March 1, 2008

Yesterday we awoke after a good nights sleep to find that the winds were finally starting to clock around to the east northeast. The only problem was that this enabled the waves to come through a gap between the cays and made the surface rougher than it needed to be. It was not a problem for us on the boat as Veranda rode this small chop without movement.

The problem was the dinghy ride to shore with the dogs. It was across the seas and it was a very spray filled ride. As a result, every time we went to shore both the dogs and I were soaked by the time we returned. Since the wind was supposed to stay in the 20 to 25 knots range for 48 hours we decided to move.

We had spent our first night on the western shore and most of the other boats had already pulled anchor and left the bight for the 2 mile trip out and around to where we were anchored before. The cay is fairly low so the wind protection wouldn’t be that great, but you could get in very close to shore so the water would be flat calm. The only problem for us was that it would now be a ride of a few miles to the nearest “good reef” for snorkeling.

After some chart study we decided to head south to the next cay. The anchorage in Raccoon Cay was only just over 3 miles away. The issue was that we’d have to cross the Raccoon Cay Channel which is deep and exposed us to the ocean as we crossed the channel. Normally it would not be an issue, but the winds had been blowing straight down the channel over 20 knots for 24 hours. It could be “exciting”.


We decided to go for it especially since there were so many boats already anchored in and around our other obvious choice. We hauled anchor and headed south for Raccoon with the Meermin’s. The ride was quick and fairly comfortable, we stayed east of the rhumb line until the seas started to build as we crossed the channel, then we turned west a bit to ride the swells back towards the rhumb line.

The channel leaves you exposed to the ocean for about a mile, so in less than ten minutes we were in the lee of Raccoon Cay. We found only 1 boat already there, with miles of beach to choose from. We chose the anchorage at Spanish Wells as our spot for the night. We were able to get ridiculously close to shore and we had a 60 foot hill in front of us to further block the wind. It was absolutely beautiful, we were tucked up close to shore between to peninsulas in crystal clear water. We did a little hiking having found a trail that cut across the cay to the ocean side. I would guess that it was about a half mile hike up and over the hill to the eastern shore. There are no beaches at all on the eastern shore of most of these cays and Raccoon Cay was no exception. They call the windward shore “the iron shore” as its all rock that’s constantly pounded by the ocean surf.
It’s hard to imagine that this stark inhospitable place, is just the opposite side, of our little chunk of paradise.

We went snorkeling in several different spots until we found some coral heads with a population of decent sized fish. There were several good sized Grouper although they were a bit shy and fled for there lairs at the first sign of being hunted. The Grouper are unusual fish in that instead of just bolting and out swimming their pursuer they dive into a hole and hide like a rabbit. Sometimes the hole is very deep and the fish can turn a corner and be completely hidden from view. Other less fortunate fish hide in spots that are not that protected and this leaves them cornered by their predator. Me.

So, I was fortunate to shoot one decent sized Grouper fairly quickly. After there was some blood in the water the rest of the fish were on high alert. Then we saw a 4 to 5 foot shark in the water so it was time to leave. I decided to swim back towards the boat while Christy swam to the dinghy and started to follow me. By the time she had caught up to me I had stumbled across another much deeper reef. I was stalking a Grouper when he retreated into his hole. As I peered into the hole what should I see; that’s right Mr. Lobster, eureka. One shot and he was added to the menu along with the Grouper.