Sharks, Barracudas and Sting Rays — Oh My! And a Blue Hole to boot.

Sandy Cay is known for its snorkeling and diving on the reef.  There are mooring balls there for small boats only.  We took the dinghy two and a half miles to get there.  It was still a little rough but we wanted to give it a try. The charts show balls on both sides. We went to the lee side first but it didn’t look right.  There was a catamaran anchored there so we went and asked them.  They informed us the reef is only on the other side and oh by the way if you see our son’s mask and snorkel by mooring ball one and can free dive to 30 feet, pick it up please.  We all had a good laugh.

Off to the mooring balls.  The southernmost ball was the only one open. The swells were still big but we knew we just had to get in the water and all would be well.  That’s exactly what happened you don’t feel them when you are in the water like you do in a boat.

We no sooner got in the water and a huge sting ray swims across the bottom right below us in 20 + feet of water.  THEN….  a whole group of them swam by. Big ones, little ones and spotted ones.   They are graceful, fluid and stunning!  It was the thrill of a lifetime.  We saw all kinds of beautiful fish, coral, sea fans etc.  We stayed in the water until I got cold.  After warming up, we moved to the Northernmost ball to see what else there was.  Scott jumped in the water and immediately saw the missing Mask and snorkel.  He dove down and retrieved it. We headed toward the reef and once again it was beautiful. Within a few minutes, we saw our first shark.  It looked like a nurse shark so no alarm.  Then we saw another, different kind but small. Then another and another and another. Scott counted 8.  All the little fish were swimming toward us.  Time to get out of the water! They were all smaller sharks, but how small must a shark be, to be concern about a bite.  Any size!

The third time we snorkeled we went to the middle ball. Right next to our dinghy is a 4 to 5 foot-long Barracuda. He did not care that we were there.  They are a strange fish.  They give you a blank stare.  Scott chased him a way but he only moved as far as he had to. He was still hanging by the dinghy when we got back. Not a care in the world.

We took the dinghy back to the other side of the Cay to return the mask and snorkel.  They were amazed that Scott could free dive that deep.  They tried and failed many times.  We went aboard their boat for a beer as our prize.  Very nice family on a week-long vacation renting a catamaran sailboat.

We sure put our dinghy to use this day. At high tide about 4:30 we went searching for a Blue Hole.  These are holes that seem to be bottomless pits. Even at high tide we only had a foot of water under our dinghy getting into the area where this hole is. It was quite shallow only 3 to 4 feet deep. There is a stone with a brass plaque memorializing 3 divers that drown in this hole.  Many people said they couldn’t find it, but spotted it and headed that way.  There was no doubt when we found it. We felt like we were standing on the edge of a cliff but the boat took us over it. Our stomachs did a little flip it was a very eerie feeling. We got to see the memorial. How sad for the families.  Diving in blue holes is a dive certification all in its own and should be left to the professionals.

We have seen and experienced so many cool things. Our bucket lists are getting empty.

I wish I had an underwater camera. You will just have to listen to our stories of our underwater adventures.

Thanks for reading.

Scott and Karen

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