My First Coral Reef Adventure

I had one of the best days of my life yesterday. We snorkeled on a coral reef and saw all kinds of pretty fish! I'll start from the beginning.

When I got up that morning my mom and dad suggested that we go to a beach. Of course we said yes! So we packed our things in the dinghy and motored, what seemed like forever, to the beach. The beach was pretty but really small. I couldn't sit down on it without having my toes in the water! Dad decided that before we went to the beach we would try to find some coral reefs so he could fish. After many attempts we headed back to shore. I looked for pretty shells while Wren and dad gorged on cheese and crackers. Mom was off looking for coconuts in the woods somewhere, and when she came out, she took us on the paddle boards, looking for Queen Conch. We found a bunch of empty shells but what we did find was a lot better than conch! We stumbled across a shallow coral reef with clown fish, sea fans, and beautiful butterfly fish. The fish were all sorts of colors. I could hardly believe my eyes it was so beautiful. I also picked up a few shells with the lobster snare. When my dad said it was time to head back to Kiawah and he dingheyed back to shore to get our stuff which we left on the beach. Mom paddled Wren and I around shore which was sharp limestone where we saw some bigger fish. When dad caught up with us we told him about seeing bigger fish and then he got out the hawaiian sling, which is a sling shot with a spear. He wanted to get some fish for dinner. There were all kinds of fish to spear but he preferred the blue striped grunts and also the schoolmaster snapper. He shot about thirty times and only four of those shots were fish, just to give you an idea how hard it is. That night for dinner we had three grunts and one Schoolmaster. They were delicious!

The unknown plant...

Hello my freezing friends!  I need some help identifying and learning to care for a certain plant.  Kiawah doesn't really have the power to charge the power-hungry lap top to look at plants on the internet right now, so could you please help me?

The Unknown Plant

Here is some info about The Unknown Plant (insert dramatic music here ...Dun, dun, dun...)

-I found it at Cracker Boy Boat Works in Ft. Pierce Florida (near the ocean).

-The flowers look orchid-ish

-The top looks like asparagus

-I found the bulb without any growth on it (no roots or greenery) except for the brown leaves at the top of the bulb

-It wasn't under a tree

-It was in a sandy, rocky environment when I found it

-It grew a foot in a month!

-Most of the time it grew in the shade

-It has been in a cup (the bulb hasn't been getting much sunlight) with a damp bottom

dead leaves near top of bulb

tiny pink flowers

Hopefully this is enough info to help me identify this plant!  

Dun, dun, dun....

Thank you,

Riley poo

Finally in the Bahamas!!!

When we woke up at Great Sail Cay, all of the other boats around us were leaving, so we figured that it would be smart to leave too. We pulled up the anchor and headed to Hawksbill Cay. By the time we got to Hawksbill Cay, it was dark.

In the morning, we went to some of the small islands near shore that were surrounded by 2 feet of water and waded around until we stumbled across a sand beach that we spent almost the rest of the day on, but dad told us that we should start moving to some other places to get farther south so that we could see more places (that was a really long sentence). So, around noon, we pulled the anchor and headed to Powell Cay. On the way there, I took a nap, and woke up just in time to see mom put down the anchor for the 3rd time. Apparently, all of the sandy spots, places we needed to anchor, had been taken by other boats, and that left us with two options. We could either set up a Bahamian anchor and hope for the best, or we could go back to  Hawksbill Cay. With much reluctance (because there was the most beautiful sand beaches and great snorkeling), we headed back for Hawksbill Cay, and planned that in the morning,we would get up early (by that I mean 10:00) and go to Spanish Cay where my dad would clear customs ( at that point, we had still not cleared customs to become official "visitors" of the Bahamas). Anyways, when we got there,my dad got off the boat to clear customs, and since the captain is the only one who can leave the boat while clearing customs, Wren, mom and I fed the fish that were hiding under our boat. As soon as dad came back (Wren and I were pretty anxious by then to go and run around), we got off the boat and and discovered a pool, hot tub, showers and a long sand beach to run on with lots of crabs to catch ( although we never actually caught one). We went to the beach first, then the pool ( with occasional hot tub breaks!) and last, but not least, the showers. When we got back to the boat, we met a family that had two kids of almost the same age! Imogen, who is 5, and Franklin, who is 12. They have a sailboat and were docked right next to us, so in the morning, we had company in the pool! After lunch, we were going to another anchorage. I was sad to leave my new friends, but in the Bahamas, you are bound to see your old friends again, so we weren't too sad. We headed to a new anchorage in Powell Cay. This cool island had a long sand beach and a short hiking trail to the top of a rocky cliff. We saw a Bahamian humming bird collecting nectar from the lots of morning glories that grew freely all over the islands. That was fun. The next morning, we pulled anchor to go to Green Turtle Cay, but as we got to Green Turtle, a call on the radio from Funny Things made us continue on to the Whales. The Whales is an island that you have to go out into the ocean to get around, and the weather had to be just right, in which it was, or else you get 10 foot waves coming up over your bow. It turned out that the weather was perfect, and there wouldn't be another chance to get through until next week. Plus, there were three other boats that were going today, so we jumped on the opportunity, and skipped Green Turtle Cay altogether. The Whales was shorter than I expected. It was only an hour, and we were right next to land. We followed the other boats into Marsh Harbour. It is a little town with internet, and there are a lot of other boats here. Including Funny Things! 

Life is good right about now...

Miss you all!!!

Riley  

The Gulf Stream

I woke up to the sound of Kiawah's engine and water rushing past her bow. Yesterday's plans flooded back to me as I got up and moved through the darkness and into the cockpit. "Morning early bird" my mom said. "Morning" I answered back. It was very dark outside,still, and I could see the little lights back on land. It looked a ways back. "How far away from land are we?" I asked my dad groggily. "About three miles" he said. Inside, I jumped up and down for joy, because I was going to the Bahamas...

Bahama bound...

after this nap.

Just like that, I was in the Gulf Stream, on my way to the Bahamas; It was 2:00am when my mom and dad pulled up the anchor from Peanut Island's sandy bottom; 2:30 when my mom and dad motored out of the gap between Peanut Island and the mainland, Florida; 3:00 when my mom and dad passed the buoy that marked the edge of the Gulf Stream; and it was 4:00 when I got up.

Soon after, my sister got up. I was still tired, so I went back to sleep and didn't get up until 7:30. I sleep a lot. Anyways, Wren and I got hungry, so mom made us some oatmeal.

I could tell that my sister was nervous to cross,but I was really excited, but who wouldn't, WE WERE GOING TO THE BAHAMAS!

Somewhere during the day, my dad put out the fishing lures. About halfway through he crossing, the line pulled tight, and the rod bent. Dad rushed to the line and fiddled with it. The fish at the other end thrashed around in the water, making loud splashing sounds. At first, my dad thought it was a Tuna, but as he struggled to reel it in, he shouted, "It's a Dolphin"! (not to be confused with the mammal kind of Dolphin...) We all gasped. We had caught a Mahi Mahi! There are pictures below.

Ready with the gaff

Mahi-Mahi!

 Dolphins are pretty fish with bright colors, and they are prized for their delicious meat. Dad landed the big fish with the gaff. A gaff is a really sharp hook used for catching big fish. Anyways, my dad was psyched. He cut it up into thick steaks, which we later had for dinner.

                
Later in the day, Wren spotted the mammal kind of Dolphin. The dolphin swam right up to our bow, playing with our boat for a few minutes before diving back under the clear, green waves. 

Bottle nose!

After that, Kiawah didn't have much excitement except for a few flying fish that leapt out of the water. They were pretty cool too.

Passing the time

When we got to the anchorage, I had made a 24 foot rope ladder, with the help of a knot tying book I got for Christmas. I can't wait to climb a palm tree!

Anyway, we anchored off a Bahamian island called Great Sail Cay.

So! I am in the Bahamas!!! Cheers!!

Riley