Snorkeling

                                                                                      Assorted corals. 

                                                                                              Sea turtle. 





My favorite tropical fish, the Queen Angelfish. I love the coloring that makes it look like it is wearing bright blue eyeshadow and lipstick. 

                                                                                         Puffer fish. 

                                                                                        Snapper 

                                                                      Lionfish hiding under a rock. 

                                                                                         Barracuda. 

                                                        Gray Angelfish and brain coral (at bottom.)

                                                                       Donkey Dung Sea Cucumber. 





                                                                                        Sponge. 





The Exuma Land and Sea Park, where we spent the last two nights, has numerous spots for snorkeling. Yesterday we snorkeled for the first time this winter at an area called the coral garden. Our intention was to arrive there at slack tide (so we don’t get swept away while snorkeling) and we happened to get it right this time. George took quite a few nice photos with our new underwater camera. He later discovered that the camera has a setting specifically for underwater, so he hopes future photos will be even better! After we finished there we dinghied over to Malabar Cays, but by the time we arrived there it had become too cloudy and choppy to enjoy the snorkeling. 

This morning we left Exuma Park and sailed south 28 miles to Black Point. We traveled the first six miles on the east side of the islands where the seas were 3-4’ at 4 seconds apart on the beam and it was quite uncomfortable. By the time we arrived at Conch Cut, where we were able to cross to the more protected west side of the islands, the wind against current made the seas even more confused and challenging through the cut. Once on the shallower, protected west side, though, we had over 20 miles of great sailing. We dropped the anchor in Black Point—where we were just one of two boats—and went to shore for lunch at the High Tide Cafe. Before returning to Breeze On we stopped at a small store to buy a cabbage. It may be a while before we get to another store and I wanted another option for a fresh vegetable. After returning to Breeze On we raised the anchor and motored 2 miles south to Little Bay, one of our favorite anchorages.