Monday, August 18, 2008

Hiding out at Bimini

It's starting to look and feel like a strong tropical storm here at Bimini. It's strange to visit Bimini and be one of only two boats, normally about fifty or so during the week and more then a hundred on the week ends. I'm very close to the shore and the main street of Alice Town but have only seen a few people today.
The wind is about 25 kts with occasional gusts over 40 kts. The rain is none stop by and large, a soaking rain, steady but not hard but with periods of extremely hard rain. I think the wind and rain will grow in intensity through the night.
The wind is predicted to go south in the morning at about 20-30 kts, if that holds I'll sail for Nassau. The storms forward motion has slowed which may allow it to gain strength, so I'm not sure about tomorrows forecast but time will tell.
I decided to anchor rather then to take a dock since the potential damage from wind and waves battering the boat against the dock is great. anchoring at this little basin presents a few challenges; I can't put out the 300 foot of ground tackle I have available but only 125. I'm anchored in five to six feet over white sand which is good but if there is a large tide the boat will no doubt touch the bottom or be grounded. If the boat breaks anchor it will just run aground in white sand.
I have changed the batteries in my underwater flash lights, laid out life safety gear, removed or tied down sails, fishing gear, BBQ's or anything that presents a windage profile. I tested my emergency satellite locator, both VHF radios and the UHF SSB radio
I have just been goofing off the last few hours reading and watching the tube when the rain is light enough to allow the Sat signal through.
For all the good folks who are concerned about me, I feel safe and prepared for this storm and will up date this log in the morning, thanks for all your emails.
Mark

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