March 23, 2008

We woke to a dead calm anchorage. When the waters surface is so still you really appreciate just how clear this water is. We’re in 12 feet of water and you can tell if a coin is heads or tails, its breathtaking.

We decided to spend the day exploring, a little beachcombing and a little snorkeling. We headed north to Big Farmers Cay and since it was so calm we went out the cut into the ocean. On the ocean side we found a deserted beach so the girls could do a little shelling. After a while of walking the shoreline I was ready to hit the water. There was an excellent small reef just twenty yards off the beach. It was fairly shallow but with a nice vertical wall that was home to a multitude of beautiful fish.

Once we were all back aboard our dinghies we headed back to Cave Cay. Once there, we snorkeled our favorite spot but the fish there have evidently been heavily hunted and were very skittish. After lunch Christy and Deb wanted to get back in the water so I took them out and dropped them off. Then I went a couple of hundred yards away and anchored the dinghy so I could hunt an area that looked promising.

I saw several large fish but never had a really good opportunity for a clean shot. There was one little cave that I passed several times. The last time I approached it I saw a medium sized fish enter the hole. I got down to peak in and was astonished to catch a glimpse of a pair of lobster antennae.

This hole is only a couple of feet from shore in water that’s only about 4 feet deep. I waited above the hole where the occupant couldn’t see me. Sure enough he started to edge ever so slightly closer to the opening. Now I could clearly see the ends of his antennae. I drifted out to get an angle for a shot down into the hole if he appeared large enough to take. That’s when I realized that he was huge, I could see a foot of each antennae and still couldn’t see his body back inside the hole. So I edged my spear closer to the hole and aimed where I thought the 2 antennae came together.

When I fired I was sure I had hit him but it was soon obvious that it wasn’t a mortal blow. He started to fight and I was unable to pull him from his hole. Lobsters have a pair of huge spikes on top of their head. When you try to pull one from his hole they stand up and force their spikes into the ceiling above them, effectively wedging themselves into place, kind of like a lobster push up. He put up such a fight that the crystal clear water was instantly full of suspended sand, I couldn’t see 2 feet. I was afraid to really pull on the spear because once penetrated their shell is fairly brittle and I was afraid that I would rip the spearpoint out and allow him to retreat further into his hole and eventually die.

I decided to be patient and worked him out slowly, it probably took less than 2 minutes but seemed to last forever. Once clear of his hole he wasn’t done fighting. The explosive power in his tail was amazing as he grabbed great tails full of water and exploded backwards as he tried to flee. It was all I could do to pin him to the bottom until I could hoist him into the dink.

Christy and Deb arrived just as the fight was over so we got back in the dinghy and headed back to our boats. Still feeling flushed with the success of taking the unexpected lobster we decided to head out once again and drift through the Cave Cay Cut. Its deep, fast moving and probably holds some interesting fish.

The tide was flowing in so we dinghied out to the ocean side. We donned our gear and with the dinghy tied to my wrist we slipped over the side and into the water. We stick together, usually holding on to each other when we do something like this. It’s also fun to point things out to each other as we race by. We started out at the edge of the channel and with some minimal kicking we were able to drift along the edge of the deep water. We were in about 8 feet of water being swept along at 3 or 4 knots along the drop off to 35 feet. It may not sound like much but being in the water with no boat and making 4 knots is pretty much like flying. There were several deep crevices that were at right angles to the channel so one minute we’re being swept along in 8 feet of water and then as we reached the crevice, the bottom just dropped 30 feet and out from under us. It was exhilarating.

We enjoyed it so much that as soon as we were through the cut we hopped into the dink and headed back out to do it again. On our second trip we decided to let the current take us wherever it wanted. We started out at the edge of the channel but this time the current was in charge and we were soon rocketing right down the middle of the 35 foot deep cut. We saw dozens of Grouper including one that had to be 4 feet long. We then came upon 2 of the biggest Spotted Eagle Rays that we had ever seen. Each one was bigger than the dinghy and on top of that their tails had to be 10 feet long. They were facing the current but allowing themselves to be swept along with us. They were only a dozen feet below us and they each looked like a twin bed with a tail. It was kind of creepy as they kept pace with us and I was relieved when they decided to move off.

The most unusual moment of the day came when we passed directly over an inverted Jeep sitting on the bottom of the cut. There’s not a single road on any of these nearby Cays, so it must have fallen off the mailboat. Drifting the cut was probably the best time I’ve ever had while snorkeling. It was really another special day, oh and there’s lobster for dinner.