Conception Island, Bahamas
23.50.913N
75.07.214W
Please jot this date down. It's the date I ran out of coconut rum. The Virgin Islands are still quite a fair distance away for restocking. Oh my Rhett, what will I do? I guess I'll just have to use regular rum in my sundowner instead.
Well, before this conundrum developed, we started our day by heading north to snorkel some more reefs. Dale figured out that the wreck he had originally wanted to find is a couple of miles away and we needed to keep an eye on how much gas we use in the dinghy. So instead, we took off North and jumped in where it looked like 10 - 15' deep. It wasn't, it's just that the water was so clear. In actuality, it was probably closer to 25 -30' deep. It was pretty cool but wasn't as spectacular as Leaf Cay was. Of course, I attracted another barracuda. It was fine as long as it was circling us and keeping its distance but when it made a pass directly towards me, Dale came up with his spear and shooed it away. I think that they're attracted to my (actually Michelle's) pink flippers but Dale says not. I might try a different pair tomorrow to see if it has any effect.
We came back and joined Doc-No-More in exploring the mangrove interior of the island. What a wonderful nature excursion. We saw herons, egrets, osprey, wood storks and something that looked like a cross between a duck and a heron (I didn't bring a bird book with me). We saw lots and lots of turtles. It was surprising just how fast those turtles can swim and change direction. Pretty dang quick. We followed the deep water in for as far as we could and in 2.5' of water, we saw 2 sharks. We never got close enough to identify what kind of shark they were but it was certainly surprising to find them so far in and in such shallow water. We also found hundreds and hundreds of upside down jelly fish in the sand. I never even knew of such a thing until we came back and identified them in our books. Another interesting phenomenon that occurred in the shallow water was that each ripple produced a prism in the water. Fascinating.
Well we're off to Rum Cay tomorrow. It's only about 20 miles from here so we'll leave mid morning and still get in while the sun is still high in the sky.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Conception Island, Bahamas
23.50.913N
75.07.214W
Our transit to Conception Island was uneventful. We took off at 7:00 am. Doc-No-More, a catamaran, pretty much took off over everything but the rest of us had to dodge a few coral heads on the way out. It was somewhat eyesight navigation; we'd just get out of sight of land behind us and see the top of the next island we'd have to pass appearing in front of us. The seas were flat; sort of. We had swells from the Atlantic. I'd liken it to driving in the midwest where you're on a long straight road that you can see for miles ahead but it is also made up of a series of little hills. The transit was like that. Pretty much flat except for the fact that every once in a while you realized that you were above everything else and at other times the seas seemed to be above you. Not by much. In fact, the intervals were spaced so far apart that I had to watch it for a while to see the undulating.
We had some wind early in the day to help us motor but once we realized that we were going to make the island in good light we tried to sail the rest of the way only to find that we could only do about 2.8 kts. with just the sails. Just enough to drive Dale crazy. So the engine came back on for the rest of the trip. We anchored in 15' of crystal clear water about 2 pm.
Conception Island is bigger than I had anticipated. It's an uninhabited island that is in the park system here. There are no protected coves or harbors here, so you just tuck into the island itself on the side that offers you the best protection. We might be protected from the wind but the swell coming around the island gets you. The catamaran seems to be riding better than the rest of us who are rolling pretty good. We tried something called a swell bridle. That's where you tie the stern of your boat to the anchor and then pull the line in to bring the bow into the swell. Unfortunately, you need the wind to keep you square on the anchor. We have none. The wind indicator is literally doing 360's. So we're rolling. The only time it really bothers me is when I try going to the bathroom. Try pulling a wet bathing suit down while standing on a board balanced on a ball to get the idea.
After giving up on the swell bridle idea. We took off for the nearest reef to do some snorkeling to look for dinner. Dale immediately found a Nassau grouper he wanted to shoot. I reminded him that they are "on their honeymoon," which means they are protected from 12/15 to 2/14. I found a fish that looked like a red snapper to me but since neither one of us was positive about it, we decided to leave it until we were sure it was edible (after hitting the books, we think it was some type of grouper as well - where's Bob or Jim when we need them?) We never did find any lobster (which is what we were looking for) but a rather large barracuda found me. You'd be so proud of me, Dale had wandered off (great buddy system) so I "went vertical" (I guess that's "fish" for 'I am human, leave me alone') and then slowly made a large circle away from it. It lost interest in me just I was losing interest in swimming. It was starting to get late anyway. Besides, I have to save my energy for tomorrow to look for a wreck Dale read about in one of the guide books.
As I mentioned earlier, this is an uninhabited island. The nearest islands to us are almost as remote. So you know that the stars look absolutely spectacular! Tonight, I can hear the surf crashing on the beach, as the boat gently rocks from gunnel to gunnel, looking up that those stars, my little Christmas tree glowing in the cockpit and Christmas carols playing softly in the background. What a wonderful experience.
23.50.913N
75.07.214W
Our transit to Conception Island was uneventful. We took off at 7:00 am. Doc-No-More, a catamaran, pretty much took off over everything but the rest of us had to dodge a few coral heads on the way out. It was somewhat eyesight navigation; we'd just get out of sight of land behind us and see the top of the next island we'd have to pass appearing in front of us. The seas were flat; sort of. We had swells from the Atlantic. I'd liken it to driving in the midwest where you're on a long straight road that you can see for miles ahead but it is also made up of a series of little hills. The transit was like that. Pretty much flat except for the fact that every once in a while you realized that you were above everything else and at other times the seas seemed to be above you. Not by much. In fact, the intervals were spaced so far apart that I had to watch it for a while to see the undulating.
We had some wind early in the day to help us motor but once we realized that we were going to make the island in good light we tried to sail the rest of the way only to find that we could only do about 2.8 kts. with just the sails. Just enough to drive Dale crazy. So the engine came back on for the rest of the trip. We anchored in 15' of crystal clear water about 2 pm.
Conception Island is bigger than I had anticipated. It's an uninhabited island that is in the park system here. There are no protected coves or harbors here, so you just tuck into the island itself on the side that offers you the best protection. We might be protected from the wind but the swell coming around the island gets you. The catamaran seems to be riding better than the rest of us who are rolling pretty good. We tried something called a swell bridle. That's where you tie the stern of your boat to the anchor and then pull the line in to bring the bow into the swell. Unfortunately, you need the wind to keep you square on the anchor. We have none. The wind indicator is literally doing 360's. So we're rolling. The only time it really bothers me is when I try going to the bathroom. Try pulling a wet bathing suit down while standing on a board balanced on a ball to get the idea.
After giving up on the swell bridle idea. We took off for the nearest reef to do some snorkeling to look for dinner. Dale immediately found a Nassau grouper he wanted to shoot. I reminded him that they are "on their honeymoon," which means they are protected from 12/15 to 2/14. I found a fish that looked like a red snapper to me but since neither one of us was positive about it, we decided to leave it until we were sure it was edible (after hitting the books, we think it was some type of grouper as well - where's Bob or Jim when we need them?) We never did find any lobster (which is what we were looking for) but a rather large barracuda found me. You'd be so proud of me, Dale had wandered off (great buddy system) so I "went vertical" (I guess that's "fish" for 'I am human, leave me alone') and then slowly made a large circle away from it. It lost interest in me just I was losing interest in swimming. It was starting to get late anyway. Besides, I have to save my energy for tomorrow to look for a wreck Dale read about in one of the guide books.
As I mentioned earlier, this is an uninhabited island. The nearest islands to us are almost as remote. So you know that the stars look absolutely spectacular! Tonight, I can hear the surf crashing on the beach, as the boat gently rocks from gunnel to gunnel, looking up that those stars, my little Christmas tree glowing in the cockpit and Christmas carols playing softly in the background. What a wonderful experience.
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