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.............

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:

And The Thunderstorms Parted........

I flat out refuse to allow myself to get into a situation where we NEED to get somewhere in the plane when conditions aren't right.  I'll drive, fly commercially, or just delay till the conditions are safe.  We planned to come home on Saturday which left us at least an extra day if needed.  The forecasts for Saturday were perfect for us to get from Treasure Cay (MYAT) to Fort Pierce, FL (KFPR) to clear Customs.  On the other hand, the forecast for home was showing 50% or greater chances of thunderstorms associated with a cold front moving in from the northwest.

If we waited an extra day in Treasure Cay the weather may have been better, but I would have to contend with the remnants of the front and forecasted high winds.  I decided to go ahead and leave Saturday and if need be we would stay the night in Florida somewhere and finish the leg home on Sunday.  I filed my IACO Flight Plan and eAPIS manifest in the morning.  I was a little worried about the eAPIS manifest since the Internet went out the night before.  I can always file my flight plan over the phone or in the air, but I have no other options for the manifest.  Luckily the Internet was back up in the morning and Sydney picked us up at 10:30 am and we were loaded up and wheels up around noon.

When we flew down I had a lot of static on the last frequency with Miami Center.  I thought it was them, but it was me!  I had this happen before in the Arrow as well.  With a certain active frequency dialed into Com 1, and a different one dialed in to the active side of Com 2, that combination causes static on my Com 1.  It is by far not a common event and this time it just so happened when I had 134.2 dialed in to Com 1 and 122.8 dialed in to Com 2.  When we departed Treasure Cay and I turned back to Com 1 to pick up my clearance from Miami Center, the static was still there.  That led me to recall  that previous experience with the Arrow and as soon as I hit the "flip-flop" button on Com 2 and took 122.8 out of the active slot, the static disappeared!

Anyway, we got our usual clearance to Fort Pierce (KFPR) :  ZFP Angee Direct at 8000 feet.  About an hour and fifteen minutes after leaving Treasure Cay, we were shut down on the US Customs & Border Patrol ramp at Fort Pierce (KFPR).  During the flight I kept panning the Garmin 496with XM Weather to check out the conditions at home.  Sure enough a huge thunderstorm was building west of Jacksonville and moving east.  The one thing I did notice was that nothing yet was developing south and there was a huge gap between that cell and the line of thunderstorms behind it.  I told Kristi that instead of having lunch at the Airport Tiki like we usually did, we would make this a quick turn.  Clear Customs, get gas, and get back in the air for the hour and a half flight home.  I figured we could at least get closer to home and still have numerous "outs" along the way like Daytona Beach and St Augustine to stay the night if need be.

With one last check of the radar at the FBO, the weather was cooperating so we launched for home.  We climbed to 11,000 feet to remain well above most of the weather.  We dodged a few build ups here and there, but for the most part we stayed in the clear.  As we progressed north, the huge cell was right over our home airport, KCRG, but moving east at 16 knots.  The gap behind it was still there and holding which was great.  As we flew over Daytona I could pick up the ATIS for KCRG which had now issued as special weather update for thunderstorms and heavy rain.  No worries, we were 30 plus minutes out so things were looking great.

We could see a nice cell building over Palatka to the west as we passed, but we were nowhere near it.   Once we we got handed off to the Jacksonville Approach controllers, they reported that the thunderstorm was now moving offshore and to expect a visual approach at home.  I told them I visually agreed with what their  radar showed and thanked them for the perfect timing!  A few minutes later we touched down on Runway 32 in clear, dry skies.  We unloaded and secured the plane, went to the grocery store and McDonald's, and got home about 15 minutes before the rest of the front and thunderstorms arrived!

Spring Break was unfortunately over, but we had an awesome time.  The storms had parted perfectly for us and we were glad to be home.  The price of the XM Weather subscription, in my opinion, is worth every penny.  I don't use it to to allow me to push the envelope, but to keep us safe and always aware of our outs when needed.  That's the key: ALWAYS LEAVE YOURSELF AN OUT!

2 Dive Trips This Time!

I always feel spoiled when I can take a day for myself to go diving with Treasure Divers.  This year I got to go twice and I was joined by Karen, a family friend, on the second day.  I met some great folks on this trip.  I met a neat lady from Germany who just recently went on a dive boat holiday in the Galapagos.  I also met a kind family from Ohio and the father and son were using the dive trips to finish up on the open water certifications.  Brent, Treasure Divers' owner, and Sandy always make my experiences memorable, but I truly enjoyed meeting and diving with the other divers this year.

On Monday we got to dive on the northeast side of Great Guana Cay on Turtle Reef and The Cathedral.  We spotted a sea turtle, a beautiful Queen Angelfish, a huge grouper, a stingray, some good size barracuda, and enjoyed some swim-throughs and beautiful reef structures.

On Tuesday, Karen and I got to dive on the wreck of the USS San Jacinto.  The wreck is huge and you can still see the boilers and a lot of the ship's remaining structure.  The entire area is teeming with huge schools of fish.  I found a French Angelfish and the largest Parrot Fish I have ever seen.  Its beak was probably the size of my fist!  After the wreck dive, we shifted back to the area we dove on Monday and did our second dive on The Round Wall.  Here I found an amazing Gray Angelfish.

Originally we were going to make Tuesday's trip an all day adventure with lunch at Nipper's, but the weather dictated otherwise.  With dark skies approaching, we all agreed to head back to Treasure Cay and call it a day.  We made it back to the dock and to our condo just before the brunt of the weather arrived.  I can't wait to go back.  I find something new every time I dive which is really amazing.

Here is a slide show of my dive pics.  If the slide show doesn't work, follow this link to the online album:  Treasure Cay, Spring 2012 Dive Photos

Spring Break 2012 - A New Adventure In Treasure Cay

As much as we prefer staying in Pam's Sandollar Dreams condo, we stayed this year at the Bahama Beach Club #2042 and #2034 since even more family and friends joined us for this years getaway and we needed more room!  We were joined by my Dad and Kim, Kim's mom and her fiancee, and our family friend Karen.

We forgot to reserve a golf cart, the preferred local mode of transportation, and unfortunately found out upon arrival they were all booked until Friday.  Oh well, it wasn't too far a walk to the grocery store and I improvised with Mary's umbrella stroller to help get the heavy stuff back to the condo!  This was the first time I brought some food in to the country with us.  I went to Costco before we left and bought packages of chicken breasts, pork chops, and rib eye steaks.  Everything else we bought in Treasure Cay.

We ate out a few times.  The Bahama Beach Club still has some delicious dinner theme nights.  Our first night was the BBQ night which was really good.  We enjoyed our seating by the beach and the bonfire after sun set.  Kim and Abby used a cool iPhone app to search the starts.  We also enjoyed the Italian night.  The food was good, but we preferred the way they did it last year, family style, so everyone got a little taste of everything.  The rest of the evenings we BBQ'd the meats we brought in.  We also finally enjoyed Thursday Pizza Night at The Tipsy Seagull located on the marina.  The great pizza drew a huge crowd and there was even live music to enjoy!

The mornings always started off with pancakes served up by Grandpa.  A well enjoyed service by both the kids and the cook!   Most days were spent with folks enjoying the beach and the pool.  We met a few other families which was great since Abby and Mary quickly found some other kids to play with.  Some of the group would walk the beach at low tide everyday to explore South Point and search for sand dollars and shells.  A few treasures were found and we even spotted a few sea turtles, needle fish, and some juvenile barracuda.  I finally managed to get my dad out to the little island off South Point at low tide to search a new area for shells.

The new adventure and highlight of this trip was when we rented a boat for the day from JIC Boat Rentals.  The winds were up mid-week, but we managed to push our reservation off till Friday when the winds came down and we all enjoyed an awesome day.  I debated bringing Mary along, but I have to say overall she did very well.  She loved the boat, but still isn't a big fan of the beach yet.

Abby thought it was the coolest thing ever.  We loaded up at the Treasure Cay Marina around 9 am and headed out onto the Sea of Abaco bound for the areas around Green Turtle Cay.  Our first stop was a little beach on the southeast tip of Green Turtle Cay.  The routine became for me to beach the boat, let everyone out, take the boat to anchor and wade back to shore.  It worked out pretty well.  The beach was nice, but since there weren't many treasures to have, we loaded up and headed further north to Fiddle Cay just north of Green Turtle Cay.

Treasures abounded at Fiddle Cay.  The beach and shallow waters were strewn with collectible sea biscuits and sea urchins.  We NEVER take any shells, sand dollars, sea biscuits, sea urchins, or anything else that is still alive or in which the shell is still home to a live animal.  Everyone made a dash for the snorkel gear and the feverish harvesting began.  You can see some of the "catch" on the bow of the boat.

It was hard to believe, but by this point it was now about noon so we headed for Green Turtle Cay and had an awesome lunch at the Pineapples Bar & Grill just accross the harbor from New Plymouth.  They have a dock right in front of their place as well as a pool to enjoy.  The food was great, but the rum punch was even better!  It was obvious during lunch we had pushed Mary enough for one day so once lunch was over we headed back across the Sea of Abaco to the beach right in front of our condo to drop off Kristi and Mary.

We had just enough time to explore one more area before the boat day was over.  We headed for "Shell Island" off the northwest tip of Great Guana Cay.  We did not find any large treasures there, but it definitely lived up to its name.  We all spent an hour or better hunting for shells before we had to head back to Treasure Cay and get the boat topped off and back to the dock by 5:00 pm.

The boat worked great and everyone had a wonderful time.  The crew at JIC Boat Rentals were extremely pleasant and helpful.  We definitely will have to make that part of our vacation "routine".  There are so many beautiful areas to explore that we could experience new and exciting things every year for many years to come!

If I only had one complaint about our stay this year is that it went too fast.  I usually enjoy the fact that the first few days appreciably slow down, but from day one this year it seemed like the clock was spinning out of control.  Oh well, guess we'll just have to go back!

Instead of posting all of our pictures this time, I have include a slide show below of our vacation photos.  If the slide show doesn't work, follow this link to the online album:  Treasure Cay, Spring Break 2012

Spring Break 2012 - The Flight To Treasure Cay, Bahamas

It's hard to believe that another year has gone by and it's Spring Break again.  We took off on Saturday morning, St. Patrick's Day,  headed for our favorite getaway.  This time I removed both middle row seats and the refreshment console.  This gave me about 45 extra pounds to play with, but unfortunately it left my wife without a cup holder.  Oh well, at least it's only a 2 1/2 hour flight!

My wife usually gets up way early when we travel somewhere so I was quite surprised when my alarm went off at 6:30 am to find her still sound asleep!  The plan was to leave the house around 8 am to be wheels up around 9 am.  Luckily most of the packing was done the night before, so as I left to take the dog to the kennel, Kristi finished getting the girls ready and we met at the airport and managed to take off about 15 minutes after 9 am.  Not bad at all.

I filed IFR and revived a clearance to Treasure Cay (MYAT) via Radar Vectors, direct Ormond Beach (OMN), direct Melbourne (MLB), direct Freeport (ZFP) direct at 8000 feet.  I had filed for 7000 feet, but didn't mind the little higher altitude assigned given the favorable winds.  One thing about our clearances continue to stump me; I appropriately file an odd thousand foot altitude, but seem to always get an even thousand foot altitude assigned until turning towards Freeport then I am either offered a climb or decent to an appropriate altitude.  It makes no sense to me, but it works.  With the plane loaded to max gross, N424RM leapt in to the air and we were quickly cruising south around 155 knots at 8000 feet.

The weather was great the whole trip down with a few scattered clouds below us.  Just after crossing Freeport I could hear ATC frustratingly trying to vector a plane for traffic.  In a few seconds it turned out I was the conflict the other guy couldn't maneuver as requested for and I was asked to turn right to a heading of 180 degrees.  The controller continued to have some frustrations with this other guy and asked me to turn another 20 degrees right.  At this point I'm now getting frustrated because I am heading back towards Florida instead of my destination!  I kindly, but firmly requested to know where this traffic was I was be vectored all over for and was finally cleared to turn back towards my destination.

On the leg towards (ZFP) Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

As we descended for Treasure Cay, I cancelled IFR with Miami Center and switched over to the CTAF of 122.8.  For the first few minutes, all the traffic in the area seemed to be calling inbound for Marsh Harbor so I was glad my arrival would have me not dealing with a lot of other planes.  Well I jinxed myself.  In short order about 5 other aircraft called up with at least 2 joining me inbound from the west, one inbound from Marsh Harbor, and one departing the field.  Except for the one departing the field I was the closest inbound, but one of the planes behind me was a Cessna Citation Mustang that I knew at some point would be overtaking me.  Sure enough as I descended through 2500 feet he call out passing me low and off my left.  It was a cool sight and I easily followed him into the left hand traffic pattern for Runway 14.

The winds were low, but the approach and landing was just as challenging as ever.  I kept my speed up on final, as I have learned the hard way to do at this airport, and found the typical wind shear over the runway.  I let the plane ease herself onto the long 7000 foot runway and taxied to the ramp.  The ramp was full so I promptly taxied in to one of the few remaining tie down spots left and shut down.  Mr Sydney Hart, our favorite taxi driver, saw us land and promptly sent over one of the linemen to help us out.  With what literally seems like a ton of vacation luggage, getting some help from the local ramp guys is some of the best money spent.

Left downwind for Runway 14 at MYAT.  Green Turtle Cay off the right wing.

We cleared Customs & Immigration without issue.  I was a little surprised to see the Customs guy open a few pieces of our luggage to inspect.  It caused me no worries, I had nothing to hide, but they had never done that before.  We were quickly loaded up in to Sydney's taxi and headed for the condo.  Now it was time to find my Dad and get some rum punch!

So the family left the house around 8:30 am, we flew over 350 miles in a little over 2 1/2 hours, and arrived at our condo in paradise at about 12:45 pm.  Life is good!