As of April 2023: • Jib Room had functional docks with most slips filled. The restaurant has been rebuilt and is operational. • Conch Inn was fully functional: water and power at slips, the fuel dock was operational with diesel and water (possibly gasoline, but we didn't use or inquire), the restaurant/bar (Snappas) was open, lodging was available, laundry machines and showers were available to those renting a slip. They were in the process of building more guest rooms (and possibly a pool) when we left. • Harbor View Marina was operational • Laundry is a block or two off the harbor at Bubbles • Maxwell's Grocery is less than a half-mile south of the Union Jack Dock; in late March 2023 they were preparing to open a separate hardware store nearby • Dockside Grocery is less than a quarter-mile east of Conch Inn. They were a good source for rum too. • Propane cylinders can be refilled by dropping off at the Shell gas station a block south of the traffic light (the only one on the island--it's a commonly-referenced landmark) • Jimmy's Wine & Spirits is across the street from Harbour View Marina and had a wide variety of liquors and the best price on beer we could find (still about $50/case for Sands. ouch!) All in all they're getting back to normal.

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.

As of January 2023, you could also use your own laptop/computer to complete the Click2Clear process by tapping into the Bimini Big Game WiFi (if you haven't already arranged for some other connection to the internet). The Customs personnel did not make themselves available to assist in completing the Click2Clear form, but we did overhear them telling one or two incoming cruisers that they could direct them to someone who would fill out the online forms (for a fee). In a change from the process we went through in February 2019, in Jan 2023 we were directed to go to Immigration (just north of Bimini Big Game, in the pink police station on the west side of the road) PRIOR to clearing Customs. This may be a permanent change. Regardless, when we go back--since Customs is on premises at BBG--I will stop in Customs first to see which agency I should see first. It only takes a second or two and helps to demonstrate that I'm ready and willing to comply with whatever their directions are. As Kate notes: we're guests and we try to express our appreciation to the Bahamians at all times for letting us visit their beautiful islands. The whole process is a good (if somewhat compelled) transition from the hectic, U.S. way of life to Island Time: patience, patience, patience.

We carried about 30 buckets to Marsh Harbour in late January 2023, filling an unused berth until we got to Abaco. Then, after unloading, the berth was avaible for visitors during our circumnavigation of Abaco. It was gratifying to be able to help. Danny with Hope Fleet was great to work with and has an inspiring story of how he came to be leading this effort.