THAT SINKING FEELING

On occasion I will have a dream that my boat is sinking for no reason or doing something impossible like moving along a creek bed. Though one time it was moving through the streets of Manhattan. Strange that these dreams seem to only happen when I'm not living on board. They are sometimes very disturbing (especially the sinking ones) that is until I come awake and realize they were just dreams. But, for some unfortunate sailors in St. Martin recently it was not a dream:

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CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY FIVE: COMPASS CAY MARINA AND RACHEL'S BATH

Corky and Sue raised the anchor of Surprise we continue to head northward. At mid morning we arrived at Compass Cay.  Compass Cay has the Compass Cay Marina which like the Staniel Cay Yacht Club welcomes cruisers who like to tie up to a dock rather than anchor out.

While not as big as the Staniel Cay Yacht club operation. There are signs of expansion going on. Including a "Tiki Bar" which was under construction. We anchored outside and took the dingy in. Corky advised us if we wanted we could have lunch on the dock. The proverbial Cheeseburger in paradise.

Getting off the dingy dock the facing wall is full of signs from boats that have passed this way:

and also some fishing philosophy:

plus some unique creature art renderings:

But, what people really come here to do is swim with the sharks:

Who prowl right under the dingy dock:

Of course those who jump in may not have noticed these signs on the dock:

Not a problem for Capt. Mike as I had no intention of taking a dip with the sharks even if they were Nurse sharks. We also passed on the Cheeseburger and were glad we did because Sue had whipped up a delicious shrimp curry soup for lunch back on Surprise.

After our standard afternoon nap we once again headed further north toward the end of Compass Cay and took the dingy to shore and saw this sign:

It was a short hike along a shallow delta:

After about ten minutes we finally came to our destination Rachels Bubble Bath:

A small cut in the rocks allows the water  from Exuma Sound to flood over the rocks and creates a natural jacuzzi in a pool of water just beyond:

That's Captain Corky on the rocks just next to the cut.  A dip in Rachel's Bubble Bath was a certainly refreshing way to end the day.

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY SIX CLICK HERE

CAPT. MIKE IN THE MALDIVES: DAY 12

There was a beautiful sunrise for our last full day in the Maldives. We wasted no time getting our last few snorkels in. On our first one another turtle graced our vision. Our second stop was the house reef of the Bandos Island resort the second resort island developed in the Maldives:

We had an excellent snorkel along it's reef and spent near an hour just checking it out. 

Then it was back to the boat to head for our lunch anchorage 04 14.678N 073 32.038E:  

After lunch we went for our last snorkel in the Maldives at Banana Reef that small banana shaped spot just south of our lunch anchorage:

You can see some Dhoni's and snorkelers in the Google Earth photo above as it seems to be a popular snorkel spot. Unfortunately, our timing was a little off. As the reef sits at the entrance to one of the cuts that leads to the Indian Ocean the current was running quite strong and did not allow for a leisurely snorkel as it carried us along. Oh well, so it goes...

We got back on board our catamaran and headed for the island of Male (pronounced mal lee) the capitol city of the Maldives.

Even though it was Friday and a Holy Day in the country (much like Sunday in more Christian countries) Ibrahim had arranged for us to have a little tour by one of the guides who work with his company. I had mixed feelings about getting back to "civilization" so soon after spending twelve days on the water in secluded anchorages but, since we were here might as well see the city.

As we headed toward Male (pronounced Mal Lee) we headed through a number of boats and ships anchored around the city. There were what passes for tugs bringing barges of shipping containers out to and back from the dozen or so cargo ships that are anchored off the island:

 Ships like the Motor Yacht Queen K:

Which is rumored to be owned by Oleg Deripaska Russia's youngest billionaire. It's 238 feet long has a beam of 44 feet and a draft of 12.5 feet. There were other yachts around spending the winter in this part of the world. Like this one with an "aerial dingy" perched on the back:

Impressive as these boats are I am drawn to the simplicity and practicality of the smaller Maldivian craft we've come across in our travels. Like this local fishing boat:

  I especially like the platform on the back which can be used for whatever needs to done. Including unloading the days catch easily onto the docks. Then there are the really big boats. Like this Costa cruise ship which towers over the city of Male:

 

As we approach the city the gold dome of the citys newest Mosque clearly stands out from the other buildings of Male:

Soon we are in the dingy heading to the entrance to one of the many man made harbors that ring Male:

The harbors are busy places even on this Holy Day with all kinds of ferries coming and going all day long:

Luckily, we we able to find an easy place to land on the along the concrete quay:

Our personal guide was escorting us through the streets of Male. Where things were pretty quiet on some streets:

It's almost painful to see the trees bend to try and get their leaves into the sliver of sun on this block. Also notice the prime mode of transportation in Male (besides boats) the scooters lined up outside the building. We soon come upon the Hukuru Miskiiy which is the oldest Mosque in the city built in 1656:

The outside of the mosque is covered with coral stone:

Hand hand carved in the 17th century:

Also nearby is the ancient well where the worshipers cleanse them selves before entering the mosque. Note the dipping ladles in the right of the picture:

And the tower where the call to prayer is made 

Well, there have been a few improvements made to the mosque over the years including this PA system:

Meanwhile back on the streets the the local woman look rather elegant in their head scarves. Though they wear more western wear here in Male than on some of the islands we visited earlier in our trip:

We then head to the fruit and vegetable market: 

Various fruits and vegetables can be bought here:

Just beware of the peppers!

They are very hot and being an Islamic country there is no beer nearby to cool your tongue.

Just outside the market is where all the fishing boats come to dock. The big ones:

and the smaller ones:

All delivering a variety of fresh seafood to the fish market across the street:

While some may consider the fish above to be fresh as they came right off the fishing boats. I keep thinking back a few days ago when we had some really fresh Red Snapper that came on the boat and never got off.

But, this may be the only place you can get a barrel of Yellow Fin Tuna if you are really hungry:

Soon it was time to head back to the quay as our catamaran awaits just outside to take us back on board for our last night night in the Maldives:

But, the journey continues tomorrow...

CLICK HERE FOR THE CAPT. MIKE IN THE MALDIVES POST DAY 11

CLICK HERE FOR THE CAPT. MIKE IN THE MALDIVES POST DAY 1

CAPT. MIKE IN THE MALDIVES: DAY 11

After a very beautiful sunrise we had two nice snorkels to start the day.

  The snorkels we've made have been great. From my experience some of the best I've ever seen. I would expect the diving to be exceptional too. We we are both open water certified divers. Unfortunately, my girlfriends back issues do not make strapping on a 60 pound tank very comfortable and worth the pain. Another reason we are not diving is that it requires special schedules to meet up with dive guides. This would limit our wandering around the atolls and also take more time out of each day to do just the dives. So snorkels seemed the way to go for this trip. After the snorkels we headed for our lunch anchorage at 04 24.787N, 073 35.466E:

After lunch we headed over to some islands that were Maldivian military bases and snorkeled off one that Ibrahim called a "carbon neutral" island. As the power for the islands electric needs were made from renewable resources as you can see from the two wind generator towers:

Lucky for us the light was just right making the channels very easy to see:

You can see how traveling when the light is right is important when navigating these waters.


We then headed for the night's anchorage 04 15.720N 073 30.270E:

While waiting for the sunset I spent my time watching the colorful fishing boats heading back to the ports in the evening. The next day Friday would be the holy day in this Islamic country:

Once again we had very a beautiful sunset for our next to last night night in the Maldives:

It was worth the wait...

CLICK HERE FOR THE CAPT. MIKE IN THE MALDIVES POST: DAY 10