Good morning and happy Monday

We are up and off the dock making our way through the inland water way to the gulf stream and the open waters . We are on bridge number 3 and its 6:30 perfect timing. Getting away in the dark was fun and I mean that sarcastically. We have 10 lines to remove from the pilings and dock and a dingy to navigate around and this all has to happen fast...where are my first mates :-) but I'm happy to say that Nellie (me) did a fine job! I'm excited for our adventure to really begin from all I have read the Bahama islands are stunning.

The winds are always the topic of conversation in the morning, we should expect winds up to 15mph 5 would be dead calm but the direction is good winds are from SE so we should expect some swells but nothing to significant. I will definitely let you know when we get to Bimini.  

Well here we are safe and sound in Bimini Big Game Marina. What a day, it was a long crossing through the Florida Straights / Gulf Stream the winds never let up all day but Bryan did a masterful job of navigating those pesky waves . It took me a short time to get my sea legs in the rough waters but once I settled in it was just fine. Lessons learned you must make your lunch ahead of time because navigating the kitchen in 5 foot 8 second waves it very difficult, but I managed to pull together a sandwich.  

Bimini is relatively small and consists of 2 main islands North and South Bimini and several small Cay's (pronounced Keys) the closest Bahama Island to Florida, it is rich in history. During prohibition the Rum runners used to store their stash on the nearby shores and run it back and forth to Florida. It is also famous for it's Fountain of youth ( I should find this :-)) It can be found within the salt water mangrove swamp that covers four miles North of Bimini. The Healing Hold is a pool at the end of a network of underground tunnels. During the out going tides these channels pump cool mineral laden water ...the fountain of youth.  

We wandered around some of the town once we organized the boat. From what we saw there are a several very small shops it is a very old place but quaint. Took a look at the beaches they are stunning and the water is gorgeous green / blue in color...walking along the un-walked sand and dipped my toes in the water. The water is not real warm 24c but will get warmer the further south we go.

Tonight we ate on board we are both really tired from our long day. Tomorrow we are staying in Bimini and we will head over to Chub Cay on Wed.

Good night all.