(Originally posted April 10, 2019; New comments added February 2, 2024)
The sand bar that extends south from North Bimini Entrance Point continues to move south, encroaching on the dredged channel east of the Bimini Waypoint shown on Explorer Chart BIM 3. That problem is made worse by the lack of any effort by the Bahamas Government to move and maintain the buoys previously placed at the channel entrance. The deepest water into Bimini Sands Marina or the North Bimini Harbour is currently along a straight line from the Bimini Waypoint to the jettied entrance of the Bimini Sands Marina. The minimum SLW depth along this line is currently 2.4 meters. Just inside the jetties the depth drops to 1.5 meters for a very short distance then deepens to 3 meters at the marina basin. The straight line course between the waypoint and the jetties passes close and on the wrong side of a red buoy which was previously the second buoy on the channel entrance. The first buoy along this approach was moved by a hurricane over a year and a half ago and now rests on the Entrance Point shoal in very shallow water. This buoy should be avoided.
For vessels headed to North Bimini Harbour, a turn to the north should be made along longitude 79° 18.2′. A green buoy marking the area of this turn has been last seen on the beach near the Bimini Sands jetties. There may be several buoys marking the channel between the Entrance Point shoal and South Bimini. Depths along this part of the channel range between 2.3 and 4.5 meters.
Mariners should be alert for moved or missing aids to navigation and expect shifting sand and the possibility of future shoaling. Government maintenance of aids to navigation has been casual in the past. We have been unable to find any local contacts that can advise of changes in the existence of buoys and their accurate positions in the Bimini Channel.
Thank you for your update on the Bimini channel and for sending your previous routes from 2023. Your routes were superimposed on an older chart from the Near Bahamas 8th edition (2018). Our current edition is the 11th, published in 2023. Here is a screen shot to show your route on the current chart. Notice that the waypoint was moved in 2020 and the route has been adjusted three times since your 2018 chart. We completely agree with you about using VPR (Visual Piloting Rules) in this area as the shoaling is ongoing. We have made changes to the chart almost yearly. We appreciate sailors like you taking the time to let us know when changes have been made and our charts need to be updated. Keep up the good work for everyone's benefit.
I would avoid attempting to enter Bimini channel under anything but Visual Piloting Rules. The actual position of the buoys through the sandbars does not correspond with the charts, and they do not always mark the deepest water. If I absolutely had to enter the channel at night, I would follow a very recent (within the last 30 days or so) track that I had made myself (and still I would be cursing and praying).
Below are two tracks we had in January 2023. With eyeball navigation, we stayed in the middle of the deep water. This put us about 500 feet south of the preferred/suggested route in (the broken purple line). This "preferred" route would have had us on the bar, much as the sailboat with about 4' draft (an Island Packet) we saw grounded right around the spot marked "VPR Area" as we departed the islands in late April 2023.
All but a few markers throughout channel unlit, we struck a no wake in the channel. Night time entry should be avoided. We were in a tough spot needing to get in, I am reasonably familiar with this harbor but would not do again.
March 22' there are multiple no wake markers directly in the middle INSIDE the channel on the northern narrow strip by fisherman's village. The locations of markers on Navionics do not line up with positions in reality. Marked anchorage in man-made dredged cove at far north of channel is carrying 19ft rather then marked 14.
😊Thanks for the photo and information. We'll hope that the buoys remain in the position to mark the deepest water. Except for the current buoy position the Explorer Chart shows the correct hydrographic data and the best route to Bimini Harbour.
That was Henry that posted the chart. We mentioned the one green buoy since that is all we saw when there in March 2021 cruising on our boat. We are not associated with Explorer Charts. The green buoy to the northwest was not there and that is why we mentioned that we saw many boats keep close to north of the red buoys.
😀 Thanks for updating us on the buoys into Bimini. You mention one green and two red buoys, but you show two of each. What is the data source for this chart? It does not appear to be Explorer data. Were these buoys shown on the chart or did you plot them? Thank you for your help in clarifying. We know that the entrance to Bimini is an ever-changing picture and we continue to update the Explorer chart frequently. The buoys have never been reliable there as they change, disappear, reappear on a sand bar, etc. We appreciate your help in updating our own information.
We were in Bimini mid March 2021. Markers different from when were there in 2019. Boats we saw coming in and going (including us) in March 2021, left 2 red buoys to starboard (but kept them close) and the one green marker to port before turning left/north to head to Bimini Harbour or continue more or less straight into Bimimi Sands Marina, now Bimimi Cove Marina. The channel to the latter is shallow at the entrance - 5.5' at low tide measured in our dingy before coming in while anchored out. Avoid if any west wind due to waves that would make it shallower or dangerous even not at low tide. Deeper water once in the channel.