The national slogan of the Turks and Caicos Islands is "Beautiful By Nature" and we couldn't agree more. The other morning, Captain Bill arose at his usual early hour to discover a new passenger aboard Let's Dance! Perched majestically on the bow pulpit was a lone great egret....wispy tail feathers blowing loose in the light wind. Wow! We have seen very few birds on this trip, so it was a bit of a surprise.
As Bill went forward to begin the anchor up drill with Paul at the helm (I am once again blissfully redundant!) our hitch hiking friend flew up to the aft deck to wait it out on the Love Me Tender. Smart bird. Once Bill was back inside the pilot house the egret flew back down to the pulpit and faced into the wind -- ready to go for a ride. We had been anchored off deserted Six Hills Cay, about 20 miles from Grand Turk Island, when he joined us and we were all quite curious to know his plans.
The seas were very calm this day and the winds light, so our snowy friend had only to make minor adjustments to his position to stay facing into the wind. He stayed, and stayed and stayed. We ventured out from time to time to take his picture and he responded by giving us the eye or ducking his long neck into his breast. At the 20 mile mark into the day he must have gotten foot cramps from holding on so tightly to the stainless steel railing because he lifted each foot in turn, stretched his black taloned toes and then repeated with the other foot. This guy has some seriously ugly feet by the way.
The now familiar 'zing' signaling a fish on the hook was heard often this day as well. The first catch of the day was a hefty 10 pound mutton snapper, reeled in by Paul with a little help from the Captain. Mutton snapper, aka Lutjanus analis, Reef King or Pargo, does not resemble its sheepish namesake, but it is absolutely delicious and prized for its firm white meat. A fine fresh dinner is assured. We are also a strong magnet for barracuda. The guys must have pulled in half a dozen of them in all sizes throughout the day.
The beautiful, calm seas continued into the afternoon when I sighted a group of bottlenose dolphin rising about a quarter of a mile ahead of us. They noticed us about the same time and came running to join the dance. Soon we were surrounded by about seven playful swimmers, eager to twirl under our bow as we raced through the flat, flat, shallow seas. Naturally, we had to watch their acrobatics from the bow pulpit, and we scared off the egret hitchhiker in our rush to watch the fun. With only about 3 to 4 feet of water under our keel we were able to marvel not only at the dolphins, but also at the constellations of starfish that they leapt over. Amazing!
We were lucky, too, to be anchored in Sapodilla Bay for the rare occurrence of glow worm mating. Seriously! From three to six days after a full moon, in the spring, at dusk, the little glitterers swim about looking for love. Bill, Paul and I watched the sunset from the flybridge in a light wind. They both gave up and went below as darkness fell and I got a tad discouraged, too. Then, a call came over the VHF that the show was on! Sure enough, in the darkened water of the bay, little streamers of neon green darted here and there and everywhere -- so romantic!
From tiny glow worms to giant whales, TCI did not disappoint. We spent a leisurely day trolling the waters between Grand Turk, Salt Cay and Sand Cay in search of the big guys. Humpback whales migrate through this area in March and April and it didn't take long for us to have our first sighting. Paul spotted a single spout and we gave chase (of course, at six knots, the whale was in little danger of our swift approach!) Soon we saw other spouts and the cry of "thar she blows" rang out! Tails flashed through the air as they slapped the sea's surface again and again. It was very cool! Some blew, some breached, some splashed...it was all quite spectacular. We stayed a respectful distance from the great creatures, both for their safety and for our own. Can you imagine a confrontation between 40 tons of Let's Dance and 40 tons of humpback whale? It does not bear contemplation.
From ocean depths to endless skies, natural beauty is everywhere. When the sun is just so over the water, and it often is, the bottoms of the clouds shimmer with a soft, minty green hue. It is a reflection of the emerald water and lovely to behold.
Beautiful By Nature, indeed. TCI did not disappoint. Captain Bill, First Officer Paul and I shared a very rewarding journey on this aquatic nature trail aboard our trusty trawler....
Let's Dance.......Carol and Bill
