Looking for lobster

Sandra and John both have spears so they are on lobster duty. I was the expedition photographer.   

This was about 10 feet of water



Sandra leaves no lobster hidey-hole unexamined

 



 

I LOVE this Angelfish

 

 

 

 

This stingray was buried in the sand. I swam above him and startled him. Or her.

 



 

 

 I swear it was as big as I am.

 

Do you see the tiny starfish?

 

As long as you don't touch them, they won't bother you.

 

 

 John Ryan, intrepid spear fisherman.

 

 

Off the north end of Great Harbour Cay

 

 

 

Fishing and Lobstering in the Berry Islands

We haven't caught too much but it's fun to be on and in the water in warm weather.

John caught 2 small fish that we threw back

Strawberry Grouper

 

Rick caught a 3 ft long Barracuda that was SCARY! He removed the hook with pliers and let it go.

 

The lobster huntress of the Berrys speared a big one.



Shark Creek to Hawksnest Cay

Rick and Sandra took me in their dingy to Hawksnest Cay in search of shells and turtles.  Shark Creek at high tide is 1 foot deep, so it's a dingy or kayak trip.  We can't go through there in the Key West.

We saw lots of small fish, a nurse shark, and a small turtle.

 

We were the only people on Hawksnest Cay.  There were lots of sea biscuits there.

 

Ocean side of Hawksnest Cay

Purple fan coral

I guess I like taking pictures of snails on rocks

 

We saw many turtles and stingrays in Turtle Creek but they are hard to photograph because they move so fast! 

Spearing Lobster

We went out with Rick and Sandra on the Key West in search of lobster.  John and Sandra both have Hawaiian Slings and Sandra is the Jedi-Zen-Master of spearing lobster.  She knows the good spots!  The water was an uncharacteristically 73 degrees (last year at this time it was 80) so we put on our wet suits. 

No, this isn't a giant manatee, it's me.

 

 

Sandra speared this 7" lobster!

 

 

You have to tear their heads off, then they look like this:

 

 

A couple of days ago, we rode our bikes to the north end of the island, about 4 miles from the marina.

 

Then we rode to Sugar Beach where there is a cave and lots of limestone.

Snails

More snails

I also like riding my bike to Sugar Beach at low tide to look for shells.  Low tide is CRAZY LOW!

This is what low tide looks like

 

Crab Tracks? Lizard?

The tide was coming in from 2 directions:

We are looking forward to decreased winds on Monday and Tuesday so we can go to Hoffman's Cay where there is a blue hole.

First day fishing at Lignumvitae Cay

It was an uncharacteristically overcast and cool (60s) day today, so we took the Key West out with our friends Rick and Sandra and went fishing. 

Rick and John taught me how to jig. I caught a strawberry grouper but it was too small.

 



John was showing me how to jig, and he caught a gorgeous mutton grouper.....

....with MY NEW ROD!
We came back to the marina on the east side of Lignumvitae Cay which was 2 feet deep at high tide. It was a rocket ride.......

Rick gave John some pointers in fileting the fish.........

 

....then I cooked it up for dinner in a Matacumbe preparation.

 

Stay tuned for more fish stories.

Arrived Great Harbour Cay Thursday

We left Key Largo on Tuesday and anchored near Pumpkin Key overnight. 

When we leave a marina, I follow John in the little boat, we hook it to the tow line,

then I climb into the big boat Navy Seal-style.

We went through Dusenbury Creek to get to Pumpkin Key. 

 

 

 

 

 

These people were fishing out of their kayaks

 

 

We headed to the Bahama Banks before sunrise Wednesday morning.

 

Heading out to the Atlantic

Sunrise over the Atlantic

The Key West (aka Pink Cadillac) towed very well.
 



Sunset Wednesday at Mackey Shoals

It was a 12-hour day, but we had to take advantage of the good conditions.

We anchored in 12 feet of water on the Mackey Shoals in the Bahama Banks. This is the anchor. It's like boating in a swimming pool.

Sunrise Thursday morning was spectacular. The water was smooth as glass.  

 

 

Sunrise looking West........

 

There was no demarcation line between the sea and the sky.

It was a blur of color.

 

 



 Captain Scruffy naps while I drive.

 

 

 JR made this rearview mirror so we can see what the Key West is doing. 

 

 



 

Will post again soon!