Marathon > Rodriguez Key > Bimini

Quick post while we have internet coverage.  Calm winds had us motoring from Marathon to Rodriguez Key (49 nm) on Thursday and again from Rodriguez to Bimini yesterday (78 nm).  We'll hang out here until Monday morning when we can get SIM cards for our phones.  Then we'll head north to West End on Grand Bahama Island and start our tour of the Abacos from there.  Blog posts may be few and far between for the next couple of weeks.

Wednesday night's final sunset from Marathon, Florida

Leaving Marathon at dawn on Thursday morning we were escorted out by dolphins

Dolphins also welcomed us to Rodriguez Key on Thursday afternoon!

We saw hundreds of Man O Wars (Men O War??) while crossing the Gulf Stream on our way to the Bahamas

Their stinging tentacles can reach 30' underwater

Entering Bimini harbor 2 hours after low tide was stressful enough, then we spotted a grounded sailboat just off our marina :(  When the tide came up a couple hours later, they were free of the sand.  We had met Susan and Al from Equinox in Fernandina Beach, FL in January.  They knew the original owners of Virginia Dare!  Unfortunately, they were gone before we could catch up with them this morning.

Our yellow quarantine flag flew for less than 30 minutes.  David had us signed into customs and immigration in no time flat!

While he was at customs, a woman stopped by the boat offering mahi and lobster dinner.  Nothing like a freshly cooked meal delivered to the boat at sunset!  Seriously, we were practically doing NOTHING all the way here.  You think we would have remembered to thaw something from the freezer!  Also, two lines out yesterday and no fish caught.

Breakfast spot this morning :)