Cloud Messenger

The weather has been completely cooperative here on Conception Island. Each morning starts with a beautiful sky, azure seas stretching as far as you can see in three directions and a silky, white sand beach sparkles in
the fourth direction. We routinely listen to the weather by Single Side band (SSB) radio each morning although nothing remotely alarming is in the forecast. We then savor our fresh ground Cuban coffee and contemplate how we will fill our leisurely day in paradise. Usually first up is a long stroll on the beach so Ali can madly race greyhound-like over the sand. He stops occasionally to frantically dig small holes just big enough to stick his nose in and get it covered with the soft, fine powder. Once he is thoroughly worn out we can leave him happily napping on our bed while we snorkel or I snorkel and David bonefishes until hunger drives us in from the great outdoors and back to the boat for lunch. In the afternoon we rest, read, bake, nap or fish together from the dinghy; any or all. Life couldn't be any less complicated or lazily blissful. The evenings are filled with socializing with other boaters. We enjoy the bounty we have gathered or rummage around in our stores to find some appetizing contribution to the potluck suppers. Our days are punctuated by small, interesting events. Yesterday we saw an immense sea turtle just drifting in the warm waters, soaking up the sunshine. Her head was the size of a cantaloupe. One day, after our afternoon fishing expedition, David was standing over the swim ladder preparing to jump into the waters off our boat to bath. Just as he took one foot off the rail he happened to glance down as a six foot Lemon shark glided out from under the boat and right directly under the ladder. I wish I had a camera handy. I would have titled the photo, "Look What We Found in the Shower!", and it would have shown the ladder, the shark and David's panic stricken, shocked, face. Close call. Overhead Tropic birds wheel and chase each other, a most intensely beautiful sight. These rare endangered birds are plentiful here and are answering the onset of Springtime with their echoing calls for a mate. They swoop and swirl around each other in mid-flight with their long, long white tails streaking out behind them. The snowy color of their breasts are so blindingly, bleached white that as they wing their way over the blue waters their feathers reflect the colors beneath them, so that they have a subtle, greenish tinge on their underbellies. We tossed some mushrooms overboard that we couldn't use. The floated along like in a perfect little row. Almost immediately a big Puffer fish arrived. I'm not sure what he thought the mushrooms were but he was determined to have them for lunch. He would approach one of the bobbing little caps and raise himself halfway out of the water to try and get his pinched little round mouth around the mushroom. You could clearly see his bulbous eyes above the waterline as he made attempt after attempt to snag the floating morsels. It was adorable and sad at the same time as each try at the buoyant tid-bits failed.

Last night we were reunited with the friends we made in Harbour Island on "Mojo" and hosted them and Jason and Laura on Cloud Messenger for a lovely, lively dinner. We all six scrambled excitedly around trying to hook a large Amber Jack that showed up under the boat. No luck. Then today we heard other friends, also originally met on Harbour Island, on the radio. They are headed into our anchorage tonight. And if I know John and Christine there will be plenty of fresh caught fish on "Gabrielle" for us all to share. Tonight we and our friends have all been invited to cocktail with new friends on "Anastasia" on the beach where they have set-up for a bonfire. The recent day to day paradise we have been experiencing makes the trials of bad weather and hard work almost fade into dim memory.

"Gabrielle" did arrive that evening and in time to join us on the beach. Unfortunately hoards of flying squirrel size mosquitoes joined us as well and even though we doused ourselves heavily in repellant the festivities were cut short. The bug free dinghy ride back to the boat was like driving through the heavens, clear, dripping stars and the water was liquid velvet. The next day the crews of "Gabrielle", "Blue Blaze" and "Cloud Messenger" met up in the afternoon for some surprisingly sunny, warm snorkeling. Surprisingly because we unexpectedly woke up to 25 knot winds from the NW which had the boats rocking and us scrambling to close down the hatches as the dark clouds rolled overhead. Luckily the large squall passed after a few hours and Nirvana was returned. We saw beautiful Elkhorn and Staghorn coral. David loved this snorkeling the best. He said it felt like diving on Atlantis. To him, the large stands of coral rising up looked like stone pillars of a forgotten city. This was deeper stands of coral then we had been snorkeling and the feeling of swimming through ancient crumbling towers was awe inspiring. We swam and dove for hours filling our eyes with water soaked visions of grandeur. We swam through a small break in the coral to be confronted with a mid size Lemon shark slowly cruising by. We ducked back into our hole like wary reef fish and waited for him to pass only to leisurely swim out behind him and follow in his wake for awhile. It was a fitting end to our days at this beautiful uninhabited island. The end to our evening here was spent on board "Gabrielle" enjoying the bounty of John's fishing labors, as I knew it would be. Naturally he had caught fish on his way over from Georgetown the night before, he rarely goes without. Both of our boats brought side-dishes and we all ate our fill of the fresh fish. The next day we headed out for Cat Island and it was a brisk, smooth sail. We reached speeds of over 8 knots at times. Lobster season is only open until the first of April so finding some was one of everyone's top goals for the next few days. I was determined to find a lobster because it might be one of my only chances left and although I have eaten my fair share of lobster this season I have never actually been the provider.

Cat Island is beautiful. Laura, Jason, Ali and I dinghied into the shore and walked a mile and a half to the grocery store. David stayed on board the rocking ship. The houses are frequently made of stone and they are either completely ramshackle and abandoned or immaculately kept-up with fresh paint and lovely gardens. Everyone we met greeted us with smiles and cheerful hellos. We reprovisioned enough to see us through current wind from an unfortunate direction. Later when all calms down we will rent a car, see the whole island and make a huge grocery expedition. As we tried to make our escape from the shoreline we slightly miscalculated the timing on getting our bags of groceries, the dog and all three people in the dinghy. The outcome of that mistiming was a boat full of water, some bruised ankles, shins and egos. Jason had to remove the engine entirely to get the boat light enough while we bailed and pumped out the water to get it floating again. It was a dicey, adrenaline producing few minutes. Long enough minutes though for all three (+ Ali) of us to get completely soaked, like swimming in our clothes soaked, as well as all the groceries. Tonight we will stay on our respective boats, regroup our morale and hope the forecasted shift in the wind comes quickly.

Lobster success! I am the provider. Largest lobster tail to date. Photos to follow.