Still in Bimini

Ok, we’ve mastered this relaxing thing. I’m not sure if it’s a good or a bad thing, but we are definitely enjoying ourselves. The days fly by and at the end we have a hard time thinking about anything productive that we’ve done. We usually try to do one chore a day. The other day we did the laundry, it only took us an hour or so but that was it for the day. Yesterday Sal wanted to spray paint some floating balls to mark where our anchors are, so we bought some delicious Bahamian takeout and went to the beach where we had a picnic. Not a sole on the beach to our right or left, only a few boats going by in the distance, or a couple sharks skirting the shore every once in a while (Sal managed to find time to do the spray painting in between our beach time).

Bimini has been very hospitable to us and is making it hard for us to leave. The weather has also played a part in that, but there are definitely worse places we could be stuck in. We took this time to a little stocking up, and walked up and down the island probably visiting every grocery store there is, making little purchases here and there. We will miss the atmosphere where everyone says hello, all the dogs are friendly and content, even the 10 or so goats that roam the island doing the lawn mowing are very relaxed. America is a long way away here.

We had a cold front come though last weekend and had to dig out the jeans and sweaters from the bottom of the lockers. Again, when we think of the weather back home we feel a little embarrassed to be complaining. But Tuesday it warmed up again and we were back swimming and visiting the beach. It is about 25 degrees or so during the day, always a cool breeze blowing and almost always a hot sun shining.

Through another sailboat we were told about a great spot for dinner, so we accompanied them one night making sure to give our advance notice so that the chef would know how many fresh lobsters to order up. We were excited as this would be our first lobster meal (hopefully of many). We shed our bathing suits for something a little more appropriate and headed out. We sat outside as the sun was setting in a local joint where the cook prepared our entire meal in front of us with only a George Forman grill and a deep fryer. No menu to choose from, just the catch of the day. We were served delicious lobster fritters and fresh jack(fish) fingers to start, LOBSTER tails with butter, a baked potato, homemade Bahamian cole slaw, fried plantain aannnndd a nice cold Kalik beer to wash everything down with. The two men we went with were a hoot and had us laughing as they retold some stories of their travels. A very memorable evening.

After our taste of snorkeling around Paradise point we waited for another calm day to do some more. This time we headed to the Turtle Rocks, about 3 miles south of Bimini. There was hardly a breath of wind which is better for snorkeling, unfortunately the sun was hidden behind some clouds (our first real cloudy day in almost 2 weeks!) which diminishes visibility and makes it cooler when leaving the water. We all went on Chautauqua and anchored near the rocks. We had a little snorkel around and were a little disappointed, not seeing many fish or coral. We took a break to warm up a bit and then took the dinghy in between two rocks. This time as soon as my head was under the water I knew that things would be great! There were fan coral all around swaying in the light surge. As we explored further we came to the reef and I was in complete awe. What we saw at Paradise Point was nothing in comparison. This was a Reef!! I would never be able to describe all that I saw but it was exhilarating. There were parrot fish about 3 feet long or bigger, schools of other fish swimming around, trigger fish, coral of every colour, and then I saw a SHARK! It was far off and just swam by but it was a little freaky. We kind of stayed closer to the shallower end and away from where we had the sighting. We looked into the rock and saw another shark sleeping in the sand. I had an underwater camera and tried to take pictures of everything but it’s hard when everything is moving around and each view more intriguing than the next. Hopefully a few of the pictures will turn out. We left the reef and snorkeled around, this time I saw a few lobster poking their antennas out behind a ledge. I called mom over and we just looked as they were flashing their plump, juicy tails for us. We didn’t have our spears or gloves and we were a little wary of just grabbing them bared handed, so we just enjoyed looking at them and promised ourselves that we would be ready for them next time. Lobster season closes April 1^st so we had better get our act together before then.

(4-5 foot tarpon hanging around the docks)

We were back on Second Wind, anchored close to shore when I saw a large mass coming closer. I alerted Sal and we both peered over the side of the boat. Our jaws dropped as we saw a huge Angel Ray swim right by our boat. I was too stunned to get the camera; we just stood there watching it gracefully glide by. I eventually went to get the camera, hoping it might come back this way, but it was long gone. Another example of the amazing sea life we have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of.

(Visited the local museum)

On Sunday or Monday depending on the weather we are going to head across the Banks to the Berry Islands, a group of small, mostly uninhabited islands. There we will do some exploration and hopefully catch a few fish.

R & R in Bimini

We have been indulging in the sweet life here in the Bahamas. We moved from our dock space after 2 nights to a small anchorage nearby. Saturday night on the dock was a little too crazy for us with the sportsfishermen partying and playing their music. We did score a dozen or so fillets of Wahoo…which we put on the bbq and savoured for our next two dinners (Most delicious fish I have tasted). Our first fresh fish, though not caught by us unfortunately, however, it gave us motivation to try a little harder. Sal bought a ‘yoyo’ from the local fishing store. It’s basically a big spool with line rapped around it. It’s perfect for our boat as we don’t have room for a rod. We have two books of different types of fish as well as a book about how to catch them. So we are all hoping that we are able to catch something soon.

Monday was a calmer day so we left Second Wind in the anchorage and all went on Chautauqua and motored out to Paradise Point. We anchored close to shore, where they have a multibillion dollar island community for those who can afford to live there (which apparently is not thriving). With snorkels, masks and flippers donned we all fit into the dinghy and motored over to the reef. We tied up the dinghy to a mooring ball and jumped in. We snorkeled around the shallow rocks and the sea life around it was so amazing. There was not too many coral but there were fish of all shapes, sizes and colours. It was unbelievable, like watching a tv show on reef fish…but we were actually there!! We even saw a small sea turtle gently paddling along. We were all excited once we got out, and were looking in the fish book trying to name all the fish we saw. That got me hooked, I want more snorkeling!

A cold front blew through Tuesday and my parents couldn’t get their anchor to hold without dragging, so they moved to the docks for the night. All the marinas here are almost all empty. We found out that this is Bimini’s off season, and the prices reflect this. Where now you can stay for 1$ per foot, in the summer months it’s $2.50. We all enjoyed the luxuries that come with staying at a marina, such as showers, easy access to shore, and with this marina, a pool.

We decided to venture out again, this time heading about 13 miles south to South Cat Cay. We hoped to do some more snorkeling and maybe, hopefully catch a fish. We left Wednesday morning and had a great sail down along the islands. We had about 10-15 knots of wind and fairly calm seas. Sal had his yoyo out and he was trawling. Flying fish would jump out of the water as we sped along. We anchored off the uninhabited South Cat Cay and swam in the beautiful turquoise water. We were on the ocean side so there was a swell coming in which was rocking us around a bit. After lunch we moved to the other side of the island where it was almost completely calm except a few ripples. This was how I imagined our trip would be, peaceful and serene. Sal tried to catch us dinner but nothing was biting except once, when he caught the anchor rode. We had a peaceful evening and quiet night… until about 1:30 when the tide changed. The wind had picked up and was opposing the current so we were rolling around a bit (as my dad said it was ‘horrible’, but he likes to get his 12 hrs of zzzs). At 5am the tide changed again and we were once again lying peaceful. Dad called over at 9:30 am and told us that things were going to get nasty, so we had better get back to Bimini sooner rather than later. So we closed up the hatches and had a wild sail back to the harbour. It was nice that the wind was behind us, but the waves were a bit bigger, 4-5 feet so we were rolling around, nothing frightening though. We anchored back in our spots in the anchorage and are currently relaxing, and may possibly catch a nap this afternoon – ahh the hard life J

Bimini

Bimini!!!!!

Our second gulf crossing attempt was a success

(Heading out into the Ocean on Wednesday afternoon)

So as usual the plans changed and instead of going across in the day we opted for Wednesday night as the winds looked lighter and from the south. We worked our way back up the keys and on Wednesday anchored about 1 mile from Angelfish Creek, the channel that we would take to get to the ocean. My dad had his reservations remembering how our last crossing went and he had heard that the wind was going to be coming out of the east - the direction that we were heading. We decided that we would leave with enough daylight so that if it was too rough, then we would turn around and make it back through the channel before it got dark. We left at 3pm on Wednesday and the winds were light, the sun was shining and waves were very calm. We figured it would take us around 13-14 hours to get across. As we were heading out of the reef into the ocean, we saw a sea turtle right at the surface of the water paddling along. We took this as a good omen. At the edge of the reef we decided to go for it as the waves were calm for ocean standards. We were also making good progress and we really really really wanted to get across to Bimini. As we entered the gulf stream the waves were a bit bigger but we didn’t get one drop of water into the cockpit which was a completely different story from our last attempt. At about 10pm we were still making exceptional progress with the help of the Gulf Stream pushing us south as we steered east, in fact we were scheduled to arrive at 3 am. This was not good because we weren’t comfortable getting too close to land until we could see the markers and any potential hazards. So around midnight we turned off the engines and slowly sailed toward Bimini. Sal and I took turns sleeping while the other would steer and look out for any freighters or cruise ships. A long night, but at 5am we started up the motor and headed into land. The sun rose at 7am and we were able to see the markers for the entrance channel. We were then able to see the colours of the water and both Sal and I were in awe. It’s more beautiful than any postcard we have seen. All different colours of blues and greens and so clear that you can see the bottom in 30 feet! We arrived in Alice town at about 8am and docked at the government docks where we got our paperwork for customs.

(An old wreck washed ashore)

(Beach doggies)

There have been rumours circulating that Canadians are only being given 30 days to stay, but we had no problems and received 120 days and the opportunity to apply for more days if need be. After we checked in we got 2 slips in the marina nearby where we tied up, raised the Bahamian courtesy flag, showered and slept for a few hours. We walked around briefly and then stumbled upon the beach… It was so inviting we wanted to jump right in then and there but thought better of it since we didn’t have our bathing suits. We saw a young couple that we met briefly on the ICW and they introduced us to another young couple and it turns out that that couple knows my Irish cousin from her time in Chicago – what a small world. We were invited to their boat and had a great time annnd ate the most delicious fish tacos – made with fish caught only a few hours earlier.

North Bimini is a small island with 2 main roads running parallel north/south. There are no large stores or restaurants, only small ones run out of the homes. The Bahamians are very friendly and loud but I cannot understand what they say when talking with each other as they have a strong accent that I’m not used to yet. Today we walked almost the entire island and on the way back picked up some coconut bread (delicious sweet bread). Mom, Dad, Sal and I headed to the beach for a picnic lunch and to do a little snorkeling. We saw a few fish swimming around a rock, a couple of rays and some creepy barracuda watching us. So far the Bahamas is meeting all expectations.

(we finally got a picture of a manatee before leaving the Keys)