Day 57 – 2/27/11

Today is check-in day.  We dingyed to the “dingy beach”, and locked up the dingy heading for the airport 10+ miles away.  We met a guy fixing his bike tire at the beach, and he offered us the bus schedule, noting that the bus takes exact change.  We popped into the Publix and got change and asked directions to the airport, using the bus to get us there.  Between a couple of the employees, they gave us the best route and armed with change (dollars and quarters), we were off.  We had barely reached the bus stop when the bus pulled up (a couple of minute’s late, fortunate for us).  Paying for an all-day fare, $4, we were off to downtown Palm Beach.  It is an interesting perspective to see the land where prior to this point we only had a view from the water. 

We changed buses at the downtown hub and we’re off to the airport.  Once we get to the airport we go to customs (per instructions by the customs agent we had spoken to yesterday) only to find out that boaters had to go to another building.  We talked to the local sheriff officers who noted that the office we had to reach was on the other side of the airport, about 1 ½ miles away (turned out to be about 3).  The officers approached the cab dispatch to see if he could help, and Beth said if he could get us a cab for $5, we would take it, otherwise we would walk.  The cabbie agreed, and off we went, although he turned his meter on and it read almost $9 when we got there.  We paid the $5 with a $2 tip and walked up to the building.  We tried to enter, and read ring the call button.  We followed instructions and finally an officer came to the bank tellers outside window where you would pass a check underneath and get money in return.  In this case, we simple gave him our arrival code and passports, nothing else; we had boat and personal documentation.  After a couple of minutes we were done!!!  It turns out that he served in the Air Force and was stationed at the same base as Tim, Lauren’s husband, and met his wife in Abilene.  Small world!!

After checking in, now getting back to the boat was the next order of business.  The cabbie had noted that we could catch the bus on the road next to the airport and get back to the downtown hub.  While we were reconnoitering, we met a man policing the grounds at a local aviation facility.  We enquired on how to catch the bus, noting that we had just checked in with customs next door.  He said that he would give us a ride back to the airport, and Beth asked what would be the charge; he said no charge.  On the way to the airport, we detailed our adventures so far and he asked where had anchored our boat.  We told him we were in North Palm Beach, and he offered to drive us back, no charge.  Instead of the 1 hour bus ride, we were back in 20 minutes. 

In the plaza where he dropped us off was a Subway, and Beth ordered a small sub before venturing back to the boat.  After lunch, we stopped at Publix to get some fresh fruit and veggies, as well as dinner for tonight, salmon.  Back at the boat, a leisurely afternoon was followed by showers and dinner, grilled salmon and steamed fresh spinach.   

Day 56 – 2/26/11

We are really leaving!!!  A little after 6, we eased out our slip having settled the bill the night before, and we’re off for Florida.   The joke is "head west and you’ll run into Florida".  As we were leaving 2 other boats were motoring through the channel, one headed north and the other south.  A third boat followed us west, but they appeared to be heading to Port Everglades, and we were going to try for Lake Worth.  When we arrived in Bimini we spoke with a Canadian who said that even motoring you can make Lake Worth in 9 to 10 hours as you will pick up an extra 2 to 3 knots in the Gulf Stream.  He was right; about a mile or two off of Bimini, the GPS speed read 7.4+ while the speed through water was 6 knots.  At times we were doing over 8 knots (it’s a sailboat with a 25 HP engine).  There was hardly any wind and any attempt to launch the sails was rejected with a flogging sail.  The good news was that the ocean was fairly flat with a small southeast following swell. 

On our trip across, we saw several man-o-war jellyfish floating on the surface.  We had our encounter with the flying fish also.  About 1 pm, we ran into a pod of dolphins, which had a couple of adolescents (3 to 4 feet), who followed us for over a half an hour.  Beth got some pix and a couple of videos of them racing with us across the ocean. 

After the boat that followed us out of Bimini, we encountered little traffic until we hit the 40 to 50 mile mark (from the US).  This appears to be the shipping lanes for freighters north and south bound.  We had seen two “large” ships which passed in front of us.  However, at the 40 mile mark, I noticed a freighter headed south, so I pushed the boat so that the freighter would cross at least two miles to our stern.  With the exception of the freighters and an occasional sport fisher, the crossing was devoid of any boat traffic.

That would change once we approached Lake Worth inlet.  It was Saturday, 4 pm, traffic everywhere; little runabouts to barges.  Then it got crazier as we rounded Peanut Island, a boat party haven (although heavily patrolled).  Boats, kayakers, paddle boarders, you name it are in the water.  Welcome home; I almost wanted to reverse course and go back to the Bahamas.  After we passed Peanut Island, things became semi-normal; we still dealt with the speed junkies and the sport fishers, although two large boats did give us a slow pass, which we were able to still surf down the wakes at 8+ knots. 

We set up anchorage in Old Port Cove in North Palm Beach.  And the fun never ends; we call customs to let them know we are here, thinking that this was all we had to do.  But no, we never went and showed them our passports (something missing in the instructions we were given and read online), so tomorrow we are off to Palm Beach Airport to check, which we thought we had avoided. 

Day 55 – 2/25/11

On Wednesday we noticed that they were posting flyers regarding a Bonefish Junkanoo (celebration) today that began north of the Administration building turning around at the Government dock and ending at the Bimini Big Game Club marina.  Well, we love a party, so no marathon walks today.  Beth was trying to convince me to drop the dingy and take her for a ride to the Bimini Bay resort again, but good news is our neighbors said that even in their larger dingy it was pretty rough.  We wondered up to the Dolphin Museum and shop which Beth wanted to see, but they were not open.  We ended up at the end of the walkway where the house with the name “Empty Ne$t” was situated overlooking the ocean, a prime “photo op” spot.  After a couple minutes, we noticed that the museum was open and wandered back. 

Early in the day I walked up to the beach to see if the southerly winds had produced any wind swell that may be rideable.  It was still small and breaking inconstantly.  With no uptick in the waves, we went back to the boat and I retrieved the umbrella and beach chair to set Beth up at the beach.  I went back to the boat and continued reading the 1000 page Clancy novel, Debt of Honor, which I picked up in the Exuma Land and Sea park book exchange; great novel.  I retrieved Beth and some shells from the beach and we come back to the marina for showers and to get ready for the evening’s festivities.

We walked down to the Bimini Big Game Club marina before the parade and wandered inside.  Here was a gem of a marina with a pool and amenities for a dollar a foot (promotional, after March 1 it goes to $2).  In one of our books it said that it was closed, but had re-opened in May 2010, probably after the book we had went to print.  It appears that Guy Harvey has invested in this marina, as his paintings and clothing are featured.  Interestingly, we had walked by the marina every day and had never checked it out.

Back on the street, we could see that parts of the parade were assembling at the marina.  Some time after 5 (it’s the Bahamas), the parade started with a band and floats, with the highlight the ice cream truck bringing up the rear.  Here was a man that truly enjoyed his work!!!  In the band was a 2 to 3 year old with his little drum, marching with the others in the band.  The parade and festivities was a fitting end to our stay in the Bahamas.

Day 54 – 2/24/11

The waiting for a weather window continues and according to Passage Weather and Wind Finder, Saturday looks like the day.  So, it is just a matter of finding things to do, like walking on the beach, reading, relaxing; you get the picture. 

Today we walked north and picked up some more shells.  We saw our neighbor motor north in his dingy.  Interestingly, they are on their third prop in the last couple of days having hit some shallows and spun the prop.  Fortunately, they had two extras on board, one found in their bilge.  It was one of the warmest days we had experienced in the Bahamas, as Beth was in the water every five minutes to cool off on our 4 mile walk. 

Back at the boat we “lazed” (reading, listening to music) and then showered for the night.  We had leftovers from the previous night as appetizers and then I cooked the rest of the fish from our stores with rice. 

Day 53 – 2/23/11

We are relaxing and waiting for the weekend for our weather window.  After breakfast we walked north to the Bimini Bay resort.  It is two miles away, but we needed to get off the boat for some exercise. We obtained some info regarding the slip prices, and when we were here in January the rumor was that it was $1 per foot, 40 foot minimum (they charge you $40 even if you only have a 30 foot boat).  Well, the dock master and the brochure dispelled that rumor but it is a beautiful marina with floating docks.  

After wondering around the resort, we headed back and stopped to pick up some fresh bread, coconut and whole wheat, from a house.  We walked through their foyer into the area that will probably be a dining room once the house is completed.  Oh yes, off to the right was another room with concrete block walls and framing studs.  We dropped off post cards and went back to the boat. 

Later that afternoon we walked north on the beach and found some more shells.  We will probably come home with three boxes of shells.  We went back to the marina for showers, and while I was waiting for Beth to finish, I watched them clean some fish.  The boat had come in with 3 wahoo and a dozen barracuda.  I was talking with the owner of the boat who is a native and so were his parents and grandparents about fishing, and he gave us a piece of wahoo, which we had never had.  I asked how to cook it, and he typically fried it or you could broil it.  I decided to marinate it in Caribbean Jerk and the grilled it for about 2 minutes per side, per instructions, do not overcook.   It was wonderful.