Bimini 2014-June 22

[leeatmg]

Reading this thread is both awesome and sad at the same time. Would LOVE to do this trip someday; that someday is not here yet. Thanks all for letting us live vicariously through you!

 

[upperdeck]

towboat..new name..did I miss something or is this meant to be seatow ?

Oops, yes, seatow!

 

[upperdeck]

The fine print from SeaTow


BAHAMAS

Vessels that cannot be serviced in the nearest Bahamas facility at Marsh Harbour, Nassau or Freeport, and require a tow back to the United States, must make arrangements with the local franchise, their home area franchise or Sea Tow Services International. These vessels may only be towed to commercial ports in the United States. Vessels may be towed from West End, Grand Bahama Island to Lake Worth Inlet, West Palm Beach, FL, Fort Pierce Inlet, Fort Pierce, FL or from Bimini to Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, FL or Port of Miami, Miami, FL. In lieu of towing the vessel, it may be shipped via freighter to the United States. member is responsible for arrangements and Customs fees and paperwork; Sea Tow will pay freight charges only

 

[upperdeck]

BoatUS tells me that there is no out of pocket expense if towed from Bahamas to Ft.Lauderdale.

 

[xoomer]

It's hard to know what will really happen until you have to get a tow. I just looked at my SeaTow contract and it says if no SeaTow boat is available they can tow me to where a repair can be made if necessary; or, they will reimburse me up to $225 an hour, max of $5000. So I would have to pay upfront if they wouldn't come to Bimini and had to tow me back to the USA.

I believe BoatUS is the same. If you look on their site they say..."Outside the country tows are reimbursed by BoatUS." I imagine they have buried in their contract approximately the same terms as SeaTow. My experience with talking to these people on the phone is that you get a different answer depending on whom you talk to.

For me, I already have SeaTow so it I will have to take my chance with them--hopefully I won't have to find out what happens if I need a tow.

 

[upperdeck]

It's hard to know what will really happen until you have to get a tow. I just looked at my SeaTow contract and it says if no SeaTow boat is available they can tow me to where a repair can be made if necessary; or, they will reimburse me up to $225 an hour, max of $5000. So I would have to pay upfront if they wouldn't come to Bimini and had to tow me back to the USA.

I believe BoatUS is the same. If you look on their site they say..."Outside the country tows are reimbursed by BoatUS." I imagine they have buried in their contract approximately the same terms as SeaTow. My experience with talking to these people on the phone is that you get a different answer depending on whom you talk to.

For me, I already have SeaTow so it I will have to take my chance with them--hopefully I won't have to find out what happens if I need a tow.

I agree with this sentiment. But I still think its a worthwhile investment.

 

[justason]

Thanks for researching this Upperdeck... We hope to do a fair amount of boating off the coast of NC this year....It will be a worthwhile investment and piece of mind.

 

[Bruce]

If my boat breaks down in Bimini then we will just have to stay there. I think I could handle that.

 

[upperdeck]

Id love to stay!

My thought is that with an increasing number of participants, the odds of problems goes up. Perhaps a towing membership or two would be a good idea!

We are down to about 100 days to departure too!

 

[xoomer]

I think you have to have the towing insurance since it is so cheap. If a problem happens a few miles off the US shore I imagine either company will come and get you. The only real issue seems to be if you have a problem in Bimini, or maybe close to Bimini. If that happens then the circus will probably start with the companies telling you they will repair your boat or perhaps it will be towed back to the US but you must cover the up-front cost and be reimbursed later. Either way it's better than taking a chance with no insurance at all.

 

[justason]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2583136/Paradise-lost-American-businessman-stabbed-death-Bahamas-resort.html

WHAT THE HELL !!

 

[upperdeck]

Amazing! Interesting that the article says the victim and suspects were all captain and crew of the same vessel.

 

[sstegh]

Yea, I saw that too. You guys are staying at the Sands, that's the good side of the tracks.

 

[upperdeck]

I may have read that wrong. Looks like the suspects were all captain and crew of the same vessel.

Good side of the canal more like it! Lol

 

[xoomer]

I guess I need to get bigger knife

 

[BoaterGuy]

Thats unfortunate, I will be carrying a knife on me at all times. Pistols on the boat...

Maybe I should bring this with me

 

[Bruce]

My understanding is that Bimini has a low crime rate. The article suggests that these were Americans that knew each other, fought and ended up with one dead.

This Bimini FAQ will bring a little levity to this mornings depressing news http://biminiguide.com/pdfs/page-8-10-faqs.pdf

 

[upperdeck]

My understanding is that Bimini has a low crime rate. The article suggests that these were Americans that knew each other, fought and ended up with one dead.

This Bimini FAQ will bring a little levity to this mornings depressing news http://biminiguide.com/pdfs/page-8-10-faqs.pdf

I agree! We've never experienced a lick of crime when we were there the last couple times.

 

[waterboy]

Yikes... now that's a knife

Love those things!!

 

[BoaterGuy]

Yikes... now that's a knife

Love those things!!

19 bux on Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Gerber-31-000758-Gator-Machete-Sheath/dp/B004A1IXRC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395173739&sr=8-1&keywords=gator+gerber