Okay, you’re going to have to work with me a little bit here. I am incapable of putting words to the amazing experience we had the other day, so here’s what I need for you to do. Imagine yourself aboard Let’s Dance…it’s early morning, the sky is clear, but not yet showing the strength of color that will come later. We’re still anchored, preparing the boat for departure. The sea is flat. Not a wrinkle, not a wave, not a hint of movement. Follow me up the stairs from the saloon to the pilothouse. Now, let’s step outside onto the starboard deck and look down over the railing. You are about 8 feet above the water line here. Another twelve feet below is the bottom….white sand littered with giant, black starfish. They are scattered in an abstract pattern that is broken only by the occasional sea urchin and stray bit of coral.
The anchor chain hangs off the bow, falling straight down into the calm water. As it reaches the bottom, it snakes outward in a sinewy line. Let’s Dance has shifted through the night in the light current and the chain has left a distinct pattern in the sand as it stretches towards the anchor. It would be idyllic to stay here for hours, just watching the serenity of the sea floor, but we must head out sometime, so we prepare to pull up the anchor and move on. I go into back into the pilothouse, put on my headset and am ready to guide Let’s Dance to the anchor as Bill directs from the bow, using the newly repaired windlass to pull it up. Look over his shoulder as the chain is slowly pulled from the ocean floor. One of the starfish -- directly in the chain’s path -- lifts slightly to allow the heavy chain to pass under him. Smart fellow!
The anchor safely up and secured, Captain Bill takes over the command of Let’s Dance in the pilothouse. Follow me upstairs to the fly bridge where I will serve as lookout for the shallow reefs that dot this area of the Bahamas. The fly bridge is open to the fresh breezes this morning and the blue canvas cover protects me from sun. Bill has plotted our course carefully, but there are still areas to be wary of, so we’re going to use visual piloting as well as our charts. To better my vantage point, I stand on the captain’s chair. Communicating with Bill through our handy headsets, I am able to direct him between the maze of small reefs that line our path.
This is where it gets fun. Imagine now that you are on the water, sliding along beside Let’s Dance. Perhaps you have on your dive mask, swimming goggles will work as well, whatever’s comfortable. It’s twenty feet down to the ocean surface from up here, but I might as well be on the glassy surface, too. Spotting a dark area ahead, I direct Bill 15 degrees to starboard and we glide slowly by the first of the reefs. It is small, maybe 30 yards across, almost circular, and filled with various corals. Sea fans, stag horn, brain and others, intermingled, some waving up at us, others solidly attached to the sea floor. They shelter a myriad of sea creatures between and under their branches.
If you look closely you can see that the rainbow is well represented here -- fish of almost every hue dart in and out of the coral corral. You’ve probably seen them before -- at aquariums or in person…little fish, big fish, needle fish, grunts, butterfly fish, red fish, blue fish…..all represented in healthy numbers. High speed predators are here with us, too. As the shadow of Let’s Dance skims over the scene below, a few sharks, maybe a barracuda even, dash out towards the docile reef fish, hungry for a little snack. Not to worry, though, you’re floating on top and they aren’t interested in you today.
This scene repeats itself many times this morning until we’ve finally cleared the shallows and I’ve come down from the fly bridge to be with Captain Bill in the pilothouse. You can come up now, too, and dry off. We’ll have lunch soon as we’re underway. Gazpacho, perhaps. Our destination is Spanish Wells in Eleuthera as we leave the Exumas in the rearview mirror. Goodbye, Exumas! See you next year.
Thanks for coming along on the boat today -- I had fun taking you on the little tour and mixing my metaphors -- enjoy the rest of your day, and remember, you’re always welcome aboard
Let’s Dance…..Carol and Bill
