Interesting times in Bimini

Stalled in Bimini

We have been here because of the very strong winds for over a week & it will be a few more days yet before we can move to a suitable anchorage. We have about 70 miles to go to the next cay & then need to find a place out of the winds. After 2 attempts Colin succeeded in repairing the puncture in my bike tyre. He finally found a good hardware store that sold a repair kit after having no luck in finding an inner tube. First he tried our boozey lady close by but she responded to Col's cheery greeting of “How are you this fine day” with “Pissed Off!” - “sick of talking to people” & she stalked away. Next day he sent me to try the female approach. She was sober (I think) & helpful explaining that she only had boat stuff but gave me directions of where I could go to possibly find something which we did.

We had drinks at a bar close to the boat – and won't do that again -$22.82 for 2 drinks! A glass of wine $11 & a local beer $8 plus tax, plus gratuity – a rip off.

A large motor yacht 110ft with 6 crew tied up at the end of the dock for 3 nights. It was entertaining – he actually had to have a 90 footer moved by the dockmaster because he had a prior booking – move your $2 million boat to make way for my $4 million one. The people never actually landed a foot on the island & appeared to be a sugar daddy & his 2 'nieces', who sat in the jacuzzi most nights & another 2 men and 1 woman ( not sitting in the jacuzzi).

We cycled down to two other boaters in 2 other separate marinas whom we had met in Marathon. Brent & Debbie on 'Hayley's Comet' & Lewis & Kim on 'Trillium'. We had lunch at a small shack on the beach where we sampled the local & famous shell fish 'conch'. It was battered & had no distinctive taste – I may try one of the other many ways of cooking it. That night was very stormy with winds up to 25 knots. The 4 day Big Game Fishing Contest set for this week has been cancelled.

Next day we all visited 'Trillium' for coffee/brunch at 10am & got back to our boat at 1.00pm to find that the boat next to us 'Evening Star' had been burgled that night. John had gone to bed at 12.30 am & they began to discover their losses late in the morning. They don't lock their boat doors & he just entered via the transom. Pat's purse full of credit cards, John's wallet, & a money clip were gone from the salon table & his watch & Pat's earrings off their bedside tables. Scary – they do have dock surveillance cameras - but could see no strangers. We invited John & Pat over for docktails to offer some release from the hassles of police reports and particularly trying to cancel & replace credit cards. They were both OK just accepting it as bad luck & a c'est la vie attitude.

The following day with Trillium & Hayley's Comet we cycled to visit an island legend – Ansil Saunders. He is regarded as the best bone fisherman guide in the islands and is famous as being the guide for the angler who landed the world record bonefish (16.8kg on 8kg line) which still stands. He is also a traditional wooden boat builder who works out of a small shed and builds about 2-3 per year. Sad that he has no willing apprentices to pass his skills on to. He also told us of the visit of Martin Luther King who came to the island for some solitude in which to write his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize. He came back a second time in 1968 to write another speech for a major peace march gathering and he spoke of a feeling to Ansil that he didn't think he had long to live. Three days after leaving the island he was assassinated. Ansil is deeply religious and recited a 'creation psalm' he had written which he shared with Dr Martin Luther King. To complete the day we had a pot luck dinner on Deb & Brent's boat with Lewis & Kim – meat loaf, corn bread, beans, scalloped potatoes finished off with Key Lime pie - proud to say I made the pie (from packets) & it was tasty.

At 3 am we awoke to shouting & screaming. Colin got up & saw John next door running on the dock with a large boat hook. The burglar had returned & John had found him on the back of his boat & screamed at him. The burglar jumped into the water & swam in circles for a few minutes before heading under the dock & then towards the shore line where the docks meet the rocks. He stumbled & swam along there to reach a place where he could climb out underneath the buildings. Colin & John & I had spotlights on him but he managed to struggle out & was gone. Colin woke up the security guard who called the police. This time he had taken a jewellery box from beside the bed & had it opened up on the back deck table where he sorted through the stuff he wanted. John had not locked the boat again thinking that the burglar would not have the audacity to strike again. There was a flare gun also on the table but John didn't think it was his. Col checked quickly in our kit up stairs but concluded it was not ours. However a day later he decided to keep a flare gun in our cabin & then discovered that it was ours that had been taken. I did an extra check for other missing stuff & found that my Riggers knife was missing. I brought this to use when in the locks to cut lines if something jams. It's a smart, sharp little black knife similar to a rigging knife. The top deck is the open area with a bimini cover & plexiglass surrounds where we drive the boat from. It is above our bedroom area - & to think he was quietly walking around above us while we slept is weird. Not only light fingered but light footed as well. We told the cops on their visit yesterday & they believe they have seen the knife - & I will get it back. We're not short of entertainment in Bimini!