Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BIMINIS
POP 2000
Itty-bitty Bimini has an outsized reputation. Its proximity to the Gulf Stream makes it one of
the world's premier big-game fishing spots, attracting heavyweights like Ernest Hemingway
and Howard Hughes since the early 20th century. During Prohibition, Bimini was a base for
rum-runners heading to Florida, only 53 miles east. The combination of macho fishermen
and lawless bootleggers gave Bimini a gritty, slightly Wild West feel, which it retains to this
day. That may be changing though, as the new Bimini Bay Resort plans to turn the top half
of North Bimini into luxury resorts and golf courses in the coming years - stay tuned.
The Biminis (as the islands are formally known) are composed of two main islands. The
skinny island of North Bimini stretches for almost 7 miles before fanning out into a quilt of
mangrove swamps and fishing flats. The western side is edged with silver-white sand, which
becomes whiter and lovelier the further north you go. The main settlement is ragtag Alice
Town, at the south end of the island. The King's Hwy, the only real road, runs straight north
through the shabby hamlets of Bailey Town and Porgy Bay, all the way to the Bimini Bay
Resort.
A five-minute water taxi ride away, less-developed South Bimini is home to the airport
and a number of expat-owned homes. Here, wide swaths of scrub forest are fringed by glor-
ious, nearly untouched beaches. South of South Bimini, a number of small cays dot the con-
tinental shelf, accessible only by private boat.
Although Bimini's still mainly a fisherman and yachtie spot, it's also one of the best (and
most economical places) to dive. In recent years the island has attracted scores of divers to
explore its reefs, sunken wrecks and dizzying drop-offs.
Don't come here expecting anything fancy - you won't find any Nassau-style megaresorts
or flashy nightclubs. But if your idea of a good time is swapping big fish stories with the
locals over a cold Kalik, Bimini's your place.
History
Pirates like Henry Morgan thought the Biminis a splendid lair from which to pounce on
treasure fleets, while the five founding families here in 1835 were licensed wreckers - 'res-
cuing' ships and their cargoes. Later Biminites tried the more honest occupation of spon-
ging, which thrived until a decimating blight in the 1930s. Prohibition in the 1920s boosted
the Biminis' economy (if not reputation) when Alice Town became the export capital for il-
legal Scotch whisky runs into the US.
Ernest Hemingway (see the boxed text,
Click here
) briefly made the Biminis his summer
home. Other infamous visitors included Howard Hughes, Richard Nixon and Adam Clayton
Powell Jr (New York congressman and Harlem preacher), who arrived with his mistress.
Back in 1987 US presidential contender Gary Hart's aspirations were sunk when he was
