The Nassau Guardian

The Nassau Guardian

Gulfstream Airlines planning Bahamas route expansion

JAMMAL SMITH NG Business Reporter jammal@nasguard.com Published: Jun 15, 2011 Share This: Rate this article: Add To Favourite Subscribe for: Mobile Alert News Alert After filing for bankruptcy and subsequently going through a restructuring exercise, Gulfstream Airlines has its eyes set on a 50 percent increase in flights into The Bahamas starting this fall, according to the company’s new CEO. Darrell Richardson said the Florida-based carrier is refocusing its efforts, with a “Take back The Bahamas” campaign in the works. “We have boots on the ground there every day," Richardson said. “Our goal is to make every resort in The Bahamas a sales agent for our company.” The airline is reportedly working on expanding its fleet, and is currently in negotiations with three aircraft makers to acquire 10 turboprop aircraft that seat up to 45 individuals. Its current aircraft do not have lavatories and are too small to accommodate flight attendants. The company isn’t planning on relaunching its routes back into Nassau, saying increased competition in the capital will not make it the best avenue for expansion. It will continue to work on its current Family Island services, which include Andros, Freeport, Treasure Cay, Marsh Harbour, North Eleuthera, Governor’s Harbour, George Town and Bimini. The intended resurgence of Gulfstream comes after it experienced some turbulence last year, when the airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to restructure its debt and secure long-term financing. Up to $5 million in debtor-in possession financing was arranged with Chicago-based asset-management company Victory Park Capital Advisors. Former CEO David Hackett said at the time that economic challenges influenced the decision to file for bankruptcy. "The impact of our borrowing in the last several years to cope with consistently high fuel costs, and the economic impact of declining traffic, made it too difficult for the company to continue to meet its debt repayment needs," Hackett said at the time. The flight carrier also faced harsh penalties with the Federal Aviation Administration in 2009, as the authority was seeking $1.3 million in civil penalties from Gulfstream for violating rules on pilots’ and dispatchers’ work hour limits and not maintaining equipment properly. Gulfstream offers over 150 daily flights to 18 destinations in Florida and The Bahamas.

thebahamasweekly.com - NEMA partially activated due to possible tornado activity

thebahamasweekly.com - NEMA partially activated due to possible tornado activity

Tornado warning extended for Central Andros

3.30pm - Thunderstorm warnings have been discontinued by Bahamas Department of Meteorology as radar and satellite data indicated the intensity of thunderstorms had diminished at 2.20pm. Scattered showers and thunderstorms can still be expected and people are advised to go about their normal business but remain vigilant.

3pm - There has been confirmed tornado activity in the East Street South area. Some trees were snapped at the base, minor roof damage was done to at least one house, some fences were ripped apart and leaves and plants were scattered across lawns and yards.

There have also been unconfirmed reports of a tornado touching down in the Gladstone Road area as the system moved west, but no information is available on that at this time.

At 3pm the Bahamas Department of Meteorology extended a severe thunderstorm warning to Central Andros and surrounding waters until 4:30pm. At 2:30pm radar and satellite data indicated a cluster of thunderstorms from Fresh Creek South to Behring Point.

Some of the thunderstorms were expected to be severe at times causing strong, gusty winds, dangerous lightning, heavy showers and possible tornadic activity.

Residents in the warning area were being advised to stay indoors and away from windows until conditions improve.

1:30pm – The Bahamas Department of Meteorology has just issued a tornado warning for the island of New Providence and reports reaching The Tribune newsroom indicate that a tornado may have touched down in a residential area off East Street South. The extent of the damage done is not known at this time and the Met Office has not yet confirmed that this was indeed tornadic activity.

At 1:20 radar and satellite data indicated an organised cluster of embedded thunderstorms and heavy showers moving westwards across New Providence.

Some of these storms can be severe at times, causing strong, gusty winds, funnel clouds, tornadic activity, possible hail, dangerous lightning and heavy rain showers.

Residents of New Providence are being advised to stay indoors and away from windows during these thunderstorms. Mariners should seek safe harbour until the weather subsides.
http://www.tribune242.com/news/06152011_tornado_newsSource: 

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CANOE Travel - The Caribbean - Absolute serenity in the Bahamas

CANOE Travel - The Caribbean - Absolute serenity in the Bahamas

By Steve MacNaull, Special to QMI Agency

Ranked best in the Bahamas, if not the whole Caribbean, Pink Sands Beach on Harbour Island runs the entire 5-km east coast of the island. (STEVE MACNAULL/Special to QMI Agency)

There's nothing to do on pretty little Harbour Island in the Bahamas.

And that's exactly why residents and tourists like it.

Or rather love it.

The 2,000 full-time residents are a happy bunch, waving at every passerby and more-than-willing to extoll the virtues of this 5-km long by 1-km wide slice of tropical paradise just off the coast of North Eleuthera.

And 98% of the tourists on the island are repeat visitors.

That means my wife and I, who visited for five days as Harbour Island newbies, are more than likely to be back.

"Harbour Island can be whatever you want it to be," Coral Sands Resort manager Pamela Barry explains to me while we're staying there at a stunning oceanfront cottage.

"Sure, we have guests who hole up in their cottage and venture no farther than the beach."

And what a beach it is.

Consistently ranked the best in the Bahamas, if not the Caribbean, Pink Sands Beach is a wide swath of powdery eye candy that runs the entire length of the east coast of the island.

And the 39-room Coral Sands holds pride of place right smack dab in the middle.

If you're not careful, you'll find yourself gushing about the pink-hued sand's texture and the way it reflects light when covered by the shallow gin-clear waters and light green and turquoise when submerged under deeper water.

The odd cloud isn't a problem in the almost violet sky, But Barry also has suggestions for getting out and about, if so inclined.

With a golf cart for novelty transportation - even though there isn't a golf course on Harbour Island - there are a bunch of things to see and do, none of them heart-thumping or monumental, but all of them memorable and life changing in their own little way.

There's coffee and breakfast to be eaten at Arthur's Bakery, an island institution for it's famous cinnamon buns.

Necessities have to be picked up at Bristol's liquor store (some native Kalik beer and Chilean white wine, perhaps) and the Piggley Wiggley grocer.

Shopping runs the gamut from affordable souvenirs at Dilly Dally (easy to find with all the arrow signs declaring "Dilly Dally up dere") to trendy at ex-model and Princess Diana's bridesmaid India Hick's boutique The Sugar Mill on the main street.

Speaking of the main street, it's called Bay Street and it's one of only a dozen streets on the whole island.

You can't get lost walking or driving your golf cart on Harbour Island because every street eventually leads to where you're going, even if it's via the opposite direction after hitting a dead end.

Harbour Island isn't the bragging sort of place, but it is home to the most photographed place in the Bahamas, the oldest nightclub in the Bahamas and the Cheeseburger in Paradise.

The cheeseburger is rustled up by Ma Ruby, the 77-year-old matriarch at the restaurant of the same name that served Jimmy Buffet and inspired his hit Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Vic-Hum Club has been in business for 56 consecutive years and is the quintessential island dive bar with rusting car licence plate decor and an outdoor dance floor.

The most photographed place is the Lone Tree, a.k.a the Model Tree, at Girl's Bank - a shallow water bay.

The giant piece of driftwood was somehow planted there upright in 1992 by hurricane Andrew and almost immediately photographers and their models - from honeymooning couples to the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue - came a snapping.

The highest our heart rates get is from strolling along the beach and taking Valentine's Marina's snorkel tour to nearby Man Island to drift over coral heads with colourful triggerfish, tangs, parrotfish and the odd sea turtle, stingray and barracuda.

It's not a holiday if you don't gain a couple of pounds.

Easy enough to do at the Coral Sands lunch terrace overlooking the beach and ocean; its nighttime dining room; the restaurant at Runaway Hill (the little inn owned by ex-Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers hockey star Mark Messier); and the two-tier verandah restaurant at Rock House Hotel, considered to be the best on the island.

Island specialties tend to be snapper and grouper fish, done a variety of ways from gently sauteed to blackened.

Some 25% of Canadians who visit the Bahamas now do so in the summer.

With it no longer just a winter destination, Air Canada and WestJet continue daily non-stop Toronto-Nassau flights year-round.

Harbour Island is a short flight via North Eleuthera or ferry ride from Nassau.

Overnight rates at the Coral Sands Resort start at $250 US for a hotel room, $600 US for an oceanfront cottage.

On the web:

HarbourIslandGuide.com