Today we decided to go snorkeling, although other than Thunderball Cave, we weren’t sure where we would find good coral heads in the Staniel Cay area.  We went out into Exuma Sound to look for fish and/or lobster.  Bill caught one fish with a spear but that was all we found.  The Sound is usually too rough and has too much current, but today it was quite calm.

Next, we started searching for some good coral for snorkeling.  We checked out several areas with our “lookey buckets” (a bucket with a clear bottom which allows you to see under the water).  We finally chose one small island and found that it had some very nice plant and marine life.

Usually, if an area has good coral heads, there aren’t any conch.  Conch live in grassy areas.  This area had both grass and coral, so we found our limit for two boats, 12 conch. 

The sun was warm on our backs but eventually we all got cold and climbed back into our dinghies.  As we started to head toward our anchorage, we saw a fin in the water.  Shark!!  We never go in the water in late afternoon as this is when we have been told the shark feed.  Obviously they are always around and it was just 4 pm when we got out of the water.  We didn’t know sharks went on Daylight Savings Time, but apparently they do! 

We have never heard of a shark attacking someone in the Bahamas and in fact snorkelers do see sharks nearby from time to time.  Perhaps shark attacks just aren’t publicized here.  Lemon shark and nurse shark are two types which are often seen.  There are so many sharks that are harmless, and probably this was one of those.  He/she was about four feet long.

For more photos of our underwater adventure, click here.