Annie – W37 thru W40 (Bahamas, Part1)

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Week 37

First Stop in Bahamas – Bimini

The Gulf Stream crossing, from Key Largo to Bimini, was smooth and only took us 4 1/2 hours . The water depth was crazy, I saw as low as 4ft and as deep as 7,000ft. We processed thru Customs and immigration in Bimini, the process ended up being smooth and easy.

Bimini is just 50 miles east of Miami, Florida. A lot of Americans cross here for a quick tropical getaway with its pristine beaches, vibrant nightlife, and the Resorts World Bimini casino.

We stayed at the Big Game Marina, a marina with swimming pool, play area and a restaurant. The staff are all friendly, easy going, and often have a beer in one hand while helping you with the other hand,

The wind forecast for the week was strong so we decided to stay put. We tried to do some tourist stuff but mostly we are relaxing after traveling long distance for the last few days. We hang out with two nice couples while in Bimini which made the stay more enjoyable while waiting for the weather to clear.

Here are some pictures from this week’s adventures

Cindy throws the fish to the bird, away from the sharks

There’s a guy inside the cage feeding the sharks, an adventure I will not do

This is what comes out of the conch shell

He trims it until what’s left is the edible white piece of the conch

We found a spot on the wall to stick an Over Yonder boat card

Dolphin House has a working lighthouse in the roof

I actually like this beer, better than Bud light

My version of surf and surf, not surf and turp. Grilled whole snapper and lobster.

Week 38

Bimini Resorts World, Berry Island to Nassau

We’re still in Bimini during the first few days of this week. We went back to the Radio Beach and Steve swim with me. We also rented a golf cart and we explored the island. First stop was lunch at Joe’s Conch and then the Resorts World to the northern part of Bimini. There is at least one cruise ship here everyday. The place was busy by lunch time and it died down around 5PM when the cruise ship people returned to the ship. I tried my luck at the casino and my $20 more than doubled.

A boat trip out to the sunken concrete ship was the highlight of the Bimini trip. It was less than an hour boat ride and there are so many different fish inside the ship.

Our last day in Bimini was quite stressful. We noticed the refrigerator is not cold enough and the meat in the freezer have thawed, We debated whether to go back to the States since having no refrigerator in Bahamas would be extremely difficult. Luckily after Steve emptied it out and let is sit empty overnight, it started working again so the Bahamas adventures continued.

FYI…Islands in the Bahamas are called cays (pronounced “keys”) because they are low-lying, small sandy islands formed on top of coral reefs. You will see the word Cay a lot going forward.

We left Bimini really early and cruised for 90 miles and anchored at Chub Cay in the Berry Islands. The trips from a major island to another can be long so we usually wait for good weather, low waves, less winds and the correct direction of the wind. Chub Cay is just an anchorage stop for the night and we continued Nassau the next day.

Upon getting close to Nassau harbor, the boat density got thicker and the wakes created by these boats are not fun. Seeing the famous Atlantis and Baja Mar Hotels from our boat was amazing. We also went very close to the Nassau cruise pier and saw 4 very huge cruise ship. All i can say is WOW. We stayed at Nassau Yacht Haven Marina for 4 days.

**Chub Cay** is a private island in the Berry Islands chain of the Bahamas.

Nassau is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence,

Here are some pictures from this week’s adventure

We can see the cruise ship from the Resorts World

At the Resorts world beach, filled with people from the cruise ship

I can’t believe i came out positive, My $20 more than doubled.

But not enough to buy anything at the resort store

Jim and Cindy joined us to our island tour

Golf cart everywhere, remember to drive on your left

This is a thing in Bahamas, you write your name on something as a souvenir.

Approaching the sunken ship to do snorkeling

The **SS Sapona** is a famous concrete-hulled shipwreck located in the shallow waters off South Bimini, Bahamas. Built in 1920 (designed by Henry Ford), it ran aground during a 1926 hurricane, served as a booze warehouse and military target practice, and is now a popular spot for snorkeling, diving, and fishing in 15–20 feet of water.

We saw lots of fish inside the ship, too bad i don’t have underwater camera.

Last dinner so I let him order chocolate cake for dessert,
The tables next to us are all college students enjoying their spring break

Finally the weather is calm and we had an early morning departure.

After two days of travel, we are finally at Nassau

This is the Paradise Island Lighthouse in the entrance to the Nassau Harbour built in 1817.
Unfortunately it was damaged by a tropical storm Imelda in 2025.

Cindy took our picture upon entering the marina.

Look how huge the boat behind our little blue boat, Over Yonder

This boat’s name is Play time, so we played

Cribbage tournament, Amazing wives vs Awesome husbands

Week 40

Nassau to Exuma

The first few days of this week is spent exploring Nassau, the capital and the biggest city in Bahamas. Many cruise ships stop here everyday as there’s plenty to do here. They have tons of historical places, shops (straw market), stunning beaches and good restaurants.

To get to know the island faster, we rented Ernie to be our tour guide. He’s a pastor and knows Nassau very well. Our first stop was lunch at a Filipino restaurant which i regretted not eating here the last time we were in Nassau in 2024. But this time, I made sure I eat at Manila Grill.

We had a bunch of stops, Fort Montague, Rum Cake factory, The Cave, Baha Mar. He pointed out some facts about important buildings as we pass by as well as good restaurants. We started the tour drving by the area where the local Bahamian’s live and then at the end of the tour then he took us to the areas where tourists live. What a huge difference.

We left Nassau marina around 9:30am after the staff read our electric and water usage. Here in Bahamas, the utility bills are not including in the dockage fee. We travel for 4 hours to the top section of the Exumas called Highborn Cay. We were the first boat to anchor for that day. But as it get closer to sunset, there are tons of boats next to us. The wind blew hard from the north that night and our boat was rocking all night long.

The next day, we continued south to a more protected area and tied up on a mooring at the Warderick Wells, the headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park in the Bahamas. This place is one of the prettiest place I’ve ever seen, the clear turquoise water is breathtaking and everyday, six stingrays swim around our boat at the tide changes.

Here are some pictures from this week’s adventures.