Bimini

TigerPaws, If I want long hot showers and someone to cook and clean,(hope Ann dosnt read this) Ill stay home. Besides all the captains and crews on those MegaYachts always enjoy those comforts. How about us YOUNG adventurers that enjoy the once in a while adventure of getting in the somewhat rough,slow pace of Bimini. Shower when it rains, B B Q fresh caught fish off the Gunnel or one of the local grills. Have a beer or two with the locals.:)
 
Well, even though I am boat-less at the moment, I am going to chime in with some input.

The Biminites that I know are very much not in favor of this development. During the construction phase virtually all of the workers were imported with Spanish being their mother tongue from what I saw first hand. The impact on the ecology of the mangroves on cannot be anything but huge.

I am glad to hear that the resort is nice, but each time I have visited Bimini Bay I certainly did not feel like I was in Bimini.

While I am not as young or as adventurous as jmas, I am certainly happy to stay at the Bluewater, enjoy those hot showers and that excellent swimming pool, grill our catch poolside and feast with old and new friends that are visiting the islands. Ditto for the Big Game Club which we enjoyed last year on a weekend visit.

You have to wonder, Bimini Bay is being built on a part of north Bimini that was never inhabited during the hundreds of years after the first settlers arrived. They will have to bring in quite a bit of soil to cut down on the number of waterholes on that golf course.

DaveS
 
quote:
Originally posted by jmas

TigerPaws, If I want long hot showers and someone to cook and clean,(hope Ann dosnt read this) Ill stay home. Besides all the captains and crews on those MegaYachts always enjoy those comforts. How about us YOUNG adventurers that enjoy the once in a while adventure of getting in the somewhat rough,slow pace of Bimini. Shower when it rains, B B Q fresh caught fish off the Gunnel or one of the local grills. Have a beer or two with the locals.:)

Click to expand...


jmas,

Our perspective is a little different as we live on our Lagoon 570 and cruise full time. Bimini has not been on our list because for the most part it has generally been more of a fishing stop, maybe with the new resort that will change, only time will tell.

As for being younger and wanting some adventure, there is still many places in the Exuma chain where you can truly get lost for weeks on end. There are so many anchorages, pink sand beaches and beautiful coves to explore, the reefs are near perfect, all you have to do is look for them.

SeaQuest OE
 
Here's what I'm seeing...

Alicetown is changing rapidly, too. The straw market has been rebuilt with little shops that look like the market at Atlantis. Everything between Weech's/Big John's and the End of the World has been torn down. The new Brown's Hotel & condos/shops/marina is being built (the marina is already done). The End of the World will remain the same, as the owner, Sara, has told me. The other strip hot spots (Red Lion, High Rollers, the little grocery shops) have all gotten a new coat of paint. I believe they will remain the same, too. A few times per month a cruise ship drops 600 people off on the island.

The new casino/condos has been in the pre-development stage for around 10 years. Many key Biminites & transplants have been regularly attending meetings in Nassau to protest the building and mangrove destruction. The enviromentalists are concerned, because the Bimini mangrove is/was the largest in the Northern Bahamas. It is the biggest nursery for Lemon sharks, conch, and countless other fish/marine life.

Bimini must now build a new R/O plant, if they haven't already. The generator also needs to be beefed up. Where is all of the sewage going to end up? We stopped bringing divers to sites off Radio Beach & Spook Hill Beach because all the dredging has covered the reef up with sand.

Bimini seems to be kicking & screaming it's way into the future. It seems to be history repeating itself, once again.

TigerPaws --- I'm in Cat Cay right now on my way to Staniel Cay tomorrow. I'm looking forward to spending a few days in the Exumas.
 
been a few years since i went to bimini... i'm not too anxious to go when i read the above...

it's the same everywhere... i saw the same thing happened to st Barths...

when i started going there in 79, the airport terminal was a little shack and you'd pick up your
luggage on the grass by the plane... the "control tower" was in a minivan and if you'd land aroudn mid day
when they had no scheduled flight, the gendarme wasnt event there to check your passport...
3/4 of the roads were too narrow for 2 cars to cross without one dropping its wheels in the grass...
every single house had cisterns to collect rain water and you'd better watch out howmuch water you used
starting may/june hoping rainy season would start soon. yogurts and fresh milk ? once a week...
no fuel for boats (had to go refuel in st marten), the public dock was 200' long...

when i left in 93... the island had a nice modern terminal with control tower and full time immigration,
2 lane roads everywhere (with sometimes deadly accidents), a big water plant and water mains covering most
of the island, fresh food and dairy products 7 days a week, a fuel dock and 2000' of public docks...
adn traffic jams in season when 1000+ rental cars were on the roads...

the only thing they were able to prevent were larger hotels and developments...

which was "better"? the old st barths.. and while most locals enjoyed some of the benefits
including land value that went thru the roof, most wished their island had remained untouched.
 
Anne,
Now that you are taking customers to the Bahamas on the Blue Runner, how do you handle the paperwork at customs and imigration. Still have to go to the proper buildings or have the docs. brought to you?. Have they come up with a better way?
 
I called Bimini Bay and was told they do not yet have customs check in at the resort. They suggested either stopping on the way in or taking a taxi into town after docking at the resort. It would be nicer if the had customs there.

How is the Fisherman's Village marina?
 
Paperwork is the same - most marinas have a stack of documents to fill out on the boat. Then the captain marches into town and clears the vessel & pax at Customs (no longer pink, now a nice yellow/orange) and Immigration. I don't know if that will change much.
 
alanne,

How far south in the Exuma's do you plan on sailing? We will be heading back north in a few weeks.

SeaQuest OE
 
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