International Rescue

Feeling somewhat tired but not unwell (!) we were awoken the next morning by Debbie asking whether we would like to accompany some locals over to Sand Cay to explore and do some snorkeling. We jumped at the chance and got all our gear together, made ourselves presentable and strolled over to the dock where Debbie took us and two other guests, Matthew and Huyen, to the east side of the island in the pick-up truck. I was so pleased I was feeling OK as the half hour crossing to Sand Cay was a bit lumpy and all we had between us and the fibreglass boat was a lifejacket. The island was absolutely stunning and as Ollie skillfully navigated around the reef into a crystal clear bay we took in the sight of a hill with an extended sand bar. While everybody went off beachcombing Helen and I got into our snorkeling gear and slipped into the bay. At first we saw only small fish on the bottom but as we got nearer the reef in deeper water we saw larger and more colourful fish before we surprised a sizeable Hawksbill Turtle which had been lurking underneath an overhang. Helen scooted over the top of part of the reef to try and get a good look at some red sea urchins before we cruised back toward shore encountering a large barracuda which seemed shocked to see us there.

After drying off we went to explore the island in the hope of finding an iguana. We saw plenty of small lizards, cacti and extremely sharp annoying burrs that stuck to shoes and skin alike but the iguanas were on strike or holiday. There were so many small lizards and you rarely saw them before they scooted off although many of them were happy to pose for a photograph or two from close range. As we crested a rise on the way back to the bay a small lizard caught my eye as it zipped in front of me and then I saw an iguana with its tail in the air heading hell for leather toward the undergrowth. Unfortunately Helen didn't see it and even though we peered into the undergrowth in the hope of a glimpse and photograph the iguana stayed resolutely camera shy.

When we got back to the bay we ate our sandwiches and stretched out in the sun as the rest of the group made their way back with some amazing shells they had found. While we were relaxing Ollie mentioned that we would have to mount a rescue expedition for a small turtle that had become trapped in some plastic which was holding it afloat. We assumed the locals would take charge but nobody seemed to be doing anything and Ollie repeated his statement a few times with no response. After getting ready for action and lurking by the waters edge Helen and I just headed onto the small island in the middle of the bay which stirred Ollie and Matt to join us. We could see the plastic after Ollie pointed it out and could just about make out a small turtle at the end of it vainly flapping its flippers as it fought against the surge pushing it towards the rocks at the end of of a vee shaped inlet in the small island. Ollie and Matt discussed whether they could get the boat into the inlet while Helen took stock of the situation and formulated a rescue plan including our exit strategy and fallback options. We climbed down to a ledge just above the water line, removed all but our bathers & shoes and first Helen and then I dived into the inlet as waves came through and then swam out to the Hawksbill turtle. It was about ten inches long, very shiny, with soft skin and it was firmly stuck in a plastic mesh. We carried it into shallower water and as Matt joined us we carefully tore the bag open, whilst being buffeted by the waves, being careful not to damage it especially as one of its flippers was also stuck in the mesh. After Matt had swum alongside it to make sure it could get out of the inlet we swam toward the other end and climbed out and up to the top of the cliff where the remainder of the group had assembled.

After our adventure on Sand Cay we returned to Salt Cay: due to the lower tide, a couple of passengers had to cautiously push the flat-bottomed boat over the coral at first, then we headed back to Deane's Dock. We decided to try and find somewhere to snorkel around the headland as the waves were still too big in front of the apartments and soon found a sheltered spot with a few coral reefs to explore. Less than ten metres from the sandy shoreline we explored the sizeable reefs in about 10 feet of crystal clear water and saw so many different fish including a puffer fish and a cow fish and at one point we even dived for a conch shell, after carefully checking there were no occupants. Back on shore after an hour or so I made the mistake of poking what I thought was an empty crab shell and it suddenly started zipping around like an out of control remote control car and of course it headed toward Helen at least twice before it made a beeline for the safety of the water [I was quite gracious about it and didn't squeal too loudly - Helen].