There’s a boating boom in the Bahamas, at least there was for the first quarter of this year, when arrivals at marinas there were up a whopping 60 percent over the same time last year. And marina operators throughout the island chain are predicting that the boom will continue. “The prospects for boating to the Bahamas look excellent for 2018,” Stephen Kappeler, president of the Association of Bahamas Marinas, told the newspaper Tribune 242.
Marina operators say there are several reasons for the boom. Boat sales are up and former boat owners have received settlements for boats lost in last year’s hurricanes. Also, a new U.S. Customs facility has opened in Stuart, the exit point for boats coming across the Okeechobee from the west coast of Florida, making it easier for them to continue to the Bahamas.
Since the hurricanes, boat sales were up at the big Fort Lauderdale, Miami and more recent Palm Beach boat shows, and nationally sales of new powerboats were up 6 percent last year, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. “Boat owners with new boats need somewhere to go,” says Peter Maury, who runs the Bay Street Marina in Nassau (pictured above). His marina had a 15 percent increase in arrivals last quarter. The Flying Fish Marina on Long Island had a 20 percent increase in bookings and has had to turn boats away. Read more:
http://www.tribune242.com/news/2018/mar/28/marinas-enjoy-arrivals-increases-of-up-to-60/
