Bigger than "this weekend", but we
did come home on Friday so maybe it counts...
Wrapped up a G3X Touch full panel upgrade -- which really amounted to rewiring most of the airplane -- and got the shakedown flights and new xpdr/pitot-static inspections done in time to make our first visit to the Bahamas, escaping the midwest before the winter's first big snow. This is a trip we've been talking about since sitting in on a forum at OSH several years back, and work schedules finally aligned to let it happen.
We'd reserved a small VRBO on the beach near Governor's Harbour, so the plan was RST-FPR (Rochester MN - Ft Pierce FL) on a Sunday, hotel overnight, and then on to MYEM Monday morning. We ended up changing the overnight to MLB (Melbourne FL) due to hotel availability, and re-filing eAPIS for a departure from there instead. We were given routing over BNA (Nashville TN), and then a shortcut crossing the Disney TFR and directly east over MCO (Orlando FL)...very cool. The trip down was easy, with just a little IMC in middle FL, and no problems crossing out of the US the next day.
The MYEM (Governor's Harbour, Eleuthera) airport has an "interesting" relationshp with security; laid-back but commanding authority, they didn't know quite what to do with us, and everyone from the ramp folks to the terminal folks to the customs agents seemed rather put out to deal with our little inconvenient planeload of first-timers. Nevertheless, we persisted and finally tied down on the far corner of the ramp. After a 90-minute snafu regarding the rental car having been dropped off with the keys locked inside, we were off to the beach!
Everything we'd read about the Bahamas and how gorgeous the water is, was true. The neon blue shallows flying in were stunning, and my wife repeatedly commented on how pretty it was while driving around the island. With the airport security hassle, island-hopping was going to be more trouble than it was worth for a first exploratory vist, so we stayed on Eleuthera and wandered by car.
Four days and several beaches later, plus swimming, canoeing, and kayaking in the bay, it was time to head home. Glad I allotted time for a late departure, because dealing with fuel, customs, and security (yes, I had to go thru metal detector and x-ray every time I wanted to access the ramp...) easily consumed a couple hours. Lingering clouds over the FL coast meant a popup IFR clearance into FXE (Ft Lauderdale Exec FL) where we cleared customs (our easiest experience with US Customs ever) and spent the night with Banyan. I had planned FPR (Ft Pierce FL) but their ridiculous notification requirement (min 4hrs prior to departure) and limited clearance hours (10-5) made FXE a better choice.
Next day, the midmorning rush out of FXE left us sitting on the ground for 45 minutes between calling for clearance and rolling for takeoff. The extra distance and headwinds meant it would take one extra fuel stop, and we would be weaving around some evening storms, without getting a single raindrop to wash off the salt -- but by the end of the day, the plane was in the hangar back home and we were safely tucked into bed.
7 legs, 22.8 hours in the logbook, 0.5 IMC. Longest day (return home) was 10.2 hours, but comfy seats and oxygen kept me feeling good the entire time. My wife gave perhaps one of the strongest reviews yet to a flying trip: "
yeah, I'd do that again".
Lessons learned:
- next time, park and secure the plane, unload, deal with customs & cars, then get fuel before leaving the airport, to minimize the security hassles and time spent tracking down the fueller.
- FXE was a good customs clearance, but consider departing right from the customs area and find another airport to overnight at for an easier departure.
