B.K. gently reminded the pilot extraordinaire. Just like in the sky, they don’t paint lines on the roads here either. Self preservation instincts eventually cut in and the calm of the Island soon returns. No hits, no runs, no errors (unless you consider the near miss with the little Iguana. If he didn’t like my driving, he should have stayed off the sidewalk.)
Forty five minutes later we were at the southern end of “Little Exuma” in Williamstown at a little beach bistro we found on our previous visit. The owner said we looked familiar, when we asked her how her daughter was doing in Law School. We brought each other up to date while she made us a great breakfast of Bar-b-qued ribs and Chicken on beds of peas and rice. A breakfast for champions!
Beach Bistro, run by Mom’s Daughter
Then off to the other end of Great Exuma to visit the new Four Seasons Emerald Bay resort. This is why all the Bahamians are so happy. You too can own a “residence” on Emerald Bay for only $1,000,000 to $4,000,000 U.S. If you already own a boat, they will be happy “to sell you a 50 ft dock for only $300,000. The locals are falling over laughing watching visitors actually paying that much for anything.
After the culture shock of the afternoon we went to a local eatery, Sam’s Restaurant, overlooking the docks. While ordering supper we overheard folks at the next table talking about their trawler. It turns out we had been reading their emails on a Trawler Bulletin Board and had been following their travels South over the past few months. Quick introductions and another delightful evening ensued. It really is a small world.
Wednesday morning arrived warm and clear. We picked up the rum cake we had ordered from Mom’s bakery on Monday. We went over to Minns Water Sports to rent a boat for the following day. Then it was off to Volley Ball Beach on Stocking Island by way of one of the numerous water taxis. After a couple of pitchers of Pina Colladas at the Chat N Chill Bar and Grill, we finally made it to the water, almost four days after arrival.
All too soon, it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready for the pot luck dinner with Walter and Yvonne at Sherman Rodriguez’ Bar in beautiful downtown Steventon, population 400.
Another wonderful evening of Bahamian hospitality with Walter,
Sherman and S.W.M.B.K. in green.
Thursday morning, time for the boat rental adventure. After a quick checkout (these are the throttles and these are the gear shift levers, got it?) the fearless “driver airframes” was unleashed on the public as the dock master mumbled something like “don foget the tide”. Why would we need clothes detergent? We’ll wash our clothes when we get home we thought.
Three hours later we figured out what he was talking about. We had beached the boat beside several smaller dingys on a nice sand beach while we went for a swim. An hour later, our boat was high and dry. There was no way we could push it back into the water. We simply had to wait for the tide to come back in. Three hours later (after another delicious liquid lunch at the Chat N Chill bar) everything was floating again. We arrived back at the dock just before 5:00, our dignity in tact, or so we thought. “Hi” said the lady behind the counter. “I wasn’t expecting you back for another couple of hours, seeing as how you got stuck on the falling tide over at Chat ‘N’ Chill”. Busted!!
With our boating dignity in tatters we repaired to the local pizza joint for dinner.
Friday - our last day in Great Exuma. We decided to take the ferry over to another beach on Stocking Island. Hopefully nobody there had seen us the day before.
After hiking to the Atlantic side of the island, we met up with Radiologist Joe and his lovely Social Worker (retired) wife “Frank” who had kept us company the day before. This time it was their turn to get their rental boat stuck on a falling tide. ”What comes around….”
The next morning, up at the crack of 9:00 we were off to the airport to bid farewell to Great Exuma and say hello to Norman’s Key, about half an hour north, up the island chain. A nice easy flight.
This sleepy little island just south of Nassau used to be the centre of operations for the notorious drug lord Carlos Ledherer boasting 24 hour operations with quick turn arounds to transfer “cargo” from and to the U.S. and South America. We thought how romantic it would be to actually experience the history of this enchanted little hide away. Unfortunately the true story of the island quickly destroyed any romantic notions. The drug trade brought absolutely nothing of value to the island. Instead the druggies offered to buy out the existing residents, or if they refused, induce them to leave anyway. Several homes and the Norman Cay Club hotel are now in ruins thanks to Mr. Ledherer.
The only real excitement of the whole trip occurred here while on short final. The proud owner of a new Cirrus G22 decided to explore the airport by flying down the runway, down wind at 200 ft AGL. He nearly got his chance to try out that new Ballistic Chute Recovery System. We saw each other with about 300 feet between us and instinctively both of us turned right. Please follow the procedures for Uncontrolled Airports whenever you are approaching one. They have been developed for a reason. Had Mr. G22 followed them there would have been no chance of a collision, even though he had not radioed his intentions either.
The only other disappointment was the bugs. The “No-Seeums” were vicious causing S.W.M.B.K. to use her “Epipen” adrenalin injector to reduce the effect of Anaphylactic shock that comes with a strong histamine reaction.
Another pitcher of Pina Coladas, a good cigar and all is right again with the world.
Sunday morning. Didn’t we just get here? It was time to leave Norman’s Key and go to North Eleuthera, to clear out of the Bahamas. It was a long 20 minute flight over the most spectacular shallow water scenery we had ever experienced. With a ceiling of only 2000 feet, we had a great view of the water. What a difference too when we landed at North Eleuthera. They had Customs, weather and flight service facilities all available at the F.B.O., White Crown Aviation. After a leisurely breakfast, we were able to clear, get briefed, call U.S. Customs and file an IFR flight plan to Fort Pierce in a matter of minutes.
We were airborne less than half an hour before we got our clearance from Nassau Radio. This was a big improvement over our last flight back from the Bahamas. We had to do an ILS approach into Fort Pierce, which for the most part was a non event. Most of the time, we could see down. We just couldn’t see too far in front of us. At 400 feet AGL the runway showed up where it was expected. Then a quick turn around (Customs, lunch, fuel, weather, file, Canadian Customs), as the weather was moving quickly across the middle of Florida. It was leave now, or stay for three days. The Florida controllers did another great job, keeping us away from nasty weather. They went the extra mile and even got us special clearance to fly through the Cape Canaveral Restricted Airspace due to some tornadoes over mainland Florida along our route. We could almost touch the giant “Vehicle Assembly Building”. And the Shuttle runway, well it took us almost three minutes to fly the length of it. You do the math to figure out how long it is.
Due to icing concerns we flew along at 5000 feet until just north of Charlotte, North Carolina. It cost us some extra fuel, but we had some to spare. Once past Charlotte, in clear air, and at a more respectable 9000 feet, our fuel flow dropped to just over 10 gal per side. We still had two hours of fuel on board when we landed in St. Catharines.
Since no Customs met us at the airport, I made the obligatory phone call (cell phone was working again) and was given my CanPass number. Brother Gord and his #1 Son David helped us transfer the luggage to the car and opened up the Flying Club lounge for Theresa. Another successful flight goes in the books.
But it’s cold, I wanna go back!!!! Now!!!!!!!!
The Technical Stuff:
Fuel used
- Savannah 105 gal @ $360.82 - $3.44/GAL or $1.11/L Cdn
- Georgetown 70 gal @ $259.00 - $3.70/GAL or $1.19/L
- North Eleuthera 27.1 gal @ $ 97.02 - $3.58/GAL or $1.15/L
- Fort Pierce 94.9 gal @ $302.73 - $3.19/GAL or $1.03/L
- Home 151 gal @ $616.22 - $4.08/GAL or $1.31/L
TOTALS 448 gal $1,635.79 U.S. = $1,994.86 CDN
Total Flight Time: 16 hrs
Bargain Basement Commercial Cost from Toronto to Great Exuma (prior to JetsGo demise) $780 + tax + surcharges per person.