Sharks, Caves and Swimming Pigs…Oh My!

30 miles south of Warderick Wells is Staniel Cay, home to the famous Thunderball Cave featured in the movies Thunderball (James Bond) and Splash. It’s a great snorkeling site where we swam into a cave full of colorful fish. We also saw some hermit crabs that are the size of softballs. The ones we are used to in New England are about the size of a nickel. I guess the heat and clear waters must agree with them.

We took the dingy from our anchorage over to the local Yacht Club to ask about the currents at the cave and other logistical issues and Emily and Kim remained in the dingy, while I went inside the clubhouse. When I returned, I saw about 5 or 6 nurse sharks swimming around and under the dingys in the 5 foot deep water. My ladies did not seem too concerned since Kim had recognized this species of shark from previous SCUBA trips we have taken and knew that they were relatively harmless. Emily was not too sure since all of the sharks were bigger than her!

We took the dingy over to Thunderball Cave and tied up to a mooring ball placed there by the cruisers. Once inside the cave, it opened into a cathedral sized room with holes in the roof allowing sunlight to beam down the 20 feet to illuminate the water below. I wished that I could have brought my camera into the cave, but some images will have to just be remembered. We all enjoyed the dive and raced back towards the mother ship.

Still in our wetsuits, we motored by the white sand beach next to the anchorage and were greeted by the other famous feature of Staniel Cay…swimming pigs. That’s right, about a dozen pigs were released here years ago and they have gotten accustomed to handouts from the cruisers. They get so excited they swim out to greet the dingys before they even get to the beach. We had watermelon rinds to feed them since we had also read about these beggars in the cruising guides. We fed the most industrious ones which included a mother and her two babies, which indicates to me that they should be here for many years to come.

Kim is also getting accustomed to feeding the crew in her pint-sized galley. The other morning, she made pecan cinnamon buns for breakfast from scratch. The dough had to rise twice and the engine room proved to be just the right temperature after running the genset. Emily and Dad had trouble doing math while the smells wafted from the oven. We were rewarded with all we could eat and I'm ashamed to say there were no leftovers!

Tom