After a drifter sail to Roatan, the winds picked back up to howl every night in the 30-35 kt range, "calming" down to 20-25 kts during the day. Reach is comfy and hardly moves as the anchorage is protected by barrier reef, but any venture into shore is a wet ride. Earl & Sue (My Bonnie) have the right idea with their dinghy windshield. The unsettled weather makes for some fire-y sunrises & sunsets.
On calmer day, we went on a snorkel to check out the shallow reef right next to our boat in French Harbor.
All reefs in Roatan are a marine park and the lobsters are well-fed. Literally, they throw them pig/goat scraps and we came across a few hooves that were not indigenous to the reefs.
It appeared that we picked feeding time for our swim, so that explained some of the strange behavior observed underwater.
Even the squirrelfish seemed dazed at feeding time, running into the camera like reverse-insomniacs with their big eyes not adapted to mid-day sunlight.
The crustaceans are burly, unafraid and under every rock.
This guy would strut right out of his hole, turning over rocks to scrounge for food.
Interesting to see them big and abundant as an un-hunted species in the park.
Unfortunately, the eels are also used to getting a free meal and the two resident green morays are getting more and more aggressive.
I wasn't too excited to see them chase Mark not once, but twice.
The first time Mark valiantly led him away from me so I didn't panic too much. They are as long as we are and this one meant business!
The second time was a surprise "attack" nose-to-nose that almost made Mark ink his shorts.
It also caused me to miss any future photos of this adorable, juvenile spotted drum (all eyes!) when the eel decided to kick out us and the lobsters and take over that hole.
We plan to stay here for a few weeks, meeting new cruisers in French Harbor, biding our time and hoping to spend more time in the sea before heading into the Rio Dulce for 6 months.
