Just finished a trip from Ft Walton, Beach to Abaco's. Good VHF reception all the way. You won't need a Sat Phone unless you plan to go to the more remote southern islands. The explorer charts and the Dodge Guide for the Abaco's are both great. The Dodge guide gives you a little better detail. I personally like the Gramin Blue Charts because they are based on the Explorer Charts so what you see on the screen is the same as the paper charts. For the east coast of Florida and crossing the Okechobee I used Skipper Bob. I also had a Map Tech guide for the East Coast. Between the Map Tech and Skipper Bob I had both commercial and cruising information. Get yourself and extended range USB WIFI and a 10" extension cable and you will be able to access the internet while in the major areas of the Bahama's and the east coast of Florida. I had good access from my boat in the middle of North Lake Worth, White Sound in Green Turtle Cay and Marsh Harbor.
One of the more experienced cruisers I met had a Globalstar Sat Phone. He used Ocen's e-mail service and subscribed to Chris Parker weather which he received by e-mail twice daily. He spends a lot of time further south and felt that having access to accurate weather daily was a must. If I go back next year and plan to venture south, I will probably try a similar system. Give me a shout (
hutch5151@aol.com) and I'll fill you in on the crossing weather.