Shark Girl Speaks

I have been asked to submit an entry to the blog about our trip with John and Pat in the Bahamas...so here it goes. I was initially very worried about spending 10 days on a sailboat. My previous experiences on ocean going vessels basically involved hanging over the edge of the boat while getting sick. The lure of being surrounded by blue skies, warm weather and crystal clear water, even if while throwing up, was still better than cold snow/rain in Ohio. Our plan was to meet John and Pat in Nassau, then from there sail to the Exumas. The trip there didn't go as planned and we had a VERY stressful first day. Something about missing luggage/passports/credit cards...I can't quite remember (ahem....you're welcome Dad). Thanks to the kindness of the Bahamian people we managed to get everything in order by sunset of the first day. Day two we stocked up and set sail for the Exumas. I had this theory that if I had a couple beers before we set sail I would expect to feel a little off balance and therefore wouldn't get seasick. Well...it worked. Putting my theory to the test, I was fine the entire 10 days. The Exumas were amazing, as you can see from the pictures. The islands and beaches were basically deserted. I think we saw 1 restaurant and maybe 3 houses on the entire trip. It was incredible being able to dinghy up to the beach and have it all to yourself. Pretty much like a Corona commercial...with much older beer. (We cleaned out their fridge by drinking the beers they've had in there since 2004). We hopped along island to island, visiting beaches, making our way south down the Exuma island chain. The highlight for me was swimming with the nurse sharks at Compass Cay. I’ve been somewhat obsessed with sharks since I can remember. Swimming with them was something I’ve been dreaming about for years. The sharks there are fed on a regular basis, so they stick around. The owner of the cay calls them his pets and even has named the sharks. I was very nervous and my heart was racing the whole time, but it was definitely one of the best moments of my life. It made me want some pet sharks of my own! After our shark adventure we made our way slowly back up towards Nassau. We stopped at the Exumas Land and Sea Park and did some snorkeling. I burnt the boat name onto a piece of driftwood with a magnifying glass and the sun that we left at Warderick Wells Cay (as is the custom). We revisited the beach at Hawksbill Cay, which we all agreed was the nicest. Then it was back to Nassau to go head home. All in all it was a great vacation. I can definitely see a return trip to the Bahamas in my future. I am even looking forward to sailing again on Live Now. Turns out I was able to find my sea legs after all…who knew? Thanks for the great trip John and Pat!!