Post #79: Bimini and Beyond!

 Monday, April 5 to Monday, April 12, 2021

Monday night we were in Staniel Cay and Tuesday once again in Highbourne.  It was time to make some tracks and take advantage of the good weather.  We spent Wednesday night at Old Fort Bay on the west end of New Providence Island (where Nassau and the huge Atlantis resort are) but rose early to head towards the Tongue of the Ocean which I wrote about back on February 4.  We were moving along quickly, planning to spend one night anchored on the Great Bahama Bank, some 30+ miles from land in all directions.  Last time we did this, we were a group of 8 boats, sort of a floating wagon train.  But on Wednesday, April 7, it was just the four of us, Fantasea and Onward.  I was no longer apprehensive about spending a night in the open ocean, testament to how much we had learned and how much more confident I feel after living aboard for the past 8 months!

The exciting part of the crossing was Mike’s catch: a 4’ long mahi-mahi! 

The four of us went to sleep that night with visions of a delicious fish dinner in the future, once we returned to Bimini.

Pulling in to Bimini Blue Waters Marina was like coming home—except none of the relatives were there!  This is where we had spent 12 days back in January, cementing the friendships that would define our time together in February and March.  It just wasn’t the same.  But we needed to wait (again) for another good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream so in the meantime we went back to our favorite conch shacks, enjoyed time at the beach with Sheri and Mike, bought bread from Charles and stocked up on water and diesel and propane.  The island is so much busier than when we were here in January! People are beginning to travel again and more of the stores and bars and restaurants have opened up. Sport fishing boats go up and down the channel and the marinas are almost full.  In fact, Star came by to say welcome back.  He said that when our group came over in late January from Miami, we were some of the first cruisers Bimini had seen in almost a year.  He thanked us for coming then and for returning now! So typical of the gracious welcome we have received from so many Bahamians.

Tomorrow we leave for Florida. Sheri and Mike head southwards to the Keys and then home to St. Pete. We will miss them terribly. We are reluctant to leave the warmth and sunshine and hospitality of the Bahamas but eager to see our family again in DC (and to get vaccinated!). Onward we go!