FISH
CuriousOyster
Steve & Trish Brown
Sun 29 Mar 2009 18:21
water warm, blue seas. Unlike the Med where the water is always a shock when
you first get in, here it always feels warm and inviting. An early morning
swim to wake you up, a midday dip to cool down and another swim before
sundown becomes part of the daily routine. It helps that much of this takes
place in some fantastic anchorages where reefs and rocky headlands are close
by and are home to a myriad of bright colourful reef fish.
To date we have found the Virgin Islands to have the best snorkelling, with
colourful reefs and even more colourful fish. Angels, Parrotfish, Snapper,
Jacks, Surgeon fish, Doctor fish, Houndfish, Tangs, Snappers and many, many
more. Add to this the bigger fish, Barracuda, Tarpon, Rays and even the
occasional shark.
On our last day in the USVI's we picked up a National Park mooring buoy in
Mayo Bay on St John and spent an hour or so just floating along the rocky
headland. Almost all of the above were seen during this swim with a 6ft
Nurse Shark swimming just a couple of feet below us as it patrolled the
underwater outcrops. As we swam back towards the boat we glided over a group
of about 6 to 8 large Tarpon who had congregated to work as a team to round
up the shoals of small fish before attacking to feed. We had first seen this
phenomena 20 years ago when we first visited the BVI's. The Tarpon act like
Sheepdogs, rounding up the shoals and pushing them into shallower water
before attacking to feed. As the shoal breaks up they call off the attack
and begin the process over again until they have eaten their fill, with the
Pelicans making the most of the shoals density by attacking from the air.
We wanted to make a very early start for St Maarten, we moved on to the
Bight on Norman Island as the exit is clear of any major obstacles that
could catch us out as we left in the dark. On deck around 2am, I switched on
the deck lights to enable me to see to lift the anchor when I saw a very
large Spotted Ray "flying" through the water as it slowly circled the boat
before moving off. With its 6ft wingspan its graceful movements were
seemingly effortless....an incredible sight and a lasting memory.
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