Why Knot's Sailing Adventures: Bimini Bahamas

Bimini Bahamas

We did it!! We actually made it to the Bahamas in our Boat!! It is the most beautiful water you could ever imagine. Yes, we had made it to the Bahamas after 3 long years of trying, we were finally about to dock at the marina. The water was the most beautiful color I have ever seen in my life. It was so dark blue, like SAPPHIRES and DEEP. When I looked at the depth gauge one was flashing last known 159 ft, the other had 2470 ft!!!! I know that the ocean has depths beyond imagination, but to see some of it through your very own eyes.

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Austin, TX to Punta Gorda, FL

The first thing we had to do was leave Austin, TX. I am always left to pack everything for our trip, clothes, cooler full of steaks, plus all of the items we were taking to the boat. You should have seen that car! There is no one that can pack a car like I can. It even amazes me sometimes what I can put into my car. Bill is a pilot and 2 times a year he has to do some additional schooling. On November 8th, we finally left Austin, TX for Punta Gorda, FL. The trip took about 20 hours of non-stop driving.

When we got to the marina, that was another story! There were projects still not quite finished, plus a few things we had on our list to do before we left the dock.

Burnt Store Marina

We arrived on November 9th. There were numerous things we had to complete before we left the dock. We are trying to keep the teak up so we don't have to do a major strip down to bare wood. We had recently installed a Lighthouse 1500 windlass. That thing is a monster!! It is so strong it can actually pull the chain apart. We also had to install the new chain, 250 ft on each side. We decided to keep the old rode & chain as a backup. But if the Lighthouse and 50o ft on chain can't hold us, I don't think another 200 ft of rode and chain will make that much of a difference. But you just never know. We had to put the sails back up. Since we always take them down during hurricane season.

We had recently had our ice box upgraded to a real fridge/freezer. However, the guy that did it used the wrong sealant and the smell was unbearable! Everything we put in the fridge was taking on the smell. So we had to keep everything in the cooler until we could resolve that problem. This was a BIG hassle. I had to wash the fridge out daily! I used everything known to man, but couldn't get that smell out. Finally, I put a citrus deodorizer in and that seemed to help, but I had to be careful not to leave it in too long, too.

I had to plan for over a month of traveling. Every time we would go to the boat I would slowly stock up on rice, canned goods, spices, most anything that would not parish on a hot boat or over several months. We had brought rib eyes, soda and Capt. Morgan's Spice Rum from Austin. I still had to go grocery shopping mainly to buy fresh fruits, sandwich meats, cheese, snacks and beer, lots of beer!

It took many trips to various stores to get all the beer Bill wanted on board. His thoughts, 2 beers a day on average, that is about 4 cases. But he also wanted some to barter with.

Now that all the shopping was completed, I had to stow everything and that takes a lot of planning to store so much food in such a small place. Imagine your cabinets at home ... now cut that in half. Now you have about as much space as we had on the boat. Plus, some of the places we used for storage were in very hard to reach areas.

One thing to always remember, take all paper products, boxes, cardboard's, etc., off the boat, ASAP! Bugs live and lay eggs in paper products and in the warm climates, they multiple fast! Once they get on, its really difficult to get rid of them.

Since this was now Thursday night, Nov. 15th, it was to be our last night at the dock. I still had to finish the laundry, before we left. Plus, Portabello’s Restaurant had Karaoke on Thursday nights and Bill was expected by the locals to sing. So, while Bill sang; I finish the laundry.

Departure Day, November 16th

Finally, We are leaving the dock!! We left the dock around 2:30 pm. We motored sailed across Charlotte Harbor and out the Boca Grande Pass. Went out to the second red buoy and headed south. We had a wonderful beam reach, but there was a cold front coming through and we had hoped to best it, but no such luck. After the sun went down, the temperature dropped big time! Bill usually does the early watch until around 8-9 pm. Then, I take over until midnight or 1 am. But on the first night Bill usually does most of the sailing, while I sleep. It seems like sailing makes me very sleepy, the smooth motion of the boat. aaahh! But being as it was VERY cold, I hated to come on deck and do my watch. It was about 1 am and Bill really needed some sleep. I noticed he had on his foul weather coat. He suggested I do the same. It was really freezing!! I had on my windbreaker suit, jacket foul weather coat and gloves, plus a blanket to block some of the wind. It really was that cold!! At least we had a beam reach. Other than freezing cold the sailing was really good. Finally, at 5:30 am , on November 17th, I couldn't stand the cold weather any longer and woke Bill up.

Punta Gorda, FL Final Preparations

When we arrived at the Burnt Store Marina, we were already pretty tired. We had driven 1260 miles, almost non-stop. I say almost, well you know, eating, fueling ... potty breaks! But we still made good time. This trip about 20 hours point to point.

Did I mentioon that our car was fully loaded withthings to put ON the boat. Yeah that in itself is a whole other story for another time. So we only unpacked the very bare necessities.

We went to the boat and started checking things out. Bill had his list of things to do, varnish the caprail where they had finally finished installing our NEW Lighthouse 1500 windlass. Polish all the new stainless around that new windlass with wax to keep it from rusting from all of the saltwater. Install the new 500 ft of chain. We planned to use 250 ft on each side and use the old rode and chain for our backup to our backup. (Again, another story). Lets just say it took us 4 days to go through his list. (Another story on boat preparations.) Then I was able to start on mine.

My list consisted of buy groceries, buying beer, buying additional boat supplies, more beer, more spare parts for the boat, more beer, some staples like TP, paper towels, did I say beer? We had already stocked up on liquor at our friendly neighborhood store in Austin, TX. Thanks Pete! Then stowing everything.

Now comes the fun stuff ... getting stocked up and stowed away.

I think I bought about 7 cases of beer, and about $200 in actual groceries. I had already stocked up on canned food and rice, potatoes, etc. But I also, needed bread, milk, cheese, sandwich meats, fruits and salad mixings. These things had to be bought at the last minute to keep them fresh for the long trip. After I bought all the groceries (did I say beer), I had to put them in my supply book. I have everything in the inside of the boat (outside lazarettes not included) in a notebook. Each locker has its own page and each item has its own place. (Another story).

This was a BIG job. I had groceries everywhere and everything from behind the settees out so I could replace the new stuff behind the old stuff. Doesn't sound that difficult, but it is more complex than it seems. I have small plastic tubs behind the settees and on top of the locker in the aft cabin. Each has canned food in them. Also, in the aft cabin we had to put some of the beer and staples.

One thing to remember, when you have a boat, you want to make sure you do not get bugs! So you have to take everything in cardboard or paper and put it in another air tight container. It also helps with space.

After everything was stowed away. I still had to wash one final load of clothes to maximize our little bit of clothes we carry on the boat.

So now that everything was bought and stowed away and all the clothes were cleaned and put away, we were ready to go.

Finally ... we are off to the Bahamas!

Punta Gorda tor Marathon, FL

YEAH ... we are leaving the Burnt Store Marina! It was about 2:30 pm on November 16, 2007. As we are leaving Charlotte Harbor, the sun is getting low in the sky. At first, I thought we would stop in at Pelican Bay for the night. But, since we were already a week behind schedule, thru the Boca Grande Pass we go.

When we exited the pass, and made our turn south toward Marathon, the wind was on the beam. Perfect sailing!! Not really much to tell here other than it was a REALLY nice night to sail. The winds were about 15 knots and stayed that way all the way to Marathon. It was a REALLY nice night to sail. Bill took the first watch. Sailing always seems to make me sleepy! Cool breeze blowing through your hair and across your face, the slow smooth motion of the boat on a beam reach and the waves so small you couldn't tell you were in the Gulf of Mexico. So Sweet! Who could ask for anything more than that? Well, me for one! I almost forgot to tell you, it was FREEZING! Yes, we had a nice beam reach, but the temperature was down to 40 degrees and I had my fowlie jacket on! and a blanket wrapped around my legs when I was sitting down. I thought we were in FLORIDA, where's the heat! Needless to say I wasn't going to be much use on the leg. I hated the cold and all I could think about was that warm V-berth with my name on it. Soon dear, soon momma's coming back to go to sleep. ssooonn

When 5:30 am came I was ready to go get Bill up. The sun was coming up and my eyelids were going down. So off to lala land I go.

The next thing I know were are in Marathon about to go under the Six Mile Bridge and it was a little after 2 pm on November 17, 2007.

Next Marathon to Hawks Channel ...

November 17th Marathon, FL

We made it to Marathon. I had gone to bed around 5:30 am. Now it was warm and sunny, we had arrived in Marathon. I thought we were going to stay the night and get up early and head to Bimini. But Bill decided, that we needed to head out before we lost our weather window. He didn't want me to have a horrible crossing my first time out.

Once we went under the bridge, we headed east up the Hawk Channel toward the Gulf Stream. It was a beautiful and warm night. But the wind was now on the nose, so we had to motor sail. Bill went to bed about 6 pm and I stood watch. It was really a nice night. I had my iPod, so I was prepared for my watch. Unlike Bill, I have to have something to occupy me when it is my watch. I can watch the stars for so long and then it gets boring. I am also not the type to continually tweak the sails. I may trim them to keep them from lufting, but that is it. So I listen to Jimmy Buffet all during my watch. Thank you Jimmy, you are great company during those long watches.

The waves were still very minimal. So motor sailing was nice. The sky was clear and everything was going well. Then I am guessing I hit the Gulf Stream. It seems the Gulf Stream changes. One day it can be 10 miles off the coast of Florida and then next it can be 20 miles off the coast. I can't say exactly where I was, because I hadn't really been paying that much attention to the charts. But there was a beautiful cityscape along side of us. I didn't know what was going on, we seemed to be stuck! The boat speed dropped by 3 knots. and as I watched the chart plotter we seemed to be going sideways and not very fast at that! It seemed like forever, but eventually the boat seemed to break away and regained speed. In fact, I had it up to 8 knots speed across the ground. By this time it was around 11:30 pm. The moon had set, but before it did, it was so large and orange. The last time I had the boat up to 8 knots Bill freaked a little. So since I didn't know how to slow down nor wanted to slow down, I woke up Bill.

I briefed him on what had been going on and how I thought we had entered the Gulf Stream. I hadn't been eating much since I tend to get seasick. Bill had found a new medicine, Sturgeron. I had taken it before we left Burnt Store, but none after. Which wasn't the brightest idea. But it had been working well. Before I went to bed I took another half. But, I guessing with the smell of fumes from the engine, the rocking motion and the fact that I took it with creme soda, which has a habit of foaming when shook, it wasn't good enough.

I finally got everything under control and went to sleep. normally, I would sleep in the v-berth, but because I was sick I slept in the main salon. It was a good sleep. I woke a few times when we would hit a big wave, but all in all, it wasn't too bad. My first time across the Gulf Stream was actually good.

Then it was November 18th ...

Marathon, FL to Hawks Channel to Crossing the Gulf Stream

The trip from Punta Gorda, to Marathon was ssoo smooth. Beautiful night sail. Winds on a beam all the way. But cold!! Did I mention I hate the cold!! Really, Really hate the cold!! I didn't help much on the first leg of the trip but now it was my turn.

As we made our turn to go under the Six Mile Bridge in Marathon the wind didn't change. Meaning what had been a beautiful beam reach was now "right on the nose"! As we got into Hawks Channel the water was a little different, not too bad, just not as calm as we had had the night before. And with the wind being directly on the nose, there was really only one thing we could do if we wanted to make our crossing that night ... MOTOR SAIL. Like I said, the water wasn't rough , but had a few small waves hitting us but not anything to worry about. (Lets remember who is writing this ... the lil chicken of the sea ... me). But again, it could have been worse. Bill had sailed most of the night before so shortly it would be my watch. I had slept most of the night giving Bill a few hours of sleep. We were in Hawks Channel heading northeast. It was about 6 pm and Bill knew if he didn't go to bed now it would be an even longer night for him. I tend to get very sleep when the clock strikes Midnight and being on a sailboat wasn't any different. So Bill went to bed and I stood watch. Most people I have spoken with about taking shifts when sailing through the night talk about 4 hours on 4 hours off. Well, 4 hours of sleep just gets me started. I am worthless unless I sleep 6 or more. If I have the early watch and stay up until I get tired and then let someone else take over, I do better and so does the person with me. Because I will be good until midnight or 1 am, no matter when I started 6 am in the morning until midnight I can do that. But not the reverse midnight to 6 am. So while Bill slept peacefully in the V-berth. I listened to Jimmy Buffet on my Ipod and even sorta watched a movie. My shift was very uneventful. One of my biggest concerns was crossing the Gulf Stream and the second was Crossing the Gulf Stream at night. Well, do you know how to conquer your fears? You have someone set you up and let you start doing things and unbenosous to them they are working into that fear very slowly. That is what Bill did to me. The watch I took was the watch that would lead us into the gulf stream. Of course, I didn't know that at the time. So I am happily listening to Jimmy B and looking around dancing. The weather was warm again. So I was having fun. The boat wsa doing a steady 4.5 to 5 knots. So when it slowed to 4, then 3, then 2.5, I was beginning to worry that I night have snagged something. I looked at the chart plotter and the autopilot was still on and the boat seemed to be trying to move forward, but was really moving sideways. This went on for several minutes and then everyhting slowly went back to normal. So I continued my watch for a couple more hours. Everything seemed to be fine, I was just getting tired. It was almost 2 am and I knew it was time for a shift change. It had been a pleasant night of motor sailing for me.

So Bill gets up. We do the shift briefing. No nothing happened, everything was running smoothly. Then he starts checking the chart to see where we were. He sked if I new how far we were from the Gulf Stream? I then said ... I think we are in it. He looked at me rather funny and said "really" what makes you think so. So I told him about how the boat had done and that I was concerned but things seemed to have gone back to normal. After a few minutes of checking, I had indeed, taken jus into the Gulf Stream all by myself. And you know what? It wasn't the Big Bad Wolf I thought it would be. There were a few waves (every 4th or 5th one) that was kinda high and mad e the boat crash back to the water, but it really wasn't that bad. Even I didn't think they were bad. Funny, too, everything seems better & less stressful when I am listening to Jimmy Buffet on my Ipod. I can't think of anyone I would rather listen to while standing watch on a sailboat at night or daylight.

Did I mention I get seasick? Well, I do. BAD. So this trip Bill bought some Sturgeron pills. I started taking it the day we left the marina and had not had any problems with seasickness. Not yet anyway ...

Finally, all the briefing ws completed and it was my time to go to sleep. So before I went to bed I took another half a pill just in case. I had dozed off, but this time the ride wasn't as smooth as before when I had been to sleep. I would get all comfy and doze then UP UP UP I go nad then DOWN! A few minutes later again ... UP UP UP and DOWN! This went on for quite sometime. IT was really bad, mainly annoying. I wanted to go to sleep. So I tossed and turned and changed positions and change again and agin. Then my stomuch said ENOUGH! Time to go ... RUN! No amount of pills could have stopped that from happening no way. I must have been in the head for a while because Bill comes down and wants to know if I am alright. Uh mmm, no! I was beginning to feel better, but still wasn;t quite there yet. So finally, I took anothe one of those seasick pills and laid down on the settee in the main salon. YOU have to know me. I do not sleep on those lil seats. I just can't get comfortable and you are always having to change sides when the boat changes tacks. But that night, I slept & slept very well on both settees. No more sickness, just sleep.

Then it was daylight and the cabin was warm. We were getting close to Bimini!

Next Bimini Bahamas ...

Hawk Channel - Crossing the Gulf Stream

We made it to Marathon. I had gone to bed around 5:30 am on the 16th and it had been freezing. Now it was warm and sunny, we had arrived in Marathon. I thought we were going to stay the night and get up early to head to Bimini. But Bill decided, that we needed to keep going before we lost our weather window. He didn't want me to have a horrible crossing my first time out. Once we went under the bridge, we headed east up the Hawk Channel toward the Gulf Stream. It was a beautiful and warm night. But the wind was now on the nose, so we had to motor sail. Bill went to bed about 6 PM and I stood watch. It was really a nice night. I had my iPod, so I was prepared for my watch. Unlike Bill, I have to have something to occupy me when it is my watch. I can look at the stars for so long and then it gets boring. I am also not the type to continually tweak the sails. I may trim them to keep them from lufting, but that is it. Instead, I listen to Jimmy Buffet all during my watch. Thank you Jimmy, you are great company during those long watches. The waves were still very minimal. So motor sailing was nice. Watching the moon slide beyond the horizon, before it was gone it was large and bright orange. Then darkness, and all you could see were stars, millions of stars. Everything had been going well. Then everything seemed to stand still. I wasn't sure what was going on. I'm guessing that is when I hit the Gulf Stream.

I can't say exactly where I was, because I hadn't really been paying that much attention to the charts. But there was a beautiful cityscape along side of us. The boat speed dropped to where we were barely moving. As I watched the chart plotter, we seemed to be standing still, then going sideways! It seemed to take forever for the chart plotter to show any progress, but eventually the boat seemed to break away and regained speed.

By this time it was around 11:30 PM. We had regained our speed, In fact, I had it up to 8 knots SOG (speed across the ground). The last time I had the boat up to 8 knots Bill freaked a little. (You see, going 8 knots when it is pitch black, and you can't see anything beyond the bow of the boat isn't really the safest thing to do.) So since I didn't know how to slow down nor wanted to slow down, I decided to wake up Bill. I briefed him on what had been going on and how I thought we had entered the Gulf Stream.

Bill found a new medicine for seasickness, Stugeron. I had taken it before we left Burnt Store, but none after. It wasn't the brightest idea. So before I went to bed I took another half.

The stream wasn't really bad, we had been in rougher seas many times before. But it wasn't working very well. I'm guessing with the smell of diesel fumes, the rocking motion and that I took it with creme soda it was going to be a long night. Plus, I hadn't been eating much, and I tend to get seasick anyway.I have to admit I was very nervous about going across. You, (at least I seem to gravitate to them), hear so many horrible stories about boats in the stream and the rough seas they encounter. But we were lucky, we had actually only a few hours of uncomfortable seas. And believe me that is very important to this chicken of the sea!I finally got my tummy under control and went to sleep. Normally, I sleep in the V-berth, but because I was sick I slept in the main salon. It was a good sleep. I woke a few times when we would hit a big wave, but all in all, it wasn't too bad. So I would have to say, my first time across the Gulf Stream was actually good! I am saying this for the benefit of those ladies & gentlemen that aren't as excited about sailing the open ocean as their other halves. It has taken me a number of years to get used to being on the water, but I am slowly warming up to it. Now if I can just get IN the water that would be a MAJOR break thru!!

Then it was November 18th ...

Bimini, Bahamas Nov. 18th

Here we are Bimini, Bahamas! We left Burnt Store Marina Punta Gorda, FL around 2:30 PM on Friday afternoon, December 16th. Then we went through Marathon on Saturday, the 17th about 1:30 PM (sorry Capt. Jim no time to stop this trip). I think we entered the Gulf Stream around 12-1 AM on Sunday and arrived in Bimini around 2:30 PM on Sunday afternoon.

Hooray!! We are here!!! Bill woke me up a couple of miles from Bimini. The water was ssooo beautiful. I have never seen water that was the color of the most brilliant dark sapphires I have ever seen. It was about 4000 ft deep. I couldn't imagine water that deep, especially so close to land! There were lots of powerboats around us. Off in the distance I saw what appeared to be someone jumping off a boat. However, with the use of our new Fujinon binoculars; I saw it was a sailfish being reeled in. It was amazing to see that fish jump so high! This spectacular show went on for hours. They had not gotten it on the boat by the time we were out of visual range. As I watched the fish finder I could see hundreds of fish on the bottom, we were at about 500 ft deep by this time. The water had started to lighten up from the dark sapphires, to medium shade of blue like the color of the blue on most USA flags. Slowly, the water turned turquoise, then pale blue, and then it seemed to be the lightest blue imaginable. By now, we were about 1/2 mile offshore.

We had been tring to raise the marina on the VHF, but no luck. Bill had to bring the paper charts on deck, because the Raymarine charts didn't look like anything we were seeing. The approach to the channel wasn't as visible as we had hoped. In fact, it was very confusing. There was supposed to be a range to help with the approach, but we couldn't see it. So we followed the paper charts and slowly made our way to the channel. Of course, since I am still learning, I thought I was doing pretty well at making my approach. That is until Bill jumps up and says turn to port now! It seems I was cutting the corner and cutting it too much at that! I hadn't learned to read the water yet, so I didn't realize that the water I was headed for was in fact, about 12 inches deep. But no harm was done and we made our way to the channel without any other close calls.

The channel wasn't like the marinas in the USA. Instead of going straight in, you have to go to the right then to the left and then turn back up after you have cleared the shallow water. Then slowly follow the deep water, determined by the darker color thru the channel to more open area.We tried again to raise the Blue Water Resort & Marina, but was informed by a local that they do not monitor their radio during the slow season. We finally made it to the Blue Water Marine. We were alittle surprised that no one was at the dock to meet us. Also, that there wasn't really anyone around at any of the marines we passed.

After we docked, we found out that no one could really talk to us until we had cleared in through customs and immigrations. So, Bill went into the marina office and got the immigrations papers for us. Before we left home (TX), Bill had put together a cheat sheet of sorts. He had put all of the information on it that the immigrations office could possibly need. Of course, he still had to take our passports to the custom and immigrations office, but it made filling out the paperwork easier.

When Bill had returned from clearing us in, he was pretty upset. He had asked for 90 days, but the girl behind the counter would only give us 30 days. We were told that the amount of days you receive are up to the person clearing you into the country. We are guessing since Bill interrupted her TV show, it ticked her off and she gave us the minimum allowed. The powerboat that came in a couple of hours after us asked for and got 180 days!! Finding this out really ticked Bill off. We decided that we would talk to the person in charge of the department the following day to try and get our permit changed to 90 days.

After his return, which seemed like forever when you are alone, but really was about 30-45 minutes, the dock attendant was right there to help us fuel up. Since the wind was howling like a big dog we weren't too sure how we were going to move off the fuel dock to our slip. But with the help of JD the dock attendant, we slowly pulled the boat around to the other side of the dock to our slip.

We filled up and the cost was pretty high, 26 gallons for $121.15. Since water was .50 cents a gallon, we decided to forgo washing the salt off the boat. After we got settled in, Ater 3 days on the water and no shower we really need one, too. We headed to the showers. They were clean, but not what I had expected for a "resort". But the water pressure was good and the shower felt great!

We had asked about internet service and were told for $10 a day we could have wifi. Before we paid that much we tried to see if there was any free sights available and were pleasantly surprised the BIG GAME Resort had their wifi set up and was FREE!!

Bimini Bahams

We finally sailed to the Bahamas!!

The events from the night before are fading fast; as you look out on the the most beautiful water you could ever imagine. Yes, we had made it to the Bahamas after 3 long years of trying.

The water was the most beautiful color I have ever seen in my life. It was so dark blue, like SAPPHIRES and DEEP. When I looked at the deptha gage one was flashing last known 159 ft, the other one had 2470 ft!!!! That was how did it was with a few miles of the shoreline in Bimini. I never knew that. I know that the ocean has depths beyond my imagination, but to see some of it through your very own eyes. The only thing to say is AMAZING, simply amazing.

And the fish were everywhere! BIG ONES! I have seen shows where these guys are catching Blue Marlin and/or Sailfish, but to see someone doing that in person. Truly spectacular!! Watching that Sailfish jump high out of the water over and over again. There are hardly words to describe it.

Then it was time for us to get everything ready to do into the marina channel. The water looked VERY skinny. But if we followed the charts and markers we would be fine. That is unless you let me steer and I try to "cut" the corner. That is something you DON'T want to do in the Bahamas. When Bill say what I was about to do he turn all shades of green and grabbed the wheel and quickly reminded me that we have to follow the markers or end up on a sandbore, Correction made, now heading directly where I should go. After we got into the Channel Bill felt it better that he take over, fine by me. I'm not ready to buy a dock slip today. So I helped navigate us to the marina and to the dock. Bill did a great job, The wind was pushing us hard toward the dock and if he wasn't careful we could hit hard and do some damage to our boat and the dock. But he did fantastic. No damage down to anything or anyone.

Now it was time to go to talk to customs and immigrations.