Back in Bimini, 4/26

We arrived at Chub Cay Marina shortly after 8:00am this morning, after an all-night passage.  We waited until 9:00 for the dockmaster to show up.  The marina was 90% empty, and they were not interested in renting a slip to us…at $3.25/ft.  Chub Cay is a privately owned island, with its own Yacht Club- all five members…probably the five people who went in and bought the island.  Whatever- it’s the last time we’ll be made to feel inferior for not owning a 100 ft. mega-yacht.  We sailed 8 miles further and returned to Bimini Sands South Resort and Marina, which was our first stop when we checked into the Bahamas nearly a month ago.  They have only five other boats in the entire place, and we pulled in right next to Carl and his brother Chris on Gully Rooster.  Carl was our dock mate in Nassau that Donnie played guitars with a few nights ago.  Small world.  We all have been up all night, and crashed for an afternoon nap. Donnie and I order some mahi-mahi and fries from the pub here at the marina to spend the last of our Bahamian dollars, and then we passed out!

I marinated some pork chops in teriyaki for Cap’n to throw on the grill for supper, and then we tended to a few boat projects.  There’s the usual clean up after an all-nighter, and the roller furling continues to give us fits.  We just need to get through the next two days, then we can pitch it in the ocean for good (we would not, of course, just saying- nothing goes in the ocean from Marquesa unless its organic.  I also put together a homemade pizza to bake tomorrow night while we are underway.  I just about figured all my provisions for the month, the larder is getting low.

Donnie shared a cocktail with Matt and Karie, while I finished a book on the boat.  It looks like we are planning to dive the Sapona, a 1926 concrete freighter that wrecked in the hurricane that year.   After that we will begin crabbing across the Gulfstream.  It will be a much slower trip as the current will be against us this time.  Fortunately, the stream is only about 40 miles wide, so we should get across by sundown.  After that, we’ll pick up Hawk’s Channel for the last overnight run back to Marathon.  There is another weather system building out there.  The resort we are at is so nice, we would have liked to stay another day, but it would not be safe to cross the stream by this weekend, so we are off tomorrow morning.

We were greeted by four big, beautiful spotted eagle rays in the marina…

I snapped about 15 pics in no time!

I have not been this close to a spotted eagle ray before- they are very cool.

Their heads and faces really do look like an eagle.  What a strange creature!

After our chores were done, we decided to go find the nature trail on this island.  It was one of the nicest we have been on.  There were signs everywhere describing the plants, birds, reptiles (yes, snakes, too) and such that you’d see along the way.  Fortunately, I saw no snakes today!

We came upon a ruins on the trail.  It was a 1920’s home built by Peter Cavill, an Olympic swimmer from back in the day.  Though it was badly damaged in the 1926 hurricane, he continued to live there into the 1930’s, until his wife left him due to his chronic alcoholism.  There’s a problem with ‘rummies’ in these islands still to this day.

How’s this for a room with a view?!  It was a sweet sitting spot overlooking the beach.

There are twenty varieties of termites in the Bahamas. What do you see in this nest? 

I see a man’s face!

We also saw wild orchids- too bad they weren't in bloom.

They reminded me of my sister-in-law, Diane's beautiful orchids.

Well, Donnie has been at Carl’s boat the last few hours, playing guitars and swapping stories.  It sounds like things are wrapping up.  We’ve got another long day and night ahead of us, I better turn in.  G’night y’all!