Turtle head

December 17, 2013.

There’s still only 4 boats down here in the Ragged Islands. We all spent the last few nights together in the anchorage at Double Breasted Cay. Everyone has grabbed a few lobster and nice sized Hogfish are becoming a daily occurrence.

Last night Christy & I were sitting in the cockpit under a full moon when there was a huge gasp of air right next to the boat. We were startled out of our reverie and climbed out onto the side deck. We've never seen a dolphin down in these parts so I wasn't sure what to expect when we peered over the side.

We were anchored in 9 feet of crystal clear water and could easily see the white sandy bottom glowing in the moonlight. It turned out to be the biggest sea turtle either one of us had ever seen. He was every bit of 6 feet in length with a head bigger than mine. He was awesome. He spent 5 minutes meandering back and forth next to the boat much to our enjoyment.

I have no idea how quickly turtles grow. I know a tortoise that size would be a hundred years old or more. Is it the same with turtles, I dunno. It was kind of nice to imagine that an old man like him had stopped by for a brief visit. We watched him swim away and climbed back into the cockpit to settle in and imagine the things hes seen and the times hes lived through as we sat and enjoyed our moonlit anchorage.