Jackpot Day At Francis Bay
26/12/07 20:07 Filed in: Vacation
Wed 26 Dec (morning) - It's
raining like crombies this morning. The locals
say that morning rain always means a
beautiful afternoon, but it looks like a good
laundry day to me. If the weather improves, I'll
go out to look for sea turtles this afternoon.
(afternoon) - The weather did improve and it means triple jackpot for me! My patience at Francis Bay has finally paid off. I saw two different kinds of sea turtles, a Southern Stingray and a giant monster fish that I know nothing about. Oh yeah... I saw two more Barracuda (yawn) which brings the total Barracuda count up to like 18 or something. I've lost track.
Francis Bay
I was about to give up for the day. The sun was out more today than yesterday, but the winds were strong, and the rain that ended a few hours ago made for poor visibility. I was actually complaining to myself, thinking, "That's it - I'm outahere..." when this large Green Turtle swam out from behind a large coral like 8 feet in front of me. He surprised me so much that I accidentally sucked in a mouthful of water and fogged up my mask. I thought, "Wait... that's the thing I'm looking for!" I didn't even think the word "turtle" for a moment or two. He was big, about 3 or 4 feet long, and swam effortlessly with beautiful, artistic, slow motion strokes.
I cleared my mask quickly because I didn't want to lose sight of him. When I looked back into the water, he was still nearby and not really in a hurry. He actually let me follow him for maybe 5 to 10 minutes (he even took a little break and rested on the bottom for a while). I could see he was getting annoyed with me though, especially when he tried to surface for a breath of air, because I think I got too close. He simply made a quick little dash and headed for open water. I had no chance of following him. His swimming was so graceful and beautiful though, like a dancer. Then I realized I used up all the remaining film in the camera taking pictures of him (but I got so excited I couldn't stop). I hope a few of the shots turn out good.
So I'm snorkeling back to Maho Bay and not even too bothered that I didn't have any film left. I accomplished my sea turtle quest, after all, and what else could I see that I haven't seen in the last few days? Well, it wasn't even 15 minutes later that I see this Southern Stingray sitting all by itself on the white sandy bottom, in like 10 feet of water. As I got closer, I noticed it was trying to bury itself in the sand. Well, either the sand wasn't quite right or maybe I startled him, but he gave up that idea and just swam away, graceful as a bird taking off, but in that wonderful slow motion that seems to move them forward more than it should for how little effort they use. Just like the turtle, the Stingray headed for deep water too.
So I'm really happy at this point - what else might happen? Not 5 minutes later I see another turtle, but a different species entirely. This one was a Gray Turtle of about the same size as the Green Turtle. And he was sitting right on the bottom just like the Stingray. He didn't do much until I got right above him, although I was trying not to move at all. So I'm just watching quietly when he starts to swim to the surface to take a breath. He got about half way up then he saw me. Unlike the Green Turtle, he took off instantly like a bolt of lightning and was gone in seconds. The whole encounter might have lasted 30 seconds tops. I didn't know turtles could swim that fast.
The last thing I saw on the way back is a mystery. I asked around at the dive shop, but they didn't know either. They probably think I'm nuts, "There's a tourist seeing nonsense again..." It looked something like a Barracuda, but crazy big. It wasn't an eel. It wasn't a shark (although certain sharks can look un-shark-like). One guy said it might be a Tarpon. I don't know. But it was resting on the bottom in about six feet of water. As soon as it saw me, it took off in a silvery flash and was gone. When I get home, I need to look through a bunch of pictures until I find it. I think it was about 8 to 10 feet long and very tubular looking. What a day!
[ Now I know the mystery fish is indeed a Tarpon. It's big, silvery, tubular and 10 feet long is pretty common... and I later saw 12 of them swimming together in a little school at Mary's Point; the northern-most part of St. John. ]
(afternoon) - The weather did improve and it means triple jackpot for me! My patience at Francis Bay has finally paid off. I saw two different kinds of sea turtles, a Southern Stingray and a giant monster fish that I know nothing about. Oh yeah... I saw two more Barracuda (yawn) which brings the total Barracuda count up to like 18 or something. I've lost track.
Francis Bay
I was about to give up for the day. The sun was out more today than yesterday, but the winds were strong, and the rain that ended a few hours ago made for poor visibility. I was actually complaining to myself, thinking, "That's it - I'm outahere..." when this large Green Turtle swam out from behind a large coral like 8 feet in front of me. He surprised me so much that I accidentally sucked in a mouthful of water and fogged up my mask. I thought, "Wait... that's the thing I'm looking for!" I didn't even think the word "turtle" for a moment or two. He was big, about 3 or 4 feet long, and swam effortlessly with beautiful, artistic, slow motion strokes.
I cleared my mask quickly because I didn't want to lose sight of him. When I looked back into the water, he was still nearby and not really in a hurry. He actually let me follow him for maybe 5 to 10 minutes (he even took a little break and rested on the bottom for a while). I could see he was getting annoyed with me though, especially when he tried to surface for a breath of air, because I think I got too close. He simply made a quick little dash and headed for open water. I had no chance of following him. His swimming was so graceful and beautiful though, like a dancer. Then I realized I used up all the remaining film in the camera taking pictures of him (but I got so excited I couldn't stop). I hope a few of the shots turn out good.
So I'm snorkeling back to Maho Bay and not even too bothered that I didn't have any film left. I accomplished my sea turtle quest, after all, and what else could I see that I haven't seen in the last few days? Well, it wasn't even 15 minutes later that I see this Southern Stingray sitting all by itself on the white sandy bottom, in like 10 feet of water. As I got closer, I noticed it was trying to bury itself in the sand. Well, either the sand wasn't quite right or maybe I startled him, but he gave up that idea and just swam away, graceful as a bird taking off, but in that wonderful slow motion that seems to move them forward more than it should for how little effort they use. Just like the turtle, the Stingray headed for deep water too.
So I'm really happy at this point - what else might happen? Not 5 minutes later I see another turtle, but a different species entirely. This one was a Gray Turtle of about the same size as the Green Turtle. And he was sitting right on the bottom just like the Stingray. He didn't do much until I got right above him, although I was trying not to move at all. So I'm just watching quietly when he starts to swim to the surface to take a breath. He got about half way up then he saw me. Unlike the Green Turtle, he took off instantly like a bolt of lightning and was gone in seconds. The whole encounter might have lasted 30 seconds tops. I didn't know turtles could swim that fast.
The last thing I saw on the way back is a mystery. I asked around at the dive shop, but they didn't know either. They probably think I'm nuts, "There's a tourist seeing nonsense again..." It looked something like a Barracuda, but crazy big. It wasn't an eel. It wasn't a shark (although certain sharks can look un-shark-like). One guy said it might be a Tarpon. I don't know. But it was resting on the bottom in about six feet of water. As soon as it saw me, it took off in a silvery flash and was gone. When I get home, I need to look through a bunch of pictures until I find it. I think it was about 8 to 10 feet long and very tubular looking. What a day!
[ Now I know the mystery fish is indeed a Tarpon. It's big, silvery, tubular and 10 feet long is pretty common... and I later saw 12 of them swimming together in a little school at Mary's Point; the northern-most part of St. John. ]