diamondaviators.net

Thanks, Dave...

Glad to hear another plug for Dominica... it's the island I'm most looking forward to experiencing (and we have 3 nights there, our longest stay in one place). Also pleased that the weather in the region should be mostly tame in January... as you note, getting from the West Coast to Florida will likely be the interesting weather challenge.

And the Flight Levels... this will be only my third time in them... once in Cuba (FL030) and last month over Mammoth (FL200; Density Altitude 21,600') testing out the Supercharger .

Thanks again, and Happy New Year!
Wayne

Hello from the local guy! Come to see us in MYNN/Nassau, Bahamas. FBO Odyssey.
Tips: agree with all above. St.Barts (and TVSM Mustique) needs special permit.
Bahamas: MYES. MYEH with Harbour Island, MYCB with Fernandez Bay Resort.
Haiti: MTCH Cap Haitien, better and safer than capital MTPP
Dominican Rep: MDCY with resort town Las Terrenas
Nevis TKPN, nice resort close to airport
Dominica TDPD better service/hours and easier to land (wind!) than TDCF. Stay at Poz, 20 min from airport
St Lucia TLPL, a must-see
St.Vincent: Canouan TVSC
Some countries insist on CARICOM Apis, before you go. Otherwise, no prior approvals needed.

Hallo, Wolfgang... Gruss Gott! (ich hab' einige Jahren ausserhalb Wiesbaden gewohnt... und viel wichtiger, hab' auch deine Videos genossen)

At present we have the following overnights planned (#nights): South Caicos (1), Virgin Gorda (2), Dominica/Roseau (3), Nevis (2), and Exuma (1). We'll of course divert to land TDPD if necessary... but is Roseau an acceptable place for us to stay (safe, clean enough) as we have an AirBnB booked in Roseau already??

We have a CARICOM account and have prepared manifests and GenDecs. We'll check on which ones need advanced notice (assume they do until we confirm otherwise).

If things change and we find ourselves in Nassau, I'll most definitely look you up!

Many thanks for the local insight into all this!!
Tschuss!
Wayne

Hallo Wayne, was für eine Überraschung! Auf Deutsch! You'll enjoy your trip. Let me know if you need more. Roseau should be fine, the higher up the hill (towards the waterfalls), the nicer/better the area. We'll wait for your travel reports!

...and maybe one general travel tip: I avoid making hotel or AirbnB reservations ahead of time. A $200 deposit should never ever be in the way of making the right decision for meteorology or some mechanical issue, even in the subconscience ....

Wolfgang... thanks, I agree about avoiding advanced booking... but my non-pilot friend who's on the trip and assigned to "research" lodging got a bit overeager and indeed booked some. If weather or mechanical issues arise, we will certainly not hesitate to divert/delay and forego any lodging deposits.
Bis nachher,
Wayne

Hi Wayne,

I agree with Wolfgang, St.Lucia is a must see.

On another trip also consider Cayman Islands and Seven Mile beach. In my opinion, one of the nicest islands and safe.

Nigel

Nigel, St. Lucia and Caymans added to my wish list... thanks!
Wayne

Wayne,
I thoroughly enjoyed your YouTube series to the Caribbean. I did not find if you mentioned your weight and balances. I imagine with 3 men, a life raft, and clothes and gear for a couple of weeks that this took a lot of planning also. Can you share how you budgeted personal gear/clothing, emergency gear and weight?
Your adventure is so inspiring.
Thank you for sharing.
Stephen

Stephen, thanks for the kind words. Very pleased that you enjoyed the videos.

I love the planning and post-trip review just as much as the touring itself, so I'm happy to relive it again and address any and all questions the DAN group might have. Much of our planning was around this multi-tab spreadsheet:
http://bit.ly/wam-carib-spreadsheet

Some thoughts:
-- most things we brought aboard are noted on the "Actions" tab of the spreadsheet
-- indeed, with 3 adults we were most always within a couple hundred pounds of MTOW
-- one reason to stay in an AirBnB home/apartment at each location is that we knew we'd almost always have a clothes washer/dryer and therefore our limit of 15#/person for personal gear was doable
-- our life raft (rented at KFPR) was pretty light at ~15#; we also had PFBs, sat phone, a few tools, alum O2 tank all of which are pretty light
-- (this is key) most all legs were 2.5 to 3.5 hours at decent altitude (>10K' overwater), LOP, so we weren't flying close to full tanks; after 2000 hours in the plane I'm able to predict fuel burn very well and always land with 8-to-10 gals reserve
-- the "Daily" tab on the spreadsheet gives an example of how I plan out time and fuel usage for each day
-- BTW: the Supercharger installed last year is pretty much a wash on fuel consumption (climbs to cruise sooner and faster; cruises a bit faster; consumes ~10% more fuel/hour but you're in the air ~10% fewer hours)

As you note, it took solid planning and self-discipline to make it work. The Caribbean tour was the 3rd ~8000 mile round-trip journey that we've made together (previously Cuba/Central America in 2016 and Colombia/Central America in 2018)... so each of us three knows what's expected.

Stephen, does that give a feel of how the trip was put together? Any questions, comments, thoughts?
Again, thanks for your interest... we have a GREAT aircraft that loves to tour.
All the best,
Wayne