There was a moderate wind from the east, making the sound side a bit rough. Yet on the cruisers net, was a notice of a spearfishing expedition to be held at 1:00 pm. It was made by a young person for young people but we did not hear that part. David and Jeff were all in. But first there was trash pick up in town. David and I were assigned to regatta park. We spent an hour picking up a contractor bag of trash. Many cruisers participated.
The wind had increased by the time we returned but the drive to spear was strong and we headed to the meeting at Chat ‘N’ Chill. A group of young and foolish (we being the foolish) gathered on the beach. The leader of the group had flown his drone over the hill and had determined that it may be a good day to explore the rocky ledges and reefs at the far end of the island.
Jeff took us in Patoonk (the Nautilus dinghy) to the art trail beach where we crossed the island. Patoonk is a Werner name for the sound the heart makes when you think about your one true love. I had missed some great art on my first walk on the trail, so I captured it.
When we arrived at the Sound side, we immediately saw two youth coming out of the water with two large lobster. This really happened but no pictures, sorry. Jeff and David made a beeline for the water. There was a smooth strip for entry into the water but booties would have been nice.
No further lobster were caught but the underwater scene was lovely and report has it that it was not too rough once you got out in the water though Jeff did mention a six foot back and forth wave action near the rocks. I sat in a shallow tide pool on the beach side of the natural rock sea wall and watched as fish came out of small rock caves when I remained still. There were some beautiful purple and gold damsels and some yellow, black and white striped fish in my pool.
I also discovered some creatures of the rock that I now know are chitons. Members of this group have been around for 500 million years. This creature is what we thought was a fossil at Warderick Wells. They are actually a snail type creature with an armored plate that protects them from predators and harsh sunlight. This adaptation allows them to survive in extreme heat and remain out of the water for extended periods. If they are dislodged from their rock where they feed on algae, they can curl up in a ball apparently. Their shell has 8 segments.
The youth were impressive with long fins, spears and knives on their ankles, They climbed high on the rock cliffs in bare feet.
When we left, two people were still exploring an outer reef. We departed with plans to return on a calmer day in a smaller group.
After returning, we headed to St. Francis dinghy dock and took a walk on the Sound side beach. There was a good section for swimming and possibly some boogie boarding. We returned to St. Francis in time to catch the end of the happy hour wing special. We each had wings with sauce on the side. The Peri Peri sauce ( the St. Francis version of buffalo) was very spicy last time. When David mentioned that that the wings were a little spicy last time, the waitress appeared so sad that we had to clarify that spicy was good. Ordering the sauces on the side seemed to show the proper appreciation for them and allowed us to temper the burn to our tastes. It also conserved napkins.
The wind was picking up as we headed to the boat. David played guitar and we tried to learn the Song of the Mira. We are hoping for some help from Austin and John in this endeavor. As we headed for bed, we had second thoughts about leaving Fat Tuesday in the water with the howling winds. We got up and raised her on deck for the night.