Day 3 - Florida - Bahamas

25:43.5N
79:17.8W
A
late morning start, waking up in those crystal clear blue waters again,
overlooking pristine beaches and luxury homes. However, no time to waste -
we had to move away from our anchorage head toward a marina in order to
clear into the country. Having reserved a slip on the southern Bimini island we
headed for Bimini Sands Marina - no reply on VHF (even using the ships
re-installed VHF)! So deciding to enter the marina we picked our way across the
sand banks - only to get to the entrance and stop! Not enough water depth to get
in we were on the sane...bump...bump! A friendly pull round by a passing motor
launch helped us re-position to go out again - but still on the sand bank.
Anchor dropped to avoid getting further stuck - nothing to do but wait for the
tide - fortunately we were not entirely blocking the entrance. Only a few
minutes later we drifted off the bank, hauled the anchor and quickly made our
way quickly back to the deeper water channel .. phew! Choosing this time to go
to north Bimini island - we motored into the cut - keeping a watch for numerous
motor launches and overhead for sea-planes using the water to land! Tied
up at BlueWater Bimin Marina, customs and immigration just down the road -
cleared in quickly and off to the beach for a celebratory beer and conch
fritters - we were back in the Bahamas! Marina pool to cool off later, pizza and
movie to round the day off.
Phil and Di |