Royal Island, Eleuthera

 We arrived at Royal Island, Eleuthera on February 24th. Our plan was to stop there for the night after our crossing from the Abacos, and then move on to see the rest of the normal stops along the island. That did not happen. The anchorage was so protected and pretty, that I decided I wanted to do some exploring under water. I spent most of the 25th snorkeling around the lagoon checking out the many fish. I saw a small lobster and was able to catch it by hand, but it was much too small to keep, so I let it go. I saw a Lion Fish, but I did not have my spear with me, so I did not shoot it. They are a beautiful, but invasive species and should be shot. I also saw rays and eels and hundreds of other fish. The snorkeling was awesome. 

When I went back to the boat, I dove down to check on the bottom. I was surprised to see 5 large Remoras under the boat. They are the fish that attach themselves to sharks and feed on whatever scraps are left over. I cleaned the bottom of the boat with a rag. We had some minor soft growth after the 4 months since we painted the bottom. It all looked great. Just as I was finishing up, a large Barracuda showed up. That was the first of many I saw. 

These are the Remora that were hanging out under the boat

Kim threw out some food scraps and they went crazy. 

Another beautiful sunset

This is a boat called, "Just Us" with Bob on board. We met him last year in Virginia. 

I am just a sucker for a sunset over the water.

While I was snorkeling around the basin, another couple that were anchored on the other side of the basin came by and asked us if we wanted to go out to Egg Island Reef. I declined because I was a bit tired at that point. Later, they came back and gave me one of the lobsters they had caught. It made a very tasty dinner. I cooked it on the grill. We decided to go out to the reef the following day. 

We went over to their boat and talked for a while. I knew that these two awesome people were put in our lives for a reason. Beuth and Pris on Miss Pris are very experienced cruisers from Arkansas. They have been coming to the Bahamas for more than 20 years. The first lesson that they taught me was to slow down and if you like where you are, stay for a while. And so we did. We went out to the reef two times with them and had some luck. I was able to get my first lobster that I could eat. We went to their beautiful boat (A Grand Banks MY), and had drinks and Pris fixed us a Conch Salad and Lobster Stew. Both were amazing. She formerly owned a restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. They also came to our boat to try out some of Kim's home made Ice Cream. It turned out great!

That is Miss Pris, Beuth and Priscilla's boat. Beuth used to install wood work at lawyers offices, the wood work on Miss Pris is amazing.

Many boats of all sizes came and went while we were there. 

Our trips to the reef were amazing. I have never seen water so clear and so many fish. Kim and I both snorkeled for hours. I hunted and kept missing fish, but finally got that lobster. Kim shot a bunch of GoPro footage. It did not turn out great, but I will probably include some of it in the YouTube edits I have been doing. 

While we were at Royal Island, we had some strong wind come in from the south. That made our location on the east end of the basin a bit rough, so we picked up the anchor and moved to the west end. It was much better. While the wind was blowing, I decided to do some fishing. I still had some frozen shrimp. Before long, I was catching some nice Bonefish. They are not good eating, so I was throwing them back. The 4th one I caught felt like a bigger one and then something very strange happened. It went from a bit stronger pull to ripping line off of my reel. Then it just quit. I reeled in a Bonefish with no head or tail. Clearly a predator fish wanted it more than I did. Kim suggested that I cut it up for bait. I did that and before long, I caught an nice Blue Runner. They are edible, so I decided to have it for dinner. I kept fishing and that is when it got very interesting. The next thing I had on the line was a 4 foot Nurse Shark. I was able to cut the line and let him go. Then came the most violent. I caught a 3 foot reef shark. That was the best fight I have ever had with a fish. I was fishing with about 15lb test line and that shark was strong! I got him right up to the boat and the line broke. That was enough excitement for one day. I cleaned the Blue Runner and fried him up in Cajun seasoning. He was ok, but not great.

 

That is the reef shark

That is the Nurse Shark

Another shot of the Nurse Shark

That is a Blue Runner, just about the right size for dinner for 2 of us.

That is a Bonefish

The boat on the left is a Nordhaven. The boat on the right is a Hallberg Rassy, built in Sweden, they were a couple from Connecticut 

I forgot to take a picture of my whole lobster, this is just the tail. I sauteed this one up in chunks. It was very good. 

I would have to say that our time in Royal Island was our favorite time so far in the Bahamas. We were looking at our options for moving south to the Exumas. The Exumas are the most famous part of the Bahamas for cruisers. In my next entry, we will get moving south. I will tell you how that all worked out.