Trans Caribbean Flight

2007-11-23T12:17:00.000-05:00

Final Day:
Chub Cay, Bahamas - Miami, USA
Thursday 22nd November 2007

Hard to leave the Bahamas with weather like this - only a short hop back to the US though - 1 hour 30 flying or so.

Crossing the US "ADIZ" - the military protection zone, you must call on VHF and identify what you're up to, and get assigned a transponder code for customs.

First sight of the USA again, approaching the southern shores of Miami.

Video: First contact with Miami Approach, FL105, 50 miles east

Miami

Final approach and landing of the journey, landing 09L at Tamiami Kendall Airport.

First stop cussies for a small mountain of paperwork, explanations, stamps, and form-filing.

After a short transfer to MIA international, nice to have someone else worry about the flying for a change.

Here's the route map.

4250nm, 42.4 hours of flying

- 7800 kilometres and 14 days.

Thanks all for following along with the trip.

Email me at: coisabhainn@gmail.com

2007-11-23T11:44:00.001-05:00

Trip Day 12:
Hawk's Nest - Chub Cay, Berry Islands, Bahamas.
Wednesday 21st November

Getting close to the end of the trip now - just a short distance to travel today. So a bit less progress and a bit more relaxed flying - Bahamas style.

Started with a bit of low-level "fishing"

This is a private island owned by the Cruise ship parked in the bay. And its a girls-only holiday, if you get the drift. So well worth a sifty "low-and-slow" over the beach.

Some of the scenery is pretty amazing, this is just an incredible view (not as nice as the beach above though)

Over Nassau - the huge Atlantis resort.

Some in flight video from over Nassau Airport, Bahamas.

Back at Chub Cay in the Berry Islands.

Downwind for a low pass, to get transport from the airport you need to buzz the hotel first.

A rare 'wind down the runway' landing so time for a photo.

2007-11-23T11:23:00.000-05:00

Trip Day 11:
Provo, Turks and Caicos - Cat Island, Bahamas
Tuesday 20th November

Standard breakfast drill - get the maps out, pick a place to go, book a hotel, and head for the airport.

Then fuel, customs, and flight plan ... and away.

En-route back for the Bahamas.

This little island had a runway that looked to be just beside the beach so worth a closer look.

And on the ground a few minutes later.

They aren't big into removing crashed aircraft from the scene here.

Often on approach you spot a few that didn't quite manage it which does make you concentrate a little harder.

Low level inspection of the beaches.

Today destination, Hawk's Nest, Cat Island in the Bahamas. Perfect for flying into, beach, runway, and room all within about 20 yards of each other.

Another approach over the sea - the crosswinds make you work fairly hard to get the thing on the ground, full rudder for most of this one.

2007-11-23T10:55:00.000-05:00

Trip Day 10:
Mercedita, Puerto Rico - Provo, Turks and Caicos Islands
Monday 19th November

Another fairly heavy day ahead today, trying to make some progress north.

Great experience so far in Puerto Rico, the friendliest people I've met.

Airborne just before 8am, its already 29 degrees C, and with full fuel climbing is a slow process.

Weather is a big factor today. Satellite shows a disturbance over the sea between Puerto Rico and the Dominican R., but there is no current info available for the airports there, so there is no way to tell where it ends.

About 90 minutes into the flight, and not happy. Have been forced about 40 miles south of track already and there is no sign of a gap to get north - blocked by a line of thunderstorms so far several hundred miles long.

Finally a clearance, straight into La Romana, on the southern coast of the Dominican Republic for fuel.

Expensive mistake. On top of the fuel cost, US$100 for 20 minutes parking.

Crossing the Dominican coast northbound, back over open ocean again for a few hours.

Approaching Turks and Caicos - solid overcast for a while - theres an island under there somewhere.

And land again ... always a relief.

Another airport, another visit to customs and immigration - on the ramp in Providenciales.

2007-11-19T19:11:00.000-05:00

Trip Day 9:
Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies - Mercedita, Puerto Rico
Sunday 18th November

Checking in at St Maarten - the bigger the airport, the harder it is to get out to your airplane. This place was the worst yet.

Airborne St Maarten - they call it the Friendly Island. Yeah Right!

A little while later, passing the Virgin Islands. Not unlike Skerries, eh Finto.

Turning downwind for Vieques, first stop in Puerto Rico.

No fuel in Vieques, so a short hop across to Fajardo - this is Roosevelt Roads apparently 'secret' US airbase - now closed.

Fajardo. Here's where the fun started.

Passengers No.1 and 2.

No money changed hands, of course, because that would be illegal ...

25 minutes later, on final for St Thomas, in the US Virgin islands.

And back to Fajardo.

Airborne Fajardo (again), heading south-west for Mercedita airport, southern Puerto Rico.

This is not the runway at Mercedita (as I discovered on short final into the sun)

This, is.

Managed to get into town before the streets were blocked off, they are celebrating the switching on of the Christmas lights.

Not much of a photo but you get the idea ... off for a big fat steak, its been a huge day ...

2007-11-19T17:47:00.000-05:00

Trip Day 8:
Bequia, St. Vincent - Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies
Saturday 17th November

About 15 minutes after departure from Bequia, heading north destination St Maarten this morning - plenty of weather avoiding again on the way out.

On the ground Martinique for fuel, had to hold over the ocean for about 20 minutes waiting for a squall line to pass the field

Airborne and looking back at Martinique - next shower on the way. The weather has been making flying hard work the last few days.

Passing some island somewhere, 195 miles to St Maarten.

Finally some clear skies en route to St Maarten - seat belts off, seat back, feet up. Makes a really nice change not to have to constantly watch fuel and diversion options.

On the beach St Maarten, you can swim just beside the runway and watch the jets come over the top, feckin loud though.

Particularly from a 172 SP - its a beast!

2007-11-18T06:43:00.000-05:00

Trip Day 7:
Tobago - Trinidad - Paria, Venezuela - Bequia, St. Vincent
Friday 16th November

Crown Point Tower, Tobago.

Looked like a different airport this morning, still a few CB's hanging around but much friendlier looking skies.

First stop Piarco, Trinidad, for fuel.

The Tobago controller arranged a visit for me to Piarco tower, as I was keen to have a look and find out something about crossing into Venezuelan airspace. Piarco controls a large part of the Atlantic Ocean, the tower is pretty busy too.

Ready to go. Landing in Venezuela was out of the question, insurance wouldn't cover it, but I was hoping to get a good look from the air.

The controller laughed when I suggested a recce along the coast.
Keywords: F-16, uninvited visitors, shot down. Decisions ...

Climbing out of Piarco - Port of Spain, Trinidad, on the right.

OK here we go. First sight of the coastline - South America.

The tip of the Paria Peninsula, north east Venezuela.

No F-16's yet.

This, they say, is where Colombus first sighted South America when he sailed in here on his third voyage in 1498.

Right, that'll do, next waypoint ... heading for Point Salines, Grenada. More thunderstorms ahead.

An hour of 'cell-weaving' later, passing Point Salines, and getting close to the destination, Bequia in the Grenadines.

So I've discovered a new class of Airpspace that you don't get taught in flight school.

Class H, for Horseshit - IFR and VFR permitted, radio mandatory so they can feed it to you by the bucketload.

"Any CB's in the vicinity?" - "Negative, no weather"

"Any traffic?" - "Negative, not in your position" (As you whistle past a twin 100 feet below)

This was one of the trickiest approaches I've had.

The runway is out over the sea, Madeira style, theres a hill range to the west which means you have a curved final and are still turning crossing the threshold, and then a wall of rain approaching from the east. Nice!

Literally about 90 seconds after landing, and a sprint to the terminal.

Bequia is a tiny Island, pop 6000, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Accomodation was in the Prime Ministers house.

2007-11-17T16:50:00.000-05:00

Trip Day 6:
Nevis, St. Kitts and Nevis - Tobago, West Indies
Thursday 15th November

Breakfast time, Nevis.

Passing Montserrat mid-morning. The island was munted by a volcano a few years ago; the airport used to be on this side of the island but was totally destroyed.

Le Raizet Airport, Guadeloupe.

Airborne again, this time passing the French Island of Martinique

Lunch is served, 9500' over St Lucia.

Mid afternoon abeam Saint Vincent and crossing 13 North, the weather is gradually packing in.

About 80 miles out of Tobago, and its looking pretty ominous. Alternate Piarco, 40 miles south west, is the only other option to avoid having to fly all the way back up to Grenada, so watching the fuel pretty carefully.

10 miles off the Tobago coast. Hearing Virgin 51 on the ground at Tobago delay the push-back because of some "nasty cells" in the Thunderstorm passing is not helping.

TTCP SPECI 151943Z 13013KT 0700M TSRA FEW008CB BKN012 OVC080 25/23 Q1011

There's a runway underneath there somewhere.

Virgin 51 still holding.

Once again, a welcome beer at the bar; a stormy night in Tobago.

Air Distance - 485 Nautical Miles, 900 km : Dep Nevis 10:55 Arr Tobago 15:50

2007-11-14T21:25:00.001-05:00

Trip Day 5:
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - Nevis, St. Kitts and Nevis
Wednesday 14th November

After a nice two-day 'layover' at Punta Cana, left this morning for Day 5. Wasn't sure where I was heading for, but maybe St Kitts and Nevis, about 600km east of here.

About 50 minutes east of the Dominican Republic, first view of Puerto Rico, this is Borinquen on the North West coast of the island.

San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Passing overhead St Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

About 5 miles inbound to Beef Island, Tortola, British West Indies.

Airborne British Virgin Islands, after customs, immigration, lunch, and fuel.

About an hour later, the island of Saba, officially part of the Netherlands.

Saba officially has the shortest commercial runway in the world, 400 metres.

This American Eagle ATR was out of St Kitts, and after some avoiding action on both our parts, he passed off to the right. Called me later on 123.45 to tell me I was nearly their "underwear". Yep it was close-ish.

Approaching Nevis Island, West Indies.

At the hotel - Nesbit Plantation, Nevis. Amazing place.

2007-11-13T22:47:00.001-05:00

Trip Day 3 - Monday 12th November
Staniel Cay, Bahamas - Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

This always looked like the toughest leg on the map. All of the 1100 km or so is over water, and the majority is well outside gliding distance to anything but the crash site.

What was unexpected is no radar, and no radio coverage for the first half of the journey. Deep inside Miami Oceanic Airspace but nothing on any of the frequencies listed except static; you become well aware that you are deep inside the Bermuda Triangle.

The second half, the bit over deep ocean, was the most challenging, due to a big weather system sitting north of the Dominican Republic. Deviation well off track to the west took me into the Haiti FIR

Early afternoon, the first glimpse of the northern coastline of the Dominican Republic was a welcome relief.

Scud run above the Dominican rainforest

Hurricane Noel passed through here last week, a lot of the country is still underwater

Short final for Punta Cana

On the ground at last, Punta Cana

Air Distance - 585 Nautical Miles :
Dep 07:50 Arr Punta Cana 16:45

2007-11-13T12:42:00.000-05:00

Trip Day 2 - Sunday 11th November
BAHAMAS - Chub Cay - Eleuthera - Normans Cay - Staniel Cay ; 2.8 hours

First view of the Exuma Islands, a string of tiny cays a hundred miles long, in the middle of the Bahamas.

A random deserted island.

Normans Cay

Landing at Normans Cay, a tiny speck of an Island, 210 miles off the Florida coast, that was taken over (by scaring off the locals) for a few years in the 80's by an enterprising Colombian, who set it up as a refuelling point for his fleet of aircraft giving him access to the US from Colombia. Any unwanted visitors were politely moved on with dobermans and machine guns. Pretty much deserted these days.

This used to be a DC-3, botched up a night arrival into Normans Cay.

On the house deck at Staniel Cay

Rented a boat and motored out to a wee deserted island thinking I'd have it to myself, these little f^&ckers were having none of it, the speed at which they raced over was freaky. I didn't stay.

2007-11-11T22:36:00.000-05:00

Trip Day 1 - Saturday 10th November
Miami, USA - Chub Cay, Bahamas ; Flying time 3 hours

On the ground at Miami Kendall, bags packed, beers on board, ready to go.

Airborne, passing Miami Beach, and realising I forgot to visit Customs and Immigration before I left. Hmm.

About an hour later, first sight of the Bahamas - this is the western end of Grand Bahama island.

Downwind for Chub Cay, Berry Islands, Bahamas

The Chub Cay resort was literally deserted, its off season here, upside: whole place to myself, downside: whole place to myself.

The plan ...

2007-10-08T06:07:00.000-04:00

Here's the background to the trip:

I have two weeks off from studying in the US in November, and the plan is to rent a light aircraft, a Cessna 172 SP, and try and take it through the Caribbean, to South America, and back again.

On paper, it looks easy. In practice, well ... I'm not so sure. Its a lot of water and there are a lot of sharks. I've set this page up to post a few photos and comments about the trip as I go.

You can email me at coisabhainn@gmail.com