Snorkeling

On Sunday, HB and I finally got around to buying some snorkeling equipment, something we've meant to do since we moved to Florida about a year and a half ago. On a recommendation from my co-worker, we went to Blue Water Divers in Nanny Cay to begin our search. The friendly owner was super-helpful, and we left the shop about 20 minutes later, the proud owners of new snorkels, masks and fins.

After a pit-stop at home to clean the silicone off our masks with toothpaste (an important step to prevent mask fogging, according to the owner of the dive shop), we headed straight for Brewer's Bay Beach. Not only is Brewer's Bay our favorite Beach, but we have also seen it listed in countless articles and online sites as one of the best beaches for snorkeling in the BVIs, because the reef comes so close in to shore.

When we arrived at Brewer's Bay, we were surprised to encounter some significant wave action, as rollers of three to four feet were making their way to shore. Our previous swims at Brewer's have often found it as still as a lake, so we were mildly intimidated to try snorkeling in such a surf -- well, at least I was.

We debated a while about whether to put on our fins on land, or carry them into the water and then attach them. I'm sure the divers that read this blog regularly could have told us what we eventually found out: wait until you're in the water to put on your fins. At least we provided an entertaining spectacle for the other folks on the beach as we flopped around in our fins on dry land, flinging sand everywhere.

Finally, though, we made it into the water. The big moment came, and we both put our heads in to see the glorious underwater world. And how "glorious" it was. The afore-mentioned wave action had kicked up so much sand, that the visibility in the usually pristine waters of Brewer's Bay had been reduced to about two feet. HB and I spent thirty minutes swimming around, trying to see any signs of life in that vast fog of sand and water.

Half an hour of seeing nothing but the color of the bottom of a swimming pool, with occasional glints of sunlight, and I was done. I swam back to shore, stowed my snorkeling gear, and spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the surf. It wasn't the most successful snorkeling trip, but at least now we're equipped!