TRAVELS WITH ANGEL
Reaching Bimini By Rebecca Burg Bimini, a popular gateway to the Bahamas. Travelers from southern Florida typically head to North Bimini to check in, fuel up and island-hop deeper into the Bahamas
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pring ended and another season’s cruising layover came to a close. Thank goodness. Like a pair of birds with pent-up migration issues, single-handed companion cruisers Angel and Defiant preened their feathers for travel mode. Not retired, nor independently wealthy, I had to balance periods of work and social responsibilities with the intense desire to sail my Bayfield 29, Angel, over the horizon. Bill, on Defiant, had to do this as well. We timed layovers with Florida’s tourist season, our working lives linked to the spending habits of winter travelers. When a weather window opened, Angel and Defiant flew through it with eager impatience. This season’s modest cruising budget sent us toward a close and easily reached foreign port— Bimini. A popular gateway to the Bahamas, the Bimini islands comprise a thin string of cays, rocks and islets bejeweling the western edge of the Great Bahama Bank. The northern half of this string, North and South Bimini, is about 45 nautical miles from Miami, Fl. The string’s southern component includes the turtle rocks, Gun Cay and the Cat Cays. Travelers from southern Florida typically head to North Bimini to check in, fuel up and island-hop deeper into the Bahamas. Just after setting sail, I listened to a talk radio station. After Angel’s oversized 8-foot antenna could no longer capture the signal, I played CDs. When I turned the player off, a soft blanket of silence draped over the sea. Then, the muted sounds of rippling water and the breeze caressing the sails could be heard. It was beautiful. This morning’s
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April 2008
SOUTHWINDS
subconscious attempt to surround my senses with noise reflected the social life that I’d just left. Now, without aural distraction, I was able to contemplate. Noise is an inevitable aspect of civilization, but it can be overwhelming at times. Stores and restaurants pipe in background music, the ceaseless rumble of traffic reverberates through our cities, skies hum with planes, cell phones regularly startle us with insistent beeping and the mostly vacuous prattle of television pushes out our own thoughts. With such a din, there’s little room for quiet introspection. If we do come across a moment of silence, many of us are uncomfortable with it and will fill the perceived void with sound. Just as I’d done. I value our society and have a natural human need to participate, but taking an occasional siesta from its strong presence is rejuvenating. A long sail on a mild day puts things into perspective. Moments of tranquility, space and solitude, once we’re comfortable with them, heal the soul. Early afternoon, Bill spotted a thin column of dark smoke threading into the sky. Shortly thereafter, we saw the low, green profile of Bimini. Alice Town and Bailey Town, North Bimini, is the center of the island’s modest population. The single main road, Kings Highway, is lined with a few eateries, shops and bars. A diesel-powered generating station sits near Bailey Town. That, along with the burning of refuse, will create smoky navigational aids in clear, fair weather. There are marinas with slips, and the Bimini Bay Resort’s marina has its own customs/immigration service. In cooperative weather, one can anchor in South Bimini’s Nixons Harbour, which has sand patches at its southeastern edges with 5-7 feet MLW. Nixon’s deeper midsection is hard rock. Sheltered anchoring is found along the edge of the channel on Alice Town’s eastern shore, with depths from over 10 feet to shoal. The current is strong and boats must set two hooks, 180 degrees apart, on the soft patches of sea floor between the hard areas. Water visibility is crystal-clear. These small islands have a large and colorful background. In the 1920s, Bimini was involved in rum-running during America’s prohibition. Earlier, wreckers earned a living from the cargos of ships that ran aground on the www.southwindsmagazine.com