Man is a creature of habit, and Sheryl and I no less so. Under any given circumstance, we adopt a routine, it is our nature. Our vacation routine has evolved into the following general structure. We awake between 8:00 and 9:00 am, and breakfast consists of instant coffee and oatmeal. We coat ourselves with sunscreen and read away the morning hours. Lunch is a simple affair (usually peanut butter and jelly), after which we go do something off boat. Once we return, it is time for a late afternoon swim, quick shower rinse with fresh water, and time to start dinner (our one big meal of the day). We listen to the radio or read some more until the sun sets, then we turn on the anchor light and play some cards or just talk until it is time for bed. Sleep comes early and easily as the boat gently rocks and a breeze blows through the v-berth hatch.

For the last two days, our afternoon time away from the boat has been spent in our kayaks. It took nearly a week into the vacation before we finally inflated them, but they have been great for exploring both inside and outside the bight. Today we took them and our snorkel gear around to the ocean side of the Power Squadron Spit. The remains of a rock jetty are supposed to be a good place to snorkel, and we have been wanting to check it out since we walked that side of the beach during our trip here last summer. Turns out that the kayak ride out and back was more enjoyable than the snorkeling. We saw a few fish, but had to contend with some wave action which made it not really worth the effort. Besides, we have a fair amount of fish swimming around the bottom of Prudence right now, so the snorkeling is good right here at 'home.'

We did see a huge ray breech the surface of the water on our kayak ride on the ocean side. It was almost as though we had to rewind the image in our mind and play it back to realize what we had seen. Its entire body (white on bottom, black on top) shot up out of the water, its tail flailing along behind it, then it splashed back into the blue. We kayaked on, hoping that it would not repeat the maneuver and land in our lap.

Once we were back on the big boat, with two kayaks and one dinghy tied off to the stern (our own personal fleet of vessels), Sheryl saw another ray breech, right here in the bight. I heard the splash but did not see it. Sheryl assures me that it was HUGE, and wondered (jokingly) out loud about the wisdom of our late afternoon swim time. That brings the major sea life we have experienced thus far here at the Cape to two rays, four turtles, and countless dolphin.

The sun has set on another day here, anchored at the Cape Lookout Bight, our eighth sunset since the hook went down. We are both happy, healthy, and as relaxed as we can be. It is time to go turn on the anchor light. Until next time, dear Reader.

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