THIS is what we signed-up for! A wide, shallow, sandy-bottomed anchorage with clear, turquois water, clear, sunny skies, and a light, warm breeze. Dark patches of coral at various depths are clearly visible as targets to snorkel around and a small, deserted island around which to walk. With the constant roar of the white surf pounding on the reef beyond the island but with the wave motion exhausted on the reef, the waters inside are placid. A pair of humpback whales pass with 100 m of Tregoning apparently swirling around each in what we guess is mating behavior as there are no breaching or slapping activities. Looking like the best of the Bahamas or the lagoons of French Polynesia THESE are the perfect conditions in which we had hoped to spend our whole cruising season.



The west side of Limu Island with dark coral reefs to snorkel on the way

OK, so we arrived just before low tide when the anchorage was at its calmest and by high tide, Tregoning was being gently churned in the washing-machine of small waves from the southeast swell and northeast wind. The waves pounding into the reef were creating quite a strong current flowing east to west which was hard work to swim against when trying to circle a coral bed. However, once accepting that this flow meant drift-snorkeling, it was beautiful to drift with dinghy in tow from one coral bed to another. As Randall suggested, it was a bit like a gentle ride at Disney. The water was incredibly clear, there was a great diversity of fish, and there was plenty of living soft- and hard-corals in a range of shapes and colors.



A coconut sprouting on Limu Island

Walking around the island we collected a garbage bag full of plastic and glass bottles (without even venturing up into the vegetation) but patterns in the sand and the rock pools on the north and east side were fascinating. There were many shells and, accordingly, many hermit crabs of various sizes scuttling around. We had hoped to see some of the banded sea kraits (black and white sea snakes) because the author of one of our cruising guides had been a bit startled to find them resting in rocky nooks onshore. But we were not that lucky, although from the beach we did see a turtle and a black-tipped reef shark.



A bag full of trash collected from Limu Island beaches, mostly water bottles and almost all with the caps still on

Did I mention how lovely the snorkeling was in the clear water and that this was 24 hours of cruising perfection?



The windward side of Limu Island