We’re still on our quest for the prettiest water in the Bahamas! In this video and post, we take you through a few days of our adventures, from exploring mangroves to spearfishing, plus some of the harder aspects of boat life.
Shelling Beach
In the first part of this video, we were still in Great Harbour Cay. We wanted to see more of Shark Creek, so we took our dinghy into the mangrove tunnels. This waterway connects the east and west bays and is only accessible during high tide, so we had to time it right.
It was well worth it. We saw sea turtles and all kinds of fish darting among the mangroves. The tunnel opens onto Shark Creek Beach, or, as the locals call it, Shelling Beach.
The name makes sense: when the tide goes out, you can find more shells, sand dollars, and starfish than you ever knew existed. Check out more about Shelling Beach in our last video.
We can’t say enough how magical the waters of the Bahamas are. We thought the Dry Tortugas had clear, blue water, but these waters are at another level of beauty. Did you know that astronauts on the International Space Station can immediately locate the Caribbean because of the color of its waters?
Slowing Down
On our trip back through the mangrove tunnels, we loved being able to slow down and appreciate the peaceful atmosphere. We shut off the motor, and Cole pulled the dinghy for a while. We had the time, so why not?
Such a slow pace is the complete opposite of what Cole naturally prefers (he’s all about going fast! It’s kind of funny that we own a sailboat) but it was just what we needed. It’s one of the best things about this lifestyle: not much of a schedule means we can go where we want and take our time doing it.
Anchors Away
Next, we decided to leave Great Harbour Cay and head south to Hoffman’s Cay, where we hoped to go freediving and spearfishing. You can watch our adventure at Great Harbour Cay here. Cole had lobsters on the brain, as there are some great species of lobster here. (Will lobster mac and cheese be in our future? Keep reading to find out!)
The morning was calm, the water still, but as we’ve said before, that’s not always great news for a sailboat. We had to motor the entire 3-hour trip, so we made sure to check our engine fluid levels. We also ran all the fuel through a filter to clean out any excess algae or water.
We arrived at Hoffman’s Cay, one of the most visited places in these islands. Emily wanted to work on her freediving, and since we still have our incredible freediving instructor, Laurent, on board, what better time was there to do it?
Adventure Awaits
If you’re looking for an adrenaline rush, Hoffman’s Cay is the place to go. This island is famous for its 600-ft wide, 20-ft deep blue hole, or marine sinkhole. Emily was reluctant to jump in, but we’re trying to embrace another aspect of this lifestyle: getting out of our comfort zones.
Talk about completely abandoning our comfort zone. Creeped out, was more like it! Our dive was a short one. The blue hole was pretty dark, and we couldn’t really see what was in there.
But on our way back to the boat, we got an incredible view of the sunset, the boat’s silhouette beside it. It was another one of those “I can’t believe this is our life” moments.
Good thing, too, because later that night, we were reminded that not all parts of boat life are fun.
A Sleepless Night
That night was rough. We barely slept; choppy water and wind had us worried our anchor would fail. Best case, we’d be grounded on the nearby sandbar. Worst case, we’d crash into nearby boats (and there were a lot of boats around) or we’d hit the massive clump of rocks, also nearby.
Windy nights are kind of unsettling anywhere, but it’s hard to sleep when the safety of your entire home and all your belongings depends on a 65-pound anchor and 60 feet of chain.
Plus, it’s not just about our boat. If any of the other boats drag anchor or their anchors come loose, it’s like dominoes. They’ll crash into each other and cause some major damage.
We’re definitely still learning how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Let’s just say that, the next morning, coffee was our first priority, and we took the day a little more slowly.
Hold Your Breath
After a calmer night and getting some better sleep, we embarked on our next adventure: Apnea Training. Freedivers practice this to improve their breath-holding abilities.
Although a lot of this training is physical, some of it is psychological, too. Emily’s fear of drowning affected how long she could hold her breath, but having a calmer frame of mind allowed her to hold it almost ten times as long as the first time.
Check out the video to see how we did!
Seafood Bliss
Did you forget about the lobster mac and cheese? Cole couldn’t, either! So we tried our hand at spearfishing. We’re loving the ocean-to-table lifestyle, which is a huge part of living on the water.
Watch the video to see what we catch. Spoiler alert: all our lobster mac and cheese dreams do come true.
–
If this video has made you hungry, whether that’s for lobster mac and cheese or to chase your own travel dreams, we’d love to hear from you! Leave us a comment below.
