More Fun off Lee Stocking Island

Ambler Isle
V and S
Wed 4 May 2011 21:32
We hiked up to the high spot and took pictures of the Amber Isle bobbing alone at anchor.  Then we had a shore lunch before heading back to pickup our dive gear.  We brought the look bucket, hoping to see a reef.  Time and time again we peered thru the glass bottom bucket, but saw only grass.  Finally we saw a little soft coral, and also a few heads.  Although it was more open to the winds, we decided to try.  As I slipped into the water off the dinghy side, I gasped in delight:  it was a coral garden.  No tall coral heads were there, but many smaller corals dotted the white sand.  We saw cactus corals paired with purple sea fans.  Tall wheat-like stalks swayed in the current.  As I entered my "one with the sea" zone and hovered quietly above one, the fish began to come out of hiding.  I saw nassau groupers, margates, queen triggers with their trailing tail fins.  A colorful Queen Angelfish peered up at me from her hiding place.  The reef was totally alive with many species.  We would have to check their names in the fish book when we returned to the boat.  I could not leave this pretty spot.  But after an hour, we began to get chilled and had to climb out.  We rinsed all the gear and hung it to dry.  Even that chore seemed pleasant after the sea treat.