3.14/Saturday Angel Fish Creek to Bimini crossing the Gulf Stream
Our chart and chart plotter indicated an approach to the south end of Bimini Island turning and heading north running parallel to the beach. We saw large motor boats taking a different route but we felt compelled to follow our charts and electronic chart plotter. As we picked our way along large sand bars and shoals, we continued to see boats taking a different route. We finally made it to the opening of the channel and safely into the harbor area. We later learned the entrance to the harbor had been dredged resulting in a different approach and entry to the harbor.
Between Steve and I we finally filled in most of the blanks on the applications and walked only a few buildings down from the marina to the customs office. Next door to this building, which looked like a church building I might add, was the immigration office. A small, attractive market is conveniently adjacent to the customs and immigration offices for new comers to purchase souvenirs and baked goods. I decided not to stop, thinking I would come back on Sunday by myself. Unfortunately, they were closed on Sunday when I went back. Carol, our friend served fresh baked bread she had bought from one of the ladies and it was delicious. Hopefully, I will have another opportunity to purchase bread and other native items.
While Steve was resting, I carried my laptop to the marine office to get hooked up to WiFi so we could Skype home our safe crossing. We ate a quick dinner, made phone calls to the girls to let them know we had made it to Bimini safely and turned in for the night.
P.S. My new favorite beer-Bud Light Lime. It’s was very refreshing, especially today!
5.15/Sunday Bimini
Fresh water is scarce on the island, as is the case throughout the Bahamas, and distilled water can get pricey per gallon-50 cents at this marina. Steve washed the salt water off the boat this morning and filled the water tank, but warned me we would need to conserve as much as we could.
We met our friends on sailboats Cygnus and Sunseeker late in the day for sundowners and a walk to Sandra’s for dinner. By the time we arrived, forty-five minutes it took us, it was 7:30 pm and she only had chicken, ham, one stuffed lobster and conch. We wanted to experience local cuisine but it wasn’t happening at Sandra’s, because we all wanted seafood. After a quick look around, I was not sure I wanted to eat anything that was being served. It really looked like a bar inside instead of a restaurant and I know the health rating, if they have such a thing, was below 50.
We started the walk back to the Anchorage Restaurant, owned by the people who owned the marina were we were slipped. It was a beautiful walk at sunset across the highest point on the island, overlooking the beach. Our seafood meal was good, not great. Over dinner, plans were made to leave in the morning heading for the Northwest Channel at 7:30 am.
Click on the Picasa Web Site below and few all of my pictures from Bimini.
The alarm woke me up at 5:30 am but Steve had already gotten up and had coffee ready. I made sandwiches to eat later in the day while Steve finished his boat check list for the crossing. We waited for the sun to peek through the clouds to give us enough light to motor back through the narrow, shallow creek channel. Once outside the channel we would also need to see our course through a reef about 5 miles off shore. Finally we pulled up the anchor around 6:40 am. We noticed a small catamaran behind us and wondered if they were making the crossing also so Steve radioed them to find out. Sure enough, they were headed to Bimini and would like to hang with us as long as they could. They appeared to be a young couple indicating their first trip off shore. Their boat is named Mahalo. Steve asked them if they would like to follow us and they seemed glad to have another boat to stay in contact when making the crossing.
The Gulf Stream is a very hazardous body of water which is in essence a river flowing thought the Atlantic Ocean running south to north, off the shore of Florida. The current flows between 2-3 knots, which can create large waves and turbulence, testing both boat and sailor.
After we cleared the reef, we set a course that would allow for the northward push of the Gulf Stream in route to Bimini. We soon discovered that the wind was not blowing from the southeast as predicted, but was mostly easterly, resulting in a change of course, to be able to keep the sails full. Our hopes of sailing were not in the record book for the day; motor sailing was required to keep us on our course. If you miss calculate your position in the Gulf Stream, you can be pushed north of your destination, making it extremely difficult to turn into the current to make landfall. Within our hour or so, we were so far ahead of the catamaran that we could barely see their mast. The seas/waves were large and we knew they were in for a rough day with only an outboard motor for power. We tried to check on them every half hour, but after 2 hours we were almost out of radio rage. Steve radioed them that we were being forced to change course constantly because of the easterly winds and the strong northerly current. Mahalo indicated the same situation, but felt with his small boat and outboard motor; he would not be able to hold his course to Bimini. He said they would probably have to head to West End, which is on the western end of the Grand Bahamas, approximately 100 miles north of Bimini.
All day Steve and I asked each other where we thought they were and hoped that we would run into them at some point in our journey. They were either brave or stupid to make the crossing on a day like today in their small boat with only an outboard motor.
The winds were strong, 10-15 knots with 4-6 foot waves, allowing us to make good time. Approximately 6 hours after leaving Angel Fish Creek we had Bimini in sight. Steve attached the yellow courtesy flag to a halyard at this point to signify that we were visitors who had not checked into the country yet. 
At this point, we were a few miles north of the entrance of the channel which would take us at least another hour to motor to the channel. When Little Wing crossed the Bahama Bank, the color of the water changed from ink blue to a beautiful turquoise, as the floor of the ocean rose from over 2000 feet to 50 feet in a distance of a quarter of a mile.
At this point, we were a few miles north of the entrance of the channel which would take us at least another hour to motor to the channel. When Little Wing crossed the Bahama Bank, the color of the water changed from ink blue to a beautiful turquoise, as the floor of the ocean rose from over 2000 feet to 50 feet in a distance of a quarter of a mile. Our chart and chart plotter indicated an approach to the south end of Bimini Island turning and heading north running parallel to the beach. We saw large motor boats taking a different route but we felt compelled to follow our charts and electronic chart plotter. As we picked our way along large sand bars and shoals, we continued to see boats taking a different route. We finally made it to the opening of the channel and safely into the harbor area. We later learned the entrance to the harbor had been dredged resulting in a different approach and entry to the harbor.
Since we had never been to Bimini, we had to carefully find our way to the Blue Water Marina and ourslip that we had reserved the day before. Steve called the marina on the radio several times with no response; once he finally got someone on the phone, we could hardly understand their instructions in their Bahamian accent. Finally, as we were almost to the marina, we spotted a dock-hand waving us into the marina. Steve and I both noticed two large boats on either side of the narrow entrance to the marina, which didn’t leave much room to enter. And to make it worse, both of their boughs were facing each other with large anchors sticking into the channel. Steve made his way in without any difficulty, turning into the slip with ease, as I tossed the lines. Chip, the dock-hand, and surprisingly a couple we had met in Boot Key Harbor, helped us get tired up in the slip. Cruisers are always eager to assist each other with this task, as it can be very difficult with wind and current to contend with. We talked with Larry and Carol, sailing vessel Cygnus, finding out they had departed Boot Key Harbor on Friday, sailing over 24 hours, getting to Bimini early afternoon. They invited us for sundowners on their boat later in the day. Chip returned from the marine office with customs and immigrations papers that I started filling immediately so we could get them filled before they closed for the day. Since it was Saturday and they are not open on Sunday, we knew we had to get this task done today.
Between Steve and I we finally filled in most of the blanks on the applications and walked only a few buildings down from the marina to the customs office. Next door to this building, which looked like a church building I might add, was the immigration office. A small, attractive market is conveniently adjacent to the customs and immigration offices for new comers to purchase souvenirs and baked goods. I decided not to stop, thinking I would come back on Sunday by myself. Unfortunately, they were closed on Sunday when I went back. Carol, our friend served fresh baked bread she had bought from one of the ladies and it was delicious. Hopefully, I will have another opportunity to purchase bread and other native items.
Returning to the marina, we noticed that all the slips were filled mostly with large fishing boats. We wandered over to the fish cleaning station to find a large catch of huge dolphin. This is not the “Flipper” dolphin. This is the Mahi-Mahi, eating kind.
While Steve was resting, I carried my laptop to the marine office to get hooked up to WiFi so we could Skype home our safe crossing. We ate a quick dinner, made phone calls to the girls to let them know we had made it to Bimini safely and turned in for the night.
P.S. My new favorite beer-Bud Light Lime. It’s was very refreshing, especially today!
5.15/Sunday Bimini
Fresh water is scarce on the island, as is the case throughout the Bahamas, and distilled water can get pricey per gallon-50 cents at this marina. Steve washed the salt water off the boat this morning and filled the water tank, but warned me we would need to conserve as much as we could.
Today we rode the folding bikes around the island. I had my camera bag full; my new Nikon, my video camera, and my tiny point and shoot. I did not want to miss a single “Kodak” shoot. We stopped at a wreaked boat on the beach, walked through one of several cemeteries on the island, strolled along the beautiful beach picking up shells, and listened to different church music as we passed some eight or nine different denominations. Boy, they know how to sing gospel music here! We thought about going inside but were not sure what time the services had begun.
On the north end of the island, we rode through a beautiful new resort call Bimini Bay Resort. “Big bucks” are going into this project. I did take some pictures but I suggest you Google the resort for information and pictures.
We meet a couple who were staying on the resort for a weekend wedding and said it was lovely. By this time I had stopped and taken my cameras out of my bag over 100 times and we had ridden, I know over 10 miles. I was ready for lunch and a rest!
On the north end of the island, we rode through a beautiful new resort call Bimini Bay Resort. “Big bucks” are going into this project. I did take some pictures but I suggest you Google the resort for information and pictures.
We meet a couple who were staying on the resort for a weekend wedding and said it was lovely. By this time I had stopped and taken my cameras out of my bag over 100 times and we had ridden, I know over 10 miles. I was ready for lunch and a rest!We met our friends on sailboats Cygnus and Sunseeker late in the day for sundowners and a walk to Sandra’s for dinner. By the time we arrived, forty-five minutes it took us, it was 7:30 pm and she only had chicken, ham, one stuffed lobster and conch. We wanted to experience local cuisine but it wasn’t happening at Sandra’s, because we all wanted seafood. After a quick look around, I was not sure I wanted to eat anything that was being served. It really looked like a bar inside instead of a restaurant and I know the health rating, if they have such a thing, was below 50.
We started the walk back to the Anchorage Restaurant, owned by the people who owned the marina were we were slipped. It was a beautiful walk at sunset across the highest point on the island, overlooking the beach. Our seafood meal was good, not great. Over dinner, plans were made to leave in the morning heading for the Northwest Channel at 7:30 am. I heard a helicopter flying overhead, not long after I lay down to read in bed. Steve was in the saloon listening to music and I asked him what was going on. We both went out into the cockpit to see what they were doing. It looked like a Coast Guard helicopter because they had a huge spotlight shinning it on the island as they passed really low. At one point they were shinning the light on boats in the marinas along the harbor. We wondered who they were looking for. The circled several times, continuing to shine the light around, then left. We tried to find out what they were looking for but no one knew. Steve said, “Probably drug smugglers.”
Like many islands in the Bahamas, Bimini has for centuries attracted opportunists and eccentrics. It is a good hideout and jumping-off point. Pirates, wreckers, Confederate blockade runners, rum-runners and smugglers have in the past brought waves of prosperity in and as quickly out of town. The famous and infamous have escaped to Bimini where, they think, no one will be watching. Ernest Hemingway pursued gin and shark-shooting here in the 1930’s, and in the late 60s, Adam Clayton Powell lived in Bimini with his mistress. One of Earnest Hemingway’s favorite haunts was Alice Town on North Bimini, where he enjoyed the big game fishing of the area and the camaraderie of the Compleat Angler Hotel/Bar. The Big Game Club looked like something we wanted to explore, but found it was locked up and in bankruptcy. It seems the recession has hit the Bahamas, also.
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