Miami and wow is life different or, is it normal?

 When I last wrote, we were in Nassau at the Atlantis Marina. I may not have accurately described what that facility is like and words are probably inadequate anyway. With some time to burn I'll discuss a few aspects that perhaps lend insight. It's huge. I believe I spoke about how I thought the rest of the island suffers rolling outages to keep Atlantis "hot" and after being there a couple of nights without so much as a blip in the voltmeter I have convinced myself that many people on Nassau put up with power shortages for the sake of the Atlantis.
 But what a place. I have to admit having Freedom tied up there was probably cheaper than renting a room but consider the price of bringing her there. I'm sure the rational mind will agree if you are going there once, flying in is going to be cheaper than coming by boat. These days the fuel bill alone will set you back enough to justify the room. Freedom get's 1-2 nmpg ok? If it's almost 200nm to Nassau from Florida (let alone NY) so do the math. I am sure you will agree! In spite of the expense we enjoyed quite a bit of what the place has to offer. Heck we walked around 90% of the place. They have tunnels with portals into the aquariums, and many spots from which to gaze down into the pools of fish. The water parks are quite good and the adventurous will enjoy a number of the slides. Couples will also enjoy riding the double tube rides. On the plus side of our stay, the freezer on Freedom was still well stocked so we did not have to eat out. Let's face it, a 50 dollar entree is going to impose a penalty on many budgets.
 We had a great time regardless.
 On the way to Chub Cay we were pleasantly surprised to see a couple of our modern destroyers heading out towards the Atlantic via the North East Providence Channel. The good thing about this was the consideration they showed to all of the boaters out that day. With Summer approaching the Bahamas busy season gets going with a significant increase it boat traffic. Regardless of being in the big water, we were never out of sight of other pleasure boats. If anyone was within a couple of miles of the Navy the Navy hailed them identifying their pleasure boat style, size, speed and course. Everyone answered which I thought was wise. Considering what happened to the U.S.S. Cole my thoughts are that only an idiot would not have a watch going on VHF 16 and refuse to answer the hail. I sort of think the use of deadly force would be authorised if the wrong boat got to close. We were within 3 miles and happy enough with that distance. Clicking on the photo will provide a better image. I wanted to hail #95 and express our gratitude but they were busy. Next time I think I will make the effort to hail and thank them. It's gotta go over well.
 Moving on to Chub Cay we elected to stay off the beaten path at the Berry Island Club. Certainly at 2 bucks a foot the price was right and if you are patient the WIFI is free. They are working on the place and given the situation we are not the least bit sorry for staying there because we know it supported some folks that could use it. Yes, Chub Cay also needs support but wow did the folks developing that place have cash going in. We found the channel into the Berry Island Club well marked, the power was adequate, and the environment quiet except for some locals walking out to the end of the dock to fish. It's exposed to the East but with luck once can look at the weather and if the slip assignment works the boat won't be set on the dock all night.
 From here at the Berry Island Club we set out at 7 AM for Bimini. It's a long ride to Bimini at 9 knots, something like ten and a half hours. Listening to a pair of  6-71TIs drone on for that amount of time wears on you. But we broke up the trip with frequent bilge checks, lunch, snacks, and while one played electronic Yahtzee the other looked out for shallow water and debris. Occasionally much to our enjoyment a pod of dolphins would come out of nowhere and glide right at the bow of Freedom, dive under us and pop up in the wake only to move on without riding along for a while. Perhaps they knew we were not Bahamian because the dolphins in Florida almost always hook up for at least a mile or two. This time across the bank we had no hitchhikers in the form of lost birds so hopefully they all made it home that day.
 Arriving at Bimini, we were severely disappointed to find out our reservation at the Bimini Blue Water marina was lost. That left us without a spot for Freedom. We were very upset given how long we had traveled and that the reservation was made two days ago. Along with this a fishing tournament was underway at the Bimini Big Game Club so we were wondering where we would be at the end of this long day. Fortunately the prepaid BTC cell phone still had some minutes and we relieved to learn that the BBGC had a spot for us. It was not exactly the smoothest approach I made when I pulled in. The tidal current pulled us right up to one of the glossy sporties sitting on a T head. Everyone scrambled but I managed to hit all the levers and move Freedom around the bow and anchor of the boat without incident. Regardless of the long day I should have been more on my game.
 Since BBGC was expensive compared to the Bimini Blue Water we cut our time in the Bahamas short by a week. We were going to stay longer but the cost and facilities issues just didn't line up elsewhere. So various vendors missed out on our dollars. Oddly enough, passing by the Blue Water we saw the slip we stayed at last year was open. We chalked it up to being a "Bahamiam Ting" and moved on to the Gulf Stream the next day.
 But it all worked out well. That took us across the Gulf Stream towards Miami in good water since the forecast was promising. Initially the seas were confused but only 1-2 feet in height and Freedom handles that well. Once out into the stream proper, things settled down into a gentle roll out of the South East and we were making good time. We had a few occasions where we encountered commercial traffic and we had to dodge them, but otherwise the crossing was good. You might think that out running a tanker or bulk carrier is an easy task in Freedom but those large boats move quite well and looking at the distances and closure rates on the radar will put the fear into anyone.
 Back on the military theme, the Coast Guard was stopping many vessels that left Bimini and Cat Island and boarding them as part of our homeland security efforts. All vessels except one answered their hails and it was a go fast doing 43 knots. I'm thinking they radioed ahead instead of continuing the chase. It was interesting to hear others talk about flashing their badges to the CG folks in an effort to mitigate their boarding. All in all that act was no help and we were glad to see that the CG ignored the badges and proceded with their work.
 Now over here in Miami, we are surprised to realize that taxis, wifi, dockage, and many things other than fuel are cheaper in the Bahamas. Filling Freedom hurts but a 25% break in the cost is welcome.

 And that's the last time we come home to be here in time for the Rapture.

 The GPS data is current and there are new photos in the bucket.