Bimini-Freeport - Feb 24-Mar 3

After an awesome week in the Biminis, it was time to move on. Our next destination was Freeport located on Grand Bahama Island.  We left South Bimini, swung around the west side of  North Bimini and the north tip of the Great Bahama Bank before turning to the northeast and set a bearing for Freeport. We cruised a total of 60 miles again seeing depths of 2500 feet.  We were happy to pull into the calm water channel leading to the marina in Freeport as the waves had grown throughout the day. We arrived at Ocean Reef Resort & Yacht Club by mid afternoon where we spent the week. The weather continued to be hot and sunny which made it easy to enjoy the resort and the surrounding waters.

Our front yard at Ocean Reef Marina 

Pool area at our marina 

Our backyard at the marina

Happy in the Bahamas 

I hope the first mate is watching for sharks!

Captain Off Duty

Headed home after a beautiful sunset 

Goodnight Freeport 

Bimini Water Fun

Daily dinghy adventures exploring the beautiful waters.

Amazing waters

Found this on the bottom. Thought I could use for self defense but evidently it didn’t work for the last guy.

Bull shark

Nurse shark in the marina 

Bimini Adventures

Views at South Bimini 

Morning walk on the beach 

Rough day for the captain 

Ferry ride from South Bimini to North Bimini 

Captain Conch Shell

Making Conch Salad

Even Sheli ate conch salad!

Watch out!

Miami-Bimini, Bahamas -Feb 17-24

Sunday morning there wasn’t a ripple on Biscayne Bay as we left the marina. It was time to venture beyond US waters. Our destination was the Bimini Islands 55 miles away. As we crossed the Florida reef, waves picked up to 1-3 ft.  Soon we were crossing the Gulf Stream where the current runs south to north at 2-3knots and depths hit 2500 feet. A new record for us. The waters were dark ocean blue and the flying fish were entertaining. The seas were building to 4-5 ft as we neared Bimini. By 2pm we pulled into Bimini Sands Marina on South Bimini Island. Once tied up, the Captain took a cab to the local airport to clear customs and purchase a Bahamas Cruising Permit. Only the Captain is allowed off the vessel until it has been cleared into the country.

Bimini Sands Marina was our oasis for a week while we explored both South & North Bimini by foot, water taxi and of course dinghy. The waters were amazing! We swam, snorkeled and spotted stingrays, bull, nurse and hammerhead sharks. We chose our swimming locations VERY carefully. 

Pictures are worth a thousand words. So...we will stop now and share a couple posts of photos only.

Paradise found

Our backyard at Bimini Sands Marina 

Sunset from our slip

Sunset at Marina pool

Key West-Miami - Feb 13-16

Our alarm clock was set for an early departure from Key West on Wednesday morning. We had learned on our previous Key West dinghy excursion how important it is to not only check the forecast but look at the weather radar also. One look at the radar and we knew it was a “no go” day. Within a couple hours, the rain and winds blasted in to Key West and lasted all day long. Rainy day means project day. The project of the day was installing additional LED lighting to the galley. Love it! The rains quit by Thursday, but the wind continued. 

Friday was “go” day! We pulled out of Key West Harbor, turned left to the Atlantic side of the Keys and traveled Hawk Channel.  Hawk Channel is a strip of 10-30 ft deep water which runs between the Florida Keys and a reef 4-5 miles off shore, paralleling the keys. We traveled 97 miles on calm seas. Late afternoon we dropped the anchor near Tavernier Key. We were treated to an amazing sunset and woke up to a beautiful sunrise. 

Our goal was to get staged near Miami for our crossing to the Bahamas. We knew the Miami Boat Show was going on so we decided drop in and see our friends at the FreedomLift Booth. We pulled in to Crandon Park Marina on Key Biscayne by early afternoon on Saturday. From the marina we walked 3 miles to the boat show. Great afternoon! 

Next up...The Bahamas!

Only in Key West!

Rainy day in Key West

Adding lights to galley

Sunset at Tavernier Key Anchorage 

Hello Miami!

Outboards galore! 

The historic Marine Stadium at Miami Boat Show 

Marathon-Key West - Feb 7-12

On Thursday, our friends Paul & Cindy arrived Marlin Bay Marina around noon. Since they had a rental car it was a good opportunity to load up on supplies. Paul & Cindy will be traveling with us to Key West and possibly back depending on weather conditions.

Friday morning we untied our lines and slipped out of the harbor. We traveled the Gulf side for a few miles and then turned left to travel under 7 Mile Bridge to the Atlantic side. We cut back in at Bahia Honda and navigated the shallow waters around many uninhabited Keys.
By noon we dropped the hook at Tarpon Belly Key. The story of Tarpon Belly began in 1966 when a Delaware company purchased the island, dug 2 canals thru it 100 ft wide, 500 ft long and 20 ft deep, and netted off both ends with plans of raising and harvesting shrimp in the canals. They had limited success and a few years later the industry found that they could farm shrimp in ponds on land. The Tarpon Belly operations were abandoned. It was interesting taking a dinghy ride around the island and thru the abandoned canals. In the shallows around the island, we scared up many stingrays.  This pretty island makes for a popular camping location for some adventurous souls. In fact, Paul & Steve had to take our dinghy out to assist kayakers whose two out of four kayaks had swamped crossing the 4 mile stretch to get to the island. It was a beautiful night to fire up the grill and throw on steaks. After a marvelous dinner, the captain summoned the entire crew to the bow for an amazing star gazing experience.

Saturday morning’s cruise was “all hands on deck” as we had to dodge a zillion crab pot balls in fairly rough seas. We successfully arrived Key West by noon without incident. We pulled into Galleon Marina and were welcomed by Paul’s sister and husband from New York who were vacationing in Key West with friends from Chicago.

Sunday & Monday the four of us enjoyed the highlights of Key West. We were hoping to depart Key West on Monday, however the current and forecasted winds changed our plans. Paul & Cindy departed by car on Tuesday morning to catch their flight home. We stayed in Key West waiting for the winds and the seas to calm down.

Goodbye Marathon 

Cindy & Paul with the Captain 

Anchored at Tarpon Belly Key

Came across this Geico agent, tried to get a quote but he wouldn’t talk to us.

Sunset at Tarpon Belly Key

Poorly planned dinghy expedition.

Enjoying the sights, sounds and flavors of Key West!

Marathon-Islamorada-Marathon - Feb 4-6

Monday morning we left Marathon and headed for our old stomping grounds at Islamorada. After cruising 40 miles we dropped the hook in Barley Basin.  We took the dinghy to do a recon of Lorelei’s Marina and entrance channel. We found the entrance to be too shallow for PV2 so we decided to spend another night anchored in Barley Basin.

 Due to the shifting winds on Tuesday, we moved a little over a mile across the Basin for better protection.  It was another lovely day and we enjoyed some snorkeling at one of our favorite locations, the Sandbar on the Atlantic.

Wednesday we cruised back to Marathon where our friends Paul & Cindy will be meeting up with us on Thursday. We took a slip at Marlin Bay Marina where our Looper friends Jerry & Billie where also docked. That evening the four of us walked over to Keys Fisheries, famous for Stone Crab. We felt we were getting even by eating stone crabs after having to dodge the crab pots floats all day on the boat. Ha! It was so fun to spend time with Jerry & Billie.

First Mate watching for shallows. 

Fun at the Sandbar - Islamorada 

Marlin Bay Marina 

Billie & Jerry