Treasure Cay Bahamas - The Flight Home

As they say, all good things must come to an end.......for now. We had an awesome time in Treasure Cay and it was time to go home. Since the weather was forecasted to be very nice for our flight back to the USA, we were able to sleep in, have breakfast, and take one last walk on the beach. Sidney picked us up at our condo, Sandollar Dreams, around 10:00 am and took us to the Treasure Cay airport in no time. We paid out Departure Tax and cleared Bahamian Customs for our departure. You can view a list of the departure requirements here: To Leave the Bahamas

As I noted before, we had filed our eAPIS manifest for our return to the States before we ever left home. From numerous recommendations, we chose to clear through Fort Pierce, FL (KFPR). Just to be sure I had all my bases covered, I used the Blue Phone in the terminal building to call Fort Pierce Customs and notify them of our ETA anyway. The Blue Phones are great since you have a convenient, free way of contacting FSS and the various US Customs airport offices prior to departure.

As I headed out to pre-flight and load the plane, I talked to Demetrius, the same line guy from our arrival about getting some fuel. He immediately brought the truck to the plane, but let me know there was a small problem. The fuel truck's meter was broken. I have one of those graduated dipsticks so we agreed to take beginning and ending soundings of the tanks using my gauge to figure the amount. After the fuel was loaded, we had problem #2. The credit card machine was not working either and of course I didn't have enough cash left on me to cover the entire fuel load. Demetrius agreed to take all my card info and just charge it when the system was working again. It's nice to know people can still trust each other and yes, the charge went through fine a few days later.


With the family on board and the run-up complete, we back taxied on Runway 14 and departed to the southeast. We flew straight out and made it a slow climb while we checked out Treasure Cay from the air before turning west for the Fort Pierce. As we climbed through 7000' we contacted Miami Center and received our IFR clearance to KFPR via BR10L to ZFP (Freeport) then BR62V to ANGEE Int direct at 8000'. We enjoyed the beautiful views of the Bahamas below and were on the ground at KFPR in 1 h 30m.



We shut down in front the US Customs building and unloaded the plane in order to clear back into the USA. The customs agent was great and even though we didn't require stamps in our Passports for re-entry, he gave all us one anyway when he saw Abby was disappointed she didn't get another stamp in hers. Since we filed the eAPIS manifest, the only forms we had to submit was the US Customs Declaration Form. We cleared fairly quickly and I chatted with the agent about the eAPIS system. He gave me a card and asked me to provide feedback when I got home.

After we and the plane were cleared, the line personnel from Volo Aviation towed our plane to their ramp next door and fueled her up as we enjoyed a little lunch at the Airport Tiki. As we ate, I checked the weather for the leg home and it looked like we would have to do some weather routing, but we would be able to get home before thunderstorms arrived later in the afternoon and evening.

With tummies and tanks full, we departed for home. With the assistance of ATC, our stormscope, and onboard XM weather we made some minor deviations around weather near Melbourne and Orlando. Once we got to Daytona it was clear flying all the way home. As is the norm, we put our flying carpet back in its hangar, picked up the dog, and arrived home ready to go back to work and school. We better make this trip again sooner rather than later!

Treasure Cay Bahamas - Our Stay

Our condo was everything we wanted and more. The view and beach location was awesome! Once we unpacked our luggage and checked out the condo, it was time to get some lunch! One cool thing about Sanddollar Dreams is that included in the rental rate is the use of the owner's golf cart. Unless you plan to travel outside Treasure Cay extensively, the golf cart will be all you want and need. Our first stop was the Coco Beach Bar & Grill. You can find something for everyone to eat and drink, but for me it was Conch Fritters and a Pina Colada! Even better was to enjoy this right on the beach of Treasure Cay.

After lunch, we stopped across the way at the grocery store. The selection of food was excelent and we had no problem stocking up for our stay. One thing we did learn was if you see something on the shelves you like, buy it immediately. Treasure Cay is an active marina and if a few boats come through for provisions, you may find yourself without until the next delivery. The condo has a full kitchen with all the necesities as well as a BBQ grill so we enjoyed our PB&Js and steaks!

The best and main attraction of Treasure Cay is the beach. In the mornings my daughter and I would take walks along the beach enjoying the stunning views. Most of the time, we just hung out on the beach in front of the condo. Looking around, we felt we had the whole beach to ourselves. Wow, one of the best beaches in the world and barely a soul in sight, true paradise. A few times we ventured down to the south point of Treasure Cay beach. When you go there at low tide, you can wade the sandbar and find sand dollars, starfish, and even some shells. My daughter and I walked out to the little island off the point and found a nice little conch shell in the tide.

The other place we liked to hang out at was the Bahama Beach Club. They have a nice pool with a poolside bar and grill. Our condo owner has an account there, so were were able to enjoy those facilities and just had to pay off our tab before we left. Although we didn't try it, there is another dining option available at the Treasure Cay Resort & Marina in the Spinnaker Restaurant & Lounge.

I did manage to go diving one day. Treasure Divers operate right out of the resort marina. They took us to the Atlantic side of Great Guana Cay for two dives. Even though it was raining that day, I thoroughly enjojed my dives and saw great varieties of fish, coral, shells, and sponges.

We didn't explore outside Treasure Cay on this visit. Our 6 day stay was perfectly relaxing and enjoyable. There is more to do and see on the other cays in the area, but we'll save those adventures for next time!

Treasure Cay Bahamas - The Flight Down

The day had finally arrived. We are going to fly our plane to the Bahamas! A few more administrative items were needed before we departed. Even though filing a passenger manifest to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) via eAPIS was not required yet for the dates of our trip, I tried it out anyway. It really didn't do anything for us departing the USA, but it did make life a little easier when we came home. I'll talk about that more in another post. The last item was to file an ICAO (international) flight plan. An international flight plan can be filed and weather briefing received by calling an Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), but I chose to do everything via the Internet. I used Duats.com to file my flight plan and get my briefing. Even though numerous flights to the Bahamas are flown daily on VFR flight plans, I chose to file IFR. The benefit to me was that I wouldn't need to worry about the ADIZ boundaries requirements or other procedural items since I would already be checked into the system and tracked like any other IFR flight. It really did end up being that easy. Other than having to file an IACO flight plan, you wouldn't have noticed anything foreign about the flight, the clearance ,or the controllers until we landed and there was a nice big sign welcoming you to the Bahamas.

I planned and filed to fly at 7000' direct down the coast to West Palm Beach and then make the turn east direct to Treasure Cay. Since this was our first trip to the Bahamas, I felt I needed to minimize the amount of time over open water and away from land. The clearance received was :

Depart KCRG (Craig Airport, Jacksonville)

direct OMN (Ormond Beach VOR)

direct MLB (Melbourne VOR)

direct ZFP (Freeport, Bahamas VOR)

direct MYAT (Treasure Cay Airport, Bahamas)

Initial cruising altitiude: 6000'

This would put us off the coast sooner and over open water longer, but would make the total flight time shorter. I know you can refuse clearances, but the routing was acceptable to me without hesitation. The plane doesn't know what terrain it's over, only you do! We launched under overcast skies and headed south. Just south of Daytona, we left the overcast behind and enjoyed a sunny blue sky with some fair weather clouds below.

We went "feet wet" near Melboune, FL and proceeded toward Freeport, Bahamas. At this point we were also directed to climb up to 7000'. A lot has been said about the phenomenon of "automatic rough" where you become overly sensitive to any minute sound changes while over open water and out of sight of land. As much as I kept a constant scan on all gauges and a tuned ear to the engine, I honestly never felt our plane run so smooth. I think she was happy about the trip too! Northwest of Grand Bahama Island, we started to see the gorgeous colors below that are made by the unspoiled waters and reefs. Forty-five minutes after turning away from the USA, we were over Freeport and would remain in sight of land until we arrived in Treasure Cay. With our destination in sight, we began our decent and I cancelled IFR with Miami Center since they do not have good radar and radio coverage around the Abacos below 7000'. I switched over to the CTAF and announced our position inbound. The Treasure Cay Airport does not have a control tower. There was one other landing aircraft prior to our arrival. No big deal, we'll fly a large slow pattern and enjoy the fabulous views!

Crosswing landings are just a normal part of flying, but I was surprised at the gusting winds just prior to touchdown that kept me on my toes. Treasure Cay has a nice, wide 7000' long runway so I was able to to keep the speed up a little to offset the winds and ease the plane onto Runway 14. The ramp and terminal are located on the southeast end of the runway. We taxied up, shut down, and unloaded the plane. They have luggage carts for you to use and the entrance for general aviation arrivals is on the north end of the building. The first stop is to fill out and submit a Bahamas Immigration Card for each person to clear immigration. Once that is done, you step around to the next gentleman and submit multiple copies of your declration form (C7A)to clear customs. Passports were the only other documents reviewed. Overall it was a painless process. Mr. Sidney Hart is the owner of Taxi #2 and the caretaker for the Sanddollar Dreams condo. As our passports were processed, Sidney was allowed to start loading our luggage in his taxi. Once we were all cleared, I went back to the plane and taxied her over to a tie down spot. There are cables available stretched across the ramp for tie down, but you have to provide your own ropes and chocks. With the plane safely secured and covered, we climbed into the taxi.

Sidney is a very kind gentlemen who gave us a tour of the area prior to taking us to the condo. He wanted to ensure we saw where the grocery store, restaurants, and other services were located so we wouldn't be lost on our first venture into town. After leaving our house around 8:00am we arrived at our new home in paradise less than 5 hours later. Can't do that on a commercial flight! Up next, all about our fun in Treasure Cay!