On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 22:11:21 -0500, you wrote: >Thanks to both of you for the insight. Depending on the wind, we're >still on for Weds. PM and it looks like Bimini is the easiest. Will a >dawn arrival be too soon (coral-head/depth spotting with sun in front >of us)?
The Bimini entrance is iffy for us with a 5 foot draft but I understand it has now been dredged out - do not know how long that will last. > >With a 6+ draft, what do I need to watch out for which might not be >charted? And, for that matter, I'm not readily able to see from the >charts where it is I actually go to check in, as there is a lot of >what looks to be uninhabited land, and some unknown, >not-looking-like-marine-facility stuff otherwise... > >Thanks... > >L8R > Depending on what kind of charts you have - we found that the charts were off by about a mile to the NW and when we were driving the boat up the channel, the chart had us going over land. Explorer charts are the best. This is just for Bimini. We always docked at Sea Crest although Blue Water has a pool. I always did the check in and Bob waited on the boat. Always found them polite and accommodating. Keep in mind that the 60-90 day cruising permit is only for US citizens. Do you have Lydia's mother with you? >Skip, and crew, some of whom are hyperventilating at the moment, >having been traumatized in a prior encounter with hard stuff... > > >On Sun, Dec 7, 2008 at 9:38 PM, Wally <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Hi - Chub Key charges you a minimum $100, which you can put against your >> dockage. Not a chance in hell will I ever pay that kind of dockage for a 34 >> foot boat and NOT for the 'privilege' of checking in. My experience in >> Bimini last winter was not at all similar to yours, starting with my docking >> at the town pier. Susan stayed on the boat while I walked around the >> building to Immigration and Customs. >> I arrived while the immigration folk were at lunch - so I went back to the >> boat and hung out for a half hour, until they returned. They were hugely >> polite, gave me 60 days after I said I would be there for about six weeks >> and I'm certain that, had I asked, they would have granted 90. No one came >> to my boat, they simply took me at my word - plus they posed for a photo >> with me at the entrance to the office with the sign above us! >> It sounds like you're saying that you must stay on board until contacted - >> that isn't quite true - the Captain or owner may leave the boat to go to >> Immigration and customs, but no one else. >> We found the locals to be nice people, although some of course were a bit of >> a nuisance - begging, etc. but that has happened to me in Elizabeth City, >> when a homeless guy took my lines and wanted money for it - and another came >> to my table in a restaurant, begging money. We did do a couple of nights at >> the Blue Water, but mostly anchored out - however, because we had made use >> of their facility, they had no problem with us tieing up the dinghy there, >> or using their shower. The cost was $30 tho, not $15, but worth it for what >> we got. Wifi is no longer free at the Big Game resort, but the place beside >> Blue Water was - BW had a small charge, don't remember what it was. >> The most troubling thing about Bimini? That the locals were selling lobster >> well under legal size - thus depleting the stock in the long run. Most >> interesting, besides the house built of items thrown away (and its owner) >> was the white sargeant of police, Michael, who hailed from....Toronto. >> >> Wally >> s/v Gypsy Wind >> still in Solomons, still with near gale force winds, still planning on >> getting out of here in the morning.... >> >> >> >> We checked in at Bimini and if you can avoid going there I would suggest >> that. >> _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
