Manatee in the Marina

We hired Fettuccini (yes - that's his name) to scrape the barnacles off the bottom of the boat.  While he was in the water a young manatee came over to play.  The manatee let Fettuccini scratch his back. 

Return to Hoffman's Cay

We went back to Hoffman's on a calm day to anchor for a couple of days.  We had to go in on a rising tide. On our way there, we were 15 minutes early and got stuck momentarily. 

 

JR walked around to find the deeper water, using his body as a measurement tool.  Chest high was deep enough. 

 

 

Then he pushed the boat out of the sand towards the deeper water LIKE THE SUPERHERO HE IS!!!

 

 



  

 

 

Anchorage at Hoffman's Cay

 

Can you see the dolphin?

 



Dinner at Carriearl

There is one hotel here, the Carriearl.  A bunch of us had dinner and drinks there.  The setting is gorgeous!  www.carriearl.com  JR had the pizza, I had the fish.

Around the marina and island

The difference between low and high tide is 2 1/2 to 3 feet.  At low tide, it can be easier for us to climb on the flybridge from the dock rather than the deck, as JR demonstrates. 

 

Calm winds mean a beach day!  Here is John apricating.

 

 

This is the grocery store we ride our bikes to.

 

Which one is the plantain?

 

 





Epic trip to Hoffman's Cay and Little Harbour

Yesterday we rented a Boston Whaler with the Texans (see previous posts) and spent the day exploring small cays. 



Click on this link to see where we went:  https://share.delorme.com/JohnRyan

 

I didn't bring a camera, so I'll post Sandra's excellent pics.  We swam in the Blue Hole on Hoffman's Cay. 

 

We'd never seen anything like it! John jumped from this high ledge 15 feet above the water.  I jumped from a lower rock to avoid any "swimsuit malfunctions".  The water had a high salt content, which made us float almost on top of the water, and was so deep we couldn't see the bottom.

 



Then we went snorkeling near Devil's Cay
.

 

 

 



Discarded conch shells at Little Harbour Cay

Nurse Shark
 

We saw a giant turtle, a couple of sharks, a sting ray, and lots of conch shells.  John caught a small fish from the boat and kept it on the line as bait.  A giant shark took the fish, the lure, and the line weight!

When we got back to the marina, Olive came over and spied on us through the hatches.
 

 

Drink and Drift

Last night at 5:00 was Drink and Drift. About 11 dingys tied together and we toasted the sunset.  A couple of people blew conch horns that they'd made. We tied up to Karen and Jeffrey Siegel's dingy.  They run the cruising guide Active Captain and had their dogs Dee Dee and Dylan with them.

Leaving the marina

Tying up

Gracie jumped in our dingy so she could talk to Dee Dee...

...then she jumped in the Siegel's dingy

Dingy Trip up Shark Creek to Shell Beach

JR and I and the Texans (Rick, Sandra, Tom and Deborah) took a dingy excursion through Shark Creek to Shell Beach.  Saw some small fish, turtles, and rays. 

Rick driving the dingy

Sandra

 

We anchored on a sand bar and looked for sand dollars.  Found lots.

John, Deborah, Tom

 

There is some kind of worm-like creature burrowing down here and extruding sand. We have similar creatures in Washington.

 

 

Gary from Nova Scotia made this horn out of a conch shell with his Dremel tool!  It's sounds really good.