2011-12-08 - in Bimini, Bahamas

Connor finds a little friend on the beach



We decided to stay in Bimini for a day  to relax and to wait out the front that was going to pass through.  In the early morning (5am) the wind kicked up but was finished by 9am.  The rest of the day was very great.  After school-time, we took a dinghy ride up the middle of Bimini to see if there was any sandy area that we could pull the dinghy on and swim.  Nothing was found, but it was a nice ride anyway.  We were hoping for something on the inside as the wind was now coming from the north which made for a rough swim in the surf on the Florida Strait side.  The boys loved it, however.   Very large waves and lots of jumping in them.  Connor got his boogie board out as well to 'surf' the waves.  Later on, the other kids joined up an they all bobbed up and down in the waves.  We took

them back to de-sand themselves in the pool area.  It looks as we may pull out tomorrow.  The wind is supposed to be more favourable to cross over the banks.  If we leave it a day, we will have to motor.  It will be a very long day and we will just end up on the banks for the night.  Our destination will be Nassau in 2 days.  Then a day to the top of the Exumas.

2011-12-07 - to Bimini, Bahamas

Well,we are off! It's 4am and we are now making our way out of the channel heading to Bimini. We are not alone this morning. Although it is pitch black out here, we can make out the lights of 5 boats in front and 4+ boats behind. It's great company as you can always hear what other boats are seeing in front. The boys are still asleep, but Connor wants to be up when we start in the Gulf Stream. This is probably it for Internet until we reach Bahamas. Catch you on the 'other side'!
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Well, we made it.  At 1:00pm, we arrived on the docks at Blue Water Marina.  The crossing was basically uneventful.  We had 3-4 foot waves on the

nose the whole time and had to motor...but, it could have been worse.  We had a few sprays over the bow, but nothing to soak us.  We also tried our hand at fishing again, without any luck.  Dharma (the other boat that we are crossing with) did catch a Wahoo! 
The water was so blue on the crossing and half way over the Gulf Stream, we tossed two bottles into it which we wrote a note and put in our boat cards.  Hopefully someone up the way finds it and lets us know.  We figured it would probably take 50 or so days to reach land...perhaps Ireland?  We also had dolphins jumping around our boat for about 5-10 minutes.  They were really putting on a show.  It was great!!

Tossing our 'message in a bottle'

As we approached the entrance to Bimini, the water turned that incredible clear that we have so longed for up in "Murky North America".  We could see fish and star fish right down to the bottom. Connor ran to the front to take it all in.  We landed at the docks and got our pile of paperwork from the marina office to fill in.  Once completed we had to go down the street to the customs office.  Other cruisers were there doing the same.  It's here where we pay for our cruisers permits (in case you are wondering it is $300 + $25 for the extra person).  After that, we proceeded to the immigration office where we needed to fill out more

dolphins came to play

paperwork.  All done!  Time to relax and enjoy!    We ended up going to the beach on the other side of the island where some of the other cruisers were also.  The water was beautiful and refreshing.  Dylan even got in with his floating neck ring and loved it.  We'll do more of this for sure.  In the evening a lady named Shirley came by the boat selling Conch Salad and told us of the bonfire down at the beach.  We ended up doing that and met more cruisers at her little restaurant, called 'Shirley's'.  The other cruisers had said that this little spot is the best around and came to Bimini just for her food.  We had already grabbed a bite, but may give it a go tomorrow.  One of the fellows we met is the captain of a boat that landed today as well.  He told us of his woes at the customs office that day.  They stamped the passport all of the people from his boat


Taking the US courtesy flag down and puttting
up the yellow quarantine flag

 until they got to the owners passport.  They shook their heads in simultaneous disagreement.  Apparently, he had been coming to Bimini every 2 weeks or so bringing items for the Bahamians.  He was not running anything illegal....just diapers, fruit juice, etc.  It is very expensive here for some of those items and he was basically just helping out families.  After a brief discussion, he said, the owner was clear.  No other details were shared.  We did a brief walk around the town before heading back to the boat.  We haven't planned what to do tomorrow but there is a front moving in (this is the window that is now closing for those who still need to cross) and we'll make plans then.  We are just thankful that we made it and are very excited to explore these wonderful islands.

2011-12-06 - Key Biscayne, FL (No Name Harbor)

We listened to Chris Parker on SSB this morning, and it appears like tomorrow will be our day for crossing. Right now we have left the mooring field at north Key Biscayne and heading for No Name Harbor where we will be prepared to head out for Bahamas in the morning!

2011-12-05 -in Key Biscayne, FL

Today, Julie from Cee Jem and I headed over for one very last provisioning run. It seems like we just couldn't fit any more in the boat, but when you see things at the store that you may need...you start to imagine more space magically appearing! A full dinghy load made it back to the boat and was tucked away before you could say, "did we get any...?". This is now all that we can load. If we don't have it, we don't need it. And, if we need it....we could probably buy it there. So, provisioning is now done. The kids played on the beach while all this was doing on and later, Cee Jem came over for supper. We enjoyed Cee Jem's pumpkin pie which see was going to save to make for when we got to Pumpkin Key. This is a Key a little south from us. We were going to leave from there...but, now it seems as if we are planning on leaving from No Name Harbor just 4 miles or so from here. The other boat, Dharma, is also waiting there. It looks as if the window will be opening this week for the crossing. It's just a matter of waiting a day to be sure what this will look like. Very exciting!

2011-12-04 - in Key Biscayne, FL

We are in the mooring field still, but eagerly waiting for our crossing to the Bahamas.  The weather has not been suitable for crossing for the last 1-2 weeks.  There is still wind with a northern component that does not do well with the Gulf Stream.  At first, it looked as if Wednesday early morning would work...but, when we woke up this morning, the forecast had shifted a day later.  So, now Thursday, seems to be the day.  The kids from the other boats came over for a play on the boat in the morning.  Several were hanging in harnesses off of the lift at the side of the boat and the two at the stern for the dinghy.   We were visited by lots of jellyfish also which added to the excitement of dangling just above them.  Later we joined Cee Jem at the beach for some serious hole digging and further route planning.  On the way over there Cee Jem, with Connor in their dinghy, saw a manatee in the water and a trumpet fish just near the beach!  They all thought that was pretty cool!  We are all ready now to go.  Of course, we keep eating our provisions while we wait, so we will run out to the grocery store tomorrow to top up for one last time...hopefully!