Our extended stay in the Ragged Islands is always enhanced by interesting company. In early March the fishing boats arrived with the opening of grouper season. We enjoyed visits with the crews of Lady Marie, Sweet Angeline and Miss Cassidy as they made their way through the area. George and Ivanhoe were working their areas, while avoiding those pesky sharks. Cameron and Emile were on different boats this time, each focused on a different catch.
We shared an anchorage with the friendly crew of Gypsy Wind over the course of a few calm days. They were having fun playing and spearfishing, as were we… so we each shared our catch over happy hours.
Next to arrive were Clark & Michelle on m/v Roam. We first met them on their previous Manta catamaran in the summer of 2015 upon our return to the States for a refit. Last summer, we cruised extensively with them from Florida to Bermuda to Nova Scotia on Roam to watch the America’s Cup races. However, we soon realized this was the first time that Reach and Roam were out cruising together!
… and for the record, yes their dinghy is faster!
We were soon joined by Rita and Will on m/v Magic ~ a new Horizon 52 power catamaran (also previous Manta owners) and Ted and Jenny on m/v Southern Star. Reach was now outnumbered by power boats...
Lucky to have a calm week, we got in plenty of snorkeling and beach walks. The fishing continues to be good. Clark speared a huge lobster on his first time out!
Michelle bird-dogged a pretty goldentail moray eel for me on a clear, calm day. Below him was a photogenic saddled blenny and I couldn’t decide who to photograph first...
The beach views are stunning. We each found a few treasures on the beach and Rita found a message in a bottle from Portugal dated five years ago!
Later still, a few Manta catamarans arrived in the anchorage and we got to meet Ed and Cathy for a happy hour on What If along with Ralph and Leslie with friend Susie on Now and Zen.
Recently, I’d been getting frustrated that my underwater photos were looking dingy. I have a backup camera and to my surprise, when I looked at the displays side-by-side, the view of the one I’d been using was noticeably foggy. It must have some growth inside the lens dulling the photos, like these examples:
Now using the other camera, the photos are crisp once again even in recessed/dark areas ~ phew!
