Islands in the Stream
I was sitting on a beach on the western shore of North Bimini, stuffing my face with a fried conch sandwich and Kalik, the local beer. The other three Gaia crew members were chatting in Spanish nearby so I happily contented myself with taking in the view of the Straights of Florida. The water progressed from an aquamarine-green near the shore to an angry grey-black-green out in the straights where a stiff wind was whipping up whitecaps. Some pendejos from Miami had anchored on the beach and were blaring reggae while their hot girlfriends provided additional scenery.
“Hey, skinny fellah,” a local guy called over to me from the other side of the patio. “Tell this woman here that just cuz you get a tattoo it dun’t mean you can’t give blood. She’s all backwards!”
I got into a discussion about the relative safety of getting a tattoo, which invariably led to them asking about mine. I told them that my favourite was a page from Hemingway.
“What book man?” the dubious woman asked.
“Islands in the Stream.”
“Ha, that amazing! This is the island in the stream man!” The group of locals nodded in support of the woman. “Hemingway came here to write that book they say. He famous here. You gonna love Bimini!”
After finally leaving Miami at 3am on Thursday morning, we motored across the 55 nautical mile straights to Bimini, on the western edge of the Bahamas. With no wind to help us along, it took just under 9 hours to get here. The trip was uneventful, with the Gulf behaving placidly. We were treated to a gorgeous sunrise that broke the monotony of the trip, and then sighted land just before noon. For the last four days we’ve been at dock in Bimini Sands Marina on South Bimini, the sleepy smaller half of this pair of islands.
With another cold front expected to push 40 knot winds from the west tomorrow, we’ve been stuck here in the safety of the marina. We could have raced the 20-hour trip eastward to Nassau, but the anchorage there is less secure than here so we decided to wait it out in Bimini, giving me ample time to explore and ease back into boatlife.
North Bimini, a five-minute dinghy ride away, is more developed than the south island. There’s a few towns along the one-street strip of land, and over the past few days we’ve walked them numerous times in search of conch and rum. Stuart’s makes the best conch salad, and Keisha at 1-2-3-Floor makes the best rum punch this side of Barbados. The islanders are friendly in a peculiar way; they’ll eyeball you, straight-faced, as you walk by, but as soon as you smile or wave, they’ll break out in a huge grin and wish you a pleasant day. People are wary of tourists and have clearly seen all kinds of asshole, but are genuinely amicable once you pass their shit-test.
Being stuck in the marina, there isn’t much to do other than explore, eat, drink, and read, so I’m content. There’s wifi at the office, but you have to sit nearby to get any signal, so I’ve basically been ignoring my phone (sorry y’all). I can’t say we’ve had much in the way of adventures yet, but there’s no rush.
For now, I’m waiting for this storm to turn the Straights into a frothy green vista. Tomorrow I plan on sitting on the beach with a beer and a notebook, taking pictures and thinking about nuttin. Boatlife is good.