Our thanks to Greg Allard for this onsite report and photos from Bimini.

Bimini Entrance Buoy Update – as of May 31/June 1, 2018
from Greg Allard

1) When approaching Bimini, at the harbor entrance, there are three buoys, two red and one green.

2) The red buoy, furthest to the north, is off-station, and it sits on a sandbar. Ignore it.

3) The other two buoys, one green and one red, are used to enter the harbor.

4) As you approach, look for the narrow rock lined entrance into Bimini Sands Marina on South Bimini. You will see the other two entrance buoys, generally lined up with the entrance to Bimini Sands. These are the two buoys you will use.

5) Navigating eastward, the first buoy (red) is the western most buoy of the two; the second buoy is further east, and is green, and it appears very near to the shore in front of Bimini Sands.

6) As to the first red buoy, to us it appeared that there was deeper water to the right of it (as we entered.) That is, the water appeared deeper on the south side of that red buoy. That is the path we took, and there was 12’ plus depth. Many local boats (or non local boats following everyone else) passed the red one on the “correct” side, that is, they left the red to their starboard. The water there looked “OK”, but not as deep as the water on the south side of the red.

7) After passing the red, then head for the green buoy. There appears to be a sandbar that has crept south slightly into the channel before the green buoy, so you should swing slightly to the south to clear it. If you are going to North Bimini, pass the green buoy as you would normally (to port), and then make an approximate 90 degree turn to port (north) which will take you into the well marked channel towards North Bimini. (If you are going into Bimini Sands, put the green to your port and go straight in to the entry channel which according to the dockmaster, has 6’ at low tide; I believe he is correct from what we saw.)

We did not go into N. Bimini, but at almost low tide, in the outer entry channel near the red and green buoys, we consistently had 10”+ of water depth. That of course is based on the exact route we took. As they say: your depth may vary. See the important note below.

Here are some photos, which will help illustrate the route.

This is the view of the same two “good” buoys, looking WEST, coming out of Bimini Sands.