Week in Review

A lot has happened in the past week or so.

We bought a car from a shady islander. The 2nd time one of us drove it upon taking delivery, we noticed some problems. A thousand bucks and a few days later, the car overheats and died going up a super steep hill. After a cool down and some cable-jiggling, all seems fine...for the time being.

-The pool at lambert has been dark, algae green for the past week. Its literally a pond.

On Friday night we had an adventure brainstorming session with Clint and Michelle. We had been throwing around the idea of hiring some kayaks and taking them to some islands within eye-sight. We hatched the plan to 'yak from Cane Garden Bay on Tortola to a tiny island called Sandy Spit off the coast of Jost Van Dyke. According to google earth, it was just under 4 miles away. 4 miles of open ocean...

A daunting paddle.

This is Sandy Spit. Those are boats on the left. You can walk around the island in a minute.

We eventually made landfall. I'll let Clint explain...

This is how they always stand...gets annoying.

With the wind at our backs and a gentle swell pushing us in the right direction we made it to Sandy Spit rather easily. We snorkeled around for a bit, then hitched a ride back on Clint's friend Andy's speed boat. We returned the kayaks then went snorkeling in about 30ft of water off the coast of some sheer cliffs. We saw some awesome stuff, then were stalked by a massive barracuda as we made our way back to the boat.

Sunday we did some cliff jumping with some friends and were stalked by an even larger barracuda. This time, I was on my back swimming away from it, and it swam right between my fins to within 2ft of my face. I was about to swat at it, terrified, but it turned and headed for Stace. She scrambled onto some rocks to wait the fish out, but it just wouldn't leave. We slipped back into the water and made the half-mile swim back to our beach. The entire time, the 5ft barracuda stayed only a few feet behind us.

Earlier in the day I went fly fishing and caught a juvenile caribbean reef shark. He took my fly as he cruised only a few feet from shore, looking for a meal. As I fought it, I called Stace to drive down and take some pics. She heroically arrived just in time to record the event. I was so stoked.

Caribbean Reef Shark

-On Tuesday, the Underwater Explorer's Club checked out Brandywine Bay but didn't see anything too exciting, except for an octopus. The waves on the north shore were way too large to take any kids there, so we had to hit up Brandywine, which is a grass-bottom bay. A totally different habitat than last week's trip to Brewer's Bay. Later that afternoon, Stace and I took to the water with our friends Ryan and Tim to brave some of the 5-7ft waves. They were the largest waves I've ever seen in person.

As we moved our TV out of the corner tonight to watch it for a bit, we disturbed a scorpion that had made that hidden corner of our room its home. We released her after a photo session.

The apartment search is coming along nicely. On the menu we've got a nice one-bedroom in Cane Garden Bay with just about the most amazing view you can imagine. Its about an 8 minute stumble down a really steep hill to a great beach, good fishing, good bars and restaurants. Its a popular beach, however, and will be kind of loud. We also have another possible place in Carrot Bay that is spitting distance from the water. It's a two bedroom place on a rocky beach in a very quiet area with another great view. We're still thinking about it....

School has been going really well. It was standing room only for meet the teacher night last night, which is a bit of a refreshing change. We've done the egg drop experiment in class, in which the kids had to create something out of a pile of trash I provided that would protect an egg as it was dropped off of the 2nd story. On the line was a homework pass, and I ended up handing out more than I had expected. The kids were pumped.

A popular design including a parachute.

utter disaster...

and sweet, sweet success.

This weekend we are going to 'yak to Guana Island with fellow adventurers Clint and Michelle for a snorkel off of Monkey Point. Also, it's a full moon so we'll do a bit of fishing. We'll keep this thing posted.

Best Club Ever.

Yesterday was the Underwater Explorer's Club's first underwater exploration. It was pretty awesome. Stace and I are the leaders of the club and our objective is to visit different reefs around the BVI and chart the number of species found at each reef. We will visit each reef at least twice, then compile our data into an informational pamphlet about where to see which species in the waters around Tortola.

Some snorkeling fiends.

Thrashing out to deeper water.

We gave each group of two kids a waterproof ID guide and an underwater slate\pencil for recording what they saw.

Our first trip took us to Brewer's Bay. We geared up, went over some safety information, took a head count, told them not to smash any coral or pick up any poisonous creatures, and headed out.

For the next hour and twenty minutes, the only sound you heard were kids yelling through a snorkel, trying to get the attention of their group members to look at some creature, identify it, and record it. They were so into it.

They've spotted something cool. Muffled screams ensue as they try to make an ID.

Indecipherable chicken scratch is scrawled onto the slate for Stace and I to figure out later.

A male Stoplight Parrotfish.

Blue Tang

French Grunts avoiding predators by nestling into some coral.

Big Yellow Tail Snapper

Male and two Female Stoplight Parrotfish

Blue-Headed Wrass

Stoplight lunchin'

The highlight of the exploration was an enormous rock lobster. The pictures do not do it justice, but this thing was huge. The thing was at least 30inches long. It's body was the diameter of a dinner plate and it's legs were the size of snow crab legs. The antennae were at least 2 ft long and thicker than my thumb. I think anyone who tried to grab this thing for dinner would have easily taken on more than they could handle. It was fearsome.

If only I could have convinced a 6th grader to get next to this thing, then you would have an idea as to how ridiculously huge it is.

That fan coral getting trampled is at least as big as an NBA basketball.

We eventually herded all of the kids back to shore, took another head count to make sure we didn't lose any of them, and dismissed the club. We're working on a secret handshake which should be ready before we snorkel on a wrecked barge in Cane Garden Bay next week.

KB caught in the headlights.

KB ascending from a great depth.

A good day.

Sunday, our friends Doug and Kathy Bradley were nice enough to invite us to accompany them on their 60ft sailboat, Aeolus, as they moved it from the hurricane-proof Village Cay Marina to a mooring ball in much prettier Trellis Bay. Stacy and I leapt at the chance and met them at the marina at 9am.

Having helped Doug storm-proof his boat as hurricanes and tropical storms threatened the BVI in weeks passed, I was learning a little bit about sailing, knots and the responsibility that comes with calling a boat your one and only home. I was eager to get out on the water.

We left Marina Cay under the Iron Spinnaker (diesel power) due to a tear in the headsail we had discovered as we removed it before tropical storm Erika. We motored east along the southern edge of Tortola and rounded Beef Island on our approach to our snorkeling grounds on the eastern edge of Great Caminoe.

Coast of Great Caminoe.

Making sure we don't anchor on the reef.

Shooting the gap.

The water was gorgeous. As we approached Lee Bay, our lunch\snorkeling stop, we were told about how Doug and Kathy used to consider this bay their own little secret until, flying home on holiday they saw a photo of it on the cover of American Airlines Magazine with the headline 'Discover Lee Bay in the BVI.' Never the less, it was deserted.

Hope the Wonder Dog. 100% Tortolan Mutt. Kathy wonders how they ever lived without her and Doug wonders why they have her. Hence the name.

Straight flowin'

We dropped anchor, donned our snorkeling gear and jumped ship. This was the day I most regretted not having my underwater camera. First, we spotted some Spanish Mackerel and watched them dart in for a meal amidst a school of tiny fish. Then, Stacy spotted a Green Sea Turtle a few yards away from us. It swam a few circles around us as we spun to keep it in view. Just as the turtle left us, we were treated to the presence of two enormous tarpon as they emerged from the school of fish mere feet in front of us. As they turned to swim away, a school of Horse-Eyed Jacks, at least 2ft long and vicious predators, swam from the bubbles and came close to us. As they circled, I spotted a Nurse Shark cruising over the submerged boulders looking for an easy meal. It was 10ft from us, between us and the shore. Stacy and I looked around at all of the predators around us and figured it was time to head back to the boat. Curses to UPS for losing my underwater camera!

Back on the boat, we had a great lunch and raised anchor to head in to Trellis Bay. Along the shore about a hundred yards away I swear I saw a mermaid. We saw a huge sea turtle surface next to the boat on the way towards the mooring ball.

This place is called The Last Resort. The site of the Cedar School Christmas Party.

Home for Doug and Kathy for the next month or so.

After the short ride back to Lambert, Stace and I took a nap and woke up to an amazing sunset out our sliding glass doors. We could hear the surf pounding as we opened them. I said to Stace "Hey lets go down to the beach and take some pictures!" As soon as we got there, I saw our friend Tim, on island doing his physician's residency for a few months, riding some waves. I got all excited and ran in to play like a little kid and left Stace with the camera.

Time to play.

Graceful as a ballerina.

These tiny waves grow to 8-10ft in the winter.

Dead.

No snorkeling along these rocks tonight.

"Tortola is a pretty okay place," -Doug