Bimini
You crossed over from Florida by boat, and the watch is no longer on your wrist
Between the dock where you tied up and the sand at Radio Beach, there are only so many places it could be.
A watch that went missing on a boat trip to Bimini can still be looked for if it came off on a dock, on the sand or in water shallow enough to stand or snorkel in. What decides it is whether you can pin it to one of those places rather than to somewhere out on the crossing.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Bimini with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the dock or the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Plenty of anglers bring their own boats across from Florida and tie up at one of the marinas. Others fly into South Bimini Airport and take the ferry over to North Bimini, where Alice Town and Radio Beach are.
Walk it back from the boat to the beach
Search the boat before anything else: the cockpit floor, under the seats, inside the cooler. Then walk the route from the dock to where you sat, slowly. Mark the dock and your spot on the sand on your phone's map, plus any shop or bar you stopped at on the way, and look back through your photos for the last one that shows the watch on your wrist.
Bimini is two main islands and a string of cays. Alice Town, most of the hotels and the beaches most people head for are on North Bimini. South Bimini is the quieter island, with the airport and a ferry across to the north. Honeymoon Harbour and the Bimini Road are reached by boat.
Places we cover in Bimini
- North Bimini
- South Bimini
- Alice Town
- Radio Beach
- Blister Beach
- Spook Hill
- Porgy Bay Beach
- Bailey Town
- Tiki Hut Beach
- North Cat Cay and South Cat Cay
- South Bimini Airport
- The ferry between North and South Bimini
- The marinas and docks
- The Bimini Road
- Honeymoon Harbour
- The Sapona wreck
- Turtle Rocks
- Rainbow Reef
- Victory Reef
- The Healing Hole
- The Fountain of Youth
From Alice Town down to South Bimini, and out by boat
Most beach days happen on North Bimini, and some of the places below need a boat.
Radio Beach, Blister Beach and Spook Hill
Most of Bimini's beaches are on the west side of North Bimini, and the one most people head for is a long stretch of white sand in Alice Town made of three beaches that run one into the next: Radio Beach, Blister Beach and Spook Hill. They are in the town itself, so a loss here can also have happened on the walk back to your room or the dock.
Alice Town and the marinas
Alice Town, on North Bimini, is where most of the hotels and restaurants are. Boats crossing from Florida tie up at the marinas, and anglers gather there after a day on the water. If it happened while tying up or stepping ashore, the marina name and your slip number tell the detectorist which stretch of dock and water to start on.
Tiki Hut Beach and the Cat Cays
Tiki Hut Beach is a strip of white sand along the west shore of South Bimini, backed by greenery that includes thatch palms and sisal. Further south, the cays such as North and South Cat Cay have beaches that are harder to reach, where you may have the sand to yourself. Say which beach you were on and how you got there.
The Bimini Road
The Bimini Road is a row of square, neatly aligned stone blocks in the water west of the bluff of North Bimini. It is a scuba diving site reached only by boat, and snorkelers visit it too. The stones lie in a straight line, so tell us roughly where along the row you were and where the boat sat.
Honeymoon Harbour
Honeymoon Harbour is a boat ride away from the main islands, and people go for its friendly stingrays. Tell us whether you were on the sand or in the water with them, and which boat took you out.
The Sapona wreck
The Sapona is a concrete wreck off Bennett's Harbour in South Bimini, visited by snorkelers and scuba divers. It sits in 15 feet of water, and some people dive into the sea from the top of it. Say whether you lost something up on the ship or while swimming around it.
Behind the WhatsApp chat
No call center
There is no ticket number and no queue. It is one WhatsApp chat with one person, for as long as your case runs.
The detectorist hears the whole day
Your pins and photos are only part of the brief. The detectorist also gets the order of your day: which dock you came in at, whether you went out by boat, which way you walked to the sand.
Doubts said out loud
If what you describe points to open water, you hear that early, before anyone is asked to go out.
The price question
We explain the costs before any search is booked. Nothing is arranged until you have said yes.
Deep water offshore, a shallow flat in between
The Gulf Stream runs past just offshore, and a shallow flat joins the two islands.
Out in the Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream rushes past Bimini just offshore, and it is what draws deep-sea anglers here. A ring or watch lost overboard while fishing out in the Stream is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first. Something dropped once the boat was back at the dock is a different matter.
The flat between the islands
North and South Bimini are joined by a shallow flat, and people fish for bonefish on the flats. If you were wading when it happened, tell us which island you set off from and what you could see on the shore when you stopped.
Reefs within reach of a snorkel
Many of the dive trips on offer here are shallow enough for snorkelers. Turtle Rocks has big corals and Rainbow Reef is a coral ridge. Give us the name of the site and the boat that took you.
Questions about Bimini
My watch was on when we tied up at the marina, and gone by the time we sat down on Radio Beach.
Then the boat, the dock and the sand are all in play, with the walk through Alice Town in between. Go over the boat first. After that, send a pin for the slip and one for your spot on the beach, and list the streets or paths you took. Radio Beach is in Alice Town itself, on the west side of North Bimini.
I cannot tell whether we were on Radio Beach, Blister Beach or Spook Hill.
The three run into each other as one stretch of sand in Alice Town, so the names are easy to mix up, and it does not matter much. A pin matters more. If you did not save one, open a map on your phone, find the hotel or the path you came down, and mark the spot as best you remember it. Add any beach photo from that afternoon, which we can line up against the shore.
An engagement ring slipped off while we were with the stingrays at Honeymoon Harbour.
Honeymoon Harbour is a boat trip out from the main islands, so begin with the boat: who ran the trip and where it stopped. Then tell us whether the ring came off on the sand or in the water with the rays, and whether the water was at your knees or your chest. Send any clip someone filmed of the rays.
A bracelet came off at Tiki Hut Beach on South Bimini.
Tiki Hut Beach runs for 2 miles, so the first question is where along it you were. Tell us what was nearest you, such as a particular thatch palm or a path through the greenery behind the sand, and where you had come from that morning, so the route down to the beach can be checked too.
Could an Oura ring dropped while snorkeling the Bimini Road be found?
That depends on how well the spot can be placed. The Bimini Road is a straight row of square stone blocks in the water off North Bimini, visited only by boat, and the row itself works as a landmark. Tell us where along it you were, which boat you came out on, and whether you were snorkeling or diving. Say whether it had felt loose earlier in the day and when you last noticed it on your finger.
An earring went while we were swimming at the Sapona wreck.
The Sapona lies off Bennett's Harbour in South Bimini. It is a snorkeling and diving site and a landmark for boaters, so the boat that took you there will know the spot. Tell us whether you were up on the hull or in the water beside it, and on which side of the ship. Send a photo of the other earring so the detectorist knows its size and shape.
We lost a necklace at Porgy Bay Beach in Bailey Town.
Porgy Bay is a small beach, which works in your favor, because there is less sand to go over. Mark your spot on a map and tell us whether the necklace came off in the water or while you were packing up, and describe the chain and any pendant on it.
We are already back in Florida. Is it too late to write?
No. A search is planned from your pins, photos and account of the day, so you do not need to be on the island for it. Write it down while the order of the day is still clear.
Bimini
North or South Bimini, dock or sand
It helps even if you are unsure of the exact spot.
A line on what went missing and a pin for where are enough to start. Photos of the watch, ring or keys can come later. Send the first message on WhatsApp.