The very first place I visited in the Bahamas, was the island of Bimini. I got my very first passport stamp on my 39th birthday when we docked Nu Trix at Weeches Marina back in 2007. It was also my first taste of island life, island people and the slow pursuit of life, which itself, brings happiness. I fell in love with the people, who's lives were so different from mine, the friendliness that they shared and the amazingly beautiful water. Although we still go to Bimini as our first landfall, we now go to the Bimini Blue Water Marina. We are 10 years older now which means that a nice pool after a long crossing is pretty high on our comfort list!
Ray and I made the crossing from the States in 11 hours. Along the way, we hooked two nice Mahi Mahi, during a thunderstorm, of course! The boat was rolling this way and that and Ray was trying to get the last one into the boat, when he lurched forward and I was sure he was going over into the deep deep blue!!! He caught himself, the fish, the fishing rod, and saved our dinner!!! We managed to outrun the storms and finally the lighthouse of Gun Cay was on our bow. The water went from an inky blue to an amazing color of turquoise. We rounded the point, watching for the shoal that comes way off of Cat Cay and turned Nu Trix towards an anchorage off of the runway of Cat Cay. We used to anchor off of Gun Cay, but the holding there is pretty poor with turtle grass and scoured bottom. In 2015, during a horrible blow, our anchor dragged and we almost made intimate acquaintances with a large catamaran.
Since then, we've been anchoring off of Cat Cay. There is a very shallow bank that runs off of Cat Cay and gives protection from the roll from a SE, SW or W wind. Most of the time, that is where the wind comes from, as was true for the night we dropped anchor. We watched kids from a nearby boat, jump into the water and swim around. We didn't go in because we had bigger fish to fry... well grill anyway. Ray had filleted the mahi and I marinated it in lime and other seasonings. We threw it on the grill and I made rice and green beans to go with the meal. It was so good. Even our kitty, Brisa got some of the spoils. She did not want to eat her normal cat food for a day or two!! It was a long day, so we both cleaned up and went to bed. What a great night for sleep! We woke the next morning to a downpour. We made coffee and went up into the cockpit to watch the rain come down. We decided to wait until later to head up the coast to Bimini. It was raining pretty hard and we were not in a rush, now we were on island time.
Finally the rain ended, our boat was washed clean of the ocean salt and we were ready to get into Bimini and clear customs. It was a great run up the coast with a light wind from the SE. We were greeted at Bimini Blue Water by our friend J.R. He has been helping us dock our boat since we started coming in 2013. We tied up to the dock, hooked up the A/C and I got the boat together while Ray went into the little town to clear customs. When he came back, we walked up to the Big Game Club and had peas and rice and mahi fingers. You can never have too much fish! We stopped by "Taste of Heaven" bakery and purchased some Bimini bread.
I cannot get enough of that warm, sweet, homemade bread. Back at the boat, we connected to wifi and saw that the weather was supposed to be bad for the next couple of days. The summer weather in the Bahamas is supposed to be hot and dry with occasional showers. Recently, we have found wind and storms more than not! The wind was forecast to be out of the east at 20 to 25 knots. We have to go east and with the wind that high, it would be a slow messy go.
We decided to wait out the wind and stay put. Luckily it is only about 65 dollars a day with electricity to stay at the dock. We rented a golf cart the next day and set out to see the island. We dropped off our laundry, drove to the beach, stopped into a little store for a soft drink, looked for t shirts and walked around the ruins of a large freighter. It was a wonderful day with my husband. We swam in the pool until the rain started and drove us back to the boat. I noticed another sailboat had docked near us so we went to say "hello". I am so glad that we did. We met the nicest cruising family! Chris, Summer, Sam and Noah along with their little chihuahua, are cruising in their sailboat for the next year. This was their first time in the Bahamas and we found out they were going the same way we were!! Most of the time, everyone is headed back to the states for hurricane season??? Hurricanes hit Florida too... may as well be somewhere fun! Anyway, we decided to buddy boat down to the Exumas! I was so happy to have companion travelers especially through the long arduous trip across the banks. PLUS, they have two boys and kids are always so much fun to have on any adventure! We decided to get what we needed to get accomplished the next day over, and then go back to Cat Cay and cross on Friday. On Thursday, we rode around looking for boat parts, Ray helped splice something on their boat, "Freedom"... it was so great that here we were able to help them and they in turn helped us too. I am so excited to have new friends who share the love of sailing and exploring.
We found a great local place to eat. They were serving curried chicken, lima beans and rice and potato salad. I had a cold ginger beer to go with my beans and rice. I'm not big on chicken but they all seemed to be in heaven. We stopped by a bakery that I had never been to, Charley's. It smelled like heaven and gold and Christmas morning!! We chose a loaf of coconut bread and two guava donuts. If ever you are in Bimini, go see Charley!!!! We went back to the marina and got ready to leave the dock. J.R. came to help us get off the dock. He really knows his stuff and was able to get Nu Trix cleared of the boats, even with a wind and current. We radioed "Freedom" and told them we would be waiting. Once we cleared the harbor, we threw out the head-sail and I took the helm. I sailed Nu Trix all the way through the cut. It felt great to be one with my boat. When we got into the anchorage, the wind had shifted and was now blowing dead out of the east. At first, it wasn't so bad, but after "Freedom" got there and dropped anchor, the waves were pounding pretty hard over the bow. We spent the night with a rocky boat. When 3:45 came, my alarm started chirping and I begrudgingly shook Ray awake. We set out to pull the anchor in the dark with the waves still bouncing the boat around. I asked Ray if another sailboat had come in and he looked to port and said that he thought they were underway. I told him the mast light was white not tricolor. He said just to watch for them as we rounded up to miss the shoals. I strained and strained to see the boat, but all I could see was the tall mast light. Once we were underway, I started to laugh. The mast-light was really a very bright star. All of the stars were out and dancing around. It was beautiful to lean back and watch a meteor or two slide through the darkened sky. When light started to come up out of the water, the wind also came up. We were too far into the trip to turn around. Ray plotted a course to zigzag our way so that we could sail and keep out of the chop. Even in 30 to 50 feet of water, the waves just pounded over the bow. After 12 hours, we realized that we would never make Chub Cay so we needed an alternative plan. Ray found an anchorage off of a large sand bank. We thought that with the shallow water, we would have good protection from all of the roll and wind.
The depths went from 20 down to 5 feet really quickly. We dropped the anchor for the night. Ray had hurt his knee pretty badly and it was swollen and wouldn't bend. I made us a dinner and made Ray a bed in the salon so that he didn't have to crawl into the bunk. We had spent 15 hours pounding through waves and we were exhausted. Sleep came quickly but so did morning.
We awoke to bright skies and light winds. It was like Mother Ocean had given us a reprieve because of the hellion day she had just thrown at us. We chatted with "Freedom" about the plans for the day. They all were excited to make it to Chub Cay. We talked with their boys about catching a fish in the Tongue of the Ocean and they were so excited about that. We had a 30 mile day and we all crossed our fingers that it would be good weather. Our finger crossing worked! It was the most beautiful day. The sun was shining, the winds were down and the waves were manageable. No one caught a fish, but we did catch a nice patch of seaweed. We threw it back. lol..... The water was such a brilliant shade of dark blue and it almost made you want to dive in and swim... almost!!! There are very big fish in that deep water.
It seemed like no time at all and Momma Rhoda Rock came into view. You have to stay way off of it because the rocks all around. It looks like a giant alligator lying in the water, just waiting for an unsuspecting boater to come into it's grips. We made our way into the anchorage and dropped the hook in a nice clear patch of sand. We all jumped into the water and enjoyed swimming away all of the long passage from the two days. Summer, Chris, Sam and Noah are such a great family. It feels like we have known them for a long time. They are spending the next year on their boat. I feel so excited for them and it makes Ray and I happy to show them all the fun places to anchor in the Exuma chain. For tonight though, we swim and laugh, talk and plan. We went over to their boat and saw how they have made it their home. Freedom is beautifully fitted for their adventure. Back on NuTrix, Ray and I went to bed, hoping for a great night's sleep. I was asleep immediately and soundly. The next day we were heading to Nassau, but for tonight we lay and talked about how rough the last two days were but we kept coming back to chatting about our excitement for our island chain further south. We knew it would be another couple of trying days, but we had new friends to come with us.
This will be our 7th trip to Exuma and the excitement is still as fresh as it was in 2007. I love exploring, hiking, swimming, snorkeling, welcoming family and friends, and enjoying life with Ray on each island. We hoped that the weather would be wonderful for our Nassau crossing, but come what may, we were going..... Exuma bound!!!
Ray and I made the crossing from the States in 11 hours. Along the way, we hooked two nice Mahi Mahi, during a thunderstorm, of course! The boat was rolling this way and that and Ray was trying to get the last one into the boat, when he lurched forward and I was sure he was going over into the deep deep blue!!! He caught himself, the fish, the fishing rod, and saved our dinner!!! We managed to outrun the storms and finally the lighthouse of Gun Cay was on our bow. The water went from an inky blue to an amazing color of turquoise. We rounded the point, watching for the shoal that comes way off of Cat Cay and turned Nu Trix towards an anchorage off of the runway of Cat Cay. We used to anchor off of Gun Cay, but the holding there is pretty poor with turtle grass and scoured bottom. In 2015, during a horrible blow, our anchor dragged and we almost made intimate acquaintances with a large catamaran. 
Since then, we've been anchoring off of Cat Cay. There is a very shallow bank that runs off of Cat Cay and gives protection from the roll from a SE, SW or W wind. Most of the time, that is where the wind comes from, as was true for the night we dropped anchor. We watched kids from a nearby boat, jump into the water and swim around. We didn't go in because we had bigger fish to fry... well grill anyway. Ray had filleted the mahi and I marinated it in lime and other seasonings. We threw it on the grill and I made rice and green beans to go with the meal. It was so good. Even our kitty, Brisa got some of the spoils. She did not want to eat her normal cat food for a day or two!! It was a long day, so we both cleaned up and went to bed. What a great night for sleep! We woke the next morning to a downpour. We made coffee and went up into the cockpit to watch the rain come down. We decided to wait until later to head up the coast to Bimini. It was raining pretty hard and we were not in a rush, now we were on island time.
Finally the rain ended, our boat was washed clean of the ocean salt and we were ready to get into Bimini and clear customs. It was a great run up the coast with a light wind from the SE. We were greeted at Bimini Blue Water by our friend J.R. He has been helping us dock our boat since we started coming in 2013. We tied up to the dock, hooked up the A/C and I got the boat together while Ray went into the little town to clear customs. When he came back, we walked up to the Big Game Club and had peas and rice and mahi fingers. You can never have too much fish! We stopped by "Taste of Heaven" bakery and purchased some Bimini bread. 
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