Bimini - Same as Ever

"A Guy Harvey Outpost"

 

We made the short two-hour run up to Bimini on Tuesday evening and took a slip at the famous Bimini Big Game Club – a “Guy Harvey Outpost” marina.  Near as I can tell, all that means is that the clothing in the marina store was hideously overpriced and that there were lots of Guy Harvey murals tacked up all over the place. Meh.

Jen (and I) had wanted to stay another night on fabulous Cat Cay.  However, Sarah and Anna were REALLY looking forward to Bimini as they were BIG Guy Harvey fans and Larry was really looking forward to it because he had heard that there was some great Bonefishing on Bimini’s flats. 

So we docked at the Big Game Club and made arrangements for Larry and the girls to go fishing the next morning with legendary Bonefish guide, Ansel Saunders.  Dinner at the marina restaurant was good, if not inspiring, and we tucked off to bed fairly early.

Legendary fishing guide Ansel Saunders with Sarah & Anna - ready for a big day on the flats

Wednesday morning, everyone was up and ready for their big Bonefish adventure.  Ansel came by as scheduled at 8 o'clock in his immaculate little home-made skiff and picked up the three intrepid fisherpersons.

The weather was beautiful, so Jen and Biz headed for the marina pool, while I spent the day wandering around Bimini and taking pictures.  Bimini could not be a bigger contrast from the manicured immaculate perfection that is Cat Cay.  Now, I have not been to Bimini for almost 25 years.  But it is pretty much as I remembered – that is to say, falling down.  I mean, here is a place surrounded by incredible beaches, beautiful, pristine flats, a great natural harbor, and, best of all, it’s only 42 nautical miles from South Florida.  Yet it is, basically, a toilet, with crumbling infrastructure and marginal marinas.  Go figure.

What's left of the Compleat Angler

Wreck of the Gallant Lady on the beach at Bimini

Even that most famous icon of Bimini, Hemingway’s hangout – the Compleat Angler – is gone, burned to ruins about 6 years ago.  Sad, sad, sad.

The anglers returned shortly after lunch, with tales of skittish fish and a total of just one Bonefish landed (WAY TO GO, SARAH!)  Oh well, they had a great time and saw a lot of the flats around the islands of North and South Bimini.  Sunburns on the areas of skin missed by careless application of sunscreen were the order of the day.

But now, the weather was once again pointing to a favorable forecast.  So, at 4pm, we cast off from the Big Game Club docks and headed south to the wreck of the Sapona.

Sapona was built during WWI, one of a small fleet of concrete ships (because steel was in short supply).  After the war, she passed though several hands and was used as a rum-running base before being washed up on the reef south of Bimini during a hurricane in 1926.  She was abandoned there and shot to ribs and ruins by US aircraft training during WWII.  Her remains sit in 15’ of water and, the last time I was there, in 1988, she was a great snorkel.  According to Larry, Sarah, and Anna, she still is.

We grilled up some of that fresh Cat Cay Tuna (IT WAS FABULOUS) and, at 6pm, pulled up the anchor to begin our leisurely overnight cruise across the Great Bahama Bank towards the Berry Islands.  Next stop, Chub Cay.