Subject: Entering Bimini late afternoon
Cruising News: Hello,
I have a 35 foot sailboat and want to make my first crossing to Bimini from Miami. I have always heard that you need to sail all night and arrive at around noon to enter safely.
My question is, now with color GPS and I would go with two identical units, would it be safe to enter say around 3:00 PM? Say leave Biscayne channel at 5:00 am and arrive between 2 and 4 PM.
Is it really now necessary with color GPS to come in at high noon and my contingency plan if I had a problem along the way and it got dark would be to heave to until morning or turn back as going back into miami at night is no problem, with our withoug gps.
Thanks
Jules

I have cruised the Bahamas the last 6 years and agree the Navionics charts are dangerous, unfortunately the only option if you have Raymarine. If you want accuracy make sure your charts are based on the Explorer Charts which are available for Garmin.
Terry

I crossed from Miami to Bimini for my 1st time in late July 2009. I read the warnings about navigating into the north Bimnmini channel at noon but I had no problem at any time of day.
GPS makes it very simple – just head for the Bimini Sands resort entrance then turn north into the channel about 1/4 mile offshore from the Bimini Sands entrance. After I was familiar with the area, I came in from south of South Bimini in the evening and after nightfall (great star viewing!).
While my boat only draws 2.5 feet and yours probably draws 4 or 5 feet but I had more than 4-5 feet of water at all times approaching and in the north Bimini channel.
Paul

I would caution against too much reliance on the GPS plotter. The last time I came into Bimini Harbor, my chartplotter (Navionics cartography), showed my track plot on dry land! The base map was off by 200 meters. Eyeball navigation still rules, and you want the sun right above you or a little behind you for that
jgorham@ircgov.com
Jon Gorham

We left early morning from No Name Harbor and arrived in Bimini in the early evening. With the fact that the markers were missing for the Bimini channel, and that it was dead low tide and we draw 6′ (so we had issues trying to enter the Bimini Sands Marina, where I would highly recommend staying over the marinas on North Bimini), we ended up going a few miles south and anchoring off of Gun Cay. Personally, I would recommend entering the Bimini channel during the late morning hours, depending on draft. Also, the current running through the channel can get pretty big, so if there’s an opposing wind be careful.
Chris
S/V Pelican

Subject: entering bimini late
Cruising News: I agree with the previous post that Navionics charts in the Bahamas are worse that useless, thay are DANGEROUS. I found that near Allens cay in the northern Exumeas that they were 200 yds off – till I changed scales – then they were about a half mile off. Lon/Lat were correct, the electronic chart picture was wrong and varied from scale to scale. It is so bad I tossed it and bought a Garmin. It appears to be correct but ALWAYS CHECK THE PAPER CHART AND YOUR EYES
V. Weaver