Hi Steve,

...and you're right about the NW Channel being a choke point, whenever I pass thru there at night I encounter some Bahamian traffic. Those fishing boats that are towing a few smaller boats are the worst, they have big outriggers down, and so much arc lighting on deck it's virtually impossible to distinguish their running lights, which always seem to be very faint, anyway...

Jan, I did the N Riding Rocks route from Marathon once, and like the others found it to be a great way to go as well. I'd do it overnight, however, I wouldn't want to come on to the bank there in the dark, I seem to recall one of the rocks was not precisely where it was supposed to be, at least according to my C-Map chart in use at the time... (grin)

As for clearing in, I'd give either Cat Cay or Chub a miss, I believe they are still charging a hefty fee simply for tying up to do Customs (although that's probably waived if you spend the night, of course) I've never done Lyford, but this time I cleared in at Nassau Yacht Haven, and it was very easy, and they made an extra effort to help me out just as they were closing for the night, which I much appreciated... I've always liked Yacht Haven, kind of a funky place, but still reminiscent of the way Nassau used to be when the Yacht Haven and Hurricane Hole were pretty much the only games in town, before Merv Griffin and the rest turned Paradise Island into a mini Las Vegas... Dockage there was $2/ft plus $10/day for water, well worth it after the trip I had over this year... (grin)

Steve, where are you gonna be headed from Cat Island? I'll likely head over there after a bit more time in the Exumas, then up to Eleuthera and finally the Abacos...

best regards,

Jon