Swim Vacation off the Baths in the BVI

I heard the splash of swimmers hitting the water about 730 this AM over my hatch, and thought I would be very ambitious, and take my camera in to meet them as they came back by Man Head Point. The light was wonderful for taking pictures.. I was even being a good girl and going in on snorkel instead of dive gear so I would get better shots..Ha! Look at these next pictures, you may see many things but you won't see any divers...
You will see a fish trap...

A purple anemone...

a green anemone and a conch...

A starfish...

A cowfish...

An angelfish...

an upside down jelly fish...

A flame Helmet...

and the animal inside the flame helmet.

No swimmers as after I swam half way around Salt Island, thinking I would not go any further and would just wait for them to come by this perfect little beach on the way back, I snorkeled, I took pictures, I climbed out of the water to walk and scan the horizon, I snorkeled back around the point to see if they had gone the other way and were back at the boat, and finally, an hour and a half later, I found simeon who told me they went for a swim to Cooper Island. I could have stayed there all day and they never would have shown up! Good swim though!! Oh yeah, and I found urchins...

That was my first hour and a half in the water today... then I went for a dive after making omelettes for breakfast, for 75 minutes while the guests made their way up and over all the hills and salt ponds on the island! Notice how dry the island is in some of these pictures...





















We had a tiny bit of rain and seas mid day while we made our way up to the Baths... Swim Vacation's fearless leader Hopper was looking very touristy goofy like for the trip to the Baths...

And Promenade's fearless leader was just looking, well, out of it!

Then it was time for Simeon to take on Video duties in the water, as the swimmers were doing some stroke analysis. Looks like a tough job hey???

And in the water they went...



All showing great form...



Some I think were being hams for the camera!



Ham moment!

Hopper the fearless leader eggs them on for "just one more swim" today...

Until I made them pose for pictures! Trying to do some split shots, but the water was just a bit too choppy to really do it properly, so we took some over and some under!



After that it was time for a sail and cocktail hour finally (did you count it up? I spent 4 hours in the water today! And I am not a swim vacationers, boy does my arm and legs feel it. I think I actually feel the muscles in my biceps tonight, something I have not felt for about, oh, 35 years!

With a great sunset....

Yvonne caught us our only fish, a stinky old barracuda that got it's own back on Brent, bit him a little on the finger it did!

Tonight's dinners was barbecued chicken, bruschetta, caesar salad....



With a chocolate sail cake and ice cream for dessert...

Someone (Brent) seems to have used my zoom on the camera to focus down to get an unflattering shot of me stuffing my face with Haagen Daz in the galley! Kind of cute though!!

That is it, bedtime for everyone on the boat.

Under you know it has been a tough week when...column, Heather of Heather Perry Photography and Swim Vacation, who was the photographer, naturalist and swim guide extraordinaire last trip was supposed to be on this trip.
The day before she was supposed to get on the plane, she had a sinus infection. Her son came down with a rotovirus and apparently there is poop everywhere that just will not stop, so she had to cancel her trip at the last moment, then, today their cat was hit by a car and died. Truly a bad week, and I hope that it improves really quickly for her! I should thank her for the extra exercise I am forcing myself to do this week to take pictures of the group, although my efforts are not nearly as wonderful as hers are. Interesting though to challenge myself in new ways with the camera...