Thread: Wisconsin/Keywest/Bahamas/Wisconsin

Took a little trip on Feb 19th from KPVB (Platteville Wi) to KSEF (Sebring Fl). Total flying time 8.0 hrs. Next day went to Keywest for the day. Landed in 90 degree crosswind of 21knts. Watch out for the tethered baloon just west of Marathon at 3200msl? Its suppose to be a weather baloon, but everybody knows it has radar for incoming boats and planes carrying illegal things. Back to KCLM (Clearwater) that evening. Then a few days messing around the St Pete area, seeing the sites and getting a tour of the control tower at KSPG (Alfred Witted Field) What a neat airport, with real nice controllers and three of the four runway ends over water. (2 runways) Feb 25th took off from KSPG bright and early, stopped at KBCT (Boca Raton) to top off tanks and file VFR flight plan to MYEH (Eluethera Island, Bahamas). Flew direct at 7500 to get above the broken layer and a smooth ride was had for the 193 nm trip. Do not do an international trip like this with out the Carribean Flying Guide, it leads you by the hand every step and every frequency. Best $56 we ever spent. Only flew over the Berry Islands, otherwise all open water. Miami Center has remote towers out there so we had the comfort of flight following all the way to Eluethera. Take plenty of cash, they dont like credit cards. The island is very quiet and rocky. The beaches are awsome but Feb water temp was 68 degrees and we forgot our wet suits. Two days later we departed for KFXE (Fort Lauderdale Executive) for our port of entry. Customs was a breeze, then on up to Sebring for the nite. Saturday, Sunday and Monday were not going to let us out of Florida VFR, so we had to use some frequent flyer miles and go home commercial, leaving N785K in Lockwoods hanger under the care of John Hurst. We had to be at work on Monday and besides I would get to go to Florida again to pick up the plane on Friday. Departed O'Hare at 6:00 am arrived at Orlando 9:30 just in time to pick up a friend from St Paul who is a Northwestern employee, (they fly anywere free) stopped for breakfast on the drive to Sebring and departed for Wis at about 2:30. Stopped for fuel at 4A4 then on to KCMI (Bloomington Ill) for a stretch and a little gas for safety. Had a enough to complete the trip without but nite time allways makes you want a little more cushion. What a great nite for flying, clear and 3/4 moon. Arrived at KPVB at 12:03 am. Total flying time 9.4 hrs. It started raining at 4:30 am and stopped 3 days later. We must be living right. Will try to put a few pics on from the trip when able.

I haven't been able to find "Caribbean Flying Guide" and am planning a trip to the Bahamas in May. Is this the actual name, or does it actually go by something else, e.g., Caribbean Flying Adventure?

http://pilotpub.com/Merchant2/merchant. ... ory_Code=B

Thanks, Beauciel. For others, the name of the guide is 2009 Bahamas & Caribbean Flying Guide.

Hey wlfpckrs, sorry I didnt catch your post earlier. After we got back I read some articles on ditching and came away with some good info. In a nutshell, if you go into the water the only thing you will have when the plane sinks is what you had attached to your body. You will just want out of the plane first, and the articles say everything happens so fast you wont get your raft out or plb or radio or anything that isnt attached to you. If you can, make your crossing early in the day as the clouds start at 2500 and by afternoon can reach 7500 msl. Of course you can fly under them and enjoy a beating. Have a great trip and let us all know how it goes. P.S. What Island are you planning on visiting?

We're going into Treasure Cay, Abaco Island. We didn't want to go to Freeport or Nassau, so Abaco seemed like the next best place.

Abaco is a great choice, we went to Marsh Harbor in Feb of 08. We stayed at Abaco Beach Resort and Marina, and really liked it. If you dont rent a car and drive the island, make sure to drop into Marsh Harbor. A cab ride to town is about $15.oo. The shopping and resturants were nice and prices were not bad. We didnt leave the Marsh Harbor area so cant help you with the rest of the Island. Whats that date in May? Boy would we like to tag along if only we could.

Lord willing and weather permitting, we'll be there May 20-24th. We can't wait! Not sure if we'll do any island-hopping or just stay on Abaco Island.

Finally got time to post pics from the Bahamas trip to Eleuthera Island....

Here is a couple more pics of the trip.....