"First of all, Happy New Year Capt. Bill!!!"
Thanks Mark.
I only asked about a SSB radio because Chris Parker at chris**mwxc.com has a great weather routing service that you can subscribe to and get daily updates in the morning on SSB direct from him. You can just tune in and listen for free to his weather updates and hope some one else is cruising in the same area as you and hear what he has to tell them. It's not a must have but it is a nice to have.
He also has a very good book titled "Coastal and Offshore Weather, the Essential Handbook" that is well worth getting. You can order it MWxC.com
You definitely should take a SAT phone for emergencies. And get the data cable for it. Because with that I would recommend you getting Oceans WeatherNet software with their GRIB file explorer. That way you could log on via the SAT phone for a very short time and down load weather/wave info and GRIB files to open and look at off line for real time weather updates.
My friend that I am working with on this boat is a referring dealer for Oceans so take a look at it and let me know if it interests you.
I would recommend getting the Explorer series of Bahamas Chart Kits as well as the Wavey Line Ltd. chart of the Bahamas and their T&C chart. As well as "Yachtsman’s Guide to the Bahamas" and Bruce Van Sant's book "The Gentleman's Guide to Passages South". These can be purchased, as I'm sure you know, through Bluewater Books right there in Ft. Lauderdale.
Unless you plan on running at night, I would look at going over the top of Bimini to Nassau the first day, clearing in, fuel up and head out the next day for Georgetown in the Exumas and fuel up again. Be mindful of all the patch reefs on the Yellow Bank on the way out of Nassau to the upper Exumas. Depending on the wind you could head straight out to the deep water of Exuma Sound or stay on the shallow bank side till you get down the Exuma chain a ways before you jump out to the Sound and on into Georgetown.
The following day I would head to Clarencetown and Flying Fish Marine on Long Island for more fuel.
Next day, head straight on to Mayaguana. Or if the weather acts up, stop short in the Acklins for a while.
Be sure to call these places, other than Nassau, before hand and make sure they will have fuel when you get there.
Mayaguana has a wall off Abraham's Bay that is not really dived by anybody but passing cruising boats and perhaps a hand full of locals that I am aware of. It's really nice, untouched and starts at about 45-50 feet. That would make a great spot to stop and dive for a few days or more. Especially if you have your own on board compressor installed by then.
If the wind is right you can anchor right over the wall and dive from the big boat. And Abraham's Bay makes a nice anchorage at night. Heck, if the wind is right, you could anchor over the wall over night and do a night dive or two.
Here we are anchored on the wall at Mayaguana.
And here is a shark we caught and released while there.
There are of course many other places with good diving as you come down the Bahamas chain, like in the Exumas, Rum Cay and Cat Island but Mayaguana would be my first choice due to its remoteness.
From Mayaguana it's only about 60 miles to Stella's Cut at Provo and Turtle Cove Marina. The trick to getting into Provo and Turtle Cove Marina is in the size and direction of any swell running at the time. If it's big and out of the North, you just can't get in. Or back out for that matter. Something to keep in mind as your time to leave approaches.
Even if it's a nice day it's best to call Turtle Cove and have them send out their pilot boat to lead you in as sometimes the markers for the channel are sunk or missing.
If the swell is big and you can't get in, then you can head around the West end of Provo to the South side, come in through Sandbore Channel and anchor up in Sapodilla Bay. There is a nice beach you can dink into there as well as get a cab to pick you up from. There is also a marina on that side that you might be able to get that size boat into. It's called The South Side Marina. Several dive shops keep their boats there to head out to West Caicos and points south. Nothing fancy, Very basic but they do have fuel and water. Not sure about power.
In fact you might want to head around to the South side and on to West Caicos after you take your trimix course (are you taking it from Big Blue Divers?) and if the weather is right, anchor up or use one of the many mooring buoys there and stay a couple of days. There is great wall diving there.
And of course, if you have the time and the weather cooperates you could head to French Cay, Salt Cay and Grand Turk to do some diving as well.
One of my favorite things about diving in the T&Cs is that you have a real shot at seeing sharks, including Hammerheads and Tigers, on most dives.
As to dining out on Provo there are many very good restaurants there. One of my favorites is right at the hotel at Turtle Cove. It's called Aqua. And there is a very nice Italian place called Bacci's (sp?) just down the street. There are many others that the locals will be happy to direct you to.
Hope that answers some of your questions. Feel free to ask any more you may have.
