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Making the trip to Bimini

Old 07-14-2017, 03:32 PM
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Well...I was getting irritated working up North in the cold this past winter so we planned another Bimini trip....this time on 2 See-Doos. Yea, call me crazy but after all the prep, I felt confident it would be an easy run. We pre-ran from Haulover to the Keys on the previous day to check seas and our fuel burn. On the day of, we had cooler full of food, ice, water, beer straped to the back pad of my ski and 5gal of fuel strapped to the other ski. Each ski held 18gal of fuel for the 40mi run. I had cell phone, 2 hand-held gps an EPIRB and a backpack w/clothes. On the morning of, we left out of Haulover with seas less than 2ft. At that point, I knew it was going to be fairly easy run. We stopped half way for gear check and to confirm 105* heading (the skis had a digital compass and fuel burn ratio). At about 1:20hr of run time, we began to see the Bimini Sands roof tops, 1:45 and we arrived. Aside from all the formalities and after taking a small break on the beach, we headed straight for the Sapona, snorkeled inside/out of the wreck and then went to Honeymoon harbor/beach for the rest of the day. At the end of the day headed to check-in at the Hilton for dinner, gambling fun and crashed. We woke up, checked the seas, endured a small rain shower and headed back to Haulover. We basically burned about 24gal fuel/per ski to get there and back (12 each way) and then maybe 5gal to/from running around. All-in-all, one very cool trip! I'll add some pics for proof....lol

Last edited by high bid; 07-14-2017 at 03:51 PM. Reason: spelling
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Old 07-14-2017, 04:04 PM
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Awesome!
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Old 07-17-2017, 06:24 PM
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Can't seem to get any photos uploaded.....
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Old 07-31-2017, 11:50 AM
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Interested in seeing your photos.

I'm planning a trip at the end of August, Spending Thursday the 31st in Miami , then crossing the gulf stream Friday morning the 1st of September, spending that night and Saturday night at the Bimini sands, coming back over Sunday, driving back home on Labor day. We're going in two boats. My 30' scarab and my nephew in my brothers 21' caravalle.

Couple questions...
Which places do you guys recommend to eat? Any good restaurants?
Can you get into customs with a passport card? (not the booklet)
Where do I go to clear customs coming back into the US?

Thanks for any info
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Old 08-04-2017, 02:31 AM
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double post

Last edited by Jupiter Sunsation; 08-04-2017 at 02:34 AM.
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Old 08-04-2017, 02:33 AM
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Originally Posted by hblair
Interested in seeing your photos.

I'm planning a trip at the end of August, Spending Thursday the 31st in Miami , then crossing the gulf stream Friday morning the 1st of September, spending that night and Saturday night at the Bimini sands, coming back over Sunday, driving back home on Labor day. We're going in two boats. My 30' scarab and my nephew in my brothers 21' caravalle.

Couple questions...
Which places do you guys recommend to eat? Any good restaurants?
Can you get into customs with a passport card? (not the booklet)
Where do I go to clear customs coming back into the US?

Thanks for any info
1. Easy trip but I would leave the 21 Caravalle at home. That boat is small and if it gets rough it will be a miserable ride for both of you (you will have to go slow also). The fees in the Bahamas/hassle of dragging it from Alabama won't be worth bringing it. The weather is going to determine your in/out dates and it is the height of hurricane season.
2. If you stay at Bimini Sands (I prefer it) you will be limited to breakfast/lunch at their cafe onsite and dinner at Mackeys Sand Bar at the south end of the island (you need a golf cart to get there by land). You can go by boat to Mackeys but I wouldn't attempt it at night.
3. The card will work but just keep in mind you cannot fly with that card like you can a real passport. So if someone gets sick, you need to fly home to buy parts whatever that card is a "no go." You need a US entry sticker ($25) and you simply call into US Customs, sometimes they want to see you in person and other times they tell you to have a nice day.

That is going to be a very busy weekend, be prepared to pay extra for everything from lodging to dockage right down to golf cart rentals and fuel. You might even get hit with 2-3 night minimums on everything. Consider staying at least another day in Bimini as you are spending a lot of time and money to get there/back to only stay 2 days.

Refuel the minute you arrive in Bimini as they will probably run out of fuel that weekend when everyone refuels to go home.
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Old 08-04-2017, 09:34 AM
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Agree with above... pm me with you email or ph# and I'll be glad to answer any questions
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Old 08-09-2017, 10:40 AM
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Thanks for the info guys. Appreciate it a lot.
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Old 09-05-2017, 06:06 AM
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Originally Posted by hblair
Thanks for the info guys. Appreciate it a lot.
How did the trip go! Saw you posted in General Discussion you were back
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Old 09-06-2017, 12:00 PM
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We had a good time. Was an adventure. Half the place is third world country, then you go to the Hilton. Wow. There's some money there! I put together a video. We had some drone footage too...
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The following users liked this post:
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