Norman’s Cay Exumas customs

I used to clear at Cat Cay which was great since we could cross late afternoon or evening, anchor off then clear first thing in the morning. Usually in and out in 20 minutes. Then it was a Straight shot to the exumas. We could get there before sunset on plane or by midnight at hull speed.

but now they charge $500 just to clear.

clearing at chub takes forever… even just checking at the marina took 30 minutes this time. Then had to wait 20 minutes to get a ride to customs… the staff is very slow even by Bahamian standards. But the real problem is that the trip now takes an extra day…

I may go back to clearing at Cat for $500 or may try Morgan’s bluff again. Even at hull speed we can leave Miami in the morning, anchor there overnight, dinghy in to clear in the morning and make the exumas by the next afternoon

We spend about 95% of our time in the Bahamas on the hook but sometimes for various reasons we ll spend a night or two at a marina.

If power is available, running a gen at the dock isn’t ideal because of noise. Now on some places like Staniel or compass where they don’t have either 480v or twin 3 phase we don’t have a choice. And anyway our 45KWs use about 70/75 a day

oh and now Chub charges $100 a day fee if you run your gen

Many smaller island have gone green, like Chub and Highborne, installing solar farms. Not sure about Normans.

solar ain’t cheap and with fuel costs as high as they remain here, the back up generators aren’t cheap either

Most of the abacos have recovered by now, at least the infrastructure. Otherwise, the exumas are fantastic if you are self sufficient with gen and water maker.

Samson was nice indeed… there is project brewing on Big Samson that would include a marina. Will probably take 15 years…

Setting fenders is tricky at Normans. If attached to the boat they have to be adjusted every few hours. Tying them horizontal to the dock cleats is a little better but when pinned by the wind they catch under the rub rail. Silly setup

The Bimini of the old days is gone. No anchorage, dirty etc. not even worth an overnight stop. That said dockage at some of the older marinas is cheap.

from up north, great Harbor Cay in the Berrys is a great stop. The marina is reasonable and the island worth a few days. Well protected too. From there it s an easy run to the exumas.

I be cleared at Andros Morgan’s Bluff a couple of times. Just anchor and dinghy to the government dock and customs will come from the airport. Probably going to do that next trip instead of chub

Yea quite a few times. It’s not really an option… it is mandatory!

it s a pita to use although by now I pretty much got it. The key is to make sure you write down or screen shot the rotation number assigned when you start and to remember the **** thing along with you registration number is case sensitive if you ever leave the system by mistake you have to use the rotation and registration (or documentation) number to get back in