We arrived on Cave Cay at low tide, which probably wasn't the smartest idea, but we did get in o.k. and then took a walk to the end of the airstrip where we found a shallow pool that gets surf from the Atlantic, we have seen lots of Casseopia's in our day, but these bright blue tentacles were amazing! I love the second picture showing the chambers of the Jelly! And they were everywhere. A beautiful crescent beach is on the Exuma Sound side of the island which we walked, and will snorkel the coral heads not far from shore tomorrow.

Cave Cay marina is a natural hurricane hole, you enter through a narrow cut between the high rock ledges which gives it almost a man-made look, a very unique spot to discover! A very nice marina, but the challenge was getting Veda L into the slip we had chosen, backing to starboard with a single screw, then add the wind (gusty and strong) and the current and Capt Bob has his work cut out! Good thing he is not a drinking man or we would not have had our nice walk after docking Veda L. I equate the above process with backing a Greyhound bus into a parking spot without rear view mirrors.

Rule of the Day...if you travel with a furry friend, remember where his favorite hiding spot is at home BEFORE you panic and spend 45 minutes zigzagging through Exuma Sound looking for a little furry head bobbing in the water. We were sure Buddy was on the boat, but we could not find him, we looked into every spot he has ever chosen to hide in, I did not know that Bob had taken a beach towel from the cupboard, but Buddy did and he crawled in. Then Bob closed the door not knowing that our Buddy had discovered his home away from home...THE LINEN CLOSET! Now we have our wet suits on, ready to go spear fishing, where is Buddy? I open a can of tuna to bring him out from wherever...THAT ALWAYS WORKS! No Buddy...THAT is when I panicked. So now we are convinced that SOMEHOW this silly cat of ours not only escaped but fell overboard (incredulous idea but the only one we had), so off Bob went in the tender. As he returns with a thumbs down on the approach I hear a very faint little meeeeeew, like a squeak...or was it our silly cat? I look into the cupboard that seemed to hold the meeeeew and here is what I saw. Buddy says "what is the big fuss all about? And by the way...where is that can of tuna?"

We will be leaving Compass Cay today, and it is always such a treat passing through the spectacular turquoise waters in this area, this is Capt Bob at the helm as I am on the deck being sure that we are lined up with the markers as the current can drift us out of the channel pretty quickly.

Our friend Norman checking the size of Bob's conch before he puts it in the boat, we collected 6 that day and had a farewell feast for his friend Scott who was visiting him, the edge of the conch has to be thick enough that it cannot be broken and should had a ruffled edge to it, this one was a keeper.

Yesterday I spent some time under the docks at Compass Cay looking for the HUGE Puffer Fish that I have seen hanging out there, but once I got down there all I saw were the nurse sharks that frequent the dock area, and of course bonefish, a couple angel fish, a trumpet fish, a barracuda, and then the fish that made me get out of the water....a good sized lemon shark as I was looking over the outside coral heads to be sure there are no more lion fish in the marinas immediate area. We had a two lion fish kill yesterday while out conching though, so each one gone helps the cause! I have pictures up at the marina of the lionfish eating a juvenile file fish and telling people that they should assist in the war against this fish that is destroying these beautiful reefs.

Our Buddy, also known as Buddy Paws due to his seven toes (Heminway cats...eat your heart out!) was finally allowed off the boat after many futile attemps at escape, he joined us for cocktail hour and met his new Compass Cay fan club, many photos were taken with him to cherish by his fans!

Our artwork that hangs on the deck at Compass Cay, I found the paint stash in the office, decided to spruce up their Welcome to Compass Cay sign over their docks, then decided that we needed our own sign proclaiming that we were here!

Peek a boo! A beautiful shell to keep, and a great dinner as well. Bob freezes the conchs vs. knocking them (when we have a really cool shell) to release the conch which makes a nicer keepsake. We only take what we can eat each day, and that is part of the fun of being here, never clean an underwater shelf of lobster, if there are two, take one and leave the rest so other lobster will return. We enjoy the hunt as much as the dinners, but like to know that not being greedy will assure us there will be conch and lobster for everyone who visits here and likes to hunt the seas!

The day after our arrival we had "dead calm" seas, we launched the canoe for a sunset cruise, and I was so happy I glanced over my shoulder as we were headed back to the boat, for some reason the sunsets at Hetty's Land are always super spectacular. The seas were calm, the reefs are fished heavily, so we did not expect to get lobster, but as were were heading back to the boat I spotted antennae down in a hole in coral. Bob came back and speared him, but due the size of the lobster in relationship to the size of the hole...well, the spear had to go and the hands had to do the rest, I happened to get the whole wrestling match on video, 65 sec. underwater wrestling, but he got him! I was very proud of my athletic husband. Take a look at the online photos to see the length of our "buttery/lemony" flavored friend.

A stone crab that we only watched scamper across the bottom, some people snap off a claw or two, we prefer to remember our dinners at Joe's in Miami and not have anymore crustacean wrestling....

This was a 6 Lion Fish kill day, we really need to spread the word to eliminate these (unfortunately beautiful) creatures from the reefs as they devour the juvenile fish very rapidly. Great practice spearing, and a good deed done, the karma of the Lion Fish kill gave us the lobster later...or so we said.

Are these the perfect days that us cruisers just live for? The water was so clear and calm, and the silence was similar to what I remember being in a hot air balloon at 20,000 feet...not a sound. No ripples and no bird sounds as we were a ways out, and no one else in the anchorage.

A few years ago when we did not have enough water to take Okeechobee across Florida, we went through the Keys; finding a great gallery that had this photo. I was intrigued as I didn't recall seeing black and white underwater photos before. This photo greets me every morning as it hangs in our master stateroom, reminding us that we need to take care of our friends in the sea and be stewards to our environment. The plaque that was placed underwater in an area frequented by Manatees reads: Life must become more than the wants and needs of humans, we are not on this planet alone. If the Manatee goes into extinction because the needs of humans became more important, then we will have taken another step backward toward our own demise. Extinction is forever and for all. Dr. Harvey Barnett. What makes this picture especially poignant is the fact that this very much alive Manatee is gazing down in sadness it seems at the spot where a bronze manatee was soldered onto this plaque at the top, but was pried off by....of course... a human.

This cloud of "fog" rolled into The Marina at Emerald Bay this morning. We were told later that the airport had closed due to the grit and dirt that came with it from Haiti. It kept us from leaving this morning, but also reminded us that we needed to open our checkbooks again to the Haiti relief fund, and thank God for our blessings.

Speaking of blessing....Look who came to dinner? Bob and I took the afternoon to really run the Yamaha on the tender to be sure it was running smoothly prior to heading out for a few days, we stopped at a reef that would normally be under breaking waves, but with a calm day we had fabulous clarity and calm seas over the reef to peek into those crevices only to be greeted by this guy, not only a beautiful sight but mighty tasty too! Homemade bread, homemade blue cheese dressing over a lettuce wedge and grilled pineapple accompanied him to our table. Yes, we give thanks!

This is just one of the sunsets that we enjoyed last trip to Hetty's Land, a quiet shallow bay that had great habitat for "hunting" I think it is where I saw my first Lion Fish years ago, when I thought it was a beautiful thing, now I would yell for Bob to spear it in a heartbeat as I have seen how rapidly they destroy Bahamian reefs where they are not native.

Upon arrival the first thing I needed to do was to walk the beach, the picture says it all. About an hour walk to do the entire crescent and back. Only 2 other people on the beach that day.

This is the scene I described flying over the Gulf Stream, you see some keys off Miami in the background, then the abyss!

Ahhhhhhhhhh. "Home" again on Veda L. We flew back on 1/13/09 and it is nice to be with our Emerald Bay family http://www.marinaatemeraldbay.com/ who took exceptional care of Veda L. in our absence, actually she looked better when we returned! Although no one will take the credit; our white tube fenders (which I was ready to replace due to their blackened look) all of a sudden are almost like new! We were also having Yamaha engine trouble (the tender), so of course Glenroy, our Harbor master knew someone who was able to come out and get us up and running so we feel safe in venturing off-shore for our lobster/grouper and photo opportunities!

We had a lovely dinner at Big D's, conch fritters, cracked conch and best of all...the company of Ms. Erica Munroe, the former executive asst. to the general manager of Emerald Bay Marina, but is here training staff now. Truly one of the joyful individuals that makes the Emerald Bay Marina such a joyful spot to be!

The flight was fabulous, when you have a clear & sunny day is there a more beautiful flight than from Miami to Georgetown? Being able to see the sudden depth of the Gulf Stream brings back memories of the first time I watched our depth gauge start to spin after going from 30' to 80', then 150' to 300' then into the infinite depths of the abyss! Beautiful from the air, but not our favorite stopping spot was Bimini; then on south over banks of unknown sandbars, small cays, recognizing some of them from the air. Other passengers must think I am enjoying my first flight ever as I move from one side of the plane to the other, back a few seats and then up again to get my best vantage point. Click, click, click....my shutter goes and Bob does not even look up anymore to see where I have gone, he is used to my photographic antics while flying. I have attached a favorite pictures from this flight, some are like abstract paintings. If I ever redecorate my house I can picture a white room filled with poster or larger prints of these on white walls. If anyone ever wants copies of any of my photos just let me know, I do sell my photos, either in mats or in photo cards.