Blue Holes

We were thrilled to arrive in Long Island.  The winds have been fierce.  I postponed our sail several days , just couldn't stand the idea of 25-30 knots even in a reach.  Tom humored me.  Most  of those who braved the winds said the sail was fast with only a small bit of their jibs out. They saw high 20's and 30 knots on arrival in the harbor.  I had been secondguessing myself for waiting  till the winds died down but you know what they say  " If you think you need 3 reefs. stay home!" When we did sail away, we were part of an armada that had to contain 50 vessels.

There are many places in the Bahamas where Blue Holes, deep underground communications with the ocean, set in a shallower bank or on land, exist .  The biggest and most beautiful I've seen is on Long Island.  Tom and I visited there last year and it was so spectacular that we couldn't wait to spend a day there again.   This blue hole is 663 feet deep! It is so spectacular, you can walk in the sand about ankle deep,  then step over steep edges into the deep blue water   over an abyss.  Amazing.  The limestone cliffs have an ancient feel to them although they are not old by geology standards.  Incredibly picturesque, it is also used for the world free diving championships.  The raft in the picture is used when measuring  the depths the divers achieve.  At first view, even the idea of swimming over the dark blue water seemed challenging.  As things go,  swimming was easy , no wild currents, no whirlpools, no deep sea monsters that I could see.  This year,  for reasons I can not explain, I wanted to jump off the cliffs.  Many local people do this;  it was not an original idea.    Jump was good the landing a bit painful .  I felt the impact all the way up my back .  Breathtaking  - literally!  Also exhilerating but I won't be trying it again.  Can't really imagine what I was thinking .  I had a chance to talk with a local woman who told me that her son and 2 of his friends jumped .  As they landed, a shark rose up from the depths into the blue hole!  Glad I didn't know.