Storage for 2014 hurricane season - Bahamas

Questions about places PDQ's go, field reports about where you've been, and crew requests
Post Reply
John&Ria
admiral
admiral
Posts: 150
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:07 am
Location: Vancouver BC (PDQ 34 hull 111)
Contact:

Storage for 2014 hurricane season - Bahamas

Post by John&Ria »

We hope to join the Rhumbline excursion to the Exumas next May, which will be our first experience cruising these waters. Our preferred plan is to return to Florida in June, and store His Idea on land somewhere near Stuart for the 2014 hurricane season. Unfortunately, due to the vagaries of U.S. Customs policy, the timing of this return may cause problems for us regarding the U.S. cruising permit we require (our vessel is Canadian registered).

Because of this we are considering other options. I have two questions for members of the Forum.
1) Does anyone have experience and/or recommendations with respect to a suitable facility in the Bahamas for land storage of vessels during hurricane season? A safe location and good reputation for the yard are more important to us than price.
2) Another option is return to Florida in early August (after the expiry of our cruising permit). This option is less desirable to us because of the timing, but mostly because we are concerned about making a safe return during hurricane season. Are we being overly cautious, or is it wise to forget about trying to make a crossing at that time of year?

Any advice regarding this conundrum would be greatly appreciated.

John & Ria
duetto
admiral
admiral
Posts: 984
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:18 am
Location: ICW (32043)

Re: Storage for 2014 hurricane season - Bahamas

Post by duetto »

hi,

you don't mention the model of pdq you have.

i'm familiar with abaco yacht services on green turtle cay. it's about 35 miles nw of marsh harbour. we have not stored there but we have many friends who have and all have had positive results. they have hurricane tie downs, relatively ease ferry/cab service to marsh harbour airport, diy, and they are reasonably priced.

contact info is 242-365-4033 email : ays@oii.net.
john & diane cummings
duetto mv34 #23
John&Ria
admiral
admiral
Posts: 150
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:07 am
Location: Vancouver BC (PDQ 34 hull 111)
Contact:

Re: Storage for 2014 hurricane season - Bahamas

Post by John&Ria »

Hi duetto,

Thanks very much for the referral, it's exactly the kind of information I was looking for.

We have a PDQ 34 powercat (hull #111).....
Tanah-Keeta
admiral
admiral
Posts: 270
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 1:30 pm
Location: Washington, NC (34108)

Re: Storage for 2014 hurricane season - Bahamas

Post by Tanah-Keeta »

Ditto what John said....

My understanding of summer crossing conditions is that conditions are generally better...milder winds and less waves. As with all crossings, you would need to review the weather and pick your time.... with your boat's speed, it is a max of a two day trip. I usually left Marsh Harbor early on day 1 and anchored at Mangrove.. weather permitting ..and was in Stuart just after noon on day 2. If the weather is really good, you could leave real early on day 1 and push thru to Stuart on Day 1. I have made the trip from Lake Worth to Marsh Harbor in 12 hours but every thing was flowing my way.
Ron McDaniel
TK III 34108
John&Ria
admiral
admiral
Posts: 150
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:07 am
Location: Vancouver BC (PDQ 34 hull 111)
Contact:

Re: Storage for 2014 hurricane season - Bahamas

Post by John&Ria »

Hi Ron,

Thanks for sharing your experience with summer crossings. Being able to cross in August expands our options if it's not feasible for us to return to Florida in June.

It's interesting to hear that you were able to make the Marsh Harbour trip in one day - that's quite an accomplishment!
John&Ria
admiral
admiral
Posts: 150
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:07 am
Location: Vancouver BC (PDQ 34 hull 111)
Contact:

Re: Storage for 2014 hurricane season - Bahamas

Post by John&Ria »

This is an update to our original post.

We've found two facilities in the Bahamas that have the capacity to offer dry land storage for a PDQ 34. They are Marsh Harbour Boat Yards and the Bahamas Yacht Yard of Bradford Marine, which is located in Freeport Harbour. Both yards appear to be professional, and provide suitable services for safe storage during hurricane season (e.g. anchored tie downs, 24/7 yard security, etc.). Bradford Marine has an advantage in the height of the storage area, i.e. 18+ feet from mean high.

The online references we've found for both yards are generally positive, however before we make a decision we would like to hear from any forum members who have had direct experience (especially storage experience) with either of these yards, or perhaps know of someone else who would be willing to share their stories.

Any input is greatly appreciated.......

John & Ria
Post Reply