M/V MAERIN

The moon is waxing around towards full again, and the moonlight is surprisingly bright here where there is no other light, save the occasional light from the park rangers’ billets and the anchor lights on the boats in the mooring field. Our dinghy trails silently tonight, no wind generated waves slapping on the hull of the dink. It casts a shadow on the bottom, some 12 feet below, an eerie sight for us who are accustomed to opaque water! Even in the moonlight, you can still make out patches of sand and grass on the bottom. As the wind subsides, the water clarity becomes even more impressive.
We did some snorkeling today (Sunday), and as we hopped from place to place in the dink, we gained a little more practice in reading the water. Deeper, darker! It was helpful to be able to move to a location, jump over the side and see the relation of the underwater topography to the appearance on the surface, especially the proximity of some of the coral heads to the surface!

They rise from the bottom to just under the surface in some areas. Good reason to avoid them! They appear from the surface as very dark green-brown splotches. From below the surface, they are teeming with fish, hiding in the shadow of the coral, some in the openings in the surface of the head. Spiny lobster, or crawfish as they’re sometimes called here, can be seen under the

base of the coral, inside small caves in the head, sometimes tucked upside down hanging from the roof of the opening. Since the whole park is a no-take zone, some of the lobster are simply gargantuan! I saw one come from his hiding place and make

his way across the top of the coral head to another hole on the opposite side. His body had to be as big as my thigh, he was probably close to four feet long.

The information from the park says that conch here are 31 times more plentiful than outside the boundaries. We snorkeled at about 5 different locations, and had lots of company. Most of the folks in the mooring field were out since the weather was so nice, and we finally had very calm conditions, winds light and variable! I took as many photos as my camera battery would

allow, exhausting it on two different outings with a recharge in between! I am having difficulty with fogging of the lens of the enclosure, so many of the shots I take are blurred. Drats! I am working on trial & error solutions for the problem, one of which is to stuff small dessicant packets into the housing just before closing it up and taking it overboard, but we’re a little short on those!

It will be an item added to that list of things to get when we get to a major commerce center! I don’t think I can count how many of those little packets we’ve tossed into the trash over the years! Still, I’m able to get a number of photos before the

fogging puts the kibosh to the picture-taking. It’s a learning experience! Several of the cruisers in the moorings have kids on board, and one of the families put together a kid expedition for snorkeling. They were having a blast, there were close to a dozen of them, swimming around the coral heads, diving, hanging upside down & looking in close at the wildlife. On our return to the boat, Sammy got some shore leave, and Molly swam to shore, about 200 yards. It barely puts a dent in her energy reserves!
Our loosely planned venture south here into the Exumas has left us wishing we would have provisioned better. There are very few opportunities to reprovision until further south in Georgetown, and we don’t plan on going that far south. But we are using up our rum reserves, and have run very short on eggs and snacking stuff, as well as fuel for the dinghy. We’re learning to buy when the opportunity presents itself, and that shopping for a good price is a luxury best reserved for stateside purchasing! We’ll have an opportunity to replenish some of our supplies at Staniel Cay, and if we decide to go as far south as Georgetown, there are good spots to re-provision there, it just won’t be a bargain! Except for maybe the rum.
The weather has infused our attitude with some more positive thoughts, and we’re thoroughly enjoying the 85 degree days and balmy nights. Last night was the 1st night since we left in November that we broke out a fan, running it in our cabin last night. It was a bit muggy, and the air movement felt good! Sure beats shivering in the rack! Our thrill will be short-lived however, since a cold front is predicted to blow through Tuesday, and winds are again dictating our travel, along with the rest of the cruising community! We will probably remain here until the winds clock with the passage of the front, then head further south. We may jump down to Staniel, stock up on gasoline and other supplies, then make our way back north. We plan to visit the Thunderball Grotto on Staniel Cay, and would like to stop off at more of the Cays that are part of the Exuma Land & Sea Park.