NORTH BIMINI ISLAND

February 25, 2012  Dateline: Bimini Bay Marina Bimini Island, Bahamas

The weather was forecast to be iffy today so MY WAY and I stayed in port.  MY Way and I put our dinghies into the water so that Wayne, Francine, Rich and Carol could go to Alicetown and look around.  Wayne and Francine took Skipper with them.  The ride to Alicetown was a little bumpy but dry, the dinghy told me so, the ride back was better.

Bimini Bay is a resort with both homes and boat slips.  Yesterday I published  a picture of the marina, here is a picture of some of the homes.  There is no doubt that the failing US economy adversely affected the project here.  There is a casino that is half complete and construction has stopped because the builders can not get a permit.  Rich thought that perhaps the permit was not granted because the casino will be patronized by local people as not enough tourists are coming to the island.

When they got to Alicetown, they went to Guy Harvey’s Big Game Resort for lunch.  Guy Harvey spent more than $3.5 million rebuilding the resort after a hurricane destroyed it.  It has 75 boat slips with fixed docks and updated hotel rooms.  There is also a great restaurant and very large bar to cater to the sport fisherman.  There are two stuffed blue marlins that Guy Harvey caught off the coast of Portugal.  They each weighted over 1,000 pounds when they were caught.

The water here in Bimini is crystal clear.  This picture was taken from the shore and it is difficult to see where the water meets the shore.

Anchored off the island is the megayacht PACIFICA.  She is about 278 feet long and has two helipads.  One is on the stern with a helicopter on it while the second one is on the bow and folds up and down.  The boat is gray in color and with it size form a distance it looks like a military ship.

The wind picked up this afternoon and there were white caps on the harbor and I started to rock.  Rich checked my dinghy to make sure it was properly tied to me.