Ship’s Log | S/V Dea Latis | We're Underway!

Bimini

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Dave

We are here in Bimini, just about 5o miles from Florida, dreading the thought of crossing back. Bimini, or north Bimini, is just a narrow patch of land about a city block wide but it’s beautiful here and everyone is very nice. We are in the Blue Water Marina taking a break and enjoying the amenities. It seems official…we have a window to cross back to Florida tomorrow…so we are planning to take off about 7:00am and head for West Palm Beach.

Welcome sign at the old sea plane ramp:

Tourism and immigration offices:

Customs building:

We went through the Bimini Museum which was very nice and informative. Richard Nixon, Martin Luther King, Hemingway, Olympic athletes, big game fishing, it was very interesting:

Then we walked the island:

Like the lifestyle:

Walked along the beach road:

Went to the Dolphin House:

…but the cannon was very menacing so we didn’t go in…

Big Game Club:

We could have used a whopper, even a small one:

War memorial:

Marina:

Dea Latis:

We went to the bakery/lunch stand and had a wonderful meal of baked chicken, rice and potato salad. Now we are back at the boat, sitting in the cockpit enjoying the afternoon. Looks like an afternoon rain. Next update will probably be from Florida.

Until then…

Categories: Cruising, Destinations | Tags: Bimini | 1 Comment

Quick Stop

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Dave

We left Nassau bound for Bimini. The trip is quite long so we picked a spot in the southern Berry Islands to stop and rest. We dropped the anchor between Frazers Hog Cay and Bird Cay. We took a nap, got up and ate dinner, then around 8:00pm we pulled up anchor. We took the northwest channel onto the Great Bahama Banks and 16 hours later we landed in Bimini. Didn’t take any pictures in the Berries as it is just water and the weather was not the greatest, nothing really remarkable. We did add another spot on the map to show where we were.

We did take this sunrise picture out on the banks:

We are in a marina in Bimini right now. We are going to walk around a bit today, take some pictures and get ready to leave in the morning. Depending on the weather we should be in West Palm Beach by tomorrow night…

…that was a depressing statement…

Categories: Cruising, Destinations | Tags: Bimini | Comments Off

The Trip Home

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Dave

We had a great time in the Exumas but it was time to move on. We hoisted sails, pulled up anchor and headed north to Highborne Cay, which was our staging point to Nassau on the Island of New Providence. We have had great sailing conditions since leaving Georgetown and the forty miles to Highborne was no different. We raced north under sail alone sometimes hitting eight knots, it was a fantastic ride! We dropped the hook just west of the island, did a little fishing (caught a snapper), cleaned up the boat and planned our departure from the Exumas to New Providence (Nassau).

This pulled in right next to us at Highborne Cay anchorage:

The next morning we pulled up anchor and departed Highborne for New Providence (Nassau):

There is a noticeable difference between the out islands and Nassau/Paradise Island. Entering the channel there are lots of huge houses, hotels and yachts:

Looking west down the channel:

Nassau Harbor down past the two bridges:

Looking north, Paradise Island, very nice:

Looking south, Potters Cay and Nassau:

We anchored just south of Atlantis Resort:

Took the dinghy to Atlantis Marina, it is very ornate:

You can buy this 200 foot yacht, Diamonds are Forever, for $60 million:

We met up with Jim and Janey from M/V Pirate and headed to town:

Bay St from the water:

Downtown:

Government buildings:

Well dressed Police Officer:

It was very hot so we stopped for refreshments:

After visiting several (many) shops and the straw market we got hungry and thirsty again. We grabbed some pizza and a couple of beers and ate lunch on the water front:

After a fun day walking around Nassau we headed back to the dinghy. Jim and Janey took us on a tour of the entire harbor, it was fantastic. After our tour we said our good byes and headed back to the boat. Later that night we were treated to a fantastic fireworks show:

The next morning we pulled up the anchor, cleared out with harbor control, and headed west…past the yoga retreat:

Past the cruise ships:

…out into the ocean bound for the Berry Islands.

Categories: Cruising, Destinations | Tags: Nassau, New Providence | 1 Comment

Staniel Cay and Big Majors Spot

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Dave

We’re in Bimini right now, more on that later…

Big Majors Spot and Staniel Cay

We were in Big Majors/Staniel Cay for several days where we reconnected with Dirk and Nancy on S/V Renegade and had a fantastic time. Staniel Cay is, so far, our favorite place in the Exumas. While in the area we visited Thunderball Grotto, pig beach, Pirate Beach, the Yacht Club, and had a fresh caught mahi mahi dinner with new friends.

Anywhere you go there are plenty of these around:

The four of us went to lunch at Staniel Cay Yacht Club:

Sharks waiting to be fed right in front of the club:

Yacht Club:

Lunch with Dirk and Nancy:

Really nice cottages for rent at the Yacht Club:

The next night we went to the club for dinner to celebrate our 10 year anniversary:

Dave was a great bar tender. When we asked for the check he asked how many beers we had, we were honest:

Then we had to find and visit the grocery store:

We had dinner with Laurie and Richard of M/V Forever Young, along with Dirk and Nancy, Jim and Janey M/V Pirate, and Bob and Laura of M/V Laura Lee.

Laurie:

Janey, Richard, Dirk, and walking sticks that probably belong to Nancy:

Smallest dinghy in the crowd:

Sunset from the top deck of M/V Forever Young:

Dinner of fresh caught mahi mahi and so many other dishes:

Then we snorkeled the Thunderball Grotto. More to come on that later:

We also visited “pig beach”. Wild pigs and other farm animals roam freely waiting to be fed:

We also spent time at Pirate Beach. People (mainly Jim and Janey of M/V Pirate) bring chairs, grills and games to the beach and leave them for the entire season for other cruisers to enjoy:

We will update again soon. We are in Bimini right now and will probably cross back to Florida in a couple of days.

Bimini

Quick Stop

The Trip Home

Staniel Cay and Big Majors Spot

One More Shark

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