Thunderball

Greetings from Big Majors Spot

Todays adventures were centered around Thunderball Grotto, made famous in the James Bond movie Thunderball and Splash with Tom Hanks.

We awoke to a perfectly calm sea where we could see the bottom like it was an aquarium. After school, we had time to take the dinghy to the Settlement at Staniel Cay to purchase gasoline, water and get rid of trash. Tying up to the Yacht Club dock Noah noticed several nurse sharks swimming under the dinghy. They get fed scraps here, so hang around. We bought 15 gallons of RO water at $0.75 each and gas at $4.50. It was only $2.50 to leave a bag of trash. Walking in to town we visited both the Pink and Blue stores, neither of which is larger than a typical garage. Bought some fresh baked banana bread, eggs, lettuce and a box of cereal for $22. Makes Kroger look economical! No milk in stock, but the supply boat should be in on Tuesday or Wednesday. Pretty views from the road on the way back to the dock. We had to go the mile and a half back to the anchorage without planing as the dinghy was fully laden with water and fuel.

After lunch we met the crew of Contented Turtle for a joint venture to Thunderball Grotto. This is a must see place. It was low tide, so we all snorkled into the cave, which has openings in the ceiling that let shafts of light shine down into the water. Hundreds of fish gathered around looking for handouts. Certainly one of the coolest places we've been underwater. There is a strong current, so after the tide began coming in we loaded back into the dinghies and headed for a beach. Kelly and the boys stayed there while Jesse, Beth and I went out fishing. Over on the sound side there were some nice coral heads, but we didn't catch anything. Still lots of current and large swells from something out in the North Atlantic.  Grilled some turkey burgers and made mashed potatos for dinner -- very land lubberly. Beth did laundry with her good plunger (for kitchen and clothes only) to some Motown tunes on the the CD player. In addition to the raditional blowing of the conchs as the sun set, we were treated to a canon firing from the large sailing yacht that came in last night. Tried to contact Earl & Jim again tonight. This time we did hear Earl, but he couldn't hear us. David loaned Noah the movie "Dogs & Cats" so we had a movie night. These are the Bahamas that we hoped to find!