Stars on the Water

We are still stuck in Marathon. Not a bad place to be stuck but we are still trying to get to Sarasota. A couple of places on Siesta Key we need to check out. More on that later.
Went back to Keys Fisheries for more peel-and-eat Pink Gold. The sun nearing the horizon reminded The Captain again about an unforgettable scene anchored along the edge of the Northwest Channel just out of Chub Cay. The polishing of north Bimini event took too much of our getaway early daylight we had hoped to bank for use later so we could make the run from Bimini to Chub before dark. Many places on the Bahama Bank, and coming into Chub is one of them, can be tricky to treacherous especially when your drawing 5 feet and it is dark.
Bimini is a great place to fish! The Northwest Channel is good too. Chub Cay, though, has a huge reputation for "world class fishing" that can stand on its own to measure up to the reputation Bimini has established from the Hemingway days of fishing in the Stream. The marina, which is only 35 miles west of Nassau and 125 miles from South Florida by boat, formerly had 96 slips. Now it is being rebuilt to accommodate more and larger vessels. The channel in has been dredged to 12 feet.
Transient rates are $4.75 per foot per day during peak season, and $2.75 during the off season (July 16 through November 14). Water is .40 per gallon.
Mostly this is a touristy place and has gathered to it some real attitudes that can make a true escape there a real challenge. Its not for every kind of tourist. Its for the boats from the States type. This remains, however, a good stopover before you cross the Tongue if heading east.
When this Captain and The Kid headed to Chub just ahead of its big bucks rebuild, it was good for escape. The few full-time residents we spent time with were genuine island-timers, not the faux island time that motors in to the newly constructed marina to pose as escapers and pretend that they are on a getaway.
We couldn't make the run before nightfall, so we anchored out. We hung as close as we could to the edge of the Northwest Channel. We planned to do watches throughout the night to keep an eye on our position and watch for vessels traveling through the night. The sunset was awesome, but as the night set in an extraordinary combination of just the right conditions developed.
Stars began to be visible. Time passed. The sea became very calm. More stars filled the night sky. Time passed and soon the stars were reflecting on the water. As you looked out across the watery expanse toward the horizon the sky shared its stars with the ocean. Just the right view across the Channel and the horizon did not exist. There was no clear distinction between the sky and the sea, both were filled with stars.
The Captain has seen something similar to this before, but that one night on the way to Chub Cay, anchored out in the Northwest Channel, would always remain as a place of escape to go to on any given starry night thereafter.
Take places you have been with you when you go, so whenever you need to or have to, you can go there in the twinkling of a star.

The Captain and The Kid