When planning an itinerary there is a tendency to focus on a port of entry. Obviously, it is important to pick a port of entry to clear your vessel and crew into the Bahamas, but keep in mind the distances between islands can be considerable. For common points of entry such as West End Grand Bahama and Bimini, the next destination can be as far, or even farther, than it was from your original point of departure.  Traveling the 45nm from Cape Florida Light at Miami to Bimini for example is significantly less than the additional 75 nm to Great Harbour Cay in the the Berry Islands or the 80 nm to Chub Cay.

Consideration should be given to how long you are prepared to remain in your initial port of entry when choosing a weather window. Every year travelers bound for the Exumas find themselves trapped in Bimini for days and even weeks while they wait for an appropriate weather window to continue their voyage. Often spending extra time in one place is not a problem, but in a location such as Bimini where the anchoring options are limited, mounting marina bills can force the acceptance of a less than ideal weather window. (See Three Guidelines). Crossing the Little or Great Bahama Bank entails a passage that is often longer than the trip across the Gulf Stream, which means that you will require a weather window like the one used to cross the Gulf Stream.

A Plan B is always recommended when choosing a port of entry and when you depart you should be prepared to execute the plan if required. For example, you might be planning to arrive at West End, but conditions could force you north to Memory Rock. In that event you could decide to continue on to Grand Cay or Green Turtle via Great Sale rather than to beat into the wind and current to backtrack to West End. The final decision always rests with the captain, but a smart captain will consider all of the options with an eye towards crew comfort and safety.

Ports of Entry

The official list of ports of entry into The Bahamas is different from the list of normally staffed ports of entry. Many ports in the official list are marked as upon request, which means that prior arrangements must be made.

In some cases prior arrangement may be as simple as a phone call, but in other cases such as Staniel Cay, prior arrangements means flying staff in to handle a clearance. In such cases it could take several days or even longer to make the arrangements. 

If you are planning on using a port of entry that is marked as "upon request", it is important to confirm well in advance of travel that the necessary personnel will be there to handle the formalities upon your arrival.

Here is the current list of ports of entry as maintained by Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.

Plan to Arrive in Daylight

It goes without saying that good visibility is a vital component of safe passage-making. Traveling by daylight affords better options to spot hazards on the water. An unlighted fishing boat by day is easily avoided, but could be an entirely different matter after sunset. Similarly, un-charted shoals, rocks and floating debris can make simple passages into nail-biters on a dark moonless night. In the Bahamas the importance of daylight arrivals is even greater because there are many instances where approaches to anchorages require intricate eyeball navigation because the charts do not have sufficient resolution to identify every rock, shoal or reef.

For an experienced cruiser who is familiar with the harbors and has verified the accuracy of their charts, traveling at night is not difficult.  However, for a novice entering strange harbors or anchorages in the dark is a dubious practice that is fraught with potential problems, especially if the vessel is not equipped with radar capable of spotting small unlighted vessels that may be in the way. It is always best to plan your arrival for daylight, which may mean adjusting your departure time, speed, and route.

Pay Attention to the Tides When Planning

The water in the Bahamas is shallow. But when planning your passage across the Gulf Stream in thousands of feet of water, the extra 2 or 3 feet of water between a low and a high tide is nothing to be concerned with. In the Bahamas most of the common ports and anchorages have plenty of water for most vessels. Of course there are some anchorages and channels where a few extra feet of tide could easily mean the difference between enjoying a relaxing sundowner and trying to keep your dinner from sliding off the table because you are aground and careened to one side, but fortunately they are not that numerous. Usually a deeper drafted vessel can enjoy the same anchorages, albeit farther from shore and transit most channels provided they plan ahead.

What is often overlooked is the effect of the tide on current. In open water a change in tide is usually imperceptible but in shallow water the change of tides will produce currents that can be very strong. To illustrate the importance of planning tides, consider a passage from Rodriguez Key in the Florida Keys to Bimini. Your departure is early in the morning on the middle day of a three-day weather window and the sky is clear with winds 15 knots from the south, which will provide for a perfect beam to broad reach. The conditions could not be better as the seas are smooth and the water is a shade of indigo that defies description, you might even catch a fish if you put out a line. With favorable winds and a boost from the Gulf Stream the entrance to Bimini is made at 4:30 in the afternoon. The afternoon sea breeze has pumped the winds up a few knots, but you don't notice because the water is flat and smooth, until you are in the channel leading to North Bimini.

Upon arrival the tide is at max ebb and there is a current running out of the harbor at close to 3 knots. The outgoing tide slams into what is now 15-20 kt winds from the south. With a perfect wind-against-tide scenario the last 200 yards into the harbor is slow and lumpy with seawater splashing on the decks after a beautifully calm trip. After 5 minutes of excitement you are back into the calm water inside the harbor breathing a sigh of relief as you turn into the marina, then only to find that the boat is now moving sideways as much as its moving forward. If you are skilled at the helm you manage to straighten out the boat and put it into a slip without mishap.

Had you included tides as part of your voyage planning, you might have been able to avoid the scenario just described. There are detailed discussions on what could be done to mitigate adverse conditions in the navigation and anchorages portions of this guide that are specific to a particular route or destination. In some cases avoidance is not possible but awareness of the potential effects can go a long way to ensuring you are alert for potential challenges.

For more information on cruising in The Bahamas, see Waterway Guide's Bahamas Land & Sea.