Last week, the Superfast VI ferry flunked a CG safety certification just before it was officially unveiled here in Miami with big fanfare... Originally from Greece, it was bought by the Genting group who is about to start service to Bimini as soon as the boat is certified. Their plan is to shuttle hundreds of passengers to the Bimini Bay Casino in which they have a stake. They also bought the Miami herald building on the bay here which they will develop in a mega resort. I haven't been in north Bimini in since last August as I now just anchor inside Gun cay going straight to Nassau but can't imaging how this 700' ship can make it into Bimini. They did some dredging last year but this thing has to draw 15' to 20'... Anybody knows what s going on there?
Look up the Nassau Guardian for March 20, 2013. There is an article headlined "Genting Begins Dredging" that pretty much outlines the background.
Hi, I feel the last 3 words in the quote are probably the major reason the vessel failed the CG Inspection. At a published Draft of 6.6m that is pretty much 20 ft.
Yes, I've seen the articles, etc... But has it actually been done? We all know the Bahamas are littered with failed grandiose projects. I just can't imagine how much dredging it would take to carry a 20' draft into north Bimini... Yes, Bimini bay has dredged a long and deep channel from Alice town to the resort but that in very calm waters. The sandbars and shoal at the entrance are always shifting and building very quickly. So, just wondering if anybody has been there lately. Last year there was a very small dredge for months with marginal improvement.
LOLOLOL, it gets even better. If you go to their website, they have a midnight casino cruise that is in Bimini from Midnight to like 2:30am. I wouldn't want to run a 40' in and out of Bimini in the dark. The website also says the casino is open and this and that. If I remember the website a ticket was around $40 and the midnight cruise left Miami at 9pm and came back at 5am. I honestly don't see it happening. Unless they put some well engineered Concrete or rock breakwater to keep Bimini from shoaling over, the channel just shoals back in literally within weeks. If you go in and out of Bimini in 10 days it's different. They should've never changed the origional channel that ran 150 feet off of the beach from South Bimini to North Bimini.....It make more sense to get a more suitable boat or to take that bohemeth behind Triangle Rocks, and then transfer everyone to shallow draft high speed CAT ferries or something. Here's an article on it. http://www.publicgaming.com/index.p...way-in-bimini&catid=27:casinoracino&Itemid=92
I know... That's why I now prefer to go in at Cat Cay, anchor overnight behind gun and then cross the bank and on to Nassau to clear customs there... It s lot easier especially at night and doesn't change much. Just the thought of 1000 tourist landing a the government dock and being shuttled to the resort and casino is mind boggling... They re going to have a fleet of 40 or 50 buses up and down the street?
LOLOLOL, Bimini couldn't even HANDLE the ships 1600 passengers in any way, shape, or form........ Actually, I prefer to clear customs at Cat Cay, it's quick and easy and not out of the way, then head onto Nassau. The last couple of times I cleared at Nassau have been a nightmare because I waited hours and hours for Customs and then Immigration to show up.
Yeah I ll have to try cat cay... I usually arrive and leave gun after / before hours but last trip I waited a long time for either immigration or customs to show up at Yacht Heaven So what s the deal? The Genting group is not some small outfit who d let itself get sucked in a project based on some promises by local politicos.. They must have surveyed the harbor entrance and local facilities... I guess we ll see. I just hope that if this project comes through it will at least provide jobs for the folks of Bimini who so far have not seen any benefits from Bimini Bay.
The last several times (4) i cleared in the last 6 or so months. 2 Albany, 1 Yacht Haven, and 1 at Atlantis. The Atlantis customs was quick, they were there before I even had all of the papers filled out. The other 3 times were AT least 4 hours of waiting.......one time at Albany we pulled in at 4pm and didn't get cleared until after 10pm...... I think if the Genting group had half a brain, they would've picked a smaller and much shallower draft boat to start with. Bimini is not big enough to handle neither the passangers or decent sized airplanes to make it all work IMO. Maybe they have a plan of Epic proportions to really change the entrance and harbor to Bimini, but I have never seen any project in the Bahamas happen in less than a few years, they already have the boat here, and are planning on running people over there right away. Maybe it would make more sense to put a commercial ship pier on the North end of North Bimini, and maybe that's what they're planning? IDK. Bimini Bay tried to employ Bimini residents. They wouldnt work. They were very lazy and the level of service they provided customers was horrible. They tried it for a year or two, So Bimini Bay started bringing them over from Freeport........ I remember walking into the lobby to the front desk, and the 2 local women sat there BS'ing between themselves for 10 minutes before they even acknoledged that I was standing there 5' in front of them. Downtown Bimini is much worse off since Bimini Bay for several reasons. There isn't enough Business to go around to all of the marina's, and most people that pull into Bimini Bay, stay at Bimini Bay and never go downtown.......Changing the origional natural channel was the dumbest move ever, because it was always navigable and the only place it shoaled was right at the tip of North Bimini. They should've just marked it better......The new channel constantly shoals.
Yes service is horrible at Bimini Bay... The last time I went they claim they had a big group coming and almost all the slips would be full. After 5 minutes arguing the slip they wanted me in was too narrow, I got tired of it and ended up putting my stern against the pilings to show them it was not 19.5' .... Took them another 10 minutes to find a slip... N big group ever showed up... And I absolutely hate the way they insist of tagging everyone like cattle with a colorful bracelet forcing everyone on board to take the shuttle to the front desk and wait on line until they decide to work a little... Maybe they changed that but haven't been there since.
The old channel was relatively stable for years until they dug the entrance to Bimini sands on South Bimini. Then all bets were off and North Bimini got screwed. As to the new dredging, I'm not sure you could dredge that deep without cutting through rock.
Not sure how they are going to do it in the short term, but there are plans I have seen for a cruise ship dock at the South End of the BB property.
That s going to be an interesting spot in winter with NW or N winds... Oh well, they have already destroyed the northern half of the island, so why not finish the job... This beach was great there, with th tall trees and the shady trail. What a shame.
Hi, It will be Coral Rock and not any obstacle to a serious dredging operation. These guys are the top right now Dutch Industry - Industrial information website - : Jan de Nul Group
Yeah I understand it can be done by the right people. If you can get them there, if you can get some one to pay for it and then if you can keep the channel open. Lots of ifs for a project in the Bahamas.
