We are back in the country of Grenada, almost to our final destination for the 2012-2013 sailing season. Our exact location is on the island of Carriacou, moored at Sandy Island. Sandy Island is small shoal island in a protected marine sanctuary with a limited number of moorings available. Anchoring is not permitted. We have wanted to stop here for the last three years, but the moorings were always full. Yesterday we got lucky and were able to move to a mooring shortly after 7 am. I looked online for some good photos, and was reminded that this island has changed a lot over the years, due to hurricanes.
The sky was cloudy for most of the morning, but we were able to snorkel under clear skies in the afternoon. It was fantastic! A first for me was seeing a turtle under the water. It was a hawksbill, and I would guess it was at least 5 years old, comparing it to the turtles we saw in the Bequia sanctuary. I also had a sighting of about fifty reef squid. They remind me of an underwater armada. They all face the same direction and seem to be marching in lines.
RIght now there are lots of schools of baby fish in the water, ranging in size from less than an inch to six inches. The numbers of fish are huge (10s of thousands or more) and it is so interesting to watch how they react to us, and other fish, darting apart, together, then move on in a colorful stream or forming a large ball underwater. Of course, where there are baby fish there a bigger fish and birds looking for a meal. We saw mostly jacks in the water, with gulls and boobies in the air. This morning I also saw a pelican.
Today is very rainy and overcast, tomorrow we plan to move onto the main island of Grenada with a stop planned at another famous snorkel spot of underwater sculpture, which has recently been updated with new statues. Then we will go to Prickly Bay and begin working on the chore list, before our haul out on the 3rd of May.
Reef squid (from Wikipedia)
1 comment:
Post a Comment