April 6, 2013 - Waycross, GA to Ft. Pierce, FL to Marsh Harbor, Great Abaco, Bahamas

Waycross is located on the northern side of the great Okefenokee Swamp .   I've flown around or over it a couple of times but now seemed like a good time to really check it out from the air.  So we took off from Waycross and headed southeast.   There wasn't a whole lot to see.  It looked pretty much like a forest in a flooded area.  We did not see any alligators. 
 
After awhile we ran into the Swanee River.  We think. 
 
After awhile, we had seen enough of the Okefenoke Swamp, so we climbed and headed southeast.   Soon we could see the Jacksonville skyline to the north, and Cecil Field, which used to be a big Navy F-18 base.  Both Jack and I lived in Orange Park at various times.   We came to the St. John's River, longest river in Florida, and followed it south for awhile at 500 feet. 
 
Leaving the river, we cut over to the Atlantic coast. 
 
Cruising down the Flordia east coast. 
 
Now that's a nice golf course!
 
Not sure why I took this picture but it came out good with the morning sun reflecting on the ocean surf. 
 

One of the long-standing items on my flying "bucket list" has been to make a low pass down the NASA shuttle landing facility (KTTS).  Yes, this is the runway the Space Shuttles landed on.  It's a monster:  15,000 feet long.  Supposedly it's 300 feet wide -- the length of a football field -- but it doesn't look like that to me, although it is wide.  It has a control tower. 

They allow low-passes down the runway although you are not allowed to land or touch-and-go.  The control tower is not open on weekends so you use the tower frequency as a Unicom.  Another RV was about to begin their pass from the south when we arrived in the vicinity, so I just orbited to the north until the other RV was clear.  There is restricted airspace to the east, but as long as you stay over the runway you are clear.   The other RV called clear and I saw him climbing out to the northwest so I headed in. 

 

Yeah, I think I could get the RV down on this runway OK. 

 
There's the control tower to the left with the massive Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to the right. 
 
After leaving the runway, I looked down and saw the big Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.  I visited here back in the 90's.   See the big Saturn Five rocket laying on its side at the right of the picture?  It's as big as a World War II Destroyer. 
 
Cocoa Beach, where my sister used to live, is off to the left. 
 
Interesting terrain. 
 
On long final for St. Lucie County International Airport (KFPR).  Everyone calls it Ft. Pierce though.  It has a control tower so I was talking with them.  I believe it is on the "sequestration" list.  Notice the runway to the left.  Although remote, it is part of the airport and the tower controls it.  I think it is used for planes practicing takeoffs and landings.   I had read this airport is a great jump-off point before heading out over the water to the Bahamas. 
 
The FBO at Ft. Pierce is APP JetCenter.   The Customs and Immigration building is right next door, to the right.   The FBO rents liferafts, so I had called up a few weeks ago and reserved one.  After picking up the liferaft, we had a good breakfast at the "Tiki" restaurant which is right next to the FBO counter.   Despite having a capacity for four people and a cover, the liferaft package was surprisingly small:  about 1 1/2' by 1' and four inches deep.  You can hold it in your lap.   In the FBO building, I took one last look at the weather, then called up Flight Service and filed my international flight plan.  I had filed my online eAPIS form the night before. 
 
Plane is fueled.  International flight plan filed.  Liftraft onboard.  Lifevests donned.  Aircraft is pre-flighted.  All systems are go.  We are ready to fly over the ocean. 
 
Co-pilot looks pretty calm. 
 
The liferaft -- in red case -- is right at hand in case it is needed. 
 
After takeoff, I activated the flight plan with Miami Radio, and headed south down the coast, climbing all the way.   This part of Florida is pretty scenic. 
 
This is it!  Turning east.  Going feet wet.
 
Here we go!
 
There's a lot of blue water down there under those puffy clouds. 
 
 
The Co-pilot is closely monitoring ...  the glove compartment. 
 
It wasn't too long after leaving the coast that we started seeing shallow aqua-blue water. 
 
The west end of Grand Bahamas island.  With the RV's speed, we really weren't out of sight of land for very long: 15 minutes or so.   
 
We were both stunned by the beauty of the water. 
 
The city of Freeport is underneath those clouds. 
 
The east half of Grand Bahama island is pretty barren.  It looks like they built roads for a housing development that never happened.  Either that or those are writings made by aliens from outer space long ago. 
 
Great Abaco was just on the other side of Grand Bahama Island.  We crossed over Great Abaco to check out Great Guana Cay on the other side which is where we would be staying.  Here is the northwest tip of Great Guana Cay looking southeast.  There's a golf course on the north tip. 
 
A good shot of Great Guana Cay.
 
Our hotel -- Grabbers -- is at the lower right of the picture, bay side.  Jack and I walked most of that beach the next morning. 
 
Spoil Bank Cay which looks like someone's private island. 
 
Marsh Harbor on Great Abaco.  Marsh Harbor airport is inland, and not in the picture.   
 
Marsh Harbor (MYAM) airport dead ahead. 
 
On left downwind for landing at Marsh Harbor airport.   The Unicom frequency was 122.8 -- as were most of the Bahamian airports.  There was a surprising amount of traffic at this airport when we came in. 
 
Safe on deck.  The RV is unloaded and tied down.   To keep my elevator, ailerons and rudder from flapping around, I'm using the "Gust Buster" system I bought at Oshkosh.  It uses springs and bungy cords to give a "shock absorber" effect.   It worked great the entire trip, although we didn't really experience heavy winds at night the entire trip.  The tie-down kit and the canopy cover are mission-essential pieces of equipment for cross-country trips like this, of course. 
 
Another RV was tied down on the ramp. 
 
Once we got the plane tied down, the next step was to go through Bahamian customs and immIgration.  Almost all of the Bahamian airports we would land at on this trip had a customer and immigration office.  But they were all hassle-free and only took a few minutes.  Of course, we had the required paperwork like passports and general declarations (gendec) forms.   Still, they obviously welcome tourists and have a no-hassle policy.    The FBO, Cherokee Aviation, was very good. 
 
 
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