The Adventures of Francesca
Part 1
Holed up at Bimini
April 1998
Leaving from Angelfish Key, the crossing to Bimini was very nice, with only an occasional 4 footer to keep our attention. Heide led the way with stabilizers while Francesca followed in the relative calm behind her.
The approach to Bimini was not difficult once we were able to find the range markers for crossing the shoals. The water here is stunningly beautiful. There are only 9 boats at anchor in the harbor and the docks are sparsely populated. This must have been a tough season given the bad winds. We docked at the last dock before the Texaco dock for customs and immigration. Filling out forms was the worst of it and we checked through without a boat inspection in a little more than an hour. We were all very tired and ready for a quiet anchorage.
Next day, we rented a golf cart and drove over every square centimeter of roads and paths. Joan and Marge made the requisite Tee shirt purchases at the straw market. Had "lunch" at Opels (pretty good food, but about $25 per plate for seafood combo). The menu was not priced. Helloooo. The people here are very nice and not a bit pushy.
In the evening we went to E. Hemingway’s favorite bar haunt, checked out all the impressive photos of Hemingway, fish, large breasted women, etc. and had drinks and a snack. Nice atmosphere.
The PanAm seaplane shuttle to Miami has a takeoff run within a hundred feet of the boat. Really neat to see, but a little unnerving at times.
Now the bad news. The anchorage is pretty tight, has poor holding and the stern of the boat was only about 30 feet from 3 foot water. Late in the evening, the wind picked up as predicted. A little after midnight it was really howling so I went out on the bow to check the anchors. OOPS, just as I got there the Danforth with 100 ft of chain dragged. I ran back in, started the engines, and then returned to the bow to take in the Danforth. OOPS, the CQR dragged while I was
1
Angelfish Key