Normans Cay to Bimini

We raised the anchor early yesterday morning and left Normans Cay just after a squall passed with another one close behind it. The wind was in the 14 to 20 knots and we were zipping along at seven knots. We planned on taking 27-32 hours to get to Bimini but at that point, George was afraid we would get there too early (before daylight). No need to worry, the wind dropped and we slowed down. We even dropped the main in the late afternoon because the rocking motion caused by the seas led to the main collapsing then slamming as it filled with air again. Just before my seven pm watch we raised the main and, once again, the wind picked up and we were zipping along again. George saw three shooting stars on his 12am to 6 am watch, one of which was spectacularly bright. 

We arrived at Bimini just after 9:30 am but when George called the Bimini Sands marina office he was told that the tide was dropping and we wouldn’t be able to get over a shallow bar at the entrance with our 5’8” draft. We have been to this marina twice before but it had recently been dredged so we had no problems then.  Apparently a storm last year washed a lot of sand into the entrance channel to the marina. We motored over to a very rolly anchorage at the end of the island and waited four hours for the tide to come in. 

Our friends, Doug and Laura, are not coming to join us. Travel arrangements turned out to not work out for them.   We understand but will miss spending the week with them. 

Squall over Normans Cay

We appreciate the calm water at Bimini Sands Marina, a big improvement over the anchorage just a few miles away.