Now it's off to the outer reefs. We will not see another boat, person, or land for the next ten days. But we will have plenty of company, with some very diverse sea life.

For an explanation of photos, position mouse over photo. 

Fri Mar 22 – Mon Mar 25

Left at 11:00am bound for Samaurez Reef, about 160 miles away. Winds are 15-20 knots, but a bit of an uncomfortable sail. At times up to 25 knots with 3 reefs in the main and just the staysail. We actually had to slow down in order to time our arrival for daylight when we could see the reef entrance. We caught a skipjack tuna on the way. Bradley is happy but Ron hates tuna.

We arrived at the reef about 8:30am then sailed around the lighthouse to our first anchorage and were settled in there by 12:30pm.

Went for an afternoon snorkeling/hunting trip. The coral is stunning and there is a great variety of fish. Bradley nailed a nice size mystery fish – its an odd looking silver thing with a funny looking head. It has no scales and big barbs in its tail. Its also very slimy on the outside. We think maybe its some kind of leatherjacket – but it makes a great dinner whatever it is.

Sunday morning we went for a snorkel/hunt but no luck. There are sea snakes here – they are not aggressive but Bradley does not like them! Plenty of good size reef sharks too. Snorkeled again in the afternoon.

We did a dive Monday morning, then moved a few miles down the reef to another anchorage. We had our best hunt yet, nabbing three nice spotted cod. Bradley got two of them. He’s definitely getting the hang of it and we’re making a good team. Spearfishing really adds a purpose to the snorkeling – we are getting much better at identifying fish and improving our skills every time out.

Tue Mar 26

This anchorage is a little uncomfortable. Winds are 20-25 knots but are expected to dwindle in the next few days. We decide to move on the Swains to take advantage of the wind and be there when it calms down. We departed at 7:30am for a nice, comfortable downwind sail with winds of 15-20 knots. We hooked a mackerel but it got away just before we landed it. We also hooked a very large marlin. It took a lot of line and then passed the boat and did several jumps before diving deep and getting away – along with most of our line and the lure. It’s just as well since I don’t know what we’d have done with him – marlin are not good to eat and he was awfully big! We would have let him go, but it would have been interesting.