We left Hollywood City with our eye on a weather "window" - a good 36 hour period where the conditions were right - to cross the gulf stream to the Bahamas. We traveled under more drawbridges, past Miami to Key Biscayne.
From the south end of Key Biscayne, it's about an 10 hour sail to South Bimini. There is a very protected harbor in the Bill Bagg state park where we anchored for a few days with 22 (!) other boats waiting to do the same crossing. With only a mile walk to town for groceries, it was fun to wander the swanky neighborhoods. We bought a Powerball $1.6B ticket but no luck. The anchorage was crowded and when a thunderstorm and 60mph winds blew through in the afternoon, several boats dragged on their anchors so it was all hands on deck to keep an eye out and avoid collisions. Fortunately, it was short lived.
The next day was our crossing window. Dawn brought a bit of fog but light winds so we took our opportunity and headed east. It was a calm first few hours, with winds building slightly but a nice sail all the way to our destination. We passed the time taking turns navigating, chatting with other boats that were crossing the gulf, and Ava and Karrie practiced braided hair updos. Bimini Sands resort is a protected harbor on South Bimini where we'd cleared customs back in April so we were old pros.
Reed got right to fishing as soon as we hit the dock but was thwarted by some beautiful scrawled filefish, which were very good at getting the bait but not good eating. Another wind/thunder storm came through the next day, bringing cold weather so we all had on our sweatshirts as we walked the beaches, too rough to swim but still beautiful. We also did a bit of exploring of North Bimini to get some fresh Bimini Bread and see the sights before we planned our next destination.
Thanks for following and enjoy!
From the south end of Key Biscayne, it's about an 10 hour sail to South Bimini. There is a very protected harbor in the Bill Bagg state park where we anchored for a few days with 22 (!) other boats waiting to do the same crossing. With only a mile walk to town for groceries, it was fun to wander the swanky neighborhoods. We bought a Powerball $1.6B ticket but no luck. The anchorage was crowded and when a thunderstorm and 60mph winds blew through in the afternoon, several boats dragged on their anchors so it was all hands on deck to keep an eye out and avoid collisions. Fortunately, it was short lived.
The next day was our crossing window. Dawn brought a bit of fog but light winds so we took our opportunity and headed east. It was a calm first few hours, with winds building slightly but a nice sail all the way to our destination. We passed the time taking turns navigating, chatting with other boats that were crossing the gulf, and Ava and Karrie practiced braided hair updos. Bimini Sands resort is a protected harbor on South Bimini where we'd cleared customs back in April so we were old pros.
Reed got right to fishing as soon as we hit the dock but was thwarted by some beautiful scrawled filefish, which were very good at getting the bait but not good eating. Another wind/thunder storm came through the next day, bringing cold weather so we all had on our sweatshirts as we walked the beaches, too rough to swim but still beautiful. We also did a bit of exploring of North Bimini to get some fresh Bimini Bread and see the sights before we planned our next destination.
Thanks for following and enjoy!