Day 62 - Snorkeling & Deep Sea
Today we took the boat offshore to the Sombrero Lighthouse. The lighthouse sits on Sombrero Reef (this is an interesting site with lots of pictures) about five miles offshore and is one of the best dive and snorkeling spots in the area. The water was absolutely amazing...we could see every detail of the reef from the boat. The water depth on the reef was 20-25 feet, but seemed more like 1-2 feet. There are mooring balls to tie off to so the reef won't be damaged by people anchoring. As soon as we pulled up and tied off you could see hundreds of fish. We have never seen so many fish in one place and the coral was just as amazing. The only problem we had was the swells coming in on our beam (side), it made staying on the boat almost impossible. We enjoyed our swim, but had to move as soon as we got back on the boat. I was hoping we could spend the afternoon watching the fish from the boat and then snorkel again, but it was just too uncomfortable.
The second part of our day was spent fishing for Dolphin fish (Mahi Mahi). The water drops off quickly past the reef, so we only had to go another mile or so to be in water 200 feet or more. I know I keep saying this...but the water was just incredible. It went from turquoise blue around the reef to true blue and then to almost navy blue at 250 feet. I wish I had words to describe it...just unbelievable. I drove the boat as Stan fished; it was a lot of fun. It was very exciting when he caught one. We tried for awhile longer but only got one other strike...we really had a great time and enjoyed being on the water. A great fish dinner finished off our wonderful day.
Sombrero Lighthouse (Marathon in the background)
Pictures taken from the boat of some of the fish
This picture was taken from the boat...the reef is in 20 feet of water.
Can you see the streaks of light in the water?
Stan's catch
No comments:
Post a Comment