Richard Treco (left), marketing manager for the Bahamas Tourist Office and Earl Miller (right), general manager, present a Bahamas boating chart to Kevin Quirk, vice president of Marina Operations for LXR Luxury Marinas in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The chart will assist marina users in making their way safely to The Islands of The Bahamas.
FT. LAUDERDALE — The Ministry of Tourism continues to work to get boaters visiting the Islands of The Bahamas, leading flotillas of private boats to various Bahamian destinations throughout the summer.
Richard Treco, marketing manager in the Bahamas Tourist Office in Plantation, Florida, said Florida has a very large population of boat owners. However, the vast majority of them have never ventured into the Intercoastal Waterway – a 3,000 mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States.
Since, the open waters between Florida and The Bahamas can be intimidating to inexperienced boaters, the Ministry of Tourism initiated its flotillas, known as boating flings, to assist boaters in the journey. The flings leave from various Florida marinas for scheduled visits to Bahamian islands, Mr. Treco said.
“We came up with this concept to show people how to do it, to navigate the hazards like coming into the channel and things of that nature. We found that as we were taking people over, the word started to spread and (more) people started to come,” he said. “They come for the first time and then all of the sudden they start bringing their friends with their boats. Now it has mushroomed. So most of the boaters you see going to Bimini and Grand Bahama and the Abaco, they came with us one time before and it is just a good way to show them how to do it.”
At their peak, Mr. Treco noted, the Ministry of Tourism conducted nine boating flings per year. However, economic circumstances caused the number to be slightly reduced.
“Because of the economy, with the fuel prices being up and down, we only run six right now,” he said. “We start them off in June, from June 6 to the end of July. We run four to Bimini. We run two to Grand Bahama and then we always do a 10-day trip in which we go island hopping. So we also extend them down to the more southern islands of The Bahamas.
Mr. Treco said the flings have won devoted boaters for The Bahamas. Some boaters take part in the trips every year while others use information from the Ministyr of Toruism to make frequent trips to The Bahamas.
The Ministry of Tourism provides Florida marinas with boating charts and GPS coordinates that make it easy for boaters to make their way to the Bahamian destination of their choice.
