The Association of Bahamas Marinas (a.k.a. the ABM) has many allied members that aid boaters and all travelers. The ABM marina members and many allied members offer discounts and special offers through our ABM Voyager Member program that you can join before setting sail. See: https://www.bahamasmarinas.com/voyager-membership.
Charter Yacht Licenses & Payments Online With Sea-Z Pass
If you're engaged in commercial yacht chartering, the easiest way now to apply for the required charter yacht license—and to electronically pay the 4% yacht charter fee—is to visit the ABM's new Bahamas Sea-Z Pass website. See: https://marinapayments.omnibahamas.com). Yacht charter captains are giving the site high praise for simplifying the formerly arduous manual process. The site has a Forms and Fees button where you can download all the required documents and see all the relevant fees. Sea-Z Pass was developed by Omni Financial Services for the ABM and is designated as an Authorized Payment Solution by the Bahamas Government. For even more information and forms, you can visit ABM's website at: https://www.bahamasmarinas.com/boating-resources.
Personal Customs Clearance With Island Fastpass
Launched in 2020, Island Fastpass is a service that makes clearing Bahamas Customs and Immigration faster and easier. It gets you boating, fishing and relaxing as fast as possible and its personal concierges are available at most ports of entry, including their home base of West End, Grand Bahama. Island Fastpass will pre-process your customs and immigration forms before you arrive for a convenience fee of $150. Before traveling, boaters simply log on to www.IslandFastPass.com and send them the required boat and crew info and documents. On arrival at the dock of your choosing, you'll be greeted by your own personal concierge and, with your application already processed, all you'll have to do is to pay customs. This new personal service was created by an experienced US marina management consultant and Zale Maritime Management, a shipping management company based in Freeport, Grand Bahama. Contact: support@islandfastpass.com • https://www.islandfastpass.com. Also see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK1XI9yRS_g
In 2020-21 several new websites came alive to make Bahamas boating easier. The Bahamas Customs' new Click2Clear website enables all boaters to obtain and pay for their cruising permits digitally. See: https://www.besw.gov.bs/TFBSEW/cusLogin/signin.cl.
Snag-A-Slip's Easy Marina Bookings
When planning your trip, you may want to first check out Snag-A-Slip (SAS), a leading site and app for booking marinas and for paying. Established in 2016, the app is growing by leaps and bounds due to its easy multi-platform interface and a growing network of marinas, now with Bahamian locations. The company has back-office customer service and offers a price-match guarantee. It’s a new level of convenience, free from messy Google searches and phone tag, and most importantly, with no added booking fees. The app gives access to join cruising groups, yacht clubs and boating rendezvous, and its blog and newsletter provide news and fun events. Contact: hello@snagaslip.com • http://www.SnagASlip.com.
Luxury FBO For Private Flying
As the Bahamas becomes an increasingly popular destination for super- and mega-yachts—as well as basing yachts here—more owners, guests, captains and crew are choosing to fly privately to meet their vessels in Nassau or the Out Islands. A great place for pilots to aim for is the excellent fixed-base operator, Odyssey Aviation, where luxury service and international expertise are paramount. Odyssey operates two full service FBO locations in Exuma (MYEF) and Nassau (MYNN), and two handling locations on Eleuthera in Governor's Harbour (MYEM) and in Rock Sound (MYER). It also operates two FBOs in the US at Detroit’s Willow Run Airport (KYIP) and Orlando’s Kissimmee Gateway Airport (KISM). At all its bases, the company provides superior concierge services and helps clients with crew-rate hotel reservations, VIP transportation, government permits and escorts all visitors through customs and immigration, 24 hours, seven days a week. Odyssey is consistently voted Best FBO in the Bahamas and one of the leading FBOs in the Caribbean. All its Bahamas locations are ports-of-entry with customs and immigration and Rubis branded suppliers of Jet-A1 Fuel. Nassau and Exuma also offer AvGas. To experience luxury and first-class service, choose Odyssey as your welcoming partner. Contact: (242) 702 0200 • info.mynn@odysseyaviation.com • www.odysseyaviation.com.
For a list of air travel partners to The Bahamas, see our article Flying To and Around The Bahamas Is Easier than Ever.
Abaco Mailboat and Heavier Cargo
If you are in need of a cargo provider to, and around The Bahamas, connect with Dean's Shipping, based on Potter's Cay in Nassau. The long-established mailboat company is famous for its weekly M/V Legacy run between Nassau to Marsh Harbour, Guana Cay and Green Turtle Cay. It returns to Marsh Harbour before coming back to Nassau. The company offers another ship, M/V Champion III for chartering freight from South Florida to almost anywhere in the Bahamas or the Caribbean. This service is excellent for remote cays, island developments and construction sites, and for transporting direct-to-island large quantities of raw materials, fuel, aggregate, and heavy equipment. Champion III's range, size and affordability allows it to voyage to any Bahamian or Caribbean island. Contact Cecily at: (242) 394-0245/6 or cell: (242) 449-6626, cecily@dscbahamas.com and visit: http://www.deanshipping.com.
At the association we have more than 40 members, each helping the boating community and our marina industry. For more information, see: https://www.bahamasmarinas.com/allied-members.
