Peter, good on you for calling this the way you see it.
“Insane fees,” said Bob Lorns, writing recently on Medium.2 “These rates are not just regionally uncompetitive; they are globally unmatched.”
This is statement by Bob is not true. I can think of several places off the top of my head where fees to visit are much higher. Galapagos Islands, Bonaire, Monaco, Anguilla, The BVI (to some extent due to mooring mandates) etc. I’m sure there are more if I looked.
I do like the way you link the $50B sea grass scam. Perhaps scam is not the correct word but I’m not a big believer in the worth of carbon credits. I can imagine the uproar of some tree huggers when they find out their beloved sea grass for which they have paid to save the world is being destroyed by anchors. This most certainly is an image the Bahamas will wish to avoid. So perhaps there is in fact a desire to minimize the private vessels. If you recall, I had an inkling that the whole mooring things wasn’t gone when the cease and desist came out.
Your estimate of the private yacht industry aligns with what I have been telling cruisers for years. They really do not help the economy very much. Yes, there are a few small businesses who depend on this segment of tourism, but the key word is few. Cruisers are a myopic lot who struggle to see beyond their own footprint.
Susan Costa’s numbers are missing something. How much of what cruisers are spending is actually staying in the Bahamas and creating jobs. We live an above-average lifestyle on our boat and stay in marinas more than most. We also rent cars and travel inland and take tours. Our entire budget, including health insurance, boat insurance etc is about $1,500 per week. What we actually contribute to the local economy is much less. Things like Starlink subscriptions don’t count. Nor does the cost of fuel and groceries – very low profit margin items that add little to the economy.
You said it before. Cruisers are a parsimonious {great word BTW} bunch, myself included. I once watched a couple of cruisers share a can of soda in a bar using the free wi-fi for more than 2 hours while the bar was busy and needed tables for customers wanting to place food orders. I wish I could say this is an isolated incident, but it isn’t.
The main reason French Poly passed such tough anchoring restrictions was due to cruisers stealing water from restaurant facets (much of ours was take by other cruisers in the marina – we had to lock it eventually), leaving bags of trash on the side of the road, doing laundry in restaurant bathrooms (if located outside) and anchoring close to very expensive over the water bungalows. How exactly is this helping local businesses?
Not everybody looks at our boats with dreamy eyes. Sometimes we are just an eyesore on the horizon.
"Bahamian leadership is salivating at the thought of $50 billion to divvy up". Sure they are. And it won't go much past that "leadership" except for their own families. That's been proven in the past in the Bahamas. Some may say the local cruiser community vendors won't suffer if cruisers abandon the Bahamas. Maybe. But it's highly probable they won't enjoy any of that $50 billion windfall either.
I disagree. $50B is a tonne of money for the Bahamas. As of 2023, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of The Bahamas was approximately $14.34 billion USD, according to data from the World Bank . Considering what the government is responsible for providing, I think all communities will benefit to some extent. And let's keep in mind, this is 100x more than what boaters bring in (based on the highest estimate for boaters). The chances are the local communities will benefit a great deal more from this than the pittance revenue from boats.
That's too bad. Because you are going to miss out on one of the most beautiful places in the world to sail a boat and explore incredible locations like the Exuma Land and Sea Park. But if you wish to cut off your nose to spite your face, so be it.
Lot's of other "most beautiful places" in the world to visit where one doesn't have to put up with this BS. I've been all over the Caribbean for most of my long life, so I've seen most of them.
Peter, good on you for calling this the way you see it.
“Insane fees,” said Bob Lorns, writing recently on Medium.2 “These rates are not just regionally uncompetitive; they are globally unmatched.”
This is statement by Bob is not true. I can think of several places off the top of my head where fees to visit are much higher. Galapagos Islands, Bonaire, Monaco, Anguilla, The BVI (to some extent due to mooring mandates) etc. I’m sure there are more if I looked.
I do like the way you link the $50B sea grass scam. Perhaps scam is not the correct word but I’m not a big believer in the worth of carbon credits. I can imagine the uproar of some tree huggers when they find out their beloved sea grass for which they have paid to save the world is being destroyed by anchors. This most certainly is an image the Bahamas will wish to avoid. So perhaps there is in fact a desire to minimize the private vessels. If you recall, I had an inkling that the whole mooring things wasn’t gone when the cease and desist came out.
Your estimate of the private yacht industry aligns with what I have been telling cruisers for years. They really do not help the economy very much. Yes, there are a few small businesses who depend on this segment of tourism, but the key word is few. Cruisers are a myopic lot who struggle to see beyond their own footprint.
Susan Costa’s numbers are missing something. How much of what cruisers are spending is actually staying in the Bahamas and creating jobs. We live an above-average lifestyle on our boat and stay in marinas more than most. We also rent cars and travel inland and take tours. Our entire budget, including health insurance, boat insurance etc is about $1,500 per week. What we actually contribute to the local economy is much less. Things like Starlink subscriptions don’t count. Nor does the cost of fuel and groceries – very low profit margin items that add little to the economy.
You said it before. Cruisers are a parsimonious {great word BTW} bunch, myself included. I once watched a couple of cruisers share a can of soda in a bar using the free wi-fi for more than 2 hours while the bar was busy and needed tables for customers wanting to place food orders. I wish I could say this is an isolated incident, but it isn’t.
The main reason French Poly passed such tough anchoring restrictions was due to cruisers stealing water from restaurant facets (much of ours was take by other cruisers in the marina – we had to lock it eventually), leaving bags of trash on the side of the road, doing laundry in restaurant bathrooms (if located outside) and anchoring close to very expensive over the water bungalows. How exactly is this helping local businesses?
Not everybody looks at our boats with dreamy eyes. Sometimes we are just an eyesore on the horizon.
"Bahamian leadership is salivating at the thought of $50 billion to divvy up". Sure they are. And it won't go much past that "leadership" except for their own families. That's been proven in the past in the Bahamas. Some may say the local cruiser community vendors won't suffer if cruisers abandon the Bahamas. Maybe. But it's highly probable they won't enjoy any of that $50 billion windfall either.
I disagree. $50B is a tonne of money for the Bahamas. As of 2023, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of The Bahamas was approximately $14.34 billion USD, according to data from the World Bank . Considering what the government is responsible for providing, I think all communities will benefit to some extent. And let's keep in mind, this is 100x more than what boaters bring in (based on the highest estimate for boaters). The chances are the local communities will benefit a great deal more from this than the pittance revenue from boats.
I never wanted to visit the Bahamas anyway. Now I REALLY don't want to visit.
That's too bad. Because you are going to miss out on one of the most beautiful places in the world to sail a boat and explore incredible locations like the Exuma Land and Sea Park. But if you wish to cut off your nose to spite your face, so be it.
Lot's of other "most beautiful places" in the world to visit where one doesn't have to put up with this BS. I've been all over the Caribbean for most of my long life, so I've seen most of them.
You wanna go? You do you.
I already have, mate. And, I enjoyed it.
Wonderful!! I'm glad you did. Keep on travelling!
Abaco will suffer so money can flow in Nassau.