Category Archives: Bahamas

To mark the 40th anniversary of the South Atlantic conflict, the Bahamas Locomotive Society agreed to have flagship locomotive, LMS Jubilee No. 45596 Bahamas, renamed and renumbered to 45606 Falkland Islands.

The original 45606 was built in 1935 but was scrapped in 1965.

The naming ceremony took place on Thursday 22nd September 2022 at Swanage station on the Swanage heritage railway.

The locomotive had earlier that day arrived at the Swanage Railway with a Railway Touring Company tour from London Victoria.

During the break at Swanage, the newly cast nameplates, which came from the original, were unveiled on the platform.

Following the ceremony, the locomotive hauled the tour back to London Victoria and it is hoped that the locomotive will carry the nameplates until it returns north.

Once the locomotive has hauled the Railway Touring Company tour on the 11th November, 45596 will return to its usual identity and the nameplates will be donated for auction for a Charity fundraiser.

Keith Whitmore, Chairman of Bahamas Locomotive Society said We are delighted to be able to facilitate a commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands conflict and to remember the fallen on both sides of the conflict. We have never before allowed 45596 Bahamas to change identity, but we consider it really important to remember the fallen along with the veterans from this conflict, as a one-off our loco will carry the identity of long scrapped sister LMS Jubilee Class locomotive 45606 Falkland Islands.

Originally posted here:

45596 Bahamas: Jubilee steam locomotive renamed at Swanage for anniversary of South Atlantic conflict - RailAdvent - Railway News

ANDROS, BAHAMAS: After impulsively deciding to buy an old, rundown hotel in Andros, Bahamas, everything turned upside down for the Baeumlers. Bryan and Sarah Baeumler transplanted their whole family from their cushy life in Canada to embark on the "adventure of a lifetime". The couple constantly kept reminding the audience of their HGTV show 'Renovation Island' about how they 'risked everything' to take on this adventure.

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'Renovation Island' fans watched in anticipation as the Baeumlers fought against ever-growing budgets, deadlines, a global pandemic, and even a hurricane, to convert the abandoned property that they invested all their money in into a luxury tourist hotspot- Caerula Mar Club Resort. Now that the resort is finally open to guests and operating smoothly, the Baeumlers decided to move their home base to Florida. As they juggled between Florida and the Bahamas, Bryan and Sarah couldn't help but sit down and have a serious discussion about their future and plans for the resort. The Baeumlers always knew that they wanted to grow and expand their business, so when they came across a project in Salt Lake City, Utah, the couple got immediately excited.

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But the reality of juggling between their Florida home, running the Bahamas resort, and taking on an ambitious new project weighed them down. The recently aired episode of the HGTV show featured Bryan and Sarah discussing some hard-hitting topics such as whether they should sell the resort or bring on a new partner, or even move back to the Bahamas which felt like home to them.

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The couple dwelled upon how while they were still trying to settle down in their new Florida home, whenever they came to their resort they couldn't help but feel like it was their home. Sarah also pointed out how she wasn't yet done with the island life and the adventures. Later in the episode, Bryan and Sarah revealed that they received an offer from someone who was interested in acquiring the resort from them. While Bryan and Sarh prepared themselves to meet the mystery investor interested in the property, we couldn't help but wonder if Bryan and Sarah are still the owners of Caerula Mar Club Resort or if they sold it.

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As of September 2022, it looks like Bryan and Sarah still own the resort, and are continuing their nomadic lifestyle of juggling between their homes and running the resort. Despite briefly shutting down the resort during the pandemic, the couple is still going strong with their dreams of running the luxury resort and experiencing the "adventure of their lifetime".

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'Renovation Island' airs every Sunday at 9/8c on HGTV, and is available for streaming on Discovery+ and HGTV Go app.

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Do Bryan and Sarah Baeumler still own Caerula Mar Club Resort? 'Renovation Island' stars toy with the idea of - MEAWW

NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has announced the appointment of Sameer Bhatti to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

In a press statement from the company, BTC said that Bhatti will have overall responsibility for the companys operations across The Bahamas.

His appointment makes him the fifth person to occupy the role in the last five years, following past CEOs: Andr Foster, Garfield Garry Sinclair, Dexter Cartwright, and Leon Williams.

Inge Smidts, BTCs Board Chair, and Chief Executive Officer, described Bhatti as an experienced telecommunications executive with demonstrated success.

She continued: He is a visionary and analytical leader who possesses an unwavering commitment to building teams with integrity and excellence. We are happy to welcome him to BTC and we wish him much success.

Smidts is also the Chief Executive Officer of C&W Communications, the operator of the BTC brand.

The most recent stop on Bhattis resume was American-based telecommunications conglomerate Comcast, where he spent ten years as an executive in commercial and channel development roles.

Prior to that, he held senior positions at Juniper Networks and Verizon in the United States. Bhattis distinguished career spans three decades across sales, marketing, product management, private equity and consulting, strategic planning, channel development, performance analytics, go-to-market strategy, and customer engagement.

A Bahamian national, Bhatti holds a bachelors degree in Management Science and Statistics from the University of Maryland and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Duke University.

Of his appointment, Bhatti said: This is such an exciting time for our industry and for The Bahamas and I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to lead BTC.

The technological advances we are pursuing as a company will provide multiple avenues for growth and development across the country. I look forward to rising to the challenge and working with such a dedicated team.

View original post here:

BTC gets fifth CEO in as many years - EyeWitness News

45596 Bahamas will be back on the mainline this Thursday (22nd September) as it hauls a tour to Swanage.

Departing London Victoria at 08:45, the tour will pass through Clapham Junction (09:03), Staines (09:32), Woking (10:03), Winchfield (10:26), Basingstoke (10:48), Southampton Central (11:32), Millbrook (11:44), Beaulieu Road (12:12), Bournemouth (12:49), Wareham (13:12) and Swanage at 13:45.

A diesel will take the tour from Swanage, departing at 16:40 and passing through Wareham (17:16) and Bournemouth (17:45) before arriving into Southampton Central at 18:23.

The tour, now hauled by 45596 Bahamas again, will depart at 18:34 and will pass through Basingstoke (19:52), Brookwood (20:25), Woking (20:46), Staines (21:19), Brentford (21:43), Clapham Junction (22:04) and London Victoria at 22:19.

Want to be notified when these timings are confirmed? Become a RailAdvent Plus member today!

For full timings, please click here.

If you do go out and see 45596, why not sign up to LocoStop. This is our railway community, and allows you to share your photos from your adventures! Click hereto sign up.

As always, please respect the dangers of the railway. Please do not trespass on the railway to see this iconic locomotive stay to public access spots.

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Steam locomotive 45596 Bahamas to haul London to Swanage tour this Thursday - RailAdvent - Railway News

The golden marshes around Ossabaw Island, Georgia, offer a placid anchorage and a spectacular sunset. Leslie Davison

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Just as we stepped through the rusted, wrought-iron gates of St. Simons, Georgias so-called Strangers Cemetery, from hot daylight into a shadowy overgrown world of Spanish moss that dangled from the twisting branches of live oaks and wafted over eroding gravestones, we were startled by a ding from Jennys phone. Its message sent a quick chill down her spine: You have arrived at your destination.

Perfect chance had brought us to this spooky and wonderful place, though the journey began simply enough. Many weeks earlier, wed asked Lesleys cousin Scott Perrin, a veteran of several annual Intracoastal Waterway migrations between New England and Florida, for his favorite barbecue joint along the route.

Southern Soul, Scott said without hesitating, on St. Simons Island.

So when our friend Jenny Gifford flew to Savannah, Georgia, to join Lesley and me aboard Billy Pilgrim in Georgias Sea Islands for her Thanksgiving holiday, we built our wanderings around a visit to Southern Soul.

The Atlantic coast Sea Islands preserve constellations of microcultures spanning from the coastal Carolinas through northern Florida. Isolated within semipermeable borders, these communities are separated by swiftly moving tidal waters with such Muskogee and Creek names as Ogeechee, Wassaw, Ossabaw, Sapelo and Altamaha. Other rivers and sounds are named for European saints: Catherine, Simon, Andrew, Mary. Through this Lowcountry stretches a US National Heritage Area called the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, recognizing the speakers of the only distinctly African Creole language in the United States. All fall wed been looking forward to lingering a while among these islands.

As Lesley and I sailed south from Annapolis, Maryland, we eased ourselves from a jangly initial shakedown mode into a more satisfying cruising mode. Aboard Billy Pilgrim, a sweet rhythm evolved as we alternated between bursts of overnight doublehanded passagemaking off the coast, then longer stretches of daylight runs through the inside waterways, where wed anchor at night and spend time ashore. Our prior experience on the Jersey coast (see Ready or Not, Sailing Billy Pilgrim South, September) had shuffled our ongoing refit priorities, bumping new radar up to the top of the list. In our early fall migration from New England to the Chesapeake, wed been thrilled to sail from sweater weather back into swimming weather. But when we paused long enough in Annapolis to install the new radar, winter overtook us again. Ice on the deck let us know when wed dawdled too long.

So, on one of the first days in November, we bundled up and jumped on the back side of a fall cold front. With a clear three-day northwesterly gusting to 30 knots, we set the genoa and raced at hull speed over Chesapeake whitecaps with just two overnight stops, one on the Little Choptank River, the other in Deltaville, Virginia. Though the cold temperatures stayed with us as long as the front, we were excited to see other signs of our southbound progress. The Potomac River mouth, still some 60 miles inside Chesapeake Bay and straddling the Maryland-Virginia state line, gave us our first pelicans. The next morning, our first bottlenose porpoises joined us in Deltaville.

At Norfolk, we faced a navigational choice: sail out into the Atlantic Ocean to round Cape Hatteras offshore, or proceed inside the Intracoastal Waterway starting at mile zero? On the outside route, we reckoned that three days would take us to Charleston, South Carolina. By contrast, in the ICW, where shoaling and stumps rule out running at night, the same three days would get us only to Beaufort, North Carolina. As it happened, an offshore forecast with winds of gale and hurricane force for the next five days simplified our decision. Inside we went.

Here, again, we were excited to see the proof of our southbound progress. As we moved through Virginias North Landing River, bald cypress trees replaced maples and beeches, and through the Carolinas, palmettos proliferated. Approaching Beaufort from the Neuse River, we met our first majestic shrimp boats. Later that night, we savored the seasons first shrimp and gritsbut not before visiting the Royal James Cafe, one of the ICWs finest pool halls (in a cash-only Budweiser and Tom Petty kind of way).

Sailing offshore from Beaufort in a brisk but dying westerly, we made Charleston in another day and a half, a total of seven from Norfolk. We might have shaved off a day or more, but when the ICW started reminding Lesley of too many I-95 transits between Massachusetts and Florida, we took an off-ramp at Albemarle Sound and poked up the Scuppernong River to Columbia, North Carolina, to celebrate her birthday.

At Charleston, finally, we felt wed arrived in the South. We knew we could still experience chilly cold fronts, but theyd no longer bring certain snow and ice. We paused for a long weekend, availing ourselves of the citys Holy Spokes bike-share program, pedaling between our Ashley River anchorage and Charlestons South of Broad neighborhood, and enjoying the many delights of that charming city. Cruising friends Dave and Sandy Gillespie from the Tayana 42 Bel Canto introduced us to the Pour House on James Island, a live-music venue that would be my second home if I lived just a little closer.

As we moved on down the Stono, Edisto and Cooper rivers toward Georgia, the music of the place began to fill Billy Pilgrims saloon. We started with Ranky Tanky, a contemporary Sea Islands roots band featuring ecstatic horns and harmonies and an infectious bamboula beat. After they won the 2020 Grammy award for Best Regional Roots Music Album, trumpeter Charlton Singleton described the bands Gullah influences to an interviewer: It consists of a bunch of islands that stretch from right off the southern part of North Carolina in the Wilmington area, down the coast of South Carolina, down the coast of Georgia to the top of Florida. On these little islands you had descendants of former West African slaves. They maintained a lot of their customs, a lot of their beliefs, a lot of their ways oflife. The way they cooked, the way they worshiped at the church, the way they entertained themselves, the way they spokethey had a very unique language. And so in Ranky Tanky, we interpret a lot of those songs, a lot of those kids games. Now some examples of those songs would be songs that youve probably heard, like Kumbaya. When you see seagrass basket weavers, when you see little girls and boys playing patty-cake and theyre clapping on two and four, all of those things are uniquely Gullah.

Ranky Tanky was our gateway backward through time to the music of Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers, based out of St. Simons Island. Id first seen and heard them in footage from 1960s Newport Folk Festivals. Encouraged by anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston and folklorist Alan Lomax beginning in the 1950s, Bessie Jones and company brought Gullah music and games to audiences at Carnegie Hall, the Monterey Folk Festival, the Smithsonian Institution, and Jimmy Carters 1977 presidential inauguration.

In Thunderbolt, Georgia, near Savannah, Jenny Gifford joined us. With her, we ambled down the Skidaway River past the genteel porches of Isle of Hope and across the Moon River of Johnny Mercer fame. On some future passage through these islands, well pause to visit Wassaw Island, said to be the best example of what Georgias barrier islands looked like before Europeans arrived. A national wildlife refuge accessible only by boat, Wassaws forests were never cleared for cotton, cattle or timber.

Instead, we cruised down the Vernon River and up the Ogeechee through a wonderful marshland maze. As we passed inlets to and from the ocean, the sweeping tidal currents frequently flipped directionnow behind us, now against us. Toward nightfall, we anchored in Big Tom Creek alongside Ossabaw Island with good holding in 12 feet, and with porpoises playing and feeding alongside us in the golden sunset.

We made a short hop across St. Catherines Sound on Thanksgiving morning and dropped the hook in Walburg Creek, where Lesley and Jenny dinghied ashore. St. Catherines Island is privately owned for zoological research but accessible below mean high water to those arriving by boat.

We stepped into prehistory, Lesley wrote on Billy Pilgrims blog. Huge driftwood trees stacked up on the sand like pickup sticks. We clambered our way around, over, under the trunks, doing our best balance-beam routines and limbo, guessing at which animals made the footprints coming out of the primeval forest of saw palmetto and moss-festooned oak trees.

For our Thanksgiving feastroasted chicken, creamed spinach and mashed potatoes served in Billy Ps saloon under the warm glow of LED-powered candlelightwe anchored in the placid Crescent River, just inshore from Sapelo Island. Managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the site of Hog Hammock, said to be the last known Gullah community, Sapelo is restricted to visitors with a permit from the state.

Far more accessible are St. Simons, Jekyll and Cumberland islands. Highway bridges join St. Simons and Jekyll to the mainland near Brunswick; Cumberland is served by regular daily ferries from St. Marys, Georgia, and Fernandina Beach, Florida. On St. Simons Island, Morningstar Marina offers courtesy bicycles to transient guests (dockage at $2.25 per foot); Jekyll Harbor Marina offers them in exchange for a dinghy-dockage fee ($20). We rode dozens of miles exploring these islands. Jekyll stood out, with its groomed off-road trails winding through the interior oak forests and riverside marshes to stunning unpopulated beaches and a pair of villages that make good stops for meals and libations. Cumberland Islands wild horses, armadillos, and 16 miles of undeveloped beach lit up Lesley.

But it was St. Simons and the Strangers Cemetery that marked me with the most lasting impressions. We anchored Billy Pilgrim in 10 feet of good mud between Lanier Island and St. Simons, dinghied ashore, and Ubered to our long-anticipated rendezvous with Southern Soul barbecue. (You could order the Soul sandwich with collard greens, Soul slaw and hoppin John, and not be sorry.) As we hadnt yet discovered the marina courtesy bikes, we followed directions from a guidebook to a bike-rental shop near Southern Soul. When we arrived, the shop was closed; whether for an hour or forever was hard to tell. So we started walking the couple of miles back to our dinghy. Near the entrance to a Georgia Power right-of-way, Jenny noticed a small sign: Union Cemetery, Strangers Cemetery, circa 1876. We paused in the heat, then turned down the dirt track underneath the power lines. Several hundred yards later, we hesitated when a large, feral-looking cat stood staring at us from the center of the path. We eased forward, and that gatekeeper in feline form edged aside, never taking its eyes off us. When we still saw no sign of the cemetery, Jenny entered it into her phones mapping app.

Despite the initial jolt from her phones alarm as we stepped inside, we found the place enthralling. Relatives of Jim Brown, the legendary Cleveland Browns running back and film actor, are buried there, as are influential teachers who devoted their careers to the children of St. Simons. But for us, the biggest surprise came in a quiet corner near the cemeterys back edge: the final resting place of Bessie Jones herself.

A book I found the next day at a St. Simons shop, Gullah Geechee Heritage in the Golden Isles, tells how she came there: If you did not belong to a plantation, you could not be buried in a plantation cemetery. Union Cemetery was established for the people who were not born on a plantation. That is why it also has a second name of Strangers Cemetery, since people not born on St. Simons were, in essence, strangers. Theres a Gullah Geechee expression of come yah and been yah. Been yah means been here, or those people who were natives and longtime residents. Come yah means come here and was the label of people considered newcomers.

Jones, born on the mainland, spent more than 50 years on St. Simons. Still, after all shed done to bring Sea Islands culture from here to the rest of America, Miss Bessie lived and died as a stranger in this place thats charged with so many histories.

We, strangers ourselves, left St. Simons hungry to return.

Any wistfulness we felt at exiting St. Marys Inlet on an early December afternoon ebb and putting Georgia behind us for now was more than tempered by our excitement about, and then our actual experience of, Billy Pilgrims next legs.

We sailed through two nights from Cumberland Island, entering Floridas Fort Pierce Inlet at dawn the third day. This was a homecoming for us on several levels. Harbortown Marina (now Safe Harbor Harbortown), just inside the inlet, was the first place Lesley and I ever saw Billy Pilgrim (ex-Sam, ex-Rachel E., ex-Water Music), Passport 40, Hull No. 141, back in August 2017a very happy occasion. Also, my sisters family lives in Vero Beach, just a dozen miles from the inlet, and we looked forward to spending time with them. Billy Pilgrim entered the inlet on a ripping flood, and so intent were we to miss the shoals and avoid colliding with the outbound fishing fleet that we missed the text from Monica.

Look left!

My sister and her husband, Charlie Jennings, had awakened before dawn and clambered out the jetty to celebrate our arrival. They were waiting on the beach with hot coffee and apple-cider doughnuts as soon as we dropped the hook near the Indian River junction. It was a sweet reunion that carried across the inlet to the Little Jim Bait & Tackle tiki bar, where I was reacquainted with one of the best examples of what, in these parts, they call smack: tasty smoked fish dip. A Billy Pilgrim river cruise the next day with Monica, Charlie and some of their friends took us straight to the Jennings backyard dock, where Billy P spent the holiday season. As wed experienced with our families in the fall, a developing themethe way traveling by boat can deepen otherwise old and familiar relationships in wholly new waysproved still more true than wed known.

We took these warm feelings with us after the holidays, when we finally crossed the Gulf Stream.

As teenagers in the early 1980s, Monica and I had spent a season sailing in the Bahamas with our parents; for Lesley, this was her first time. Across the deep Northwest Providence Channel and the shallow Great Bahama Bank between the Berry Islands and the Exuma Cays in the Bahamas, Lesley countedand namedmore than 20 shades of blue. Deep delicious ultramarine. Turquoise. Robins-egg blue. Tiffany blue. Powder blue. Chambray. Rich periwinkle. Cerulean. The Gulf Stream had been a slow-motion water bed of sapphire. Biscayne Bay was translucent aqua, more lurid than even my childhood drawings dared to portray.

In the Exuma Cays, for the first time, Lesley and I experienced an entirely new feeling aboard Billy Pilgrimof taking our foot off the pedal. For nearly a year, wed been pushing ourselves with pressing refit deadlines, pressing launch deadlines, pressing passage deadlines. Here, finally, we were able to settle in and focus on endeavors beyond simply running or fixing the boat.

Of course, the winter weather patterns of the Bahamasalternating cold fronts with periods of gentler easterlies, several days eachstill set our agenda and sent us scurrying for shelter when the more vicious northers came through. Our only deadlines now were friends and family arriving in late March. We planned to explore some of the Far Out Islands with them.

For an idyllic month, our ambit was reduced from a scale that took in the entire US East Coast down to the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park: 22 linear miles and 16 major cays. For the first time in months, we daysailed for the fun of it. We took long dinghy excursions, exploring beaches and snorkeling spots. We hiked trails, chasing iguanas and blowholes.

Times when we desired more society or proximity to a cell tower, we made our way to Staniel Cay or Black Point or Little Farmers. At Staniel, we visited the Mount Olivet Baptist Church, whose congregation arrived Sunday morning with tambourines and full-throated voices. After a good hour of solid praise, spoken and sung, and just as we thought the service might be winding down to a close, the elder organist stepped forward and raised the proceedings up another notch.

Let God in! he said. Let him spear the grouper! Let him catch the crayfish!

Alas, the god of Mount Olivet was not with us during our 2022 fishing season; we came home empty from our (for my part, admittedly halfhearted) spearfishing expeditions.

The day before our Bahamas season suddenly ended, as Lesley wrote in the blog, was a perfect day: It started with sailing off our anchor at Big Majors Spot. We rounded the end of Harvey Cay and headed to a cove off Bitter Guana Cay, where the week before wed taken a dinghy excursion to visit the local iguanas. We wanted to see if we could catch some lobsters. We found a couple, and used our tool, which we call the French tickler, to rouse them out of their hidey-holes, but we werent quite bold enough to grab them. We saw all kinds of fish and coral, picked up a huge conch, and enjoyed the random ray elegantly flying past. An amazing underwater world of color and surprises. Back aboard Billy, we sailed off the anchor and headed to Little Bay. We showered off the salt and dinghied in to the beach to walk into town for happy hour.

The next morning, March 4, I woke with a high feverending this story, and beginning another, which Ill tell in some future issue of these pages.

Tim Murphy, a CW editor-at-large and longtime Boat of the Year judge, is the author of Adventurous Use of the Sea: Formidable Stories of a Century of Sailing from the Cruising Club of America (Seapoint Books, 2022). See Lesley Davisons account of Billy Pilgrims 2021-22 southbound season, at svbillypilgrim.com/blog.

Continued here:

Sailing South To The Islands Aboard Billy Pilgrim - Cruising World

NASSAU, BAHAMAS Belinda Wilson secured her sixth consecutive win at the polls yesterday to return as the president of the Bahamas Union of Teachers.

Wilson said her executive team A Team won 13 out of 15 seats

During an interview with Eyewitness News ahead of the vote, Wilson shared that she has had her ups and downs in the executive role for almost two decades.

She is the longest-serving president and executive in the unions history.

Wilson was elected as a BUT trustee in 1996, and that marked the beginning of her service in one of the countrys largest unions. However, it wasnt until eight years that she would secure her first three-year term as president.

She credits her availability, communication, and following through with commitments as the keys that led to her being a long-serving unionist.

I try to meet as many of the members that I can so that we can communicate, so they can know, hey, Im your president, but Im here to serve you. And Ive given service to the best of my ability, said Wilson.

Im very assertive, but when it comes to serving my members, theres a level of honor and humility that I bring to that service.

And so I pride myself on, I should say that I probably know 99% of the members by name and school. And if I dont know your name, face, school, I can basically tell you the subject you teach.

The long-serving union president said she has had her share of battles with various entities, noting her resilience has left her with enemies.

However, she said it was also the reason why she feels her members have held on with her despite the battles, throughout the years.

Every time Ive been knocked down, I got up, she said.

I got up quickly and I landed on my feet. But its because Im focused.

I know who I am, and I know what the truth is. So, a lot of times I would have detractors who would say things against me. I dont even respond. I wait for the right opportunity to respond when it counts the most, Wilson said.

The expectation, that Wilson will once again take the lead by securing hundreds of ballots over opponents, similarly to previous years is, unclear with the establishment of the fairly new, Bahamas Educators Councilors and Allied Workers Union (BECAWU), that came onboard in October 2020 which has cut down the number of potential voters by as many as 700.

BECAWU President, Sandra Major says she believes that this factor will have an impact on the outcome of the elections.

With the numbers that we would have had they would not have that support, and of course, it would definitely impact what the outcome would be.

Im sure about that because youve got a large number of voters from Grand Bahama and some of the other islands as well; with Grand Bahama having the largest number outside of New Providence. Im sure it would have changed something.

And although there are now two separate Teachers Unions, the plight of teachers in the public service remains the same. Major says that whoever the newly elected BUT president is, their focus should be on listening to the needs of the members, to best serve them.

We have to find a better way in the education system to meet the needs of teachers.

Were doing our job, the ministry has an obligation to do theirs; we have an obligation to do ours and then once that is done then we know we can work together but we want to work together in a mutual respect.

If you have disagreements, meet; iron them out, do what you have to do to get the work done for your teachers.

Wilson has announced that this will be her last campaign, and highlighted projects she plans to carry out during her final three-year term. These include the completion of the multimillion-dollar complex, which is currently under construction; the facilitation of additional teacher training; and an affordable subdivision for members.

One thing that Ive not been able to get done is a Bahamas Union of Teachers housing subdivision, which weve put the corporate vehicle in place for that, Wilson said.

We have the list of our teachers who want houses. The government has identified some property, so we hope that we can get that property so we can get about 40 homes built for our members.

I believe, if we can get those houses built, even if not all of them, just some of them, I believe that will make my heart really glad and Ill be pleased, she added.

See the rest here:

Wilson wins sixth consecutive term Eye Witness News - EyeWitness News

Here's the official release from the team:

The Miami HEAT announced today that they will hold their 2022 Training Camp presented by Baptist Health, at Baha Mar in the Bahamas, from Tuesday, September 27 through Saturday, October 1, 2022.

Following Media Day on Monday, September 26 at FTX Arena, the HEAT will travel to the Bahamas and will conduct two-a-day practice sessions Tuesday through Friday at the award-winning luxury resorts Convention, Arts and Entertainment Center. The team will conclude training camp on Saturday with a practice session open to invited guests and kids from the Bahamas Youth Basketball Federation, before returning to Miami on Saturday afternoon.

Media availability will take place following the first daily practice session only, with a viewing time updated each day. A media workroom will be set up within the Baha Mar Convention Center in the Inagua Room. Media should enter through the resort side entrance of the convention center.

Training camp is not open to the public.

Opened by Grand Hyatt, the Baha Mar Convention Center is one of the largest event venues in the Caribbean, designed to be the ultimate destination for events. The 200,000 square foot indoor and outdoor convention facility features state-of-the-art courts for players, elevated seating experiences for viewers, and leading technology to film and broadcast training.

We are honored to be chosen as the host destination for The Miami HEAT 2022 Training Camp and thrilled to be entering a multi-year partnership with the three-time NBA champions, said Graeme Davis, President of Baha Mar. A quick flight from Miami, Baha Mar is the leading Caribbean destination for world-class athletes and sporting events. We look forward to welcoming the team for a week of training, coupled with the opportunity to explore the resorts wide array of amenities, experiences and world-class restaurants.

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Miami Heat To Hold Training Camp in the Bahamas - Sports Illustrated

NASSAU, BAHAMAS Under the theme Ocean Champions, the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation summer Sea Camp programme reached more than 100 children on the islands of New Providence, Exuma, Eleuthera, and Andros.

BREEFs annual Sea Camp is an empowering, educational, and fun experience that every child in The Bahamas should have at least once. The camp provides hands-on experiential learning for students, using the natural environment as a teaching tool, and engages campers in protecting our oceans and their resources.

Sea Camp fosters a sense of appreciation for the Bahamian marine environment; it inspires campers to become environmental stewards while teaching them practical water skills to help them safely explore Bahamian marine coastal ecosystems.

Observing the progress in their swimming ability throughout the camp and their enthusiasm while identifying fish and coral below the surface is truly a rewarding experience, said Allison Longley, BREEF Outreach Officer, and Lead Camp Coordinator.

In total, BREEF says that over one hundred children were a part of this years programme.

One such participant was Leilah Mackey, who is nine years old. Explaining what she learned, Mackey said overfishing and plastics in the water is harming fish and will make them go extinct. Turtles are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of plastics.

I am motivated to educate people about how they can help so we can have fish for future generations, she said.

Dale Pinder, age 14, was similarly motivated following the camp.

Having the opportunity to experience the coral reefs during the BREEF camp has made me want to protect the environment even more so that the next generation can enjoy it, Pinder said.

Ethan Cordona, age 11, said: I have learned that many fish species are endangered, and so fish need more protection all around the world and not just here in The Bahamas.

BREEF kicked off the summer of 2022 by hosting its Sea Camp programme in New Providence. During the camp, children experienced our marine environment by immersing themselves in the coral reef and mangrove ecosystems, which included a snorkel field trip to Bonefish Pond National Park, Saunders Beach, and Long Wharf Beach.

For many campers, this was their very first time snorkeling. Ocean Champions were spotted on Saunders beach taking action and combatting plastic pollution by conducting a beach cleanup, collecting over 40lbs of garbage, and using some of it to create ocean conservation art.

Leaving garbage on the ground leads to it ending up in our waters and harming our marine life. If we dont take action to protect our marine life, they will die, said Evante Haven, age 9.

BREEF traveled to Georgetown, Exuma conducting a Sea Camp day experience full of ocean adventures in partnership with the British American Financial Group (BAF) camp. Campers learned more about our blue Bahamas through an interactive coral reef and fish identification presentation followed by a fun afternoon snorkeling session.

In Eleuthera, the highlight of the camp was a memorable snorkel trip to Twin Coves located in Governors Harbour. Throughout the week, campers learned about the importance of fisheries regulations, marine protected areas, and climate change. BREEF Sea Campers also had fun in the sun while learning about renewable energy by using a solar panel to collect and store energy and power various devices.

The final fun-filled Sea Camp took place at award-winning Kamalame Cay, where campers enjoyed the remarkable island off the north side of Andros. The Sea Camp had a diverse group of campers, including children from The Bahamas, the United States of America, and Italy. It was a great experience for all to have such diverse backgrounds but share a common groundtheir enthusiasm for the water. Students had a fantastic time on the cay learning about the Bahamian marine environment, including mangroves and coral reefs.

BREEF extends its gratitude to all its partners who hosted the camp, including Ardastra Gardens & Wildlife Conservation Centre, Haynes Library, Kamalame Cay, BAF Global Group Ltd, and all of the BREEF volunteers who assisted during the duration of the camp.

To learn more about how you can get involved in BREEFs marine education programmes, please visit http://www.breef.org.

See original here:

BREEF Summer Camp takes marine education to the islands - EyeWitness News

NASSAU, BAHAMAS The Bahamas subtropical weather makes us experience autumn in a pretty unique way. Although the wind doesnt suddenly pick up, with all the leaves turning brown and falling off the trees like in the places we often see on TV; symptoms of allergies during this time of year tend to be pretty much universal.

Family Medicine Center Medical Director, Dr. Graham Cates said staying ahead of the problem is key.

He said people predisposed to sinus or nasal congestion, speaking with your doctor to get the medications that can help you through the season can save a lot of the headache that comes with scrambling around after the symptoms get too intense.

If you are somebody who is predisposed towards having congestion, nasal congestion, then obviously making sure that you speak with your health care provider so that you can have the necessary medications, whether those be over-the-counter recommendations or whether those be medications that are prescription medications, Cates said.

Pollen, dust, animal dander, and temperature changes are some of the triggers that may clash with the respiratory system during the fall season. Cates outlines several symptoms that come about as a result of these elements.

Nasal congestion, difficulty with breathing; and then some people may have other symptoms that may extend into their sinus cavities where they may get facial pain, and facial discomfort associated with it.

And then beyond that, it may extend even into your ears where youre having the popping of your ears or you cant clear your ears, like when you go on a plane, the physician said.

Aside from prevention, steering clear of the things that trigger allergies as much as possible is what the family physician says is part of the solution.

For example, if youre allergic to dust. Dust is one of those triggers. Try to keep things within the home environment, or the work environment dust free as much as possible, making sure that obviously, you have other triggers in the house, like carpets that are going to collect dust.

It may be better for you to consider removing those and using tiles within your home in the workplace, making sure that the air-conditioned filtration system is serviced and changed regularly to reduce your exposure to those allergens that you may actually have, he said.

If over-the-counter medicines, anti-histamines, and limiting exposure to pollen, dust, dander, and certain weather conditions arent enough to control the effects, Cates suggested seeking help from healthcare professionals who can prescribe stronger medications and antibiotics after assessing symptoms.

He added that it is important for individuals to take personal responsibility in monitoring their symptoms and conditions and reaching out for professional medical assistance whenever there is a health risk.

The old adage of prevention is better than cure is certainly true, Cates added.

So being aware of what your triggers are, trying to limit those triggers and reduce your symptoms during this allergy season.

See the original post here:

How to prevent fall allergies, avoid the headache - EyeWitness News

Jacksonville, Fl. The Buresh Bottom Line: Always be prepared!.....First Alert Hurricane Survival Guide... City of Jacksonville Preparedness Guide... Georgia Hurricane Guide.

STAY INFORMED: Get the * FREE * First Alert Weather app

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WATCH Preparing for the Storm

WATCH The Ins & Outs of Hurricane Season

READ the First Alert Hurricane Center Survival Guide

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***** ALWAYS CHECK & RE-CHECK THE LATEST FORECAST & UPDATES! *****

REMEMBER WHEN A TROPICAL STORM OR HURRICANE IS APPROACHING: Taping windows is *NOT* helpful & will not keep glass from breaking.

Realize the forecast cone (cone of uncertainty) is the average forecast error over a given time - out to 5 days - & *does not* indicate the width of the storm &/or damage that might occur.

** No direct *inland* impacts expected from Fiona for Jacksonville/NE Fl./SE Ga.... beaches to be affected by easterly swells, rough seas/surf & a high rip current risk mid through late week.... **

Atlantic Basin:

Tropical wave - 96-L was upgraded to tropical depression #7 Wed. morning then to tropical storm Fiona Wed. evening & to a hurricane Sun. morning. Fiona has been battling a narrow - but significant - 30-40 mph - band of westerly shear to its immediate west & northwest but has still managed to organize. Storm bands started wrapping around the center Fri. evening as the storm organizes & subsequently strengthens. Upper level outflow has increased as well indicating better ventilation is becoming established & outside of land interaction, Fiona should be steadily strengthening over the next several days. Of note - the center moving a little south of due west into the face of the shear - as was the case Wed./Thu. & parts of Fri. - has led to eventually powerful tropical cyclones which Fiona could become, most likely - in the longer range. After a jog north Sat., Fiona has resumed a more west/northwest course with a close approach to Puerto Rico through Sunday night then to near or over the Dominican Republic Mon. followed by a sharper turn north to near & just east of the SE Bahamian Islands.

FIONA SUMMARY/IMPACTS:

* Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands/nearby Caribbean islands: Heaviest rain, strongest winds & most severe seas through Sun. night with improving conditions by late Sun. night-Mon.

* Most intense impacts for Hispaniola late Sun. through Mon. Strongest winds will impact Dominican Republic along with flooding rains... Haiti will subject to some heavy rain & flooding but winds look to be much less

* Impacts to the Southeast Bahamas Mon. night through Tue. night.

* Possible impacts for Bermuda Thu. night/Fri.

* Possible - but still subject to change - impacts for Nova Scotia next weekend (becoming large/strong post-tropical ocean storm)

* Increasing swells/seas/surf + dangerous rip currents for virtually all of the U.S. east coast during the upcoming week (but Fiona well offshore)

Forecast models briefly trended more west Thu. but have trended back east recently which is why one should not become too obsessed with individual model runs. Some of the real time aircraft dropsonde data was used Thu. in the 18Z (2pm) GFS model run *but not* in the 00Z (8pm) model run which is probably why the GFS had a hiccup in the 18Z Thu. run showing a track much more west. I bemoan when real time data is not consistently used within the models as it usually causes inconsistency within the models. Either use it with reach run as long as its available or dont use it at all. The good news is that Gulfstream G-IV research aircraft started consistently flying Sat. & hopefully will continue the next several days with the data gathered from the atmospheric environment in & around Fiona then can be used to initialize the GFS for each run. This would help with better initial analysis for models at the beginning of the forecast cycle which would then - in theory - give more accurate output (forecast). The good news is that both the GFS & European models have generally been initializing/starting with a reasonable & accurate depiction of Fiona & its strength/location so far. Clustering & consistency of the models has recently improved with a definite trend east of the U.S. mainland. The GFS remains a little faster & bit more east than the European model... the UKMET appears to be out to lunch.

In any case... the historically more reliable models remain in better general agreement as the GFS is back to where its been for days - a powerful hurricane well east of Fl. mid week & staying east of the entire east coast of the U.S. through the end of the week. The European model has certainly trended east too though still slower, & now has even joined the party in taking Fiona far to the east of the entire U.S. east coast. A strong upper level trough still looks like itll capture Fiona by next weekend bending the transitioning to a post-tropical low to the north & northwest late in the week/next weekend which has implications for Nova Scotia as the low will remain very powerful. The UKMET model is still showing a relatively weak Fiona through next week far to the east of Fl. From an intensity standpoint in particular, the UKMET is an outlier (big time).

The westerly shear + somewhat dry air nearby have been the primary reasons for Fionas struggles the past several days. Having said that, Fiona still managed to produce strong & persistent convection despite less than ideal conditions. Overall environmental conditions are gradually improving near Fiona the next few days, so Fiona should become a hurricane sooner rather than later. The big caveat into Mon. will be eventual possible land interaction - especially the mountainous terrain of Hispaniola.

On the current official forecast track, Fiona will move near or a little east of some of the highest mountain ranges of Haiti & the Dominican Republic. Its this part of the forecast - Puerto Rico & Hispaniola - that right now is the most critical - the fork in the road when it comes to strength & track once over the SW Atlantic given the track over land could seriously disrupt Fionas organization. The two most major steering influences otherwise will be: (1) the Bermuda high (clockwise circulation) which remains well to the northeast over the Atlantic... & (2) the strength of Fiona - weaker is longer to the west steered more by low level flow (trade winds)... stronger will be faster to make the turn more northwest then north (steered by mid & upper level flow)... & (3) a strong upper level trough that moves into New England & the NW Atlantic late in the week.

From the Greater Antilles, forecast models continue to trend northward next week with Fiona which is reasonable given the now obvious alleyway thats become well established over the W. Atlantic. There will be some stair-stepping (north then NW to north, even NE then back to the north or NW) at times as weak upper level troughs come & go through mid week before Fiona encounters the strong upper level trough in about 4-5 days. The model spread has - for the most part - narrowed considerably. One cant overlook the GFS stability & reliability so far which takes Fiona will be near/just south of Puerto Rico then starts to turn Fiona north early enough/fast enough to mostly avoid Hispaniola to the immediate east through the Mona Passage (between Dominican Republic & Puerto Rico) while possible just glancing the eastern/NE coast of the Dominican Republic. This path would mimic Matthew in 2016 (in the short term!) which shot through the narrow (only about 80 miles) strait of ocean with few impacts from land. I still favor the track well east of Florida which is the trend indicated in the models as well.

Overall - once away from the Greater Antilles/Leeward Islands - it looks like conditions (water temps., shear & moisture) will favor strengthening next week. It *appears* Fiona will stay far to the east of Florida & most of the U.S. east coast, but we should check & re-check the First Alert forecast.

Another interesting forecasting tidbit... a typhoon over the W. Pacific is turning sharply to the north then northeast impacting Japan this weekend (track map at the bottom). This typhoon teleconnection might correlate rather well with Fiona over the W. Atlantic next week & the rather sharp turn north & - in time - northeast. This correlation is possible because of the upper level pattern - troughs (dips) & ridges (upside down Us) in the jet stream - that often (not always) mirror each basin (Pacific & Atlantic). See maps 6 & 7 below.

So to recap: Fiona is a storm that will have serious impacts on the Northern Leeward & virtually all of the Eastern Windward Islands of the Caribbean (no direct impacts to Cuba) through Sun. night into Monday with very heavy rain & strong winds with flooding & possible mudslides... then eventually at least some impact on some of the Bahamas Tue./Wed. - especially the Turks and Caicos Islands - followed by a move more north & - finally - north/northeast. Then there will be the bend back to the north or even northwest over the N & NW Atlantic late in the week.

Elsewhere... a couple of pretty strong tropical waves are over the Eastern Atlantic with at least some potential for slow development. One low over the Central Atlantic will move more north so no chance to move across the Atlantic. A more southern latitude wave just off the African coast may try to chug its way westward, at least in the short term.

Some weak low pressure is developing over the Western Atlantic to the east of the Carolinas & E/NE of Jacksonville in response to an upper level trough. The low should move slowly east/southeast embedded within strong shear that will likely hinder development & there may some interaction with Fiona by mid week if the low has not already dissipated.

Spaghetti plots including the ensemble (faint lines showing all the model runs which gives an indication of the uncertainty):

Mountainous terrain over especially the Central & Western portions of Hispaniola with some peaks 10,000+ feet:

Image Courtesy: NASA/JPL/SRTMImage

Possible upper level (about 30,000 feet) teleconnection with troughs & ridges between the Atlantic (steering Fiona) & the Pacific (steering W. Pacific typhoons):

San Juan radar:

Water vapor loop shows some dry air near wave 96-L, but its more moist than past days:

A zone of shear - on the order of 20-30+ mph - remains east/west just north of Fiona. Forecast models gradually take Fiona to the edge then west of the strongest shear.

Friday night recon mission:

Thursday recon mission:

September origins:

Averages below based on climatology for the Atlantic Basin through September. This season so far is well below avg.:

Wind shear:

Saharan dust spreads west each year from Africa by the prevailing winds (from east to west over the Atlantic). Dry air - yellow/orange/red/pink. Widespread dust is indicative of dry air that can impede the development of tropical cyclones. However, sometimes wanna be waves will just wait until they get to the other side of - or away from - the plume then try to develop if other conditions are favorable. In my personal opinion, way too much is made about the presence of Saharan dust & how it relates to tropical cyclones. In any case, weve had several large dust plumes spread west to the Caribbean & Gulf with the peak of Saharan dust typically in June & July.

2022 names..... Gaston is the next name on the Atlantic list (names are picked at random by the World Meteorological Organization... repeat every 6 years). Historic storms are retired [Florence & Michael in 18... Dorian in 19 & Laura, Eta & Iota in 20 & Ida in 21]). In fact, this years list of names is rather infamous with Charley, Frances, Jeanne & Ivan retired from the 04 list (all hit Fl.) & Matthew was retired in 2016. The WMO decided - beginning last year - that the Greek alphabet will be no longer used & instead there will be a supplemental list of names if the first list is exhausted (has only happened three times - 2005, 2020 & 2021). The naming of tropical cyclones began on a consistent basis in 1953. More on the history of naming tropical cyclones * here *.

East Atlantic:

Mid & upper level wind shear (enemy of tropical cyclones) analysis (CIMMS). The red lines indicate strong shear:

Water vapor imagery (dark blue indicates dry air):

Deep oceanic heat content over the Gulf, Caribbean & deep tropical Atlantic:

Sea surface temp. anomalies:

SE U.S. surface map:

Surface analysis centered on the tropical Atlantic:

Read more from the original source:

Talking the Tropics With Mike: Fiona becomes a hurricane near Puerto Rico - ActionNewsJax.com