Cut and paste update

Monday, Feb. 27, 2012

I'm writing this in notepad so I can cut and paste first time we get internet.Traci and I are heading across the banks with a following wind and waves so the ride is pretty smooth, boring and way too quiet since the kids have all gone home. We said good-bye to them on Saturday :( and did the same with Paul and Shannon yesterday and then made our way to Chub Cay in some very rough water. Good thing about that is there is no other boat traffic. I'm going to try and touch on the cool stuff and then let some pictures tell the rest. When we get some decent internet, I'll throw a few videos on as well. It was a bad camera year as Brock bought this fancy underwater camera that could shoot in 3D and stuff like that and it took great pictures for about an hour then it conked out full of water. A couple years ago we gave Brandi a little camera in a housing and it also leaked water this year and went bust but I will post some underwater pics that turned out prior to the meltdowns. To summarize, Traci and I headed to Nassau and put in a month or so until Paul and Shannon arrived. We didn't get to spend much time with them due to some scheduling. Brandi and Brock arrived on the 9th of Feb. and we spend the night at the marina and took off the next day for Rose Island, Allens Cay then Norman's Cay followed over the next week then back to the marina to pick up Matt and Kara on the 16th. They jumped on the boat around 1:00 p.m. and we headed right to Norman's Cay, arriving in the dark. We spent a few days there so Kara could recover from motion sickness then carried on down to Staniel Cay and anchored beside the island that the wild pigs are on and they swim right out to meet your boat looking for scraps to eat. The next day we moved around to Staniel and saw Paul, Shannon and crew again and we anchored and went snorkelling in Thunderball Grotto which was in a James Bond movie some years ago. As soon as you enter the water you are surrounded by fish of all kinds, I assume they're fed regularily and they're not at all shy. The grotto itself is huge porous rock that is completely hollow and has entrances on all sides, some of them submerged, and is full of coral, fish of all kinds, thousands of colours and shafts of light that enter the chamber from different angles and is the most cool thing I've seen underwater that can't be plundered or pillaged. We anchored that night on the north side of Major Cay (one with the pigs) next to an opening to the deep water on the east side of the Banks and planned to take the deep route back to Norman's as Matt wanted to show us once again what a poor fisherman he is. Next morning brought a perfect wind and calm seas and for a couple hours we were thinking that we'd be back to Norman's in record time but Mother Nature noticed her error when we were just north of the land and sea park on Warderick wells and a little squall switched the wind around to the north, right on the nose, and kicked it up to 26 knots or so and there it remained. This took Kara from having an enjoyable day sailing to being sick and feeling rotten again so we headed back on the banks and sought shelter on the south side of Elbow Cay. That night after the kids had said goodnight I thought I'd just go down to the bottom step at the back and relieve myself and as stood there, in the light from the solar lights we have on each corner, I watched as a large fish came from under the boat tight to the hull I was on and turned around the step and went up the port side. I decided to go to the head instead and use the toilet. I called the kids to come out and watch as lots of 1 and 2 foot fish did this until we went to bed. I think the larger fish came in from the deep water to feed at night. The next few days were spent at Norman's and one evening I asked Matt and Brock if they wanted to try a night time snorkel to which they agreed. In the water were millions of little shrimp looking creatures and when you shut off the light and kicked your fins there was a column of light in front of you, also cool. Friday, the last day before the kids went home, we went to Atlantis, which is also cool, then that evening we headed to Domino's for pizza and since Dairy Queen is in the same building, well you know....That's about all I have for now until we get back to civilization and back to work.

Dave and Traci