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TRAVELS WITH ANGELReachingBiminiBy Rebecca BurgBimini, a popular gateway to the Bahamas.Travelers from southern Florida typically head to North Biminito check in, fuel up and island-hop deeper into the BahamasSpring ended and another season’s cruising layovercame to a close. Thank goodness. Like a pair of birdswith pent-up migration issues, single-handed companioncruisers Angel and Defiant preened their feathers fortravel mode. Not retired, nor independently wealthy, I hadto balance periods of work and social responsibilities withthe intense desire to sail my Bayfield 29, Angel, over thehorizon. Bill, on Defiant, had to do this as well. We timedlayovers with Florida’s tourist season, our working liveslinked to the spending habits of winter travelers. When aweather window opened, Angel and Defiant flew through itwith eager impatience. This season’s modest cruising budgetsent us toward a close and easily reached foreign port—Bimini. A popular gateway to the Bahamas, the Biminiislands comprise a thin string of cays, rocks and isletsbejeweling the western edge of the Great Bahama Bank. Thenorthern half of this string, North and South Bimini, isabout 45 nautical miles from Miami, Fl. The string’s southerncomponent includes the turtle rocks, Gun Cay and theCat Cays. Travelers from southern Florida typically head toNorth Bimini to check in, fuel up and island-hop deeperinto the Bahamas.Just after setting sail, I listened to a talk radio station.After Angel’s oversized 8-foot antenna could no longer capturethe signal, I played CDs. When I turned the player off,a soft blanket of silence draped over the sea. Then, themuted sounds of rippling water and the breeze caressingthe sails could be heard. It was beautiful. This morning’ssubconscious attempt to surround my senses with noisereflected the social life that I’d just left. Now, without auraldistraction, I was able to contemplate. Noise is an inevitableaspect of civilization, but it can be overwhelming at times.Stores and restaurants pipe in background music, the ceaselessrumble of traffic reverberates through our cities, skieshum with planes, cell phones regularly startle us with insistentbeeping and the mostly vacuous prattle of televisionpushes out our own thoughts. With such a din, there’s littleroom for quiet introspection. If we do come across amoment of silence, many of us are uncomfortable with itand will fill the perceived void with sound. Just as I’d done.I value our society and have a natural human need to participate,but taking an occasional siesta from its strong presenceis rejuvenating. A long sail on a mild day puts thingsinto perspective. Moments of tranquility, space and solitude,once we’re comfortable with them, heal the soul.Early afternoon, Bill spotted a thin column of darksmoke threading into the sky. Shortly thereafter, we saw thelow, green profile of Bimini. Alice Town and Bailey Town,North Bimini, is the center of the island’s modest population.The single main road, Kings Highway, is lined with afew eateries, shops and bars. A diesel-powered generatingstation sits near Bailey Town. That, along with the burningof refuse, will create smoky navigational aids in clear, fairweather. There are marinas with slips, and the Bimini BayResort’s marina has its own customs/immigration service.In cooperative weather, one can anchor in South Bimini’sNixons Harbour, which has sand patches at its southeasternedges with 5-7 feet MLW. Nixon’s deeper midsection is hardrock. Sheltered anchoring is found along the edge of thechannel on Alice Town’s eastern shore, with depths fromover 10 feet to shoal. The current is strong and boats mustset two hooks, 180 degrees apart, on the soft patches of seafloor between the hard areas. Water visibility is crystal-clear.These small islands have a large and colorful background.In the 1920s, Bimini was involved in rum-runningduring America’s prohibition. Earlier, wreckers earned aliving from the cargos of ships that ran aground on the46 April 2008 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindsmagazine.com