Snorkeling Report Whalebone Bay Bermuda

Snorkeling Report

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Whale Bone Bay, Bermuda
"Sail and Swim" Excursion out of St. George's
Ship: Zenith (Celebrity Cruises)
Sailing Date: July 24, 2004
Date of Snorkel: July 29, 2004
Equipment Availability: we have our own which we take with us, but the
sail boat owner and operator/guide, Captain Jerry Correia (OceanBreeze
Sail Charters, P.O. Box 227, St. George's Bermuda GE BX 441-234-9846)
has a supply of snorkels, masks, fins and vests available.
Water Access: Off the back of the Sailboat

We have done this "sail and swim" excursion several times before and
have always enjoyed it. Captain Jerry invariably gives us the best
snorkeling experience of each cruise to Bermuda, and this time was no
exception!
Leaving the pier area of St. George, a fairly lengthy walk (for such
an early hour of the morning) brings you to Captain Jerry's sailboat,
which he then maneuvers to a terrific snorkeling spot that matches the
weather conditions of the particular day. In this instance, we
enjoyed the "sail" portion first, sailing out of St George's harbor
through the town cut and working our way to the North Shore beaches of
the Bermuda archipelago.
Whale Bone Bay has a small, very clean and gently sloping beach
surrounding its Northern and Eastern ends that is easily reached from
the anchorage of the sail boat. The water is very shallow and clear,
providing excellent visibility. The entrance to the bay is marked by
several rock outcrops which protrude through the water-easy to swim
around on the cove side, but the water was a bit rougher on the side
facing out to the Atlantic. Captain Jerry refers to this as his
"Jacques Cousteau" area for more advanced snorkelers.
The sailboat carried about 20 people on this excursion, so there were
fewer people to splash about stirring up the bottom and obscuring
visibility. However, one girl just had to make an idiot out of
herself and managed to tangle herself up in some coral while swimming
in a life vest (not snorkeling). Peg managed to dislodge her (despite
numerous protestations-perhaps she wanted to be "rescued" by Jerry or
his young cousin Christopher who acted as deck hand on this trip)-and
in not so gentle tones, convinced her to return to her sun-bathing on
the sailboat. Safer for all, including the fish and the corals!
We saw a juvenile Barracuda (about 2 feet long) who eyed Peg with
great suspicion before swimming off, lots of Damsel Fish-both juvenile
and adult, Bluehead Wrasses, Squirrel Fish, immature Puddingwifes,
French Grunts, and many other common reef varieties. But two major
treats were in store. For the first time in Bermudian waters, Peg saw
a whole family of GORGEOUS Queen Angelfish, following them for quite
some time shooting about a half roll of film! And, an ENORMOUS
Gillenborg (Bermuda's super-sized Parrot Fish) appeared out of nowhere
to check on both Peg and Derek. It gave us quite a fright-the largest
fish we have ever seen anywhere! Captain Jerry later explained that
there were three such large sized animals in this cove; we are lucky
only to have encountered the one! We also saw and photographed a
Smooth Trunk Fish for the first time-a most odd looking animal, but
beautiful in its own way.
The sail boat ride back to St. George's was under the vessel's motor
power, and included Captain Jerry's excellent narration of various
points of interest as we passed by.

Snorkeling Grade: A+


"Scientists' say intelligent life
sprang from the sea.
Really intelligent life returns to
the sea now and then."