A Super Sunday

Key Biscayne to Bimini  |  7.6 Hours  |  49 Miles 

The clock struck midnight, but you'd never know the time by the brightness of Key Biscayne anchorage. Low clouds intensified the glow from Miami and provided more than enough light to easily raise the anchor and get on our way. We passed alongside My Cat then turned left around the Cape Florida Lighthouse. Barry took the first shift and I went down for a two-hour nap. When I came up at 3:00, it was good to see the familiar sight of so many cruise ships on the screen. This, more than anything, is a sign the world may be inching back towards pre-Covid activity levels. We were in the Gulf Stream and crabbing our way toward Bimini.

Meanwhile, a live-action version of Frogger was unfolding before me. Of course there is always that one megaship which insists on occupying the same time and space as our little boat. The Carnival Horizon took aim at us, but with a slight change of both course and speed, Crossroads advanced to play on the next level. Barry took over watch at 6:00 and got a great shot of dawn over Bimini. Aided by our perfect little weather window, we had zipped across the Atlantic. I was stringing up docklines as the sun rose and we were inside the Bimini Cove harbor by 8:00. Barry caught a taxi to the airport and completed all of our customs and immigration paperwork. He returned with our cruising permit and proceeded to lower our yellow Q Flag ... 

... and raise our Bahamian courtesy flag. The predicted cold front was closing in on us, but we went for a short walk anyway. This is our third visit to Bimini Cove so we know where to go to take in some "Welcome to the Bahamas" scenery. Palm trees (with interesting little snails on them) and tropical flowers were a welcome sight.

We were chased back to the boat as the front caught up with us. Gusts only reached 25 knots, but rain continued for several hours. Barry connected the boat to the marina wifi and we did our check-ins with family and friends before each taking naps to recover from the overnight passage. We headed back to the beach for sunset to catch the close of our first day back in the Bahamas. Oh, yeah, there was a football game and we were able to catch it over the air from Miami. Tomorrow we will get our Covid tests and phone SIM cards and start watching the weather and planning for we can make our dash for the southern Exumas.