As far as we are aware, no overtime is charged in the Bahamas. Perhaps the rules have changed. I am in contact with Bahamas Customs and will let you know what they come back with. Thank you for reporting this.

This news posted on Bahamas Chatter:

Effective July 1, 2018, the Bahamas VAT will increase to 12%. This increase will be devastating! If you search online, you can read much more about the controversy. The only concession they’ve made for the residents is that some “breadbasket” food items will be VAT free, but the list is VERY specific & VERY short.

This will hurt businesses too, especially restaurants – this new VAT along with an 18% gratuity will result in 30% onto a restaurant bill – Yikes! We cruisers aren’t going to like this either. Also announced were a slew of various other increases including immigration fees – unknown yet if that will include Cruising Permit fees…

We visited Nassau in the Bahamas in April 2018, mainly to apply for a US visa. There aren’t any good websites about the visa process, so here are a few tips!

– Fill in the DS160 form online and make an interview appointment. Fill out the form with great care and detail, especially your financial & work situation is important. It took us half a day to fill in our forms, they even want to know where you went to kindergarten.

– Make an official US passport photo at a photo store in Nassau, there are a few, you will run into them. It is important that the photo is recent and square, other ways you have to reschedule your appointment (and don’t even get into the building). It cost us just under 4,5 dollars per two-fold printed picture.

– Arrive early for your appointment, you will be checked outside for your printed DS160 form, picture and passport. You have to sit on a long bench according to the interview date.

– Once you’re up to enter the building, you will be checked for electrical equipment, brushes, liquids, etc just like at an airport. We had a steel ruler with us, which we left outside the door. Don’t do this, it almost got us arrested for terrorist activity! Guess they thought that ruler was some kind of spying equipment. Just bring your DS160 confirmation, passport, proof of payment, bank balance overview and nothing else. If you forget to leave your phone on the boat you can bring it to a shop around the corner, they will keep it for you if you pay a fee.

– Bring proof of your financial situation. If you are self-employed or freelancer, give the average income of the previous year with proof. If you are unemployed and living off savings, print your bank balance. In our case that helped, and they didn’t take it but just looked at it and gave it back.

– Bring proof of payment of the 160 dollar visa fee. We weren’t asked for it, but others were.

– If you are sent back to re-edit your form or bring more proof, you have to reschedule and redo the interview, but you don’t have to pay the 160 dollars again. Make sure you’re not in an enormous hurry to get to the US. We scheduled our interview for 2 weeks in advance, and it will take 3-5 working days until we can collect our visa. It is possible to have it sent to Freeport, which is closer to the US already.

Hope this helps all of you non-US citizens!

Changes in Bimini Entrance Buoys

Posted: 03 Feb 2018 on Bahamas Chatter:

The 2017 hurricanes brought changes to the entrance buoys of the channel to Bimini. The waypoint in Explorer Chartbook Near Bahamas 8th edition remains the same, but some of the buoys are off station as originally plotted on the chart.

* The first red buoy on the chart is now off station, having moved northward off the southern tip of North Bimini right in the middle of a very shallow sandbar. Don’t go there!

* The first red buoy you see approaching South Bimini is actually the second one on the chart. It is in the correct position.

* There is a green buoy beyond that and it is off station near the entrance to Bimini Sands Marina on South Bimini.

* There are four small buoys along the shore of South Bimini leading into North Bimini. They are in the correct position. The lighted pole at the entrance also remains.

From Bahamas Chatter: Ragged Island was devastated by Hurricane Irma. Apparently, the seven people who were not evacuated from the island survived, but the town itself has been deemed “uninhabitable” by government authorities. Most of the buildings are levelled, except for the Silvertail Lodge and a few others, and no government structures were left standing.

The oil depot at Gun Point was also wiped out. The folks that survived the hurricane have also left the island. This is sad news for the many cruising boats that visit the Ragged Islands during the winter season. There will be none of the already limited facilities available. Boats cruising to the Ragged Islands are truly on their own.

Posted on Bahamas Chatter (Explorer Chartbooks) on 10 April 2017:

We spent 8 weeks sailing our boat in the Bahamas; have a 6 1/2 foot draft. Did not have a problem. Pay close attention to tides when you plan on entering “skinny water”, study the charts closely and don’t fixate on your chart plotter – learn to read the water (color changes).

Don’t let the shallow water keep you from going. People run their sailboats up and down the ICW with little more that a foot of water under their keel and can’t see the bottom, but they worry about the depths in the Bahamas. You can see the bottom there and it’s gorgeous! Go! Enjoy the trip.

From Active Captain Facebook Page:

Pay as you go data (prepaid) in the Bahamas has gotten cheaper. It’s only $ 10 for 2GB. And they text you occasionally with deals that are even cheaper. It costs $ 5 to get a sim at any BTC office. Buy data as you need it online. I put the sim in an old iPhone 5 then use it as a hotspot for the other devices on the boat.

We find this is almost always faster and more reliable than wifi. While it has good days and bad days, speed is usually above 2 MB / s. It’s easy to find an anchorage in range of an antenna. It’s often fast enough to stream TV or movies.

Dog Distemper In The Bahamas

This information came from Joan Conover aboard the S/V Growl Tiger and broadcast to vessels via SSCA Radio Station “KPK” on SSB frequency 8.104 at 1215 hrs UTC or 0815 hrs EDT.

Because of a recent outbreak of dog distemper in the Bahamas, new rules have been put into place regarding the exit of pets from the Bahamas. It now takes 5 or more days for a health certificate for your dog to exit the Bahamas, as all paperwork must be sent to Nassau, and approved by the Bahamian Department of Agriculture.

This is a result of a litter of puppies from one of the out islands, which were adopted out from the Nassau SPCA to other islands and to the USA. The puppies became ill with distemper, making all dogs from the islands suspect of the disease.

If you are in the Bahamas, make sure your dogs are current with all shots and have your distemper records/certificates in hand. Both USA and Bahamas officials are concerned, making the paperwork a more lengthy process for ALL pets.