Tractionless

Haven't seein anyone say EPIRB, they can be rented for $40/wk. from Boat U.S. Now. I'd also heavily consider making the crossing for the first time with someone who has done it before. The navigation aids in Bahamas are not kept up like they are in the US. Consider GOOD offshore life vests with lights and reflectors as well.

alindquist

Like pstorti said the crossing is easy if you have time and pick the weather window. When we did it last year it was a sheet of glass all the way to the Abacos. Not so much on the way home but not bad. The 3000 mile tow each way is really the scary part of your trip.

cheech

On this above, out of curiosity. You get back from the trip head back into the inlet to the ramp where launched. Where do you check back in and how would anyone know you were gone say instead of just out fishing or such?

BigSilverCat

We came back from Bahamas one time and called in a few miles out and they said to put the boat on the trailer and bring the boat to the Fort Lauderdale airport to check in and for them to inspect the boat to make sure we didn't bring anything in, while on the phone with them I said, so I'm going to put the boat on the trailer, drive to the hood, drop off all the drugs I picked up, and then bring the boat over there so you can inspect it to make sure I didn't bring anything back? And he said yep. So we hauled it over there and they inspected it to make sure we didn't bring anything back.

pstorti

iTrader: (2)

they don't, but you get stamps on your passport in the Bahamas, so lets say you do that a few times and then you fly internationally somewhere. Then when you come back you get the immigration officer whose day is not going well and he says I see all these Bahamas stamps on your passport but no record of you coming back in. Come with me we have some questions. Six hours later you get to go home. Maybe that would never happen but that is why I check in.

You can also get the Local boater option card and that makes it very easy.

alindquist

This X1000 1 phone call when you get in clears the entire crew...

Jupiter Sunsation

US customs have been known to "profile" certain things. For example, a big sportfish coming in with a black transom from the diesel exhaust indicates it is returning from a long distance run so that rules out a short offshore fishing trip. They are looking even when you don't think they are!

There was a case where a guy brought a Mako center console into Ft Lauderdale (local PD has a police station at the ramp for marine patrol). Mako was "loaded" and he was returning from the Bahamas. He got the boat up on the trailer, looks like he is in the clear and suddenly the bust hits him. The US authorities had been tracking him since he left the Bahamas! http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/200...agents-fishing

More recently a rogue boat captain was bringing a Lazzara 106 named "Secret Spot" back to Palm Beach. The yacht was running at a high rate of speed (odd) and he didn't check in. When they went down to the dock he was unloading duffle bags of drugs on the dock. So they said "whats in the bags".......he admitted it was drugs, game over.
They were tracking him the whole time as well.
http://www.yachtingmagazine.com/thats-lot-cocaine

cheech

Thanks for the replies, obviously those were probably somewhat high profile you think? Just seems so many go over so often that would be hard to keep up with all.
What about the guys that do it on Jetskis that are all over YouTube?

tommymonza

They have been tracking for years.

We used to run out to Cay Sal Bank in our 22Seacat to dive and lobster/ spearfish quite a bit out of Marathon.

Got beat to hell coming back one long trip across the stream, last couple miles it lays down a few miles off Marathon.

The 4 of us are due for a piss stop and a cold beer as you needed 2 hands to hold on for dear life the whole trip back of 3 hours.

Just cracked the beers and getting ready to spark one up and I say gang hold on a minute I see some boat blacked out coming up on us fast.

They approach us on plane and jump on the boat before we knew what hit us.

Customs 1st, fish and wildlife on the other side made us go through all the gear and wells. Asked us where we where coming from.

Cay Sal Bank is in the Southern Bahamas, nearest checkin is Bimini 90 miles north, so we never check in or out.

They told us where we were coming from and at what time we left.

Fish and wildlife was not impressed by our lobsters as big as small dogs we brought back with us either.

And that kids is why you always know where your stuff is and never carry more than you can eat.

Jupiter Sunsation

28 ft Mako is high profile?

I could see the argument the 106 yacht was blatantly obvious but most cops wouldn't think someone would risk a 3mm yacht seizure trying to run drugs.

Jetskis are harmless........can't pack any immigrants aboard nor can you bring more than a backpack of drugs back. Officials are interested in quantities, jet skis don't offer that!

I would think crossing in a high traffic holiday weekend (Memorial day-Labor day) in the summer months would overwhelm the agencies but they would add staff those weekends too......its just an odds game. Yacht guy made multiple trips and only got caught on the last one. His sentence was never reported in the paper and a search in the federal inmate database doesn't show him in custody......my guess is he flipped, cops arrested more up the chain of supply/demand. Guy in the Mako story got out Oct 2015, looks like his adventure cost him 10 years of his life.

https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/

and Ben is still in custody........
BENJAMIN BARRY KRAMER
Register Number: 32655-004
Age: 62
Race: White
Sex: Male
Located at: Coleman II USP
Release Date: LIFE