Crossing to Bimini
Dec 24, 2023
Last night was noisy. The bow of the boat bounced through the oncoming waves incessantly, our stateroom sounded like we were in a washing machine. Coupled with the chafing ropes on our snubber, it made sleep strenuous.
The ear plugs we have are a lifesaver but they keep falling out in the middle of the night. It’s pretty awkward trying to fish an earplug out from between the sheets while the boat’s rocking around, it’s pitch dark, and I’m trying not to wake the bear sleeping beside me.
We made our final trek south to Angelfish Cut today, now it’s all up to the weather. Wednesday is still looking good and it can’t come fast enough. I love playing cards, but I want it to be a hobby not a profession.
Continuing south to Pumpkin Key
We decided to treat ourselves to a very tasty prime rib dinner for Christmas Eve. It definitely feels strange to have no tree, no presents, and be completely surrounded by water. There has been a serious lack of Christmas music and the only lights we have came stock on the boat. It’s vastly different from the below-freezing temperatures and constant snow in Colorado.
Dec 25, 2023
I think I’m allowed to take a day off on Christmas. Trust me, it was uneventful. Just killer food, good people, and board games. The sun hid from us all day. We did have one person yell “Merry Christmas” as he passed us in his boat. My mom chilled champagne and somehow we forgot to drink it. Having a nice low-key holiday every once in a while is pretty nice.
Dec 26, 2023
Our final day of waiting. Tomorrow still has less than one-foot tall waves and single-digit wind speeds, hard to ask for much better than that for our crossing. When I woke up this morning it was so quiet. No waves slapped against the bow and our ropes weren’t creaking holding us against the wind.
The morning stillness was almost eerie
The calm weather prompted an early morning relocation to Pumpkin Key and now we are even closer to Angelfish Cut. My dad wanted to confirm the depth of the channel, so we lowered the skiff from the roof into the water and cruised through to the ocean. He has a handheld depth gauge that’s useful in these types of situations. Instead of relying solely on our charts, which are subject to change, we can skiff over the questionable areas and check the depths manually to confirm where to go. Passages out to the ocean can be notoriously tricky, so it’s nice to know what we’ll be up against.
Preparing to investigate Angelfish Cut
The mangroves occupied every inch of land along both sides of the cut. Their long roots stretched down into the saltwater clinging to anything they could find. Sadly, that often meant trash was littered throughout them. The density of the forest made it difficult to retrieve the debris, although we did our best.
Densely packed red mangroves
The birds don’t seem to mind too much though, we saw at least two snowy egrets hunting in the trees. Frigate birds and ospreys circled high overhead and the pelicans joined the cormorants patrolling the water.
Satisfied that we shouldn’t have any problem with the depth, we returned to the boat. However, the cable that lifts the skiff onto the roof stopped retracting. Dragging it behind us is an option, but that’s more of a last resort. My dad wired the crane himself so he decided to check the connections. In doing so he severed a very important wire from its terminal. Breaking things while trying to fix them is somewhat of a specialty for him. Luckily, our personal MacGyver can fix anything.
Our 30 year old crane
He broke out his soldering iron and, after some experimentation, we got it back together and operational. Keep in mind, this work was done on the roof of our boat while the wind fought us the entire time. I’m not sure the job we did was professional by any means, but the skiff is back on the roof and we don’t have to tow it to Bimini tomorrow, hooray!
To prepare for the journey, my dad showed us how to clean the sea strainers which filter water from the ocean before it cools our engines. We also changed the oil on our generator. These tasks aren’t very difficult, but squeezing into that engine room is rough. There is nowhere to fully stand up and two massive diesel engines are in the way of anything that needs done.
We call this boat yoga
Overall, I believe the Altitude Adjustment is shipshape and ready for the voyage. My mom is so excited she might not sleep. We would all really love to catch some fish too, fingers crossed we get lucky tomorrow morning.
In the evening we met up with the captain, Chris, and first mate, Melissa, of Brown Eyed Girl. Now we have a boat to make the crossing with us, it’s never bad to have company on a trip like this. We actually met Chris back in Lake Worth, crazy to think you can travel for miles and still run into the same people.
Our last sunset in U.S. waters
Dec 27, 2023
Finally, the day we have all been waiting for. As soon as it was bright enough to see, we were hauling anchor. We gently maneuvered our way through Angelfish Cut with the sun rising over the low clouds on the ocean.
Finally heading for The Bahamas!
Tensions were high as we navigated the shallow water, but we made it through no sweat. The only issue we faced was avoiding all of the crab pot floats. Fishermen seem to scatter traps everywhere, including the high traffic areas. They littered the ICW all the way from Georgia. Dodging them is like weaving through cones on the highway. Brown Eyed Girl followed close behind us and together we set course for Bimini.
Our travel companion for the crossing
It wasn’t long before land began to shrink and the water deepened. We got the fishing rods into the water and managed to catch two skipjack tuna pretty quickly! They definitely weren’t monsters but should be good eating and bait for later.
Unfortunately the calm, flat day we were expecting turned into anything but. Windfinder predicted one to one and a half foot waves. Weather apps are always subject to change but this time they were off by a mile. Not only are the waves closer to four and five feet tall, they are also coming from a completely different direction. The waves that should be moving northeast along with us are actually moving south and absolutely pelting us in the side.
To someone who hasn’t been on a boat that may not seem like a big deal, but it makes the rocking sensation much more severe. At the time of writing this, Julia is sick, our plants have spilled over, and we have been pitched as far as twenty six degrees from our center.
The inclinometer, affectionately know as the ‘tilt-o-meter
The chairs on our aft deck are screeching back and forth and our beer fridge just flew open cascading beverages in all directions. Supposedly, the waves should calm down as we get closer to Bimini but I’m not sure I trust Windfinder’s information any more. I feel terrible for any smaller boats that are trying to cross today.
The route across apparently took us directly through a shipping channel as well. Massive freighters loomed on the horizon around us. From a distance they appear to move very slowly, but most cargo ships average over twenty knots, that’s more than double our speed. Needless to say, we didn’t play chicken and gave them the right of way. With some cargo ships reaching lengths of over a thousand feet, I’m sure the waves didn’t affect them as much as they did us.
Moving around during the crossing was nearly hopeless, but luckily, there are handrails throughout the boat. Keeping a low center of gravity is the only way to not get thrown by the huge waves. It’s also the only way to combat sea sickness as Julia found out by lying starfish-style on the aft deck after losing her breakfast. Sitting and staying is definitely the safest plan. Using the bathroom was a… unique experience to say the least. I’ll spare the details.
The waves continued to assault us as Bimini came into view. We had planned to fish once we arrived, but after grueling through seven hours of extreme teeter-tottering, that plan was out the window. We headed straight for the marina.
Julia couldn’t wait to get flattened back out, she said the crossing felt like it would never end. Miraculously she recovered as soon as the rocking subsided. We rounded Henry Bank just outside of Alice Town on Bimini and suddenly Julia was standing beside me. I thought she was down for the count but she rallied just in time to help us dock.
Decompressing from our stressful crossing
Tying up Altitude Adjustment to the dock in Bimini differs greatly from my small Jon boat in Chatfield Lake. The tide in Bimini can vary two to three feet so the boat has to be able to raise and lower freely. If the lines are too tight when the tide goes down, ropes can snap and cleats can be ripped off the dock or boat. It’s not fun for anyone. To avoid that we use spring lines. The ropes themselves aren’t stretchy, instead they run diagonally to their cleats and allow the boat to rise and sink freely with the tide. In Colorado I don’t have to worry about any of that.
Water (white), power (yellow), and spring lines (black) on the dock in Bimini
The marina is a nice change of pace from being on anchor constantly. Here we can hook up to water and power similar to an RV park. Hot showers every night are fantastic and being able to go ashore without using the skiff is very convenient. However there is constant boat traffic, lots of bright lights, and loud music late into the night. There are pros and cons no matter where we park.
Dec 28, 2023
My parents have spent so much time in Bimini, it has become their home away from home. The marina we are staying at is closed but they know the owner, Allen, and he gave us the okay to tie up. They met him during their first trip, and over the last few years they traded him fish for a free stay, met his father, who is also Allen, and even helped him build his new house. It’s all about who you know.
Returning to a familiar beach on North Bimini
One of our first priorities is getting some laundry done. There is a washer and dryer on the boat but the capacity isn’t much so towels and blankets have been sorely neglected. We enlisted the help of Pat to drive us over to the laundromat. Pat is a Bimini local and is just about to turn eighty. He’s a little rough around the edges, but over time my parents have grown on him. He usually rents golf carts at the marina but currently all of them are in bad shape. The only one that runs is his personal cart, and it’s barely limping along as it is. My dad and I hopped on and he drove us to drop off our laundry.
Once we came back it was time to scrub. After the crossing the boat was crusted in salt so it needed a rinse. My dad and I were able to stand on the dock and clean more of the gnarliness from the boatyard as well. Unfortunately we were only able to clean one side but we are making progress. While we scrubbed, the rain continually threatened to fall and eventually we started getting wet. Time to let the rain do some of the work.
We took some time to plan our next move as well - Andros here we come. Andros is the largest island in the Bahamas and is also somewhere my parents have not explored so it will be new territory for all of us. To get there, it will take us two days of traveling, one of those nights will be spent on the Great Bahama Bank. It will be our first and, hopefully, only time anchoring without any cover from land. The nice part is that we should only be in about ten feet of water.
Using the charts to plan our next move
Once our laundry was done, we sent Jules and my dad to pick it up, this time Pat just let them borrow his cart. They also stopped by a bakery while they were out and picked up some Bimini bread. The cinnamon raisin is killer and I’m told the coconut bread is just as good, it was still warm when they brought it back to the boat.
Never has clean laundry looked so good
The rain continued to be sporadic into the afternoon. At one point it stopped and we took advantage of the lull to go for a walk around the south end of the island. The waves crashing on the beach and off the point were tremendous! What we crossed in was bad but this was noticeably worse. Huge waves crashed over the sandbar and battered the rocky shoreline. When you’re not caught in the middle of the violent waves they’re actually stunning.
Crashing waves off of Bimini’s coast
In 1997, Hurricane Mitch berated a freighter named Gallant Lady against the iron shore. Her remains have been fighting a losing battle against the saltwater ever since. The rusty skeleton does create a nice contrast against the crystal blue water though. My mom said there is definitely less Gallant Lady than last year.
The Gallant Lady in February (left) versus December (right) 2023
Unfortunately much of our walk was littered with all types of waste. I picked a gallon Ziplock bag off the rocks and used it to collect trash - we filled it instantly. It makes me so incredibly sad. I remember going to the beach as a kid and I swear it never looked like this. I have an immense love for the ocean and marine life and it kills me that we as a species haven’t done something sooner. Today we continue to exacerbate the problem! How long will it be before we can’t fix it? How long until there is more plastic in the ocean than fish? What are we going to eat then, huh?