Log of Sea Wings

 February 27, 2008

Bimini Bluewater Resort Marina

Alicetown, North Bimini, Bahamas

25 – 43.47’N

79 – 77.86’W

Cruisers at Last

Several days ago, our bow slid into foreign waters for the first time. After an uneventful crossing of the Gulf Stream, we fought our way through the surf and into the harbor at North Bimini.

The Bahamas are a lot like the Grand Canyon. No mater how many pictures you have seen, or TV, or friends descriptions, nothing can capture the spectacle of it until you have actually seen it for yourself. We have seen the waters of the Caribbean, Hawaii, and lived on the Emerald Coast of Florida, all some of the most beautiful waters in the world. But they pale in comparison to the bright, vivid colors of the Bahamas.

It starts out in the Gulf Stream where your depth sounder can no longer calculate the depth and the water turns a dark, rich blue. Then as you approach land the bright bands of iridescent blue and green glow like powerful lights accenting the white beaches and colorful houses. And suddenly the forgotten bottom rushes back up and you are in bright green water with the bottom clearly visible many feet below you. But you also see the coral heads and you concentrate on following your compass and aligning range markers on the beach as the coral is suddenly obscured as you enter the surf at the entrance to he harbor. The green water boils all around you as you fight the boat to stay on course, hoping it is not your day to hit the coral. And then after a few frightening moments you are in a quiet harbor trying to concentrate on docking the boat when you are distracted by the incredible color that is all around you. We’re in the islands at last.

We are staying at the Bimini Bluewater Resort, a facility put on the map by Papa Hemingway during his game fishing days. Local lore is that he wrote some or all of “To Have and Have Not” here in Bimini. Our first hours here were filled with customs and immigration and after securing our pricey cruising permit, we lowered the yellow quarantine flag and hoisted the Bahamian courtesy flag, our first day in a foreign country after a sea voyage, our first real island and finally we are feeling like real cruisers.

Though we have been full time on the boat for over six months and even with nearly 2,500 nm under our keel, we have never really felt like cruisers. We were still in the USA with all the conveniences readily at hand, with SeaTow and the Coast Guard to bail us out of trouble, with working cell phones and readily available WiFi. While a few folks we met along the way were just like us and were heading south for the first time, most all of them had tales to tell of the Bahamas or places further south. At last we feel like one of their fraternity, even though it is our first island and after a baby step first open ocean trip. We are feeling like we are finally on our way and feel one with all the other ‘cruisers’.

We have now been here for several days and are waiting for a weather window to move across the Great Bahama Bank to Chub Cay and then on to Nassau or possibly direct to Allen Cay at the northern end of the Exumas. It is the off season here, with the high season not starting for a few more weeks. But the quiet is more to our liking and we have enjoyed spending time with the local people and with our fellow cruisers. (most of whom seen to be from Canada for some reason)

The Biminians are a proud people with an island twang and British overtones. At first glance the island looks impoverished, with a contrasting very upscale resort now partially complete on the northern end of the island. But looks are sometimes deceiving. While appearing plain, simple, and cobbled together on the outside, many houses are very charming and well designed on the interior. While visiting one of the local markets looking for Bahamian bread, we were introduced to Oliver and his wife Barbara who are the best known island bakers of the local bread. The market was out of bread, so Oliver drove us to his home to purchase some and as he drove up we saw just another simple house with a sand driveway, yard dog and a carport full of broken appliances and machinery. But on entering we were met with carefully crafted tile floors and varnished, tongue and groove paneled walls. Neat and tidy with built in bookcases and cabinets it had a colonial feet to it but was more contemporary in execution. It was totally charming as were Oliver and Barbara themselves.

After sampling some of the local eateries and watering holes we have found ourselves gravitating to Sherri’s By the Sea, a local beach bar with a commanding view of the Gulf Stream. It is no more than an open shed with a small bar that is emptied each night into a single locked closet. Operated by Sherri, her daughter and father the bar is a gathering place for visitors and some locals (mostly other family members) to watch the sunset and sometimes spend the whole afternoon and or evening. But while Sherri turns out excellent drinks, it is the food that is to die for.

She makes each conch salad from scratch and the simple dish of no more than raw conch, diced tomato and green pepper, sliced onion, garlic salt and lime juice is simply wonderful. We have never had anything like it and are really hooked on it. Fortunately, Sherri has shown us how to make it so we are looking forward to having it often on the boat.

Most evenings Sherri’s dad brings in a small deep fryer and fries up lightly battered snapper, yellow tail, wahoo………..and lobster. Now for those of us who grew up with steamed Maine lobster, or who have had wonderful grilled lobster in the Caribbean might turn up our nose at frying a perfectly good lobster. Think again, my friends, this stuff is amazing. The meat just swells out of the shell and it is served directly from the fryer, one order at a time, rich and succulent, not at all like the fried seafood we are used to in Florida. There it is battered in a heavy batter which overwhelms the flavor of the meat, the Bimini style is more like a very light tempora batter allowing a fuller flavor of the meat. We don’t know if this style is local to Bimini or will be found throughout the Bahamas, but we intend to sample as much as possible as we go.

We have ridden our bikes through the new, upscale, Bimini Bay Resort and have walked many times past the Big Game Club with it’s imposing fence/wall. Both have the look and feel of protective enclaves, keeping the haves carefully protected from the have nots. Obviously, these protected environs appeal to many as they can come and enjoy the climate and fishing without having the discomfort of interfacing with the locals. We find this sad for both………the haves experiencing only an Americanized encampment and missing the warmth and color of the local community and the have nots everyday seeing a lifestyle that is completely unobtainable and with its glitz obscuring the fact that it may not really be better. In speaking to the locals, they see the obvious advantages of increased local employment but also feel the jury is still out as to whether it is actually the best thing for the island.

Unfortunately, we hear that this is more and more the norm throughout the Caribbean. The number of ‘mega yachts’ has increased exponentially over the past decade and by revising marine facilities to service them and creating similar upscale compounds to amuse their owners and guests, the islands are able to lure unheard of wealth to their communities. What is lost is the color and charm of many of the islands as well as fewer and fewer marinas catering to yachts less than 100ft. Even now when stopping for fuel we have to ask the delivery rate of the pumps as many marinas only have delivery rates over 30 gallons per minute. If we are not light on the lever we are met with a shower of red fuel, while the mega yachts take hours to fill with the same pump. The world is changing and we often question if it is for the better. I am sure those looking down from the decks of these behemoths think it is just fine.

And sometimes what these folks miss by not leaving their fortified “green zones” are people like Ashley Saunders and his Dolphin House. More about that in the next log.

Best to all and fair winds,

Lew and Lyn

sv Sea Wings