Big South Regatta

The biggest event of the year on South Caicos is, by far, the annual Regatta. People come from all over the TCI and the celebration lasts for four days. It's such a big deal that normally (we were told) the coordinators of the event receive funding from the government to put it on. This year, however, in these hard economic times, no funding was available. Being such an important event though, they went forward with it anyway. The only difference was that it needed to pay for itself. That meant an entrance fee. A $30 entrance fee!

Regatta

Regrettably, we decided we just couldn't spend that to get in. According to the fliers, we missed out on beauty pageants, live music, food, and other performances. Some other information I found said that, historically, there were also donkey races (that might have been worth the $30!). It's been going on unbroken since 1967 to commemorate the Queen's visit in 1966.

What I was most interested in was the boat race. Which, of course, we were able to see without paying the entrance fee. In fact, we had a really good view of it from the center - the cliff adjacent to the water was excellent for viewing.

Races

It wasn't clear how the race was organized, or if it was held all at once. But boats were zipping around (dangerously close to one another) all day long. Some were just souped up fishing boats, others were dedicated racers, and a couple were multi-engine powerhouses clearly from out of town. We were invited to race our rescue boat, a zodiac, but the acting Center Director decided we couldn't risk damaging it (probably a wise decision!). It seemed that several of the fishermen put a great deal of money into this race - the wisdom of which I couldn't help but question. They were putting their livelihoods on the line for a day of racing. And at least one boat sank! In fact, a couple SFS staffers witnessed it happen. Jessee and I missed it by a couple minutes, but we saw the aftermath.

Mayhem!

Three boats were screaming past the SFS dock (recklessly inside of our cordoned-off swimming area) when one crossed the wake of another. At the speed they were going they completely lost control. The boat swerved hard to the right, narrowly missing our moored rescue boat and throwing the passengers into the water. The boat kept going and slammed into the limestone cliff in front of the center. The staff who watched it happen said they were thrown 20 or 30 feet! Had they not fallen from the boat, they very likely would be dead!!!

Sunken Boat

Towing the sunken boat.

Just moments after it happened Jessee and I were walking by and noticed some commotion. We went to the cliff edge and looked down to see a completely submerged fishing boat, a couple people splashing around in the shallow water, a couple other boats looking on, and a lot of shouting. There was debris from the crushed hull floating nearby. One of the interns swam out to see if everybody was okay. She took a look at the boat while she was out there and reported that there was a 4ft gash in the side!

Attempt #2

With a great deal of effort the other boats managed to pull the sunken one up from the bottom and tow it back to the docks. As long as they kept moving it partially floated. The ropes snapped once and it sank again in slightly deeper water, but I'm pretty sure they got it back eventually. This is just about as much excitement as sleepy little South Caicos ever gets. It's no wonder Regatta is such a big deal!

Dolphins!

We saw more Dolphins this morning! This time they were Bottlenose Dolphins, like Flipper. They're much bigger than Spotted Dolphins, so much so that I questioned whether or not they were Porpoises at first.

Bottlenose Dolphins

The book says they can grow as big as 13 feet! You can tell just how big they really are from the picture below. There were three total, and my guess is that they were all big enough to be males. They sneaked up on us, circled around, looked directly into my eyes, and swam off. At least, that's what we saw them do. They were probably watching us for longer because Jessee, who was on the surface, got to watch them for several minutes. They swam within feet of Dave, one of the divers down with us, and he didn't even notice - you can see him looking at his dive computer in the picture.

Captain Oblivious

Approaching Cautiously

Going up for air.

It's so exciting to see animals like this. They're not all that common in this area (I'm not sure why), so it's really special when we get to see them. It's really different to see mammals than it is to see sharks and other fish. You can tell there's not much "going on upstairs" with fish, but Dolphins are completely different. The way they look at you and move around you really shows their intelligence. They're intriguing to watch (a lot like monkeys, except wetter).

Tonight we're planning to watch The Cove, a documentary about the Japanese Dolphin Slaughter. It sounds interesting, but perhaps not as uplifting as seeing them today was.

Checking Me Out

Jessee poised at the ready in case they returned.

Summer's Coming

This morning we woke up in a stuffy hot room. It was the first time in months that it's been uncomfortably warm that early in the morning. Summer is coming. Which means it's also about time to solidify summer plans.

I had long ago hoped to have things sorted out and had been waiting until then to give this update. Unfortunately quite a bit is still up in the air. I had hoped to be starting a PhD program in Scotland this Fall. I was accepted to the University of Edinburgh, but I haven't been able to secure enough funding to go. It costs a fortune for overseas students! And my backup plan, the University of Vermont, turned out not to be much of a backup when I found out they had never received my transcripts. Now I feel a little bit lost.

I decided months back that I would return to Washington for the summer to work and prepare for the move. I even bought plane tickets - 4 June is my last day on South Caicos. Very soon! I had just been waiting until I knew the whole plan before putting it into writing on this blog.

As it stands, I'll be visiting my grandfather for a few days in Florida before a two week contract with Gray Wolf back in Washington. After that, I have no idea. I applied (and actually already interviewed) for an exciting job in Costa Rica with Outward Bound, but I haven't heard back from them yet. Either way, it's time (perhaps past time) to leave this island. It's been an unforgettable experience, but there's not much for me here. As time has progressed I've found that I can't really be involved with SFS life and the South Caicos community just isn't big enough to provide me with any outside opportunities. Life on a tiny tropical island just isn't always what the imagination leads you to believe.

Having such wide open possibilities would normally be pretty exciting for me, but this time I'm feeling a little less adventurous. All I really want is to start school this Fall. And I especially DON'T want to repeat the process of seeking scholarships or applying to backup schools for next year. I'm still waiting to hear how much money the federal government will lend me (things are delayed this year because of the recent changes to student loan laws), but it's doubtful it would be enough to attend and I'm leery of accumulating so much debt anyway. So, where I'll be come July, is very much unknown.

The Daily Routine

As Jessee mentioned, we're trying to keep in the habit of running. I don't really like doing it, but I do like having done it. It makes a world of difference in how you feel. For the last two days we've taken advantage of the fact that the water has been dead calm and, instead of just floating around at the dock to cool down, we went for a couple of long snorkels. Yesterday we swam around Dove Cay, and today we crossed the entire bay to Shark Alley. According to Google Maps, each route is about a mile.

View Snorkel Routes in a larger map

The water has gotten much warmer since the winter and it's really nice to be out there. The surface water was especially warm because there were no waves to churn things up, and the thermocline was especially distinct. The top 12 inches was probably 8° or 10° warmer than the water below that. It's just a shame it wasn't this flat when Jessee's family was here.

Dove Cay

We attached our shoes to the signal float. Yes, that is ocean water not pool water, by the way.

Jessee always pulls the float because she's the better swimmer.

There's some new Elk Horn Coral growth on the far side of Dove Cay.

A Massive Lobster

That's a nice leaf.

We saw this same "buddy pair" both days - a Sting Ray and a Bar Jack.

The swim across to Long Cay today was especially eventful. Well, actually, Shark Alley (the area at the tip of Long Cay) was. It never disappoints. We saw three turtles (two large Hawksbills and fairly large Green), 7 Eagle Rays, and a Reef Shark. The two Hawksbills had tags, and when they saw us they took off without looking back. I guess they recognized us. The Green turtle came swimming by while I was photographing the shark. I actually got both of them in a single frame. Shark Alley is really one of a kind. If you saw any single one of these animals in the Dominican Republic, it would be something to talk about. Here you're not even finished looking at one when another comes swimming by. This is really a special place.

We started at the dock for a more direct line across the bay.

Barracudas spend most of their time lurking.

It's a bit grainy, but the turtle is just behind the shark in the lower left.

Queen Triggerfish

There was an abandoned fish trap at Shark Alley with a Coney trapped inside. I decided I'd free him. Sometimes in rough weather traps get lost. Until all the bait is used up, they'll continue trapping fish, which simply die of starvation. It took about 10 breath-hold dives to get the gate open. I had to untie several knots and bend some wires, but eventually I did it.

The fish is in the top right corner.

Gate's Open

And the fish is free. You can see him swimming away to the left.

Yesterday afternoon we went for a dive too. Right off the boat we saw the biggest Snapper (a Dog Snapper, I think). It was probably 3.5 or 4 feet long, absolutely enormous for a commercially valuable species! I can't imagine what it weighed. It was a beast. Again, there aren't many places in the world where fish like this still exist.

Monster Snapper

This Cero Mackerel swam curiously around us for several minutes.

Jessee looking at her favorite fish, the Sharpnose Puffer.

Moyer Family Visit

We haven't blogged in a little while because we've been spending time with the Moyer family (my parents and sister) this past week. They arrived last Saturday, and we decided to break them into the regular waterfront routine here right from the beginning. We tested out our masks in the pool and then went for a snorkel off the dock on their very first day here at the center. (They spent Saturday night in Provo.)

Mom and Dad suiting up for the first open water snorkel

Amanda's Boston tan

The next day we walked out to East Bay to check out one of the developments underway, and to snorkel from the beach.

Preparing for the snorkel at East Bay

Amanda hadn't had enough yet, so we took her to Shark Alley too, a favorite snorkel site just in front of the center, and introduced her to some of South Caicos' finest mega fauna. She even saw a huge reef shark (in addition to the one pictured below) that Brett and I missed because we were busy following a porcupine fish beneath us.

Reef Shark

Eagle Rays

Amandius moyeranthan

We got in a lot of good birding during the week too, particularly on the day we took a town tour and then walked out to the boiling hole in the middle of the salinas (from which, we discovered, there's a nice view of our mural at the primary school). We spotted flamingos, kildeer, plovers, terns, cattle egrets, a reddish egret, brown pelicans, american kestrels, and several different types of herons including a night heron and an intermediate phase (mottled) little blue heron.

Walk through the salinas

Stopping to pose for the cameraman

The mural from a distance

We did actually walk to the primary school on a different day so that I could show my family the recently finished masterpiece, and then we got in a few rounds of tennis on the school's court while we were there. Brett, Amanda, and I also went on a jog every day this week except one, which was always followed by a cooldown session in either the ocean or the pool.

Recently developed cheek-cooling technique

On Wednesday we took a trip out to Coastguard to snorkel around (in really wavy water) and walk out onto the cliff where Brett likes to inch his way towards the edge until I squeal and cringe to his satisfaction. This time, everybody else decided to join him at the point and I got queasy, even though I was several feet inland.

Thursday was stormy here, which is pretty unusual. It was even thundering most of the day. We played multiple ping pong tournaments in the morning, followed by some Hoopla, and then went out to lunch at Darryl's to get a taste of island cuisine (conch & fish). Then we watched our second movie of the week, The Time Traveler's Wife. (The first was Avatar, which sparked some interesting discussion on virtual realities, the "noble savage", 3D graphics, and more.)

We spent most of the day Friday in the water. First we snorkeled at Admiral's Aquarium.

Dad getting his feet wet

Off to the Aquarium

Snorkel buddies

Mom and Amanda with a school of French Grunts

The boat crew

We came back to the center to cook lunch (pasta primavera!) and then went out in the water again in the afternoon. This time, to Shark Alley. Mom, Brett, and Amanda tried out the Manta Tow, the technique we use to look for turtles where you hold on to a board that gets pulled behind the boat. This way they didn't have to fight the current, which happened to be at max flow. Then, Brett and Amanda both tried out the kneeboard and water skis.

Manta Towing at Shark Alley

Amanda preparing for liftoff

All in all, I'd say we've had a pretty active and jam packed week, but we also managed to squeeze in time for some reading, lounging, board games and even a few naps.

Scrabble

Me trying out the sign language Amanda just taught me, while she interprets

We ended our visit together with a boat ride back to the dock at sunset. (Brett's not in many of the above photos because he's often on the opposite side of the camera, so I've added him into the shot below.)

Last evening together

Now I finally feel like I've had the break I've needed since our Spring semester here ended. Hopefully we didn't tire out our guests too much and they feel like they've had a restful and relaxing vacation too!