We thought it might stay windy but things seemed to calm a bit and we decided to check out the reefs on the Sound side. We launched Fat Tuesday and went to the St. Francis dinghy dock to walk across the island. The resort owner did not want us to walk across the property anymore because some guests had complained about people walking through. We left and planned to dinghy further down to walk across.
As we were leaving, we saw a dinghy on a beach in hole 0 with what looked like a trail going over the island. We parked there and secured the dinghy. The tide was going out for another few hours. The trail across was easy. We walked to an area where the sand seemed to go out between the rocks or reefs and went out. The waves were about 1 to 2 feet and it was not rough.
The area had sand, and then some darker areas that we thought might be coral. We planned to go out and then swim along the reef. There was mostly rubble on the bottom after we left the sand and then some rock ledges. There were some fish but not much coral in the area. We looked under the rock ledges for lobster but did not see any. We decided to go back in and walk back to the point where we knew there was coral. We body surfed on the way in.
As we headed down the beach, we heard voices and turned to see Ann and Greg from Halekai. They had seen us snorkeling but did not know it was us until they walked back and saw our dinghy. They had been on a long beach walk and returned with their snorkel gear. They had been scoping out the reefs from the hill above the beach and had a plan to go in on the sand and go to the reef a bit further out. They felt that the brownish areas were rock and rubble but the darker areas might be coral.
We headed out together following Greg and made our way out. There were sections of coral amidst the rock. The fish were amazing. I followed a baracuda along hoping to see him chase a fish but he was just cruising. There were purple sea fans and some brain coral. There was little staghorn coral. There were lots of reef fish. I just love watching their world.
Greg saw a grouper in a rock tunnel. We did not see any lobster. There were no lionfish which are an invasive fish that you are encouraged to hunt. They are apparently very good to eat but you have to clip their spines because they are poisonous. We would like to watch someone deal with them before we try.
We snorkeled until we got back to the area of clear sand to head in. David and I missed the opening at first but found it after spending a little time in the waves near the rock. It was never dangerous, just there was nowhere to cross as the tide had dropped.
Greg and Ann headed back and we walked down the beach a bit looking for some new spots. We were really glad we had explored a bit. We walked back across the island and dinghied around hole 0. It was really beautiful in there. There were mangroves at the end and a few homes tucked into the hill. It is a very narrow channel to get in but then deepens.
We ended up at the Peace and Plenty dock and walked through to the beach club for something cold to drink. We met Pete and Phyllis there. They have been visiting for years. He loves bonefishing on the fly rod. He was really nice and gave us suggestions on flies. He is going with a guide tomorrow and will tell us how his trip went. The fly rod is officially arriving with Michael.
We made our way back to our harbor and I practiced my rowing a little. It was a little choppy but I managed to go out to see an inflatable hobie cat called a happy cat and then got back to our boat. It was fun to practice. I saw a large turtle. He was not up long enough to photograph but great to see.
We have been learning about some of the events involved in the upcoming Cruiser’s regatta. One of them is a blindfolded dinghy rowing race. Another person rides as a coxswain. I think David would do well at this.
One of the best mistakes I have made was cooking too much orzo for our dinner with Jeff and Deb. It provided pasta salad for lunch and then pasta for dinner with very little cooking. David finished off the spaghetti sauce and I had the orzo with a half can of the Trader Joe’s eggplant, tomato and onion which makes a great dish. We will have orzo of the day for another day at least.