More Bimini
Well. Today was a day for learning new things. Here are a few of the things we learned:
The holding in the anchorage we chose is poor. That’s what it means when the chart says “POOR HOLDING” right where you’ve dropped anchor.
Sometimes shark-infested waters really means shark-infested waters.
This morning Ellen and I took Mr. Flowerpot to shore so Ellen could give me a much-needed haircut. After the haircut we rode back to the mother ship so I could jump in the water to get the hair off me where it had stuck to my sunscreen. I checked on the anchor and found it was not well set and had fouled on a wad of seagrass. I dove down and set it by hand.
The water was so clear and warm, I got Moss to jump in with me. Together we checked out the anchor, looked at some fishies, and swam around. Then a uniformed guy on shore shouted to us that we were not allowed to swim in the harbour. (That’s how they spell it down here, I am not being pretentious).
It’s their country, so we follow their rules. Once we were out of the water he shouted to us that it’s because of sharks, and that he wants us alive. Moss and I showered off and we all went ashore to check out Bimini. (By the way, I know you want to know about the haircut…it looks excellent. Ellen has been my only barber since 1995.)
We stopped by the Bimini Blue Water Marina to chat with some cruisers who arrived yesterday shortly before we did. They told us there had been a shark attack at Bimini Big Game Club this spring when a boy fell off the dock and got bitten by a bull shark. The theory is that all the sport fishermen who come to Bimini Big Game clean their fish and throw the guts in the water for the sharks to eat. This behavior trains the sharks that tasty treats can be had at the docks of the Bimini Big Game Club. The Club is a stone’s throw from our anchorage. Oh boy.
As we were being told this information, we watched about half a dozen 6’ bull sharks cruising around the docks looking for something to eat.
Happy to be on Bimini.
After our walk to the ocean side of the island where we saw the wreck of an old freighter, the bigger seas that we are glad we did not have to deal with yesterday, and the first of many lovely beaches, we headed back to Cupcake. She was not exactly where we left her – the anchor dragged a few dozen feet. So Ellen hauled Pablo up, cleaned off the sea grass, and we anchored again.
The weather app is predicting north winds in the mid-20 knot range with gusts to 35 tonight. I kept looking at our position and wondered how soon we would drag again. I was not eager to re-anchor at 1am when the winds are predicted to be most fierce.
So we agreed it made good sense to bring up the anchor (Ellen is a monster) and pay for a dock for the night.
It is a very dark night tonight.
As we were heading to the Blue Water Marina (only $1/foot) Moss remembered that the fuel-delivery freighter was tied up about 150’ off the fuel-dock and had a fuel hose spanning the distance. I was disinclined to tangle with that potential catastrophe in the dark with wind building. So we quickly decided to tie up at the Bimini Big Game Club dock ($1.75/foot).
After two unsuccessful attempts (remember, it’s dark and windy and there’s a wicked current running) we got tied up and are now all enjoying the post-adrenaline crash.
“Moss, that’s a pay phone. They were sort of like cell phones…”
Another day, another gazebo.
Cupcake is packed to the gills with groceries.
