An interesting day in Bimini

First the work - we did laundry.  2 small wash loads, 1 dryer for 1 token --- $12.  ugh.  But it'll be worse the further in the Bahamas that we get.  And we do have clean clothes!
Friends on a neighboring sailboat from Canada recommened going to South Bimini (a separate island) to visit the Shark Lab.  The shark lab is an independent organization that studies Lemon Sharks in every way imaginable.  Very well known, check out website http://www6.miami.edu/sharklab/index.html

First, a brief ride across the channel between North and South Bimini. There is a ferry boat that runs every 15 minutes or so.  Many of the workers on the islands commute back and forth between home and work. We were alone on the trip to South Bimini; a full boat on the way back to North Bimini.

Then a long 1 mile-ish walk down a long dirt road.  It was a nice walk, actually.  The weather is cool and pleasant.

Here is the lab

There are 2 full time managers, 2 assistant managers, and generally a "Principal Investigator" working on his/her doctoral thesis, with their own specific thesis goals.  They live at the lab from 1-3 years.  The 4 full time workers do a variety of work, but their primary purpose is to tag sharks and then, from information from the tags, learn their daily routines and where the sharks move through their lifetimes.  Juvenile sharks stay in a 100 meter area for several years before they move on.  Adult bull sharks can move from the Bahamas to South Africa and back twice a year.  Tracking these movement patterns is important to the lab. Here are the pens that are used to house juvenile sharks for testing purposes.

On our way back we stopped at a nice 1 mile loop walk.  This is sponsored by the Bimini Sands Resort.  Well marked and very interesting.  One landmark is along the coast; the former home of Australian Olympic Swimming Champion Percy Cavill.

Here is the house as it looks now.

If you are interested, there is an excellent 1960's Bahamas book, Out-island Doctor, by Evans Cottman, that also gives a lot of insight to the later life of Percy Cavill.

Back to North Bimini, Alice Town, and what to our wondering eyes should appear but the most beautiful wooden boat ever!  The presidental yacht, for many years, was the M/Y Sequoia.  Well, she had a sister ship, one that eventually lay in ruins.  Found, refurbished (rebuilt), and on the seas again in 2009---- here she lays, on the dock opposite us.  This is the S/V Freedom  http://www.superyachts.com/news/world-superyacht-awards-2010:-best-refitted-yachts-667.htm  That is her, bottom right.  Scroll down until you find the info about her.

Don't be mislead by this picture - look at it carefully.  There is a large fishing vessel beside us, making us look larger than life.  Our boom is there, at the same latitude as the top of the pier piling.  The top of S/V Freedom is twice that high.  We are 42 feet long--- she is 104 feet.  And LOOK at this wood work on the entire ship!!!  Like a piece of very fine furniture!



The owners (???) are not aboard, and the captain and crew are "dead heading" her back to her home port in Newport, RI.  The winds are heavy today and the captain could not get a good internet connection to check the weather.  So, Luke invited Brad over for a bit of computer weather search with our wi-fi booster system providing good internet connectivity for us.  They may leave tomorrow, but Brad will be back at 6:30 a.m. to review the weather again with Luke.

The wind is howling.  The forecast is not great --- we need to go east for an overnight on the "banks", then SE towards New Providence Island.  The winds are against us for the next few days.  We do NOT want to motor into 20-30 knot winds on the nose.  So, we'll be here a bit longer.  Thursday is the first possible window, Saturday looks more likely.  This is what happens to sailing plans and schedules.