From May 25 through July 1 the weather was great except for one period of 5 days, heavy winds. Bimini was much the same as in previous years, however there has been considerable clean up of trash on the streets. The channel markers are missing again, so we came in via the range markers on south Bimini. Big Game club remains closed and the best dockage in North Bimini (Alice town) is still Blue Water. Diesel was $2.91 a gallon.
Chub Cay remains the most expensive marina in the Bahamas for boats under 45 ft. It is $4.75 per foot. Fuel was $3.29. Mega yachts actually get a break over the Atlantis rates.
We stopped, as usual at Flo’s for dinner. If you have not been there, look at the Bahamas cruising guide and make a stop. It is about 22 miles north of Chub and you can go straight from this location to Nassau or to the AbacoÂ’s.
As usual Atlantis was one of our favorite locations. Yes, the slip rate is high, but considering what comes with the slip it is a great place. Rates at all of the Nassau marinaÂ’s are high. Radio calls continued to come in with people requesting slips.
In most cases the marinas were full, especially Atlantis. Lesson here is to make reservations ahead of time. Compared to previous visits to Atlantis the “people” traffic was lower than past years. Meaning that the hotel head count was down, but marina count is to the maximum. Fuel at Browns was $2.79.
In the Exumas a great place to eat dinner is at Sampson. Dinner reservations are needed, before 5PM. You can contact them on the radio. We continue to prefer to anchor out while in the Exumas. One of the best places is at Big Major. On most nights there were from 12 to 20 boats. The area is large, good holding and everyone has plenty of room.
Remember to take fruit or vegetables to feed to pigs on the island. Fuel in Sampson and Staniel was $2.89.
Remember that there will be a surcharge of 2 ½ to 4 % for using you credit card. Cash or travels checks can same some money.
Best fuel price while on this cruise was at off of the Peterson fuel barge (Miami and Ft Lauderdale) at $2.40, plus tax. City marina, St Augustine at $2.59 (tax included).
I hope this information is helpful.
L Davis
Lassize-Faire