It’s been awhile since I’ve sent an update from the Bahamas. There’s not been much new since last winter. We have been getting an education about how to have something shipped to us here from the states. Some of you may already know all this. Others may learn something from our experience so I’ll relate it here.

I gave my wife a GoPro underwater camera for her birthday. When we opened the box we discovered that there were some accessories that would be very useful to have and one, a memory card, that’s essential. We found a primitive memory card on Eleuthera but wanted to get one of the recommended ones.

I found a supplier in the states who claimed to know how to ship items to the Bahamas. From them I ordered a memory card, extra battery, battery charger and storage case. I paid for expedited shipping and used Lorraine’s Cafe in Black Point as the shipping address. I suggested they use Watermakers Air to ship to us but they used DHL.

The DHL tracking number followed the package to Customs in Nassau where it sat pending payment of duty. The supplier was no help at all. The DHL office in Nassau was closed for four days for a holiday then a weekend. When they reopened their phone system wasn’t working. I finally got through to them, gave them a credit card number to cover duty and broker fees and they shipped it ahead to Georgetown, saying I could make arrangements for it to be forwarded to Black Point from there. Instead, we sailed to Georgetown and got the package from Top 2 Bottom two weeks after I ordered it.

Opening the package we found the memory card and case but no battery or charger. There was a note saying there was a second package shipped using a Chinese company that doesn’t use tracking numbers. I got back to the supplier and, after another lengthy series of messages that were also of no help at all, gave up on them. I came to believe they use artificial intelligence software to reply to messages from customers, selecting the best stock answer available, with no human ever reading the messages.

I ordered another battery and charger from a different supplier, added a new solar shower as ours was falling apart, and had them shipped to Watermakers in Ft. Lauderdale then on to Staniel Cay. Watermakers handled the customs clearance charging our credit card. We picked the package up at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club five days later. But there was a heavy price to pay. On top of the $69 purchase price was $35 to Watermakers and $55 to Customs. There’s no way the duty should have exceeded 45% but it would be far to aggravating to fight it. In all, I've paid about $300 for $100 worth of goods.

The message from all this? Never have anything shipped to you in the Bahamas. If you didn’t bring it with you and you can’t buy it in the Bahamas, live without it. That’s what I’ve always done in the past. Ordering this stuff for the new camera was crazy. But shouldn’t a birthday gift involve a bit of craziness? That’s my excuse.

One additional note: We just sat out a strong north wind at Little Bay, a little south of Black Point. Sharing the anchorage was Kismet, a 312’ giga yacht with a crew of 28 serving 12 guests. In Little Bay!!

Cheers, all. And Happy New Year.