CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored on west side of Lynyard Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
26 22.254' N, 076 59.013' W (CLICK HERE for Google Maps)

Today the wind shifted slightly. We woke to winds which were southeast (rather than east) and slightly diminished from what they had been. The weather forecast indicates that this will not last for long. Winds are supposed to pick up prior to a cold front passing over us on Sunday. In an effort to be better suited for the strong south winds we expect tomorrow (and to keep us from swinging into shallow water if it shifts to the west), we decided to set our 33-lb bruce anchor at about a 60 degree angle from our CQR.

I had though it would be relatively easy to swim out the anchor, as long as I had on my swim fins. I was wrong. However, with the dinghy stowed nicely in the locker, I decided that I would make it my morning exercise to get the anchor out about 90 feet away from the boat. It would just require a little hard work. After lowering the anchor and rode off the bow, I donned swim fins and picked up the 30 feet of chain and swam/dragged it ahead of the anchor. Then I came back and picked up the anchor to pull it up ahead of the chain. I repeated this about 4 or 5 times before I had the anchor out to where I wanted it, and was breathing heavily through my snorkel tube as evidence of the effort it had required. Fortunately, there was a decent-sized hill of sand in just the right spot to set the anchor (no digging required). Hopefully, when the wind shifts a little further south, this anchor will slowly take the load and set itself.

After that chore was done, we decided to take advantage of this beautiful, sunny day to go explore Sandy Cay. There is a coral garden there which we wanted to snorkel. We deployed the kayaks and paddled about 2 miles to the cay, across the face of another ocean inlet, the North Bar Channel. This opening to the Atlantic showed us somewhat more settled conditions compared to when we had passed this spot with the big boat on Tuesday. Unfortunately, though, it was not settled enough. The coral garden faced the channel, and the breaking swell was too big to make snorkeling feasible.

We did a bit of beach combing and then paddled back (upwind) to Prudence. Feeling as though we had been cheated out of our snorkel time, we both donned fins and masks, and headed to our own little coral patch right here near the boat (the one with the lionfish). Sheryl has been helping me with the process of identifying the fish we see (she uses her underwater photos to compare with those in our fish books). When we got to the coral patch, Sheryl immediately spotted a good sized Nassau Grouper; note this exact fish shown below is the one which eventually made it to my dinner plate:



Remembering that they were described as 'Excellent' eating (with a limited catch season here in the Bahamas and not at all allowed for catch in the US), I decided it was time to go and get that second-hand sling spear I have stored in the bilge.

Please note that I have done very little fishing (a few times with a Kmart rod & reel on the rivers and lakes of Indiana when I was a kid), and have never done any spear fishing or anything even remotely like it. In theory, though, it sounds ideal. Rather than toss out a hook and hope for something you want to eat, you get to see your prey and select exactly what you want for dinner. I wanted grouper.

I swam back from the boat with spear in hand and guessed at how to use the sling to 'shoot' the spear forward. Rather than try a practice shot into the grass (which would have been the practical thing to do), I went right for my dinner target. He was hiding under some coral, but I had a clear shot at the head. Unfortunately, either my excitement or my inexperience (or both) caused the shot to only graze his head, and he swam away to another coral head. I circled for a while, trying to spot him in his new hiding place. I finally saw a bit of his tail, but my second shot missed entirely. Mr.Grouper swam back to his original coral home. The third shot was only effective at rousting him from his home to yet another coral head. This time, though, I had a good amount of tail to aim for. I took a deep breath, swam around to line myself up at a good angle, tensioned the rubber-band on the spear, aimed, and let it fly. Thunk! I pulled back dinner on a stick.

I held my prize up out of the water and swam quickly back to the boat. I had seen a 4-foot barracuda that morning when I was doing my anchor exercises, and I was definitely not willing to share my first catch. Once back on the big boat, Sheryl helped me round up a cutting board, knife, and fork. She also got some rubbing alcohol to stun the fish and make it possible to handle on deck. We had read that if you pour a little alcohol into the gills the fish becomes stunned. Of course, this is where literature learning meets the real world. A splash of alcohol in the gills of this guy caused him to give a big thrash and launch himself about 2 feet off the deck. When he landed he was sufficiently stunned to handle. Good thing he didn't launch himself right off of the boat. I suppose next time I will have to hold on tight when we apply the alcohol.

I don't really know how to clean a fish, but I did the best I could to separate the good from the bad. I used a fork to scrape off the scales, then took the knife and removed head, tail, and fins. Gutting the fish is fairly straightforward, but getting the filets away from the spine is the toughest part for me. I did a decent job, not pretty but passable, and had two small filets to show for my work.

Since we have no refrigeration, Mr. Grouper went directly to the galley to become a pre-dinner appetizer. A little lemon-juice, salt, pepper, Old Bay seasoning, and a dusting of breadcrumbs prepared the filets for a shallow pan-fry in just a little bit of olive oil. Five minutes later, I was in heaven. I have enjoyed grouper prepared many times at many restaurants, but none could compare to that fresh-from-the-water-I-caught-it-myself delicious, delectable white meat. I only wish that Sheryl were not a vegetarian, so that she, too, could enjoy this wonderful aspect of the cruising lifestyle.