Abandoned Development 
We headed to the West End because there appeared to be a channel dug into the island that didn't have any buildings within it. When we got there, we had Joe and Chelsey watch from the bow of the boat incase any obstructions were in the channel, but it was a solid 15 feet deep, which is what it was dredged at originally. We found a good spot to anchor and were there alone. It is apparently an abandoned development. On some of the islands, they dredge out channels and then build marinas and homes along it. This one had concrete roads poured, utilities put in and a few houses had been started. Something must have happened and work on the project stopped. It made for a peaceful place to stay. Fully protected from waves.
It was a short dinghy ride to head out to the beach. We could either get dropped off down a nearby channel and walk there, or take the dinghy back out through the channel and beach it there. Jesse and Rick managed to get a few lobsters while snorkeling. The boys loved digging in the sand and playing in the water. The water was a great depth for them. Ben also tried snorkeling for the first time and is completely obsessed.
Another sailboat showed up yesterday and anchored nearby. Today, it completely poured and a rainbow showed up. That was fun to show the kids. While here they got a lot of great time on the beach and got to see crabs, a huge conch and lots of shells.

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Chill Day 
Today was a day to get some things done and let the kids burn off energy. We washed all the sheets that needed it from the leaky pull-up and throwup of the previous couple days. We had the kids run around in the grass. They tried to catch butterflies. We took the water taxi over towards a market that's nearby in order to find some lunch. Chelsey spent the morning organizing and cleaning some of the boat, which was awesome. We showed back up to the boat around naptime and the person we were waiting for that had the part we needed for the dinghy's motor came. Rick got it installed quickly, so we'll test that out tomorrow, but it should be good now.
Eli has decided that naps are optional. The last few days we've managed to get him to still nap, but today was not one of those days. During that time, Rick, Chelsey and Jesse took the 2pm van ride to the grocery store that the marina offered. They stocked back up on some produce. Once they were back and Ash was awake, we all took the water taxi back to the market for dinner and some fro-yo. Unfortunately, we found out the water taxi stopped at 6pm when it was already 7pm. The woman that was running the fro-yo place helped us get a taxi that fortunately fit all 8 of us.

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Trip to Grand Bahama 
We woke up early and decided to sail north to Freeport on Grand Bahama. That city is larger than what's on Bimini and we were hoping to get the engine on the dinghy fixed since we weren't having luck with what we had tried so far. Also, by leaving this morning, we were able to sail because the wind was favorable instead of having to motor the whole way.
Pretty early on, there were flying fish jumping out in front of us constantly. It was amazing. It wasn't quite as rough as the crossing from Miami. Everyone handled it better. Unfortunately, that morning, Eli had thrown up water all over the bed. The night had been pretty wavey so our assumption was the combination of water in his tummy (he asked for and drank a bunch of water just before throwing up) and a bit of motion sickness. He seemed fine the rest of the day.
We made good time and made it to Freeport around 5pm. We decided to stay at Grand Bahama Yacht Club so that we could do laundry, get rid of garbage, take proper showers and, most importantly, get the dinghy motor fixed.
For my birthday dinner, I noticed an indian restaurant nearby. I failed to notice that it said "takeout" before we took a water taxi and then walked the rest of the way. We couldn't find the restaurant and Joe noticed a few Indian people standing at the address where it claimed to be. Turns out the guy's wife does the cooking and then they deliver the food. We did a general order and then they kindly gave us a ride back to the marina instead of us walking a little over a mile back. The kids went swimming in the pool while we waited for our food (Jesse and Chelsey fed them while we were gone.) The food definitely took quite a while, but it was very good and clearly fresh. The samosas were handmade fresh, which is what took the longest, from the sounds of it. Joe even ordered a piece of cake from the marina's restaurant for my birthday dessert.

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Sapona Shipwreck 
We decided to head to the Sapona Shipwreck to check it out. It would definitely be an adventure for the adults as the kiddos wouldn't be able to explore it, but reading online made it sound worth it. The trip over didn't take too long and the hulk of metal popping out of the water was impressive as we approached.
There was only one boat there as we pulled up, and it was a dive boat collecting their divers. Rick and Joe went first. Once they were done, Chelsey, Jesse and I all jumped in and snorkeled around. It was very neat. It's an old concrete ship that ran aground in 1926 during a hurricane. A boat full of snorkelers showed up as we were swimming to the wreck, so we finished before they were getting in. Our timing was pretty perfect.
We went back to anchor and just spent the remainder of the day on the boat since we weren't trusting the dinghy.


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The Start of the Catamaran Bahamas Trip 
The boys and I left Minnesota on the 24th and met Joe at the West Palm Beach airport. The flight was generally uneventful. We drove to where the boat was at a public dock where we were able to load our things on and have our first dinner onboard. The next few days mostly consisted of lots of shopping trips to stock up on food, life jackets, and other supplies we would need for the long-term trip. We anchored nearby each evening.

Ben has his own little room at the head of Joe's bed. It's at the front of the boat. The twins and I are sleeping in the back of the boat. They have been a bit of a challenge. Eli especially. Eli has decided that napping is now optional, which leaves him a bit cranky.

On Tuesday, we finally felt ready enough to head down towards Fort Lauderdale. We took the intracoastal waterway, which meant waiting for bridges frequently and motoring the entire way, but it was also smoother than the ocean side would have been, which is a good warm-up for the kids. There were manatees in there! Ben got a really good look at one. We found an anchoring spot near a state park. We took the dinghy to the park where Joe brought us dinner from a nearby restaurant. Raccoons quickly tried to steal food from us. Once we were done we took a quick walk to through a tunnel to the beach and ocean where the boys ran around before it started to get dark and we needed to head back.

Wednesday we continued south and found a spot to anchor, but it was pretty tight. The next morning we went out an inlet to the ocean to follow the coast down to Miami. We anchored near Key Biscayne also near a state park. It was a bit of a dinghy ride to get to shore, but we checked out the park a couple times with the boys. They got to play in the sand one day and swim and play in the sand another.

During the week, Ben has been doing homeschool. It's been going all right though is definitely a challenge with the twins. Most of the time, Chelsey helps Ben while I keep the twins occupied. I don't have naptime very often because either Eli refuses to sleep, sleeps on me, or I have to be in bed with them in order to make sure they don't run a mock.

In Miami we had some more grocery shopping to do and we found out that the dinghy's motor was overheating. It took a bit to hunt down a fuel filter, thinking that was the problem. Turned out that it wasn't. We also had some paperwork to get done in order to head over to The Bahamas.

On Monday, the 3rd, we decided we were ready to head out to The Bahamas. Unfortunately, it was a headwind the entire way, so we couldn't sail. We had to motor the entire way. We left at about 6:30am and arrived at 3:30pm. The water is so clear, it's crazy. We're anchored where it's 16ft deep and you can see the chain laying on the sand.

Tuesday morning, a number of us jumped in for a little swim. The bigger boys went onto shore to explore while Chelsey, the twins and me stayed behind. We eventually when in to let the boys play in the sand. We're planning on staying in Bimini until we get a working dinghy.




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