CHILLIN' ON BIMINI

           

            OK, we’ve been on Bimini now for two weeks--spear to the dragon’s heart for Gary Hart, island home for Richard Nixon, Bebe Rebozo, Ernest Hemingway and Adam Clayton Powel whose ashes were spread over its waters.  When you look at the island today, you might ask yourself, What was it that drew such illustrious figures to the island?”  Everywhere you look, you see poverty;  you see abandoned buildings and stores and homes.  Empty lots are strewn with trash. 

 The Compleat Angler is gone, burned down in a tragic fire that took the life of its owner.

 Bimini is one of my favorite spots in the Bahamas.  The weather is good this time of year.  The people are open and friendly.  You are greeted everywhere with “Good mornin’”  “Good afternoon.”  I was hugged by a guy who sold some fish to me and said he loved me.  You’d a thought I saved his life!  People seem to want to help.  Rides are offered if you are walking with a heavy load.

            The streets are filled with golf carts and cars.  Traffic jams, while not quite the same as in American Big cities, occur daily on streets that are barely wide enough for one car and one golf cart, forget about pedestrians (who don’t seem to have the right of way).  On the north end of the island, there is Bimini Bay Resort that is called on several times a week by the fast ferry from Miami.  Trolleys carry tourists to Alicetown where they spend a few dollars at the straw market. 

   

Sometimes Crabman provides live entertainment there.  Small groceries and variety stores abound and one wonders how they can manage to stay in business.  Many of them, in fact don’t.  

Although you might wonder when some stores are as diversified as this one--ice, booze, hardware and real estate!  Is that a formula for success?

            All in all, though, Bimini is a magical place.  So magical, that some people decide to get married here.  Our friends on s/v Panacea did just that.  They have been together for quite some time and decided to get married on Bimini.  They brought all the necessary paperwork from Canada and went to the Administrator’s office to get a marriage license.  Then, the administrator himself joined them in marriage with a very impressive civil ceremony. 

Later, at a reception put together by fellow cruisers Larry, Terry and Bill on m/v AFterwards, Irene and Perry on s/v Tekla Bramble they were married in a nautical ceremony on behalf of Neptune himself by Larry. 

            This season has been marked by numerous fronts that have hindered our easterly progress.  The weather has been dominated by strong westerly winds.  You’d think that west winds would be favorable of heading east.  And, indeed they are.  However, most of the islands in the central part of the Bahamas offer no protection from winds from the west and the windows of opportunity have been so short that one cannot be certain of finding a safe anchorage in the time allotted by Mother Nature.  Then, during the best window for heading out, we developed a problem with the bilge pump and had to sacrifice that window in favor of correcting the problem.

            Cruisers are cruisers.  They make the best of whatever comes their way. So, stuck on Bimini, waiting for weather, doing boat projects, 

 what do you do?

Lobster fest!

  

 Rum tastings

 Two so far this year.

Sundowners on the “front porch” overlooking the flats!
Beach combing.  Chillin’ on the “back porch” overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

  

The nature trail on South Bimini.  Plenty to do!

SECOND ANNUAL BIMINI BLUE WATER RUM TASTING

Rum is probably the most widely produced spirit in the world.  It is produced on every continent except Antarctica.  Some of the best rums come from the Caribbean.  Folks from about a dozen boats gathered at Biminni Blue Water Marina to pay homage to this noble brew and to taste some examples.  We had rums from Jamaica (Appleton Estate), Haiti (Barbancourt 3 star), Nicaragua (Flor de Caûa), Barbados (Mt Gay Eclipse and Mt Gay Black Barrel), BVIs (Pussers), Guatemala (Zacapa) and Trinidad (Zaya).  A very nice selection.  Notably and thankfully absent from the selection was Bacardi’s.

Predictably, nearly every rum was considered good, some better than others.  Both Mt Gays garnered much approval.  The first rum tasted, Barbancourt, was well received initially.  It lost out to Appleton which in turn lost to the Eclipse.  Pusser’s received a resounding “No!”  In the end, the choice came down to Zaya and Zacapa.  Both were considered fine sipping rums.  Some felt that Zaya would be best enjoyed as a pre-prandial drink and Zacapa as a post prandial. Both were deemed best of the crop but Zacapa outplaced Zaya by a healthy margin.

Keep posted to the wanderings of s/v “Now or Never” (svnowornever.blogspot.com) for future tastings and other adventures.