Skinny Dipping in the Dark and Stormy.
Our first goal this morning was to beat the noodlers. These are the people that arrive on day boats to check out the caves. They’re given noodles to stay afloat, thus the name. We also see noodlers in our local pools. Swimmers usually feel a little smug about noodlers. It’s not fair, but it’s true.
Richie and Lulu picked up my camera this morning and made some lovely photographs before I was even out of my bunk (see my toes, left). Love you guys. XO
We indeed (barely) beat the doodlers, then continued our swim all the way around Privateer bay to Angelfish Reef. This is the very southern end of the BVIs, and a spot where we always take a group photo. 2 giant southern rays nestled in the sand beneath us.
Back at Yacht Tupelo (Tulkas), Heather and I did some free diving with Skipper Richie. There was a little sand patch at about 30 feet deep that had a bunch of garden eels. They’re cute but shy and grumpy little guys, with frowny faces. Freediving is something both of our yacht skippers are very good at, and something Heather and I do occasionally as another way to enjoy the ocean. It’s mostly a mind game, but we do some training back home in the pool, too.
Crew and guides get a little goofy at this point in the week, with deep water photo stunts and silly shower antics.
We set sail for White Bay on Peter Island, taking some time to sail around the Drake Channel with a few tacks. White Bay has a loose, deep, sandy bottom, and most novice sailors stay away, so we had the place to ourselves. Teriyaki chicken wings and a salad for lunch. I should note here that our chef Lisa (and all of our chefs) make accommodations for people with special nutritional needs. We get all types: vegetarians, gluten free, med diets, no beef, no dairy etc etc. We work it out. And by we, I mean Lisa. Everyone gets their fill.
Lisa has really been knocking it out of the park this week. Cooking for 12 people in a small galley kitchen with groceries purchased on a small island is a real trick, and the food she puts out is unbelievably elegant. She’s a treasure.
In White Bay, I (Heather) tested out a new dome port attachment for my goPro camera. More practice needed, but I love the potential for vibrant, over-under water photographs!
In White Bay, we swam to a little coral garden that has stayed vibrant despite the pressures put on it in the last several years, with hurricanes and rising water temps. There’s a big rock you can swim around, squeezing into a pool filled with Angelfish and coral. I was swimming with Beth and Kathy, and we set a nice pace back to the yacht. At around this time of every trip, we have all grown comfortable swimming next to each other, knowing our paces and styles. We made a brief stop to discuss the evening cocktail, and agreed on the Dark n Stormy. We increased our stroke rate to get back to our Yacht Tombolo (Tulkas) to start slicing limes.
The evening moved along with drinks and snacks, followed by a dinner of steak tenderloin, a cauliflower and cheese casserole, and roast potatoes. Brownies and ice cream finished it off.
Every once in a while, a dance party erupts on SwimVacation. For the first time in a long time, it happened last night, anchored there in White bay, Peter Island, with nobody else around. This (d)evolved into skinny dipping. We all agreed to remember this night sometime during the winter when things seem particularly bleak. As we fell asleep, the wind whipped up and rain fell once in a while. I think at this point we are all quite at home sleeping on a boat and all of the circumstances that come with that. It makes waking for our final day a little more bitter-sweet.
Hopper
