Thunderball Grotto

Yesterday, before we left Big Majors and the Staniel Cay area, we dinghied over to the Thunderball Grotto to snorkel at low tide. Thunderball Grotto is a popular stop for the many tours boats in the area. For that reason we haven’t been there for a while. Since there aren’t as many cruisers or tour boats around right now I thought it would be nice to visit it again. Once we arrived at the grotto George realized we had forgotten the dinghy ladder that we use to get back into the dinghy. Rather than go back to get the ladder we decided to use a line to fashion a foot loop to use as a sort of step. George tried it out as he got into the water to make sure it would work. A tour group was just leaving as we entered the grotto so we had it pretty much to ourselves. We didn’t linger long but did see a lot of fish—including a Queen Angelfish!—and the effect of the light coming through the top of the grotto was interesting. In the movie Thunderball, James Bond is rescued out of the shark-filled grotto through a hole at the top. It is pretty impressive because the holes are not that big. After snorkeling we did get back into the dinghy using the line with the loop, although I was happy no one else was there to witness my struggles.

After returning to Breeze On we raised the anchor and motored three miles north to Sampson Cay. We have never anchored here and had heard that it is a great anchorage. Today we will go out exploring. 

Thunderball Grotto

The holes at the top of the grotto.