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Pic's Pics and Report - Beaches & Snorkeling vol. 1
Pic's Pics and Report - Beaches & Snorkeling vol. 1
My childhood dream job was a marine biologist. I didn't become one, of course, but you can see why I love snorkeling.
I used Canon's new underwater camera, PowerShot D10, for all the beach and underwater shots - some are Photo-Shopped; some are not. Over all, I was very pleased with the camera. I thought it took as good as or even slightly better shots underwater than my other Canon, SD850 IS with its housing. And the best part was "no more dealing with o-rings". All I did was, after each use, I rinsed the camera and soaked it in fresh water for a couple of hours and then air-dried. That's it. Love my new little Canon.
Here are the featured beaches/bays:
Honeymoon
Gibney
Hawksnest
Waterlemon Cay
Leinster
Maho
----- Honeymoon -----
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this snorkel as much as I normally do. It was our first beach on this trip. I was tired and got cold in the water quickly. I didn't take many photos underwater and none of the beach. I just don't remember much about the snorkel other than a Gray Angel. Sorry.
I like watching them feeding - they twist around & upside down so gracefully. The same thing can be said about all the angelfishes, and the larger they are, the more graceful they look. This one wasn't fully grown.
----- Gibney (more precisely Oppenheimer) -----
One of my favorite beaches to hang out. We snorkeled along the right side towards the point that separates Gibney and Denis Bay.
It was "Flamingo Tongues on parade". I saw them all over the island except Blue Cobblestone and maybe Haulover North, but I counted over 20 of them here, the most I've ever seen. One sea fan had four Flamingos lined up.
School of Bar Jacks
Funny looking Blenny
My first encounter with Mantis Shrimp (I believe it's a Mantis, isn't it?) I wished it had been more exposed - wanted to see the whole structure of its body closely, but it quickly hid away.
I always enjoy snorkeling at Gibney very much. I wouldn't say that you see something spectacular, but if you slow down and look closely, there is a lot to see here. We saw octopuses here last year among the rocks but none this year. A little disappointed but I knew we would have a good chance to see them at Francis, so we were hopeful.
----- Hawksnest -----
It was an overcast day. This was the only place that I got stung in my hand by something. I could actually see it - it looked to be a tiny piece of tentacle. My skin got red (no swelling) and was slightly stinging for a couple of hours. That was it.
We saw more octopuses over all than squids last year but it was back to normal this year. These guys were probably the most typical ones we saw. Others (at other beaches) were in more curious colors - they probably were all the same species but in different "moods". More squids later...
I saw a feeding frenzy of Tangs and Wrasses. When they were done, they all lined up and formed a lengthy string as they swam away. So well organized.
Elkhorn Corals looked about the same as last year
Porgies
----- Waterlemon Cay -----
As soon as we parked at the Annaberg lot, it started pouring. We waited for the downpour to pass in the car and then hiked over to the cay. As you can see, the dark clouds were moving away.
We walked past the sandy beach and hiked over to the rocky point. From there it was an easy swim to the cay. When we reached the cay, we ended up on the right side of it. I knew at that point there were currents flowing out towards the northeast, but I have to say that I underestimated it (more about this later). The water on the right side of the cay was the calmest that I'd ever seen there. I saw many fishes, definitely more fishes than usual, lazily feeding on algae there.
And there were a pair of squids, one of which was as pale and shiny as opal. Were they thinking about mating? I didn't stick around long enough to find out.
Young Trumpetfish
We swam counter clockwise around the cay. On the right-back side of the cay, I saw one of my favorite fishes to find in the waters of St. John, a Spotted Drum! It was a juvenile and kept twisting around - I just couldn't take good pictures of it. I know you can't really tell from this photo but it's got a long arched dorsal fin and a long tail. It's cute when it swims, like a little ribbon flipping around. I found a fully-grown one later at Salt Pond. Adults don't really look like this and I love them both.
Stoplight Parrotfish
Backside of the cay
I think we were at the left-back side of the cay, suddenly, we faced a strong current and I just couldn't swim forward against it. We had to turn back. I should've realized it right then that there were strong currents flowing out.
After nearly 2 hours of snorkeling around the cay, we tried to swim back to the rocky point and quickly realized the current was, indeed, flowing out towards the northeast and was stronger than we'd imagined. We had experienced some currents around the cay before but nothing like this. No matter how hard we swam, it felt like we weren't going anywhere. Actually we were moving forward "somewhat", but at the same time, we were drifting towards the left side of the rocky point (facing the point from the cay) where there are really no easy exits. My foot started to cramp as I tried to fight against the merciless current and then, by compensating for that foot, the other foot began to cramp (!) - but I had to keep kicking to avoid drifting away. I wasn't myself strength-wise due to a medical issue I was having, still, even if I had been 100%, it would've been a tough swim. Honestly, if my husband hadn't been there with me, I might've panicked, with my feet cramping in the current like that. It was pretty scary. After we made it back to the shore, I saw another couple drifting away so I kept my eyes on them until they eventually made it back.
I was exhausted but still had the presence of mind to take photos of starfishes in the shallows.
After getting out of the water, my husband said, "Wow, it was quite a current." I told him that he'd saved my life, half kidding, half not.
I don't know how often that kind of current is evident there, but if you are not a good swimmer facing the strong current, you WILL be in serious trouble. I may not be athlete-great but am a pretty good swimmer, but I was having a hard time there that day. So, please be careful - always snorkel with someone. I can tell you that my husband's presence in the current with me really helped me psychologically.
Did I mention that I was exhausted after this snorkel? Well, not exhausted enough, I guess. We walked back to the sandy beach, Leinster (I suppose that's what most people, including myself, call it although Leinster Bay covers a much larger area), and snorkeled there for a little while.
----- Leinster -----
I was very tired, but this is a relaxing snorkel. We always, always see Green Turtles here and didn't want to miss them.
Right away, we found a Green Turtle. I have never seen Hawksbill Turtles here, has anyone? I see Hawksbills more on the south side of the island.
Fileclams
Rose Coral, Mojarra, Upside-Down-Jellyfish, and Peacock Flounder
Suddenly, I saw a strange shape through the fry. I swam closer to investigate.
It was a tiny (less than 2 inches including tentacles) squid floating near the surface.
After taking this shot, it darted away like a bullet. I lost sight of it quickly.
Feather Duster Worm, in its tube
Feather Duster Worm, flourished
I always like snorkeling here. Love finding curious creatures like Upside-Down Jellies, and that tiny translucent squid was a precious find.
----- Maho -----
The day after our snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay - my legs were feeling it. I wanted an easy and relaxing snorkel, so we went to Maho.
We snorkeled the right side around the point. In the shallows, we found an Arrow Crab under a Sea Urchin.
I always see these here in the shallows in different colors. What kind of invertebrate are they?
Juvenile Queen Angelfishes can be found in the shallows and fully-grown ones in the deeper waters.
Black Hamlet
Around the point, we found a large Nassau Grouper.
I know some folks have seen Scorpionfish in Maho. I didn't. Oh, well... maybe next year.
Now, this post is getting pretty long and I need a break, so do you, I assume. More for later... Have a wonderful weekend!
Beaches & Snorkeling vol. 2: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=12759
Beaches & Snorkeling vol. 3: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... p?p=154224
I used Canon's new underwater camera, PowerShot D10, for all the beach and underwater shots - some are Photo-Shopped; some are not. Over all, I was very pleased with the camera. I thought it took as good as or even slightly better shots underwater than my other Canon, SD850 IS with its housing. And the best part was "no more dealing with o-rings". All I did was, after each use, I rinsed the camera and soaked it in fresh water for a couple of hours and then air-dried. That's it. Love my new little Canon.
Here are the featured beaches/bays:
Honeymoon
Gibney
Hawksnest
Waterlemon Cay
Leinster
Maho
----- Honeymoon -----
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this snorkel as much as I normally do. It was our first beach on this trip. I was tired and got cold in the water quickly. I didn't take many photos underwater and none of the beach. I just don't remember much about the snorkel other than a Gray Angel. Sorry.
I like watching them feeding - they twist around & upside down so gracefully. The same thing can be said about all the angelfishes, and the larger they are, the more graceful they look. This one wasn't fully grown.
----- Gibney (more precisely Oppenheimer) -----
One of my favorite beaches to hang out. We snorkeled along the right side towards the point that separates Gibney and Denis Bay.
It was "Flamingo Tongues on parade". I saw them all over the island except Blue Cobblestone and maybe Haulover North, but I counted over 20 of them here, the most I've ever seen. One sea fan had four Flamingos lined up.
School of Bar Jacks
Funny looking Blenny
My first encounter with Mantis Shrimp (I believe it's a Mantis, isn't it?) I wished it had been more exposed - wanted to see the whole structure of its body closely, but it quickly hid away.
I always enjoy snorkeling at Gibney very much. I wouldn't say that you see something spectacular, but if you slow down and look closely, there is a lot to see here. We saw octopuses here last year among the rocks but none this year. A little disappointed but I knew we would have a good chance to see them at Francis, so we were hopeful.
----- Hawksnest -----
It was an overcast day. This was the only place that I got stung in my hand by something. I could actually see it - it looked to be a tiny piece of tentacle. My skin got red (no swelling) and was slightly stinging for a couple of hours. That was it.
We saw more octopuses over all than squids last year but it was back to normal this year. These guys were probably the most typical ones we saw. Others (at other beaches) were in more curious colors - they probably were all the same species but in different "moods". More squids later...
I saw a feeding frenzy of Tangs and Wrasses. When they were done, they all lined up and formed a lengthy string as they swam away. So well organized.
Elkhorn Corals looked about the same as last year
Porgies
----- Waterlemon Cay -----
As soon as we parked at the Annaberg lot, it started pouring. We waited for the downpour to pass in the car and then hiked over to the cay. As you can see, the dark clouds were moving away.
We walked past the sandy beach and hiked over to the rocky point. From there it was an easy swim to the cay. When we reached the cay, we ended up on the right side of it. I knew at that point there were currents flowing out towards the northeast, but I have to say that I underestimated it (more about this later). The water on the right side of the cay was the calmest that I'd ever seen there. I saw many fishes, definitely more fishes than usual, lazily feeding on algae there.
And there were a pair of squids, one of which was as pale and shiny as opal. Were they thinking about mating? I didn't stick around long enough to find out.
Young Trumpetfish
We swam counter clockwise around the cay. On the right-back side of the cay, I saw one of my favorite fishes to find in the waters of St. John, a Spotted Drum! It was a juvenile and kept twisting around - I just couldn't take good pictures of it. I know you can't really tell from this photo but it's got a long arched dorsal fin and a long tail. It's cute when it swims, like a little ribbon flipping around. I found a fully-grown one later at Salt Pond. Adults don't really look like this and I love them both.
Stoplight Parrotfish
Backside of the cay
I think we were at the left-back side of the cay, suddenly, we faced a strong current and I just couldn't swim forward against it. We had to turn back. I should've realized it right then that there were strong currents flowing out.
After nearly 2 hours of snorkeling around the cay, we tried to swim back to the rocky point and quickly realized the current was, indeed, flowing out towards the northeast and was stronger than we'd imagined. We had experienced some currents around the cay before but nothing like this. No matter how hard we swam, it felt like we weren't going anywhere. Actually we were moving forward "somewhat", but at the same time, we were drifting towards the left side of the rocky point (facing the point from the cay) where there are really no easy exits. My foot started to cramp as I tried to fight against the merciless current and then, by compensating for that foot, the other foot began to cramp (!) - but I had to keep kicking to avoid drifting away. I wasn't myself strength-wise due to a medical issue I was having, still, even if I had been 100%, it would've been a tough swim. Honestly, if my husband hadn't been there with me, I might've panicked, with my feet cramping in the current like that. It was pretty scary. After we made it back to the shore, I saw another couple drifting away so I kept my eyes on them until they eventually made it back.
I was exhausted but still had the presence of mind to take photos of starfishes in the shallows.
After getting out of the water, my husband said, "Wow, it was quite a current." I told him that he'd saved my life, half kidding, half not.
I don't know how often that kind of current is evident there, but if you are not a good swimmer facing the strong current, you WILL be in serious trouble. I may not be athlete-great but am a pretty good swimmer, but I was having a hard time there that day. So, please be careful - always snorkel with someone. I can tell you that my husband's presence in the current with me really helped me psychologically.
Did I mention that I was exhausted after this snorkel? Well, not exhausted enough, I guess. We walked back to the sandy beach, Leinster (I suppose that's what most people, including myself, call it although Leinster Bay covers a much larger area), and snorkeled there for a little while.
----- Leinster -----
I was very tired, but this is a relaxing snorkel. We always, always see Green Turtles here and didn't want to miss them.
Right away, we found a Green Turtle. I have never seen Hawksbill Turtles here, has anyone? I see Hawksbills more on the south side of the island.
Fileclams
Rose Coral, Mojarra, Upside-Down-Jellyfish, and Peacock Flounder
Suddenly, I saw a strange shape through the fry. I swam closer to investigate.
It was a tiny (less than 2 inches including tentacles) squid floating near the surface.
After taking this shot, it darted away like a bullet. I lost sight of it quickly.
Feather Duster Worm, in its tube
Feather Duster Worm, flourished
I always like snorkeling here. Love finding curious creatures like Upside-Down Jellies, and that tiny translucent squid was a precious find.
----- Maho -----
The day after our snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay - my legs were feeling it. I wanted an easy and relaxing snorkel, so we went to Maho.
We snorkeled the right side around the point. In the shallows, we found an Arrow Crab under a Sea Urchin.
I always see these here in the shallows in different colors. What kind of invertebrate are they?
Juvenile Queen Angelfishes can be found in the shallows and fully-grown ones in the deeper waters.
Black Hamlet
Around the point, we found a large Nassau Grouper.
I know some folks have seen Scorpionfish in Maho. I didn't. Oh, well... maybe next year.
Now, this post is getting pretty long and I need a break, so do you, I assume. More for later... Have a wonderful weekend!
Beaches & Snorkeling vol. 2: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=12759
Beaches & Snorkeling vol. 3: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... p?p=154224
Last edited by Pickle on Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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toes in the sand
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ClevelandDave
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Tracy in WI
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pickle,
marvelous pics and perhaps will satisfy my snorkel urge for a few months. i too would have loved to have been a marine biologist and haved snorkeled regularly for all my married life (43 yrs) and have had a padi certification since the mid 80's but no dives in several yrs.
i say that to pose a question. i too have always called the antler shaped hard coral so prevelant at hawksnest "elkhorn" but the shape is closer to moose antlers. there is hard coral that in massive beds at eden rock in st george bay grand cayman that looks exactly like elk antlers. looks almost like a dumping ground for elk and deer antlers. there were also other huge areas of the "elkhorn" coral. a guy at the dive shop where we got our refills said the "elk antler looking stuff" was the real elkhorn coral. didn't know any better so i took him at his word.
have you ever seen the "elk antler looking coral" i'm talking about or know its name?
papabou
ps never mind, the elk/deer antler looking stuff is apparently staghorn coral. little google gave the answer. my bad (and gulibility for 25 yrs)
pb
marvelous pics and perhaps will satisfy my snorkel urge for a few months. i too would have loved to have been a marine biologist and haved snorkeled regularly for all my married life (43 yrs) and have had a padi certification since the mid 80's but no dives in several yrs.
i say that to pose a question. i too have always called the antler shaped hard coral so prevelant at hawksnest "elkhorn" but the shape is closer to moose antlers. there is hard coral that in massive beds at eden rock in st george bay grand cayman that looks exactly like elk antlers. looks almost like a dumping ground for elk and deer antlers. there were also other huge areas of the "elkhorn" coral. a guy at the dive shop where we got our refills said the "elk antler looking stuff" was the real elkhorn coral. didn't know any better so i took him at his word.
have you ever seen the "elk antler looking coral" i'm talking about or know its name?
papabou
ps never mind, the elk/deer antler looking stuff is apparently staghorn coral. little google gave the answer. my bad (and gulibility for 25 yrs)
pb
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Sun4MySoul
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Randy in MD
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