Photo Ops, Choppy Seas and Birthdays

     As planned, Betty, Julia, Pete and I left at 7:30 AM.  Pete had called for pick-up and the cart just suddenly appeared. He didn’t have time to grab his camera. We took the loop that Pete and I did yesterday. It took us through Predator’s Cave, The Cave Grill, the hammer head sharks, the falls and the rope bridge.  Then we headed over to the Dig/ Ruins where “20,000 marine animals live in a 2.3 million gallon exhibit”. It is the best aquarium I have ever seen. I took a series of 8 photos of a manta ray “flying” towards me.  It was simply amazing. However, there is not one exhibit, but perhaps 10-15 sprinkled all over the property.  We saw sea stars, nurse sharks, hammer head sharks, green sea turtles, sharks and other fish in the Mayan Temple; Southern stingrays , Lyon fish and lobster exhibits. And we did not cover all the areas!  Perhaps we will have a chance to come back this way again someday.

Hammerhead shark

Views from The Dig

Shark swimming over our head

    

"The Dig"

      We checked out and departed at 11.  Our destination was Highborn Cay.  It is only 35 miles from here, but it starts our journey though the Exumas.  We cleared our departure with Nassau Control and headed out.   We needed to follow the others as our charts are no good. There is no depth information on it. We only made headway of about 5 miles when the decision was made to return to Nassau Harbor Club for another day. The winds were 15 out of the East right on our nose.  The seas were very choppy and cut our forward progress to less than 3.5 knots.  Even with a course correction for Shroud Cay we would not make the anchorage until 7:30 and well past sunset. So we turned about and suddenly we were doing 6.5 knots and surfing the waves.  Requested permission to re-enter Nassau harbor and received slips back at Nassau Harbor Club.

Looking up at the outside restaurant

Swirling Stingrays in the morning

    

    We gathered at 7:30 aboard Brunelle to celebrate grandson, Ben’s, 3^rd Birthday.  Grandmar made him a sailboat cake complete with mainsail, jib and hull and one of his candles actually played the “Happy Birthday” music.
 

     When we returned back to Pekabu, we called home to wish our “baby,” Heather, a Happy Birthday.  It is simply amazing how time flies. Just “yesterday” she was so small and dependent. Now she is this wonderful, resourceful, young lady and we are retired and living our dream!

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete