For many cruisers, the short hop from south Florida to Bimini is the fastest way across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. If you've followed that magenta line more than once, you know that the entrance into North Bimini is always changing with shifting sands. In fact, one of the old buoys is now firmly planted and partially submerged on the shoal. Don't go by that one!
Over the years, we have made many changes to the Bimini Chart BIM 3 (See Explorer Chartbook Near Bahamas 11th Edition, p. 54). It’s important to check the edition of your chartbook to be certain that you are using the latest data.
We recently had an Explorer Chartbook user kindly send us his actual printed route into North Bimini from his GPS. He met some shallow water. It showed that he used a different path from the one in his current chartbook. When we asked about the chartbook edition he was going by, he was dismayed to find it was an 8th edition while the newest version is the 11th. Clearly, the route from the older edition had been changed about three times and he was using outdated information, which put him very close to the shoal.
The chart below shows the best route starting at the South Bimini Waypoint and lining up with the range markers on South Bimini. The range is still standing; however, the range lights are probably not working. Go in close to shore, and follow the shoreline into Alice Town, North Bimini. This is the deepest route and it carries 7-8 feet (2.3 meters).
The alternate route is the northern one into North Bimini from the Bimini Waypoint. The controlling depth is 6.8 feet (1.8 meters). Shoaling is continuous near the entrance to this route.
It is best to arrive in daylight so that you can see the bottom on your way in. It is not recommended that you navigate this route in the dark unless you have been there before and have a good breadcrumb trail.
I just purchased the 11th edition. Is that still correct, or is this posting a further update?