Exumas

leeonsea
Lee Price
Mon 2 Jul 2007 22:56
N24.18.20 W76.32.50


Cambridge Cay.

I'm being entertained by the most spectacular light show I have ever seen,
not just lightning, this is bright white to deep orange and a 'strike' can
last well over a second illuminating the night sky in a globe of light some miles north of here.
Quite an amazing sight.

Today I sailed from Warderick Wells on the Atlantic side of the Exumas to
Cambridge, here I met again with Brian and Diane and they invited me on a
Dingy run a 1/2mile south to the Rocky Dundas. These two volcanic formations
make up the southern most tip of the Land and Sea park and boast some
fabulous snorkeling and caves. Sargent major fish and Angel fish are two
that I've learn t today, the former being most curious to our presence,
swimming in small shoals around me and the later being a vibrant blue and
yellow, most beautiful. I have much to learn however, so many fish and Coral
to learn, truly spectacular.

Anchored now to the west of the Cay it has been a good day, a nice motor
sail in light SW winds and a chance therefore to charge the Batteries, I've
discovered I cannot live without a fridge, the food goes off so fast and gets
covered in little white weavels, horrid. I had a good snorkel and a short walk
on the Cay to Bell rock on the Atlantic side. Bell rock is a little wade across
from the beach and a short climb to some stunning views of the surrounding area.

Tomorrow I'm heading north to the Coral garden at O'Brians Cay and a promise
of a small sunken plane also to check out.

In the Office at Warderick Well (Like all the Marinas here) they have a book
exchange, I have managed to read three books in two days, so when I went to
pay my dues I took a book to exchange, I found a book by Pamala Stevenson,
Billy Collonys wife about a trip she took retracing the voyages of Fanny and
Robert Louis Stevenson in the 1800's. They traverse the Pacific taking in
all the Islands and I must confess the though appeals to follow the same
route, I have itchy feet!

I'm going to stay here a day or two, the weather has improved from a very
wild and stormy morning yesterday back to some nice clean clear sunny
weather, much to see and do.

O'Brians Cay

Crazy madness this Coral Garden was, truly awesome and beautiful. I saw Parrot fish and Nassau Grouper. The Sargent majors were swimming round me so close I could almost touch them, but at the last minute with a flick of the tail they are out of reach.


Some large Jacks came by which apparently make excellent eating and I'm sure if I'd wanted to I could have reached out and picked them out the water there and then. There was also a sandy colored Ray, quite small skimming along the bottom.


On the way back we anchored on the sunken plane and dove on that too, quite brilliant. A single prop upside down in about 15ft of water, windows still in tact, tail missing and anything of value had long since been pinched. Quite spooky.


Just as we got back in the Dingy a Nurse shark came by, I didn't get back in but I did don my mask and put my head underwater, quite beautiful and stunningly graceful.


I took a few pics with my camera in it's aquapack, it's not really designed for underwater shots and you can only begin to get an idea of how staggeringly beautiful it all is. I'll post these when I get to Staniel Cay.


L.