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For the last five years I had planned to join the Buttonville Flying Club (BFC)on their annual jaunt to the Bahamas but for one reason or another, never made the trip. This year I was determined to make it. What an exciting time it turned out to be!
In the weeks leading up to the trip, Franz Neuert (a student pilot who flew down with me) and I attended several meetings at the BFC to draw on the experience of those who had made the trip several times. Naturally, we were a little nervous about embarking on a 3,500+ mile round trip, especially flying over open water. The advice and help we got was invaluable and certainly helped to ease our concerns.
True to form, at first the weather didn't cooperate. The jet stream has settled directly over southern Ontario resulting in a continuous period of inclement weather and strong winds. We finally left on Monday (April 9) morning, skirting around the east end (ground speed to Kingston was an incredible 191 kts in GOPO a 182!) of Lake Ontario and keeping east of the mountains on our first leg to Winston Salem, N.C. Piedmont, the local FBO, had an arrangement with the local Holiday Inn and arranged transportation and accommodation for us at very respectable prices. It's interesting to note that throughout the trip our most reasonably priced accommodation was arranged through the local FBOs.
The next morning we continued on to Flagler (X47 a self serve refueling stop)and from there on to Kissimmee, Fl., where we spent an enjoyable day visiting the Sun 'n Fun Aviation Show in Lakeland. It was well worth the visit, giving us the opportunity to examine all types of small aircraft, especially the Cirrus and Lancair that really caught our eye. I'm glad to see that OurPlane has chosen to add them to its fleet. For those who have never attended the Show, it's well organized and covers a vast area. You need a whole day to appreciate it, including good walking shoes, an ample supply of thirst quenchers and liberal applications of suntan lotion (or you'll fry!).
We departed early Thursday morning for Ft. Pierce, where we refueled, filed our flight plan prior to making the first leg over open water to Freeport, Bahamas. Although we were VFR at all times, instrument capability is useful. There were times when we lost the horizon, with the light haze causing the sky and ocean to merge into one. We had two GPSs on board the 182 (King KLN89B and handheld Garmin Pilot III) and were constantly checking one against the other.
We cleared Bahamas customs and immigration with minimal effort at Freeport, although it was a nuisance to have to unload every piece of luggage and carry it to the terminal (you're charged $10 for the privilege). We understand that there are other Bahamas entry points that don't put you through this hassle. We refueled at Freeport and continued on to Great Harbour Cay where we spent the night in a rather rustic, ancient Harbour Inn (the facilities left a little to be desired). Normally, good accommodation is easy to obtain in the Bahamas; however, everything was booked out being the Easter Weekend. The next day we flew to Nassau.
Nassau is a busy international airport with every type of aircraft flying in and out. We obtained a discreet squawk code from Nassau Approach 20 miles out and were vectored all the way in, with a last second change in runaway due to a delayed jet on the primary runaway. C-GOPO was left in the good care of Executive Flight Support whilst Franz and I took off to sample the delights of Paradise Island. We stayed at the Sunrise Suites --- excellent value and only 10 minutes walk from the Atlantis Hotel. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Nassau over Easter --- excellent meals at Atlantis, touring the island, contributing to the local economy (read Casino!), etc. --- and were a little sad to leave on Monday.
Our next port of call was Bimini, about 60 miles east of Miami. The flight from Nassau to Bimini was unbelievably beautiful. We flew over many little islands, most with spectacular sandy beaches. Depending upon its depth, the sea sparkled, changing shades from a light green to turquoise to a deep blue. Bimini is renowned as the fishing capital of the world with crystal clear water and lovely, natural beaches. Its only industry is tourism. However, for whatever reason, it seems that the world has passed it by. This can be seen in the deterioration. In its heyday, Bimini was a favourite spot of notables like Hemingway and Howard Hughes.
Franz and I enjoyed our one day of fishing in Bimini we went out for bone fish but ended up in catching a shark and barracuda and a bunch of smaller fish Franz's epic 70 minute fight to bring in a 45 lb. permit fish (a real keeper)will long be remembered around campfires bring stronger line next time, Franz!
From Bimini we flew to Ft. Lauderdale Executive. Fifteen minutes prior to entering US airspace (crossing the ADIZ) we were required to call Miami Radio to get a discrete squawk code to satisfy US customs requirements. Once cleared at Ft. Lauderdale, we flew on to Titusville Space Coast, where we spent the night hoping to see the space launch the next day. Unfortunately, the weather up north was not cooperative and we had to leave three hours before the launch. From Titusville we flew to Winston Salem to refuel enroute to City Centre, where we cleared Canadian customs/immigration. Twenty minutes later we were back in Buttonville.
What did we get out of it? The Bahamas trip was most enjoyable and a true learning experience. It has certainly helped us to be better pilots. We were exposed to a variety of conditions and occasions to make those go or no-go decisions. The opportunity to use flight following in the US was invaluable and contributed to making the flying a lot safer. Having someone to share the flying workload is important Franz's assistance was invaluable. Total flying time --- approximately 29 hours. Would we do it again? You bet! Billy Lowe (who organized the first BFC Bahamas trip) where are you?
(ed. If you haven't enjoyed the pleasures of flying south, or just pining for some new territory to explore, just ask one of the many BFC members who make this an annual pilgrimage..... or check out the Florida Pilots website which is chock full of useful information.)