My Underwater World

Cruising, means different things to each of us. The reality is that it is sailing the world, to stop in the most beautiful anchorages, then repair, and work on your boat, while you source spares, and wait patiently for their arrival. Occasionally you get time to explore the countryside too.

I plan my day to ensure I keep up with it all, polish the stainless and the GRP, clean the boat, and do routine maintenance. By mid-afternoon, I feel I have earned a break and head off in the dinghy for the reef under The Pillars of Hercules, at the entrance to English Harbour.

It’s always interesting, but this week has been magical. Not only have I watched the huge shoals of both sergeant, and surgeon fish as they patrol the reef, big multi-coloured parrot fish grazing the corals, Green and Hawksbill turtles, and all the usual suspects swimming to and fro, but I have witnessed several firsts: An octopus hunting and feeding. Squid, the chameleons of the sea patrolling the shallows, and a school of big Barracuda, cruising the surface as we swum side-by-side just a few feet apart.

There have been dramas too. A 4ft Moray eel took an exception to my accidentally sticking my fin into his lair. He came shooting out, mouth wide open, to display his needle-sharp teeth and displeasure, before returning to his lair to watch me with his beady-black eye.

Giant Trevally (similar to tuna) over 3 feet long, hunting in pairs, with mouths agape, as they tore through the water at astonishing speed, twisting and turning as the jacks they were hunting tried desperately to escape.

But the best was swimming with sharks. I had tied the dinghy to one of the buoys beside the reef. Jim and I donned our fins, masks and snorkels, dropped over the side, and there they were, slowly cruising the seabed under our feet. Eight feet long and dusty brown, we watched in awe as the Nurse sharks mooched around.

How I wish I had an underwater camera!

The cruising crowd is now thinning out. Each day more boats leave. Soon the harbours will be empty. Some have headed west, bound for the Panama Canal and the Pacific. Others have headed north to the US eastern seaboard. Many have moved on to the islands further north, St Barts, St Maartin, and the BVI, before starting back across the Atlantic.

I am waiting for my crew Scott to return. He is in S America, having spent the last two months exploring there with his girlfriend. Then I shall follow the others out into the Atlantic. I’ll head for the Azores, where hopefully, many of us will meet again to swop tales, enjoy a beer or two, and explore the Islands.