JetBoaters.net Bimini Fling July 10th to 15th 2017

[tim h]

I work 2 miles from Big Frog in Oldsmar !

 

[Sea-Donkey]

Hey guys, enjoying reading this thread. My group is going to Bimini 2nd week of May via jet skis. While I've never been, several in the group have done it before. We are staying at Bimini Sands so we are also very interested in when the marina/etc. is reopened which we were told would be well ahead of our trip.

BTW, I also have a jet boat but it's a vintage one and you'd be crazy to try this trip in it. It's a 1991 Ultranautics Jet Star, same company that built the Wetbikes back in the day. 13.5 feet, seats 3, 90 horse Mercruiser.

 

[Bruce]

Welcome Aboard @Sea-Donkey!

As you know Bimini Sands is in a state of transition from operation by the developer to operation by the POA (Porperty Owners Association). I have been communicating regularly with condo owners and board members to try understand what has and will happen since this transition started last October.

The POA has already taken over operation of condo rentals. This seems to have gone smoothly. They created minimum requirements for condos to be in the rental pool which have resulted in needed upgrades to some of the condos. The biggest changes are that all condos will have internet, all booking work will take place in the US, the failing key card lock system has been upgraded to a new RFID system and the staff will simply meet us to hand over keys on arrival so we will no longer have to go through a check in or out procedure on the island .

I understand that the fuel dock is open now and was only closed for a short period of time. They are changing the inventory of fuel from 20,000 gallons each of gas and diesel to 30,000 gallons of gas and 10,000 gallons of diesel which will reduce the risk of running out of gas during busy periods.

The Petite Conch (cafe at Bimini Sands) and the snack bar at the infinity pool are supposed to reopen by May 1st. The Ship Store is also supposed to reopen around that time. There are future plans to add room service to the offerings from these facilities and to add air conditioned eating space at the infinity pool.

The resteraunts at the South Bimini Beach Club are for sale or possibly sold. I doubt they will reopen under Bimini Sands management but it is likely that they will reopen.

If you have any specific questions I can run them through my contacts.

 

[chris24]

Indeed he does! When did you meet him?

I met him over at Big Frog. I was picking up an order of shirts for our Bimini trip for jetboaters. And had some specially made jetboaters ones for myself made.. he embroidered the jetboaters logo on a nice polo shirt for me.

 

[MrMoose]

I met him over at Big Frog. I was picking up an order of shirts for our Bimini trip for jetboaters. And had some specially made jetboaters ones for myself made.. he embroidered the jetboaters logo on a nice polo shirt for me.

@chris24, please send the royalty fee for using the logo to @Bruce, or if it's more convenient, just hand him a bottle of rum in Bimini.

 

[robert843]

I met him over at Big Frog. I was picking up an order of shirts for our Bimini trip for jetboaters. And had some specially made jetboaters ones for myself made.. he embroidered the jetboaters logo on a nice polo shirt for me.

@Ramblin Wreck here you go for shirts bud.

http://www.bigfrog.com/

 

[Bruce]

Guys, I created a short video with footage from 2014 to 2016 crossings so you can see what the conditions might be like. My family did not return with the group in 2015. I understand the group had a slightly rough return that year. After extending our stay by six days we picked a calm day to return and had flat seas.

If you listen to the audio and look around our boat you will see that our comfort levels and positioning of cargo in the boat changed greately after 2015.

Please remember that our boat has trim tabs lessening the bow rise and the slap afterward compared to other boats in the group.

I updated the video to include a short clip from our 2015 return crossing and 2016's arrival in Bimini.

 

[chris24]

@chris24, please send the royalty fee for using the logo to @Bruce, or if it's more convenient, just hand him a bottle of rum in Bimini.

Custom one-of-a-kind shirt from Big Frog!

 

[ACrews]

I am going to UBER/Lyft on Sunday to the grocery store to get my supplies then fill the boat. That is my plan anyway. I was hoping to sit around on Saturday night and talk to some of you that have gone before on what to take. Just me and my wife so we won't need a ton of food. And she will want to be wined and dined a few nights. lol

Don't wait till last minute. Have a back up plan to your back up plan.

Last yr, I made the decision that I would splurge & cover the expense of lodging for my crew & myself at Bahia Mar an extra day, so I wouldn't feel rushed. Not to mention that we was planning to do some sightseeing down the ICW with @MrMoose

My plan was for them to be at my house Friday after work so we could pack everything in the boat/truck & be ready to head south around 6 Saturday morning. We were 6-7 hours from Harbor Towne. That would give of plenty of time to keep an easy pace to get to Ft Lauderdale by noon on Saturday for an early Monday morning departure, right?.. wrong! Lol

What was supposed to be a well thought out, relaxing plan on my part turned into a mad dash to Ft Lauderdale. The weather had shifted & plans got moved up a day.

So Friday night packing turned into having to cram everything in truck & boat during a monsoon of a rainstorm. We all got done doing last minute prep & packing around midnight & pulled out of driveway at 3am Saturday morning. We were topped off with fuel & docked before 3 Saturday afternoon but check-in wasn't till 3-4. By time we got checked in to our room it was a couple hrs before captain's meeting that evening.

Don't get me wrong, I was amped up on excitement/adrenaline & a touch of fear for unknowing what the weather was gonna do. By the time my head touched the pillow in Bimini Sunday night, I had only had about 4-5 hrs of sleep from time I got up Friday morning getting everything ready.

Jus be very flexible & don't over promise too much. Was it a lot to get accomplished in a short time & exhausting...absolutely. Was it worth it & would I ever do it again?...ABSOLUTELY!

 

[robert843]

@swatski saw this yesterday and thought of you. At 60 mpg this could be a Bimini beast!

 

[ThatJeepGuy]

The ride to Bimini just got a little smoother. Traded in my AR190 for a 2017 AR240. July can't come soon enough

 

[2nazt]

Looks great @ThatJeepGuy looks better than the photos on their website! Make sure you look at that anchor locker drain.

 

[swatski]

View attachment 52524 The ride to Bimini just got a little smoother. Traded in my AR190 for a 2017 AR240. July can't come soon enough

Welcome to the club, LMAO.

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[swatski]

@swatski saw this yesterday and thought of you. At 60 mpg this could be a Bimini beast!

Kate (my wife) thought it was hilarious!
(she survived the 190 ride last year)

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[MrMoose]

View attachment 52524 The ride to Bimini just got a little smoother. Traded in my AR190 for a 2017 AR240. July can't come soon enough

You'll no longer have to get one of your crew crouch in the bow to get you on plane and crawl back to the cockpit once you get on plane.

 

[ThatJeepGuy]

I don't know what you're talking about....

Edit: that depends how much beer my crew brings

 

[Bruce]

@Kevin Sargent are you up for this?



The photo was taken during a recent Neil Watson dive.

 

[blacksapphirez]

click if you want to suffer

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20170710T06&p0=820&msg=Bimini+Trip&font=cursive

 

[Betik]

at least it is less than 4 months .......

 

[Jadams0527]

Jadams0527 has registered to captain Family Jet with a crew of 2 adults and 2 children. They hail from the home port of Apopka.

The crew is described as: Jeremy (Captain), Dana (Wife), Jayson 6yrs old, Ethan 5yrs old

You can register for the event using the form at https://jetboaters.net/forms/bimini-2017-registration.6/respond