Rodriguez Key to Bimini Bahamas
Ananda
Ron Welch
Sun 6 Mar 2011 22:42
Beep..beep..beep.....1am came all to quickly...however, one thing about waking up and remembering there is a significant event included in the day is, you don't lay around waiting for the snooze alarm to go off. Yes, we jumped up and made some coffee and tea....everything had been discussed and programmed into the chart plotter the evening before so it didn't take much preparation and the anchor was up......and we were off in the deep dark night into no so deep waters.......Roger checking the paper charts, and Ron carefully watching depths on the chart plotter carefully navigated our route around the skinny waters and past three green markers....once past molasses reef and the depths started to increase....great sighs of relief were heard.......onto the next piece of excitement....entering and crossing the Gulf Stream, which was running at about 2-3 knots. In order to go north, we had to travel towards the south. Yes, the strength of the current pushes the boat towards the north as you sail south, and the depths increase to fathoms the chart plotter is un able to read.......paper charts show depths of more than 2000 feet. The wind was a steady 11-13 knots, blowing from the north, which produced some uncomfortable rolling swells. Ananda, held her own, and it didn't seem to affect Ron, however the rolling movement had a not so pleasant effect on Roger and me. Once we put the sails up, the motion evened out and the rest of the trip, while long, was fairly uneventful.
The color of the water in the gulf stream is pure cobalt blue...absolutely stunning and was the prettiest water at that point ......however, once arriving in the Bahamas, and seeing the turquoise blue of the water here, Now it seems this water is even more beautiful.....the water is so clear that we could watch four or five 6-9 foot long bull sharks swimming around in the marina....yikes......seems they like pretty water too. Apparently they come in at night looking for the chum and fish guts the fishermen throw into the water when they clean their catch of the day. Synchronistically surprise meetings seem to be a wonderful part of this trip....Driving in Bimini we were met by a friend of ours from Huntsville......no planning, just grace. Jeff Posner and his wife Anne were in the slip next to us in Joe Wheeler, and jeff had just arrived in Bimini on a sailing course trip.....we shared a drink and dinner on the beach watching the sunset. It's lovely here in Bimini......no neon lights...I don't even think there are street lights...the people are friendly, the colors of the houses and shops is bright. Streets are narrow Ans the smiles are wide. While Roger and Ron worked on a gelcoat repair, I took a walk to the coin laundry.......sign reads go this way to laundry...seemed a bit odd, but I followed the arrow, through someones side yard, around behind the neighbors house was the building with very fancy, modern commercial washers and dryers... Friendly Bahamian lady helped me get things going.......and now as I write this update we are anchored out in only 6 or 7 feet of water...clear aqua water, having a sundowner watching the boat next to us......they are doing something; and there is plenty of speculation coming from the cockpit on Ananda as to what might be happening........