We woke up early with what appeared to be open waters outside of our porthole. I went up top deck for some coffee and saw land ahead. Kathy and I got coffee and breakfast as we approached Bimini. We suddenly took a hard right and kept sailing. Later at the Captain’s Story Time we learned the ships purser had taken the Zodiac to Alice Town on the main island of Bimini with all passports to officially check us in to the Bahamas. We were now headed to a small island called Gun Cay. (See map.)

The two arial photos below show Gun Cay. The small lighthouse is at the southern tip, and Stingray Lagoon where we would all swim, snorkel, and kayak was on the north end. The girls’ purchased snorkel equipment, and our rented adult snorkel equipment was well worth the investment if only for the day at Gun Cay. At times I felt like I had stuck my head into an aquarium in a pet store. Kathy and Nicole spotted many colorful fish on the west reef. Kelly, Claire, and I found starfish and a live conk on the northeast point. I don’t think the cay was any bigger than Stonegate Way.

I enjoyed one long swim following a stingray out into the middle of the lagoon. He would swim along the bottom, and when he would “smell” something, he would suddenly turn around and start digging, puffing sand up through his gills. Little colorful fish would follow him around looking for tidbits in the spouted sand.

We would all sit in the waters edge and wait for stingray to come swimming by. We could reach out and touch them. Wet velvet. At one point about six stingray came all from different directions and converged on Danny. They all met at his feet. I was able to get a photo a few seconds later as they dispersed. (See Day 2 photos.)

The evening was a lot of fun with snacks, swizzle time, dinner, and then the battle of the sexes. The women won, but we men decided it was because women had made up the game. A brief shower cooled us off during the battle, spraying our backsides.

Day 2 Photos: mac.fiveforks.com/windjammer2005/day2/