Bimini Day 2

We got to stay here at the Bimini Big Game Club!!  We didn't have to move to another Marina, Thank you Jesus!!  The dockmaster reduced our rate for us.The wind was so bad this morning I kept watching these boats trying to come in or trying to leave.  I'm glad I'm not the only wife that gets all frustrated when we dock!!  I felt really bad for this one lady on a sailboat. It's amazing to see how the wives do all the work when docking!!! We need to be appreciated more!  I did not want to move in this wind!  
  It was a typical day kind of like home...I did the laundry and Phil went fishing.  The difference was that Phil caught an 8 lb Mutton Snapper!  We had sushi the other night and tonight we will have snapper.  
   Phil went to the Bahama Telephone Company this morning and it was a good thing he got there early. They open at 9:00 am and he got there at 9:30. there were already 4 people ahead of him and while he was waiting it got jammed pack!  Took him 40 minutes just to get his receipt!
    We hosed the boat down and will probably have to do it again tomorrow the way this wind is blowing...a never ending job, unless you have it done for you.  which happens a lot around here...lots of big boats and money!

I be jamm'n  while doing laundry

what the girls do best!!

Wants to do it again tomorrow! Let's see if he does...

Bimini Day 1

an old ship wreck

Bimini has not changed since we were here back in the 70's. At least "Old Bimini" hasn't. There is  "New Bimini" too. At least that's what the locals call it.  There is a resort on the north end of North Bimini.  There are some more stilt homes and some condos on South Bimini....but Alice Town is still the same! We rode our bikes all day today.

A huge pile of conch!

Phil learning the right way yo clean conch

 I have found my favorite new place, it's called "The Dolphin House"!  It is like nothing I have ever seen and if you ever get the privilege to come to Bimini it is a must see!  An older gentleman named Ashley took a very old building from the 1800's and has turned it into something amazing. People give him things and he recycles things and  incorporates them into the house.  We gave him a mermaid!  Can't wait to see where he puts it. He is also the Historian for Bimini! He has written 2 books on the history of Bimini. There is a small museum to see, but his artwork is what really is incredible!

The Crossing

We pulled anchor and was under way by 7:00 right when the sun was peeking up. The 1st leg of the       crossing was nerve racking... we had to pick a spot to get thru the reef.  We were the lead boat in our flotilla of two!  The waves were 3 to 4 foot and choppy at the beginning... we battened down the hatches and headed south to catch the gulf stream. Once there the wind and waves downed down and we started going almost 10 knots!  The water was a colbolt blue.  Phil put a dolphin line in and got a Benita..we threw that one back. But before we got out of the gulf stream the line went whizzing again...this time it was a small  Blackfin Tuna! We were going to eat it tonight but we were just to darn tired!
   Coming into to Bimini was quite the experience.  You can't reach any of the Marina's on the radio until you are ready to pull in to one. There must have been a dozen boats (big boats) coming in the same little area we were and everyone was trying to do the same thing. We finally had another boat relay our message to the Bimini Big Game Club, which by the way Kirk and Linda it's the same place we stayed at in the 70's!
Our buddy boat is here with us.  We had no problem getting through customs. We will be staying here till Monday because we can't get our Bahamian sims card till then. We are ppoping the bottle of Champagne!! All is good and the water is crystal clear!!!

Sunrise

The Benita

Phil's little Tuna!!

Bimini!

20 foot deep!!!

Our Buddy Boat!

Love it!!!

Tavernier Key

We found our buddy boat for the crossing!  They pulled in last night and Phil dinked over to talk with them . They are heading over on Sat. too!  They took off this morning to Rodriquez Key and we will meet them there. Yea!

    Phil took off this morning to Marathon to pick up the new transmission heat exchanger...poor guy 80 miles in the Dink in 2 days!!!  By the time he got back and put the new one on it was 4:00 before we could head out.  The ride in the Atlantic was great.. slight chop 1 to 2 foot waves.  As we were heading to Rodriquez Key we looked over towards Tavernier Key, which is an island 3 miles from Rodriquez and low and behold we see our buddy boat anchored! He thought he was at Rodriquez Key. We pulled in with him and it actually is a very nice anchorage.  I knew there was a reason Phil liked him so much, he's just like us! We got here about 7:00 pm, just in time for sunset.

    The plan tomorrow is to pull anchor at 6:30 am and head to Bimini!  We are excited  and I'm a little nervous.... Kinda not knowing what we are doing and where we are headed next is a little scary to me.  We are thinking about not going to the Berry Islands and going straight on to the Exumas. Only Capt. Phil knows for sure!  All is good!!

The girls standing watch as we go under Channel 5 Bridge

Alligator Reef Lighthouse 

Hens and Chicken Reef (behind the Captain)

Our buddy boat "Woman To Blame"

Channel Marker 5 Bridge - Jewfish Hole 2nd Day

Our intent was to pull anchor and take a peek at Rodriquez Key this morning, but we found another leak in heat ex-changer. Phil wasn't getting that warm and fuzzy feeling that he was fixing it so he got on the phone and called NAPA to see if they had one.... they did so off Phil went in the Dink to Vaca Cut back in Marathon, a 20 mile run!  3 1/2 hours later he shows back up...they didn't have the right one so they ordered it for us. It will be in sometime around noon tomorrow. So back he goes!!  In the mean time we are enjoying the anchorage here. 3 more boats have come in tonight, 2 sailboats and another trawler.
    While we were eating dinner outside on the sundeck "someone" got up on the counter and finished up our sausage and green peppers... we had enough for another meal!!  Not sure which one was the culprit, but I couldn't find Roxy for awhile. Somebody is going to have a tummy ache! All is good.

Getting ready to go to Vaca Cut

Do you see something wrong here!!??

The Evidence!

the Culprits 

Channel 5 Bridge - Jewfish Hole

Decided to top the fuel tanks off at Keys Fishery. They let non commercial boats fuel up between 8:00 am  and 11:30 am. The price is pretty good! Then we we able to dock the boat at The Banana Bay Resort for a few hours to make a run to Publix on
the bikes.  It was low tide and coming into the the channel we heard a crunch noise!!  There was a 3 foot rock in the channel just off to the side were we were going to dock.  Sooo Phil got to use Pat's long hose and regulator sooner then expected.  We were very concerned we had hit the port side stabilizer.  Phil called Craig at Stabilize Marine, they told us if it looked alright visibly ( which it did thank God!) to rock the boat back and forth with the stabilizers on....they worked like a charm.  I am wondering when the relax time is going to start happening!!
    We finally headed toward the channel 5 marker near Fiesta Key around 2:20 and anchored at Jewfish Hole around  5:30. Phil went to check the engines like he always does and saw water by one of the engines....we figured out the transmission cooler had a pin hole leak, Phil fixed it with JB Weld!  They say it comes in threes...hope that is it for us at least for awhile.
     Probably won't be crossing over to the Bahamas until maybe Sat. :(  The wind is blowing out of the north east at around 15-20 knots.  Sat. is suppose to die down to 10 knots and out of the south.  We are going to Rodriquez Key tomorrow to see if we can hook up with some other boats.  Things are going a little slower than expected, but that's okay. We'd rather have a nice crossing. All in all, all is good! We can count are blessing.

Channel 5 bridge

Marathon

Made the crossing over the Florida Bay with little mishaps. It got choppy and Phil ran over a crap trap, but over all very smooth.  The auto pilot worked like a charm!!!! Guess the bleeding worked knock on wood!!
    I don't know what it is about the keys, but I just love it here!  Made my favorite boat meal tonight... yellow rice with sausage, onions, and green peppers.
  The plan tomorrow is to get diesel to top off tanks,  take bikes to Publix and get some fresh produce, then head to channel 5 to cross over into the Atlantic to Rodriquez Key and wait for a good crossing. Hopefully we will meet up with other boat to cross the Gulf Stream with. All is good.

Sunrise

Bloody Mary at 11:00

Auto Pilot working!

Marathon!!