Gettin' Real

There really was nothing new to report from Bimini the last day we were there.  We continued to enjoy the beach, shelling and the like and made preparations to leave for the Great Bahama Bank the next morning.  We did all take an hour that afternoon to have a lesson by Rick on line spicing and all managed to successfully create an eye in a three braid line!  Oh, such thrills to be had!

We rose before the sun on Sunday to leave the marina and head for "the banks".   Docking is well known as being the hardest part of sailing.  That's why we are so happy to not stay on a dock if we can help it!  But in Bimini, that's the way it is so we had the "pleasure" of an exciting morning!  Nautilus was the first to exit and taught us all that we'd need all of our wits about us to avoid catastrophe.  We were next and struggled as well but without any damage to speak of.  As we were off the dock already, we don't know the details for Long Gone but we were all glad to be on our way and headed out the cut.

Crossing the banks is quite an unusual experience.  It looks exactly like the ocean - water in every direction - but nowhere is it over 20' deep!  We spent the day whiling away the hours while the miles passed under the hull.  The winds weren't favorable for a complete sail but we were able to at least keep some sails flying through most of the day, helping to keep the ride smoother.

The winds picked up at the end of the day kicking up the waves a bit but with the shallow water, it didn't get too uncomfortable.  We set just as the sun set.  This is quite an experience, dropping an anchor in what looks like the middle of the ocean . . . and THEN trusting that you'll still be in the same place when you wake up!  We enjoyed the sunset, made a little dinner and actually watched a movie before hitting the sack.

Once again, we rose before the sun and got ready to get on the move again.  The sunrise was spectacular and welcomed us to the final leg of this short journey.  We had another beautiful motor sail and made our way to our chosen anchorage before 1 yesterday afternoon.  We tried hailing the marina we were to moor at to no avail and finally got a return call saying they had heard that the owner of the facility had died last week and the place was shut down!

Not having any other options, we continued to the mooring field and attached ourselves to our moorings.  We went ashore to find a cute facility with noone in site so we set off on foot to see what we could find.  Well - outside of pretty water, a blue hole, an air strip and the resort of Chub Cay (5 miles later) - there was NOTHING!  Eve

n Chub Cay Club didn't open until 5 so we turned around and headed back hoping to make it back to our deserted anchorage before the sun set.

After near 10 miles of continuous walking, we couldn't have been more thrilled to find that the owner of the marina had NOT, in fact, died - he was alive and well and had other things to do!  Chuck and Stuart from Long Gone were on bikes and had found this out quite a bit earlier than we made it back and were sitting happily with their cold beers when we finally arrived!

After all of the excitement, we were happy to settle in last night and recover, getting ready to enjoy our surroundings today.  The morning was spent finding and fixing the numerous places that sea water had found its way INTO our boat during our passage (NOT the kind of thing that's supposed to happen!) as well as cleaning and organizing, my constant occupation!  But after our industrious morning, we met up with our buddy boaters and dinghied around the island to an estuary teaming with turtles and rays of  every shape and size!  We meandered the area and beached ourselves after a while to look for shells and whatnot.

Needless to say, our journey continues to provide constant stimulation.  We've met some amazing people even here, in our deserted little enclave - like Howard (the guy who DIDN'T die), and local resident Dan (with great stories to tell) and another couple sailors.  We've seen things we've never seen, done things we've never done and continue to be amazed at how unique each day has been.

Tomorrow we three boats head out again for another of the Berry Islands, Little Harbor Cay with Flo's Conch House.  Who knows what's in store for us there?!