Spring Break 2014 - The Video

Finally got around to editing the videos I shot for our Spring Break trip to Treasure Cay, Bahamas.  This is the first time I dove withe the GoPro and I am really happy with the results.  A red filter for diving is a must.  You can play this video in 1080p if you like.  Thanks for checking it out.

Spring Break 2014

Last month was our 5th annual visit to Treasure Cay, Bahamas.  We had a fabulous time and stayed
at the Bahama Beach Club in John Cash's unit named "Bahama Breeze".  We have stayed there once before on our Memorial Day Weekend 2010 visit.  All the places we have stayed have been great and Bahamas Breeze has one of the best views that allow you to enjoy the beauty of Treasure Cay Beach even while inside!  I think only Pam's condo (Sandollar Dreams) tops this feature so far!

I had an itch before our trip to change up our route to the Bahamas.  The default route is to proceed down the coast of Florida until you get to Melbourne, then turn out over the water and head to Freeport, then direct into Treasure Cay (MYAT).  I have noticed over the years that a lot of aircraft seem to be arriving into MYAT from the northwest.  The problem with that route is that if you turn out early to make it happen, ATC needs you to be at 13,000 feet or above to provide radar services.  I really wanted to come in over the very northern part of the Abacos to see how much better the views below might be before landing.  So I took a chance and filed IFR for a route that would take me to Melbourne and then direct to Treasure Cay; basically cutting out Freeport.

I filed for 8000 feet and got cleared as filed!  Unfortunately it didn't stay that way, but it all worked out in the end.  I wasn't worried about the over-the-water time because it was almost the same by the time you reach Walker's Cay.  Just before we reached Daytona Beach, ATC offered us direct to Treasure Cay so I said yes!  As soon as we were handed off to Orlando Approach, we were diverted back south to stay out of some active restricted areas.  Once we were allowed to head for our destination again, I was told I either needed to climb to 13,000 feet or proceed further south towards Grand Bahama Island to maintain radar services.  I didn't want to do either.  So after thinking about it for a minute, I asked ATC if I could cancel IFR and just proceed VFR with flight following and stay with them for as long as I could at 7500 feet.  This may not sound like a big deal, but I wasn't sure how this would be handled since I was still smack in the middle of the ADIZ and didn't want to cause any problems.  ATC, and now I was talking to Miami Center, said no problem!  So we continued on and surprisingly we were able to stay in radar service with them quite a bit further than they had informed.

The flight over the ocean was peaceful and soon we could see Walker's Cay.  We cancelled flight following and descended to about 2000 feet as we cruised along the North Abaco cays until we reached the Treasure Cay airport.  This change to the routine was definitely worth it!  The views were amazing.  Abby and I took turns pointing out the sights and taking pictures.  Unfortunately Kristi missed the whole thing since she pretty much slept the whole flight until just before we landed.  Oh well, she liked the pictures though!

Our favorite taxi driver, Sydney Hart, was at the airport when we arrived.  Clearing Immigration & Customs was the usual painless experience except since our last visit we now have to pay a $50 landing fee to Customs.  Personally, I'm still not happy about the new fees like a lot of other pilots are, but the Bahamian Government wins this one because it's still such an amazing place to enjoy.  There are still now tie-down fees at MYAT so that's good.

We got to the Bahama Beach Club around 1 pm and were very happy to find the condo and our golf cart ready and waiting!  We made a quick trip to the grocery store for some essentials and then hit the beach!  We spent most mornings on the playing on the beach and then after lunch we would hang out at the pool.  There seemed to be a lot of folks around, but not as many as last year.  Unlike last year's chilly stay, we enjoyed almost perfect weather all week!

This year we ended up making most of our meals at the condo.  We enjoyed a few lunches and treats, like conch fritters, at the pool grill, but it was just easier to do things for ourselves and mainly on our schedule!  A few times a week the Bahama Beach Club has themed dinner nights.  If you do go, the Friday Steak Night is the best!  Pay for the upgrade and get the Filet & Lobster Tail.  You will not be disappointed.  We didn't end up attending any of these dinners this time, but the girls enjoyed the after dinner bonfires that are usually done.

I did get to dive two days, but most mornings for me started off with a nice long walk on the gorgeous Treasure Cay Beach.  I had different walking partners each morning and what a pair of posers they are!

We all went one morning towards the west end of the area to a place called Carleton Point.  Carleton Point is the area where loyalist refugees from New Your City settled in 1783.  The winds had picked up earlier in the week for a little bit and the girls were able to find some very cool treasures that had washed up.

By most afternoons, we were all pretty worn out from the days' activities.  It didn't bother me to just chill out in the condo with some rum punch and enjoy the view while the girls got some down time.  Towards the last half of the week the low tide cycle had shifted to the late afternoon which meant it was prime time for beach walking and shell finding again!

As it always does, time just flew by.  After 7 nights it was time to go home.  As I made the rounds in the morning to return the golf cart and pay our tab, I overheard conversations among folks that the phones were not working on the island including cell phones.  I really didn't pay it much attention until we got to the airport and were ready to leave.  I had already filed our eApis manifest and flight plan online the day before so all I had to do was make the required phone call to US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) prior to departure.  Most all the airports of entry in the Bahamas have blue phones available to pilots for free.  All the speed dial numbers are posted and you can easily call Flight Service to file flight plans and get weather briefings as well as phone any of the US Customs locations..............when the phones are working!!!!!!!  Uh oh. 

Failure to make this call and just "showing up" can supposedly result in a $5000 fine.  Yup, a little panic set in.  The Bahamian Customs Officer tried her personal cell phone for me multiple times with no luck.  I even turned my phone on knowing if I got through it would be an expensive phone call, but at least not as much as the fine!  No luck either.  I resolved to just take off, see if ATC could help at all once I opened my flight plan, and just plead forgiveness from the CBP Officers in Ft Pierce until I thought of one more thing.  I remembered a sign in the Customs and Immigration building that said "BTC WiFi Hotspot"  So after loading the plane and finishing my preflight, I headed back to the building to give it a try.  I turned on the the iPad, and quickly found the Customs wireless router listed.  It let me connect with no password!  Ok, let's see if the internet works..........yes!!!!!!!  Quickly over to Facebook and I made this quick post:

"All land lines and cell phones are down in Treasure Cay. Could someone please call Ft Pierce US Customs for us and make a notice of arrival for us? Phone number is 772-461-1733. Choose the prompt to make a notice of arrival. Please tell the officer that answers it is for aircraft tail number N424RM arriving FT Pierce airport at 1330. Please post here if you are successful so they don't get a lot of calls. Thank you. We are taking off now."

Then I prayed someone would help, loaded up the family, and took off right on time.  Climbing through 6000 feet we checked in with Miami Center and picked up our IFR clearance into Ft Pierce.  Halfway across Grand Bahama Island we started to cut through a few cloud layers.  Just before arriving, we had to make a few diversions for weather.  We were IMC off and on and picked up a bit of the rain.  It was maybe moderate rain at most and I didn't mind at that point because I saw it as a free and easy rinse for the plane after she sat  all week in the salt air.

Since you aren't allowed to use cell phones in the Customs Building until you are cleared and back outside, I turned my phone on just be fore we shutdown on the CBP ramp and was so relived to see that my sister-in-law was successfully able to make the call for us!  So we cleared Customs with ease and no fine!

After a partial fill of AVGAS and a to-go order of food, we were back in the air for the last leg home.  It was uneventful as usual, which is a good thing, and as much as we were all happy to be home, we were wishing we were still in Treasure Cay!

I did take the GoPro camera this trip and have been very happy with the results.  I'm still working on the clips and hope to have a short movie about this trip to share soon so stay tuned.............

More New Friends, A New Roof, and Conch Fritters!!!!!

Last month's Bahamas Habitat Fly In & Help Out Event was another huge success.   Most folks met up at Orlando Executive Airport (KORL) for lunch and then the mass departure for the Bahamas began!  Over 30 pilots and passengers in 8+ planes made the trip to serve the great people of Eleuthera, Bahamas.  The itinerary was the same as it had been for previous events.

This time I had two friends from church join me.  Both of them had never been in a small plane before, but that didn't damper their excitement.  A little over 2 hours after leaving Orlando, we were the first plane to touch down in Governor's Harbour (MYEM), Eleuthera.  We had loaded up the plane with various supplies that had been waiting to be delivered to the camp which almost turned into a little bit of an ordeal.  The customs officer, freshly transferred from Nassau, was very keen to ALL the boxes we had brought with us.  Luckily you are allowed a $100 exemption per person from import duties so we managed to write up an agreed upon manifest and kept it below that mark!

Odyssey Aviation, the local FBO at the airport, was gracious enough to meet all the pilots and crews with catered finger foods, drinks and gift bags for everyone upon arrival.  They also were generous to donate $3500 to the Zion's Children's Home on Current Island; a project hugely supported by the Bahamas Habitat.  So if you find yourself in the Bahamas and in need of FBO services, please give your patronage to Odyssey Aviation to show your thanks for their support of their communities.

This trip, we worked in the settlement of South Palmetto Point.  We served a nice older gentleman and his aunt as we repaid her roof, demolished the crumbling half of his house, and finished putting on a new roof on the remaining front half of his home.  We did this over two days and it's amazing what can be accomplished by so many in just a short time.

After working the 2nd day, a group of us headed for the airport for a little island hopping.  I let John and Doug take turns flying the plane and they did very well.  After a quick turn at North Eleuthera to load the fuel we needed to get home, we flew towards the Exuma Islands chain and stopped at Staniel Cay and walked to the yacht club for lunch.  Unlike last February, the power was on!  So we enjoyed a fabulous lunch and of course the obligatory conch fritters!

Sunday's flight home was none eventful.  The weather was perfect, clearing customs in Ft Pierce was painless as usual, and we were home in Jacksonville by early afternoon.  It was an amazing four days and I truly enjoyed see some familiar faces, making new friends, and sharing this experience with Doug and John.  The main conversation we had when we got home was,"When are we going back?"  Soon I hope!  The next event will be February 20- 23, 2014.  Mark you calendars and join us!

Here is a slide show of our photos.  It also includes some GoPro video while flying low along the beautiful islands of Exuma.

Fall 2013 Bahamas Habitat Fly In & Help Out Event Dates Just Announced!

It's almost time again for this awesome biannual event!  Here is the copy of Steve Merritt's email announcement:

Dear High Fliers & Support Crew,

Twice a year, pilots interested in gaining international flying experience while enjoying the rewarding opportunity to experience first-hand the people of The Bahamas, gather to support disaster relief efforts and build community in these beautiful islands. Join us! The Bahamas Habitat Fall Fly In-Help Out Event will be held from October 24-27, 2013 at Camp Symonette on Eleuthera Island in The Bahamas.  

Pilots and supporters from all over the country will assemble at Showalter Flying Service in Orlando, FL on Thursday, October 24 for lunch and last-minute briefings, then, load up with much-needed supplies to deliver to Governor's Harbour AIrport on Eleuthera. The supplies include hand tools, building materials and school supplies and are designated for James Cistern projects.   If you haven't flown to The Bahamas, we will have plenty of folks to walk you through the process.

To sign up for this exciting bi-annual event, go to our website: www.bahamashabitat.org.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Bahamas Habitat is an international service organization that partners with volunteers to fly their own aircraft to provide dignified humanitarian outreach to the people of The Bahamas, Haiti and Mexico. We serve by delivering disaster relief and basic medical, economic, housing and other aid. Bahamas Habitat is a 501 c 3 organization, contributions to which are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

All the best,

Steve Merritt, Co-Founder

Bahamas Habitat

Click on the "Bahamas Habitat" tab at the top of this page to see some of my blog entries with pics from past events.

Here is the link to the registration page:  

Fly-In & Help Out Registration

Please let me know if you have any questions and, if I can get away again this fall, I hope to see you there!

New Fees = Bad News For The Bahamas

So it looks like with almost no notice, the Bahamanian Government instituted a new set of fees for General
Aviation aircraft.  As of yesterday, 1 July 2013, if you are flying your plane to the Bahamas you will be required to pay a $50 fee upon arrival when you submit your C7A form.  Unfortunately it does not seem to end there.

The C7A is only good for your Inbound Declaration & Cruising Permit.  Aircraft not flying for recreation to/around/from the Bahamas still have to file the C7 form, but that incurs a $75 fee for both the arrival AND departure.  The concern and confusion is that all recreational flights must file a C7 form upon departure and it is unclear whether the $75 fee applies as well.  Some say it's $50 and some say it's nothing.  The document itself does not seem to provide any separation or clarity on the issue.  For those that may not know, prior to yesterday there we NO landing fees of any kind at government owned airports for single engine planes less than 6000 lbs.

There is a lot of chatter in the various aviation forums today on this topic.  Apparently the FBOs and other service providers at airports throughout the Bahamas just found out about this as well and calls to the Ministry Of Tourism and Aviation are going unanswered.

It appears if you follow the new regulations and look a the fee schedules, this is what I would incur with my family of four:

Arrival Fee:             $50
Departure Tax:        $100 ($25 per person)
Departure Fee:         $75

Total:                       $225

This is getting ridiculous considering the departure tax a few years ago was $15 per person and they raised that twice in less the span of one year to $25!  I really love flying to the Bahamas, but this will not help.  I'm afraid it will reduce the amount of trips that folks make, including me, and will hinder all the relief flights that provide needed support to the Out Islands and missions in Haiti.

You can view the document here:  Customs Management Regulations 2013

I'll post more info as it comes out...........

Spring Break 2013

A large brush fire north of Treasure Cay

It's hard to believe that another year has gone by, but at least that means another family trip to the Bahamas!  This year was our longest stay yet at 9 nights.  We were able to put or "held monies" from last years unsuccessful Memorial Day trip towards this stay so at least half of our trip was already paid for well in advance.  We stayed at the Bahama Beach Club again, but this time rented directly from the club.

The plan was to head down Saturday morning, but the weather was not looking too cooperative.  It was forcasted to be overnight fog giving way to numerous thunderstorms around 8 am.  Fortunately all the ship-work was done by Friday noon and the condo was available so we picked up the girls a little early from school and we were in the air and southbound at 2:00 pm.  It was a very smooth and uneventful flight.  Just north of the Kennedy Space Center we were cleared direct to Freeport which took us right over the runway and Vehicle Assemble Building.  The early turnout also gave us some favorable tailwinds.  In less than 2 1/2 hours we were on the ground in Treasure Cay.

This year we were again joined by family and friends.  We were really excited to have our family friend Ray, from Northern Ireland, with us.  Ray is great fun to have around.  Both my girls enjoy playing with him and he's also my favorite dive buddy!

The beauty of the Bahamas never disappoints, but this year's stay was mostly marked by cold and wind.  Everyone was bundled up in coats and sweatshirts.  Due to the conditions we were unable to rent a boat this year, but everyone enjoyed the heated pools when they weren't strolling the beach.  Ray and I were lucky enough to get two days of diving in as well.  By the end of our stay the weather was a little more normal we enjoyed some fabulous time on the beach and in the water.

Our family and friends were staying a few days more than us so when we left Easter Sunday we made two nice, low passes down the beach to "wave" goodbye.  The flights home went well.  We cleared Customs in Ft Pierce without issue and opted to make it a quick turn to just get home.  North of Daytona we started or descent for home.  As soon as we got below the cloud layer it got really bumpy.  We slowed to minimize the bumps.  As much as that helps the ride, it makes you ride in it longer!  Abby almost got sick, but held it together and we safely made it home in one piece and with a few treasures too!

Here is a slideshow/video of more pictures from our vacation:

Great People, Hard Work, and NO LUNCH!!!!

The first Bahamas Habitat Fly In & Help Out Event of 2013 was a huge success!  It was reported that this event had the most participants ever.  My dad joined me on this mission and we had a great time.

My dad woke up early on Thursday so he could make pancakes for his granddaughters before they left for school.  We loaded up the truck and headed off to the airport around 9 am.  After a few more preps at the hangar, we were wheels up a little after 10 am and headed for Orlando Executive (KORL) to meet up with the rest of the participants.  The flight down was very smooth.  We were vectored around for a while in Orlando's airspace and got a few minutes of actual IFR as we punched through the layer of clouds during our decent.  After a good crosswind landing, we taxied up and shutdown at the FBO.

Showalter Flying Service continues to be a huge supporter of Bahamas Habitat and let us use their big conference room for our briefing and lunch as well as giving us a $1/gallon discount on fuel!  We spent lunch enjoying some great deli sandwiches and discussed the next leg to Governors Harbour (MYEM), Eleuthera, The Bahamas to help those that were making the amazing flight for the very first time!

After lunch and everything filed, we all loaded up and crowded the skies towards The Bahamas.  We were able to help take some of the donated items that had been stored at Showalter looking for a chance to get delivered to Eleuthera.  I think we were about the 3rd or 4th plane to take off out of 12 or more going.  We were cleared via radar vectors to MLB then ZFP then direct at 9000 feet.  As we were handed off from controller to controller, they kept asking us what was going on with all the planes heading to Governors Harbour.  The flight over was beautiful as always and a little over 2 hours later we were buzzing Camp Symonette and making an uneventful landing into MYEM.

We unloaded and secured the plane, cleared Customs & Immigration, met up with Abe, the Executive Director of Bahamas Methodist Habitat, and helped load all the stuff into the big school bus as the rest of the group arrived over the next hour.  With everyone safely accounted for we arrived at Camp Symonette in James Cistern to settle in for the 4 day event.  Dinner was wonderful and it was so much fun to see familiar faces and catch up since last year. It was also great to meet new folks and make new friends!  After a wonderful dinner, a brief about the work projects for the event, and a long day of flying, it was time to retire to the luxurious Cat Island Suite and get some much needed sleep in the awesome bunk beds!  It didn't take long to find out that half of the 8 guys in our room were pretty big snorers and they could not carry a tune!  No worries, I listened to my iPod and fell asleep listening to music instead.

My dad and I chose to work on a house in Hatchet Bay that needed some rebar work done.  The house will be for one of the local senior citizens that is currently living in a local seniors' home.  Her kids are paying for the materials as they can afford it and the Bahamas Methodist Habitat is providing the labor through groups like ours.  We had a good team between my dad, Katherine, Greg, and myself which was led by the amazing KP!  We got busy pulling forms from previous days and then assembling rebar forms that will be used for the exterior headers.  It was pretty tough work, but we developed a pretty efficient system once KP showed us what was needed.  We enjoyed some cloud cover most of the time, but after lunch the sun came out in force!  I stayed on my dad to make sure we both drank plenty of water and stayed up with the sunscreen.  During the afternoon union coffee break, we disappeared down the road to Twin Brothers Restaurant & Bar to enjoy a Miami Vice that KP had told us about earlier.  It is a virgin blended strawberry daiquiri and pina colada.  Definitely a cool tasty treat!  At the end of the day we picked up the other 2 teams and headed to Rainbow Bay for a little beach time and swimming.  The water was pretty cool, but it felt great.  I snorkeled around a bit and found a lot of beautiful sea life including a Queen Angelfish, a stingray, and some huge Sargent Majors.

The next day we chose to work another half day and then do some flight seeing with plans to have lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.  At 8 am we loaded up the bus and headed back to Hatchet Bay to finish some roof framing on a different house.  Once again we found a rhythm and routine and made short work of what was needed.  At noon we headed back to camp, got cleaned up, and headed for the airport.  Bill Rutkowski, who flew his Mooney down, offered to buy us lunch if he could just ride with us.  Sounded like a great deal to me!  Bill, a CFI, flew right seat with me while my dad comfortably flew in the back where he could stretch out and enjoy the views.

We made the short 15 minute hop up to North Eleuthera (MYEH) to top off with fuel at White Crown Aviation so we would have enough for the afternoon's cruising and our flight home.  After a fairly quick turn, we were back in the air headed for the north end of the Exuma Island chain.  The views of this area are breathtaking.  After cruising low for about 45 minutes in the comfort of air conditioning and enjoying the scenery, we made a straight in approach to the Staniel Cay Airport (MYES).  We chocked the plane and started the 15 minute walk to the yacht club.  I couldn't wait to get some cracked conch!  When we got to the club we were disappointed to find out that the power was out on the island so of course the kitchen was closed!  Oh well, what do you do?  Well, you get Dad a nice cold Kalik and a Coke for yourself since you're flying!  So we looked around a few minutes, finished our drinks, and walked back to the plane.  We headed straight back to Governors Harbour detouring a little to overfly the area where my dad and I would be staying for an extra 2 days after the event.  We all met back at the airport on time and headed back for our last night at the camp.  I suspiciously asked Bill if he knew about the power being out since he graciously offered to buy lunch.  He just smirked. I'm on to you Bill!!!!!

We all got up the next morning and enjoyed an amazing breakfast and then held a small Sunday service led by Abe and Brenda before the first group headed to the airport.  We stayed behind to help clean up a bit and watch a few of the planes follow the standard departure procedures from MYEM.  The procedure is basically just take off, stay low, overfly the camp, and then be on your way!  Simple!  Here is a video of three of the departing planes:

We took the 10 am bus to the airport, said our goodbyes to Abe and the rest, called for a taxi and headed to Pineapple Fields Resort on the other side of Governors Harbour.  Mr. Tommy Pinder was kind enough to pick us up.  He took us to the grocery store to get a few things, gave us an awesome tour of town, and took us to our condo.  We got there a little before 11 am.  Our condo wasn't ready, but no worries; Tippy's was opening for lunch in a few minutes!  We walked over and I got a tasty rum punch and we ordered some of their huge conch fritters!  Once our condo was ready, we changed into our swim suits and headed for the beach.  Dad started strolling down the beach looking for shells and I started snorkeling the beautiful reef right off the beach.  Dad didn't find any big shells, but I saw some beautiful reef structures, a few Trunk Fish, a Spotted Eel, and a Great Barracuda!  That night we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Tippy's.  Dad had the chicken stuffed with crab meat and I had their lobster and shrimp pasta.  We called it a night and enjoyed our first night of sleep with no snorers!

The next day we went for a long walk on the beach headed back towards Governors Harbour.  We walked for probably more than 5 miles total enjoying the various beaches we found and looking around the rocky points we passed.  We walked passed then returned to explore the grounds of the old Club Med.  It was wiped out in 1999 by Hurricane Floyd.  We were surprised to see the landscaping still maintained and found out that another group has purchased the property with hopes of rebuilding the area after they finish the marina area on the other side of the hill in Governors Harbour.  On the way back we found The Beach House Restaurant and Tapas Bar and enjoyed an awesome lunch with an amazing view.  They have a great lunch and dinner menu and it was nice to find them open since Tippy's is closed on Mondays.  After lunch we walked back to the condo and took naps.  When we got up, we took another walk on the beach and enjoyed pizza for dinner that we ordered from Tippy's the night before.

It was hard to believe our trip was over.  We got up the next morning, took a little walk, packed up, checked out, and had Mr. Pinder take us back to the airport.  We were wheels up around noon, properly flew the departure procedure (twice just to be sure), and climbed up to 8000 feet for the flight to Fort Pierce (KFPR).  Climbing through 6000 feet we were easily able to contact Miami Center to get our clearance.  We were cleared as filed: direct ZFP BR62V ANGEE direct.  We bucked a 30+ knot headwind, but it was smooth ride.  The weather back was decent for the most part since the cold front was still up around Orlando (which we would have to deal with later), but the surface winds were very high and forecasted to remain that way.  Sure enough, as we were on final for runway 28L, the winds were 200 at 23 knots gusting to 32 knots!  Yeehaw!  It was a challenging landing to say the least, but we made it safely on the ground, and taxied over to clear US Customs.



Flying the MYEM Symonette 2 Departure Procedure.  Thanks for the picture Dave!

After sharing some joyful political banter with the CBP agents, we went next door to the Airport Tiki to have lunch and check weather for the flight home.  The bad news was the winds at Fort Pierce were still the same, but the good news was the precipitation associated with the cold front was starting to diminish and break up.  We finished our lunch, paid the fuel bill, and hopped back in the plane.  Taking off with a crosswind is a lot easier than landing in it!  We were quickly airborne and northbound in the clouds at 7000 feet.  It was a fairly smooth ride with occasionally minor chop and finally a tailwind!  We had light to moderate rain for maybe 10 minutes or so.  Nothing bad and it was nice to have the plane get a little bit of a rinse off!  The winds were pretty high and gusty at home as well, but at least it was almost in line with the runway.  I made my best landing in days and taxied to the hangar.

We unloaded the plane, closed the hangar, and headed home to my eagerly waiting family!  My dad and I really enjoyed the time we had together and all the people we met.  I am happy to say that my dad asked me if we can go again next time.  Absolutely!

Read the sign!!!!!  It just might be true.......