BACK IN THE BAHAMAS – South Bimini to Great Harbor – January 15, 2019

BIMINI SANDS MARINA – January 11, 2019
Greetings from BoatMonkeyAdventures! It has been a busy 2 weeks for Boat Monkey and the crew of Eileen. When last we checked in here on the website, we had been waiting (im)patiently for a weather window with which to cross the Gulf Stream. We made some great new friends in Marathon and were able to spend New Year’s Eve with some of our favorite people at the Green Parrot in Key West. Alas, all things must end; the weather seemed to be giving us a small window to get over to the Bahamas! We rushed to get the boat topped off with water and fuel, stowed the dinghy and left Marathon on January 3rd at 2pm headed for Bimini.

It was a relatively uneventful 20 hour motor-sail to Bimini Sands Marina on South Bimini Island. The wind was a little less favorable than we could have hoped so we had to keep the motor running. We saw a couple of cruise and cargo ships but nothing nearly as exciting as on our first crossing last year.

Bimini is divided into a north island and a south island. The northern island is where most of the action is, but we never made it over there. There are several marinas and resorts, a cruise ship area, and a small town. Being so close to Miami, the area sees a lot of traffic from South Florida. The south island was a lot quieter. The Bimini Sands Marina is surrounded by a large townhouse development. Both the marina and townhouses were mostly empty. It is still very strange to me that so many of these large scale and expensive developments are built here in the Bahamas, and then for whatever reason they either don’t succeed, or perhaps are damaged by a storm, and then seem to be allowed to fall into neglect and disrepair. The Bahamas seem littered with half realized dreams and failed developments, while at the same time, there is always new large scale development taking place on remote islands?! The economic factors at work here must be above my pay grade.

Bimini Sands Marina had friendly staff, a beautiful infinity pool, and nice facilities. Nearby, we found an awesome nature trail that had been made possible by a partnership between the resort and the nearby “Shark Lab”, a marine science field lab specializing in shark research. They often have tours of the lab facility open to the public, but we were not staying long enough to catch the tour…next time! The nature trail wound around what was a surprisingly high elevation area of wonderful large canopy trees that provided habitat for many local birds and other critters. The interpretive signage on the trail was super informative and interesting. Allegedly, the Bimini islands were a hideout for pirates during the buccaneer era and the trail took you to an old “Pirate’s Well” where pirates once fetched fresh water. Boat Monkey decided to dig an old Bahamian penny from his pocket and make a wish as he tossed it into the inky black water down in the well. The trail ended on the beach at an old abandoned house which was built and lived in by a former Australian Olympian in the 1920’s. Much of the old stucco was gone, revealing many conch shells used in the construction to fortify the poured concrete.

There were a couple of quaint restaurants with good reputations nearby but we were eager to take the next fair winds across the Great Bahama Banks and were  not able to patronize them. We were also unable to take the ferry to the North island to explore the town and get in on some of the “Bimini Bread” they are famous for. Our decision to move on was exacerbated by the fact that the marina’s desalinization plant had burst a membrane and there was no fresh water to rinse the boat or ourselves after our salty crossing of the Gulf Stream. It was on to the Berry Islands and Great Harbor Key Marina. Our friends on the sailing vessel “Wandering Princess” (also one of our buddy boats across the Gulf Stream) as well as some new friends we had met on the sailing vessel “Zoe” were of all of like mind and we decided to sail across the Banks together. It is a long 85 mile trip and it is always good to have the company and safety of another boat with you on these long crossings!

GREAT HARBOR CAY – BERRY ISLANDS – January 13, 2019
As we finished the long 85 mile trip across the Great Bahama Bank, we looked forward to exploring more of the Berry Islands. This is one of the less “discovered” areas in the Bahamas, boasting some of the most beautiful anchorages we visited last year. We anchored just outside the entrance to Great Harbor Marina and fell into an exhausted sleep.

Early the next morning we motored through another one of the extremely narrow cuts which have been blasted through the limestone bluffs to create protected harbors for many of the marinas and harbors. It is always a little unnerving to pass through these rocky cuts and one must be careful to catch them at the right tide and wind direction to avoid making things more “exciting” than they need to be.

The Great Harbor Cay Marina is a clean, well maintained facility with friendly staff, excellent fixed pier slips. We were ready for some fuel and water…not to mention a fresh water rinse of Eileen and ourselves! We were getting a bit salty and smelly by this point. I had also finally begun to grow my “cruising beard” and it needed a trim so I didn’t look like an axe murderer.

The original development of what is now the Great Harbor Cay Marina began in the mid-60’s with a $38 million dollar development of the marina basin, surrounding town houses, and a posh luxury resort on the nearby hill. Golf course designer Joe Lee also developed an 18 hole championship golf course on the grounds adjacent to the resort. The remote natural beauty of the area and close proximity to Miami were the driving factors in choosing this location to become an enclave and escape for the rich and famous during the 60’s and 70’s. Word is that Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and the “Rat Pack” crowd had a major ownership stake in the resort. Movie stars would arrive by yacht and the marina was the hub of the social scene along with the giant club and resort on the hill.

While the marina is still very well maintained and a great stop for cruisers, the townhouses are now rental apartment for the locals, and the resort was apparently abandoned at some point long ago due to storm damage? It was obviously built to be there a long time with massive concrete bones and huge timbers. It is hard to believe that such a structure could be built and fall into its current state in just 50 years. Exploring it was like being in some sort of post-apocalyptic movie. It was super creepy already but to add to the weird vibe, the main entrance had apparently been used for some kind of Halloween event and had spooky shapes hanging from the rafters and other macabre decorations. Celia and I exchanged wary glances as we continued our exploration. The property is apparently not off-limits to explore and you can literally go anywhere in the old buildings. As we looked around at the fallen timbers and vegetation growing out of the bar in the lounge, it was crazy to think of Sinatra sitting there sipping on a drink and beautiful movie stars lounging by the pool below. We love exploring stuff like this and could have stayed there for hours (as long as we got out before dark!), but we were late for dinner and had over a mile to walk to the restaurant.

As is the case in much of the Bahamas, the locals are very friendly and will almost always offer rides to anyone walking down the roads. As we made our way to the other side of the island, we were picked up by “Johnny” who had a most interesting vehicle. It was a Japanese vehicle unfamiliar to the US. The odd thing was that the control screen and all markings and the cars voice were all in Japanese! I asked him if he spoke Japanese..he said no. I said “How do you know what all the buttons, etc. are for”? He said “I just push shit until what I want to happen happens!”. Too funny.
We arrived at Cooliemae’s Sunset restaurant on the beach and enjoyed some delicious freshly caught hogfish and cracked conch with our friends Cody, Katie, Dan, and Sherry. I am still amazed by how quickly you can bond with fellow cruisers when you recognize them as “your tribe”. It always feels like you have known each other for years, and it is always a bit sad when you head off to different locales not knowing when you might see them again. It was here we would say goodbye to Cody and Katie as they headed for Nassau to spend time with family. We would see Dan and Sherry again at the Cabbage Cay anchorage and sail to Spanish Wells in Eluethera in their company along with our friends Zac and Lindy who we had met last season in Boot Key Harbor. They showed up unexpectedly in our anchorage the day before we were heading out!

Next up, however was spending a few days in a gorgeous protected anchorage at Devil’s Cay about 35 miles to the south in the Berries. This is probably our favorite spot we have found thus far in the Bahamas! Isolated, unspoiled, and beautiful! I can’t wait to write the next blog post about this amazing place.

As of today, we are holed up in a protected anchorage in Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera. There is a strong winter front coming and there are not many options outside of marinas to wait out weather which will have strong winds blowing from all directions in less than 36 hours! The winds are forecast to stay sporty so we may be stuck here for several days….that means time to catch up on writing about our adventures! More coming soon! Thanks for following along with BoatMonkeyAdventures!

« December 7, 2018 – Here We Go Again! – Waiting for weather in Boot Key Harbor | DEVILS CAY – BERRY ISLANDS – January 19, 2019 »