Note: We
are headed back to Eleuthera for a week around Memorial Day. If you think you
might like to join us, contact Jim Cordy at 321-452-5736 or corshell@cfl.rr.com.
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| Tarpum Bay Morning Calm © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
I love the Bahamas in
September. The water is warm, but the air isn’t as hot as in high summer. The skies tend to be
spectacular, which makes for lovely photographs. Just before this last trip,
Tropical Storm Ida had petered out. It had been a very mellow storm season.
On the first day, Winding Bay was choppy. Even Jim found no
cones there. I snorkeled a wee bit in Tarpum Bay, but it was a tiny bit sloppy
and the vis was bad.
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| Amazing Clouds, Governor's Harbour © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
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| Xenophora conchyliophora, the Atlantic carrier shell © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
On the second day, conditions in
Gov's Harbour were spectacular. The water was as clear as could be. The silt
had settled from the day before and the sand trails were outstanding. I found
whole archipelagos of Xenophora
conchyliophora and witnessed orgies of big Chicoreus florifer. I saw a young bull shark and a spotted eagle
ray. I swam hard for four hours without stopping. It was fabulous.
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| Millar's Beach © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
The weather was just as gorgeous down at Millar's, but the coral
reef had been destroyed. All those big brain corals bleached. Piles of dead sea
fans in the wrack. I didn't see many other living gorgonians out there either.
Even the fire coral was bleached. The various fan worms and Christmas tree
worms were so screwed up, they didn’t retract when I got close to them. Don’t
know if the bleaching was the intentional work of fishermen or
some kind of hapless contamination by cruise ships, but it was awful. I
don’t know if I can face going back to that beach. Talk about the heartbreak of the commons.
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| Bleached Brain Coral at Millar's © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
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| At Glass Window Bridge, Brian Taylor and Jim Cordy © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
At Glass Window Bridge, the Atlantic surf was kickin'. Water
coming through in big gushes. The blowhole was going like gangbusters. Super
cool!
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| Behold! The Blowhole at Glass Window Bridge. © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
At Half Sound Bay, waves aren’t an issue. The tide was the highest ever, flooding over that concrete bench where we all sit to put on our fins and where I usually sit to eat my lunch.
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| Very High Tide at Half Sound Bay © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
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| Long-spined star shell at Half Sound Bay © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
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| Swamped Boat in the Canal at Half Sound Bay © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
The tide was so high that there
wasn't much by way of interior beaches. I found a nice king helmet which I
passed along to Brian Taylor. But mostly I was poking around looking at topography
and the high tide.
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| Helmet at Half Sound Bay © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
Back in Tarpum Bay the waves were splashing the seawall and the
street was soaked in places.
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| Waves Splashing the Queen's Highway in Tarpum Bay © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
At Islandia, we could see waves breaking on the
offshore reef, but there wasn't much slop coming in so the swimming was okay. Underwater
visibility, however, was rotten. No matter. I had a lovely walk down the beach. Gorgeous light and colors, perfect air temp.
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| Ledge at Islandia Beach © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
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| Tidepools at Islandia Beach © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
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| Perfect Afteroon with Pink Sand © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
One of these magical late afternoons on an
outside Bahamian beach that I wish would last forever.
Back in Tarpum Bay, the waves were getting livelier. Hurricane Joaquin was offshore and even hundreds of miles away,
even on the back side of the island he was stirring up a mess.
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| So NOT Snow, Tarpum Bay © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
I take hurricanes very seriously. My son was starting Tulane
when Katrina took a bead on New Orleans. Lost contact with him for three very
unpleasant days. I saw New Orleans six weeks after the storm, the stuff of bad
dreams, that, and all too real. Irene and Sandy were no picnic. I took an
oceanography course on hurricanes with Jim Tait at Southern Connecticut State
University not so long ago. I know too much about hurricanes and their impacts
to shrug off a gnarly one that might be heading my way.
Whatever emergency facilities they have in Tarpum Bay, I am sure they are limited. Not fair for a foreigner to take up the space. Best to get out of the way. I cut my trip short. But I was plenty worried about Ethel, her family and all the islanders, not to mention Jim and Brian who had opted to stay.
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| Waves at the End of the Road, Tarpum Bay © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
Crooked Island, San Salvador, Long Island and Acklins had the stuffing knocked out of them. Ppeople lost their homes and livelihoods.
Eleuthera was spared. The Tarpum Bay seawall held. Over the phone, Jim told me that the Queen’s highway was heaped with seaweed, which would have been a sight to see.
Still and all, would I go back to the Bahamas in September? Yes, the beauty is irresistible. But September is a long way off and June is just over the horizon. Before long it will be time to pull my snorkeling gear out of the attic.
And again: We are headed back to Eleuthera for a week around Memorial Day. If you think you might like to join us, contact Jim Cordy at 321-452-5736 or corshell@cfl.rr.com.
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| Postcard Perfect Tarpum Bay © Ellen Bulger 2015 all rights reserved |
