Wonderful trip on the Easy Goin' to Bimini

[Scubagal]

Not sure I'll be doing a full trip report, but we had a great time. This was our first liveaboard experience, and now we're hooked. The Easy Goin' departs from Ft. Lauderdale. Their website is http://www.paradisecharters.com The itinerary we were on was the weekend trip to Bimini. The crossing was a bit rough, but nothing we couldn't handle, and no one was sick. The diving was wonderful, and the crew was fantastic. Peg's meals were delightful, Chuck always had a joke or story and was an experienced captain, and Dave was an attentive Divemaster.

Highlights of the trip were all the caribbean reef sharks at Bull Run, the Road to Atlantis, the Sapona, and our trip back to Ft. Lauderdale. We were only about 10 miles out of Bimini on the way back to Ft. Lauderdale when Dave spotted what he thought was a pod of dolphins. However, it turned out to be a pod of pilot whales! Captain Chuck turned the boat around and put us in the water 3 different times to snorkle with them. To say it was a magical experience was an understatement! Chuck and Peg have been making these trips for 10 years and this was a first. We were able to get a few pictures, which are below.

 

[tvictory]

Thanks for the report. We're going with them tomorrow night for the Memorial Day Weekend trip (our third on Easy Goin').

What was the water temp at Bimini and points south?

 

[Scubagal]

Water temps were averaging 78-79 degrees. Have a great trip, tell Chuck, Peg, and Dave hello for me!

 

[mike_s]

so did you go onto Bimini much (besides to clear customs)?

I was just curious if they were going to rebuild the Complete Angler after it burned?

 

[Scubagal]

We were in Bimini so early that nothing was open. Others on the trip that went ashore said nothing had been done to the Complete Angler.

 

[tvictory]

We were there yesterday. The only thing left of the Compleat Angler is the stone fireplace and chimney. I don't know what the plans are for the site. Apparently, the Big Game Club has replaced the CA as the party hot-spot.

 

[Scubagal]

We were there yesterday. The only thing left of the Compleat Angler is the stone fireplace and chimney. I don't know what the plans are for the site. Apparently, the Big Game Club has replaced the CA as the party hot-spot.

So how was the trip? Did you have good weather?

 

[tvictory]

So how was the trip? Did you have good weather?

We left Bahia Mar at about 6pm on Thursday. The seas were great, never more than 2 to 3 ft. Everyone was sleeping when we arrived at Bimini.

The first day or two, the skies were hazy and it was muggy, but the water was nice, about 82F most dives. There was a pretty good current, so most of our dives were drifts.

On Sunday we did two (moored) dives at Bull Run, the first being the fish-feed with huge groupers and 8 or 9 reef sharks. The sharks hung around during our surface interval and followed us around on our second dive.

As usual, Peg and Chuck were wonderful, and Dave the DM is a great fit. The yellowtails were practically jumping into the boat, and we had some great meals and some killer sashimi. I copied down Peg's recipe for Snapper Livornese.

Monday morning we did an early, deep dive at The Nodules, then ran to Bimini and cleared out. We did a final dive at Hawksbill Reef, which we drifted, a new experience for me on that site.

The return crossing was flat enough to water ski, but we fished. The return crossing took about 5:45, including a stop or two to reel in the Mahi Mahi. Our return was marred only by a long delay in receiving the cursory, but mandatory, validation of Customs & Immigration.

It's a great trip and I'd recommend it to any avid diver.