REPORTS FROM THE RIP: We be Buggin!!!!

A rare windless morning in Red Hook USVI as the sun rises

It is a rare morning in St Thomas that the winds are slack. The Sailboats in the anchorage at 5 am were pointing all different directions trying to find the wind. The normal easterly trade winds are nonexistant today. As the marina and Red Hook comes to life, a few charter boat guys are readying their boats to get off shore. The bigger boats are complaining of no wind and that it will be hot. The smaller boats that are normally kept closer to shore by the standard breeze and seas here, are all excited about nosing their boats a bit further off shore.
The last week has been filled with oil changes and filter changes. I sure wish we could pull up to a Jiffy lube with this thing. 50 gallons of oil takes quite a while to change. But we played a bit as well. Other than waxing, which we do in the mornings before the heat of the day, there have been a few lobster free diving trips. We do not get big numbers of lobster here, but they are big. ( Oh By the way.. Lobster season is open here year round. Thank you to those of you that have sent me notes letting me know that season is not open yet. It is open here! They have a slightly larger size limit, but no closed season. ) Yesterday, Tyler and I went out with the Crew of the Betsy. We explored an area that we had not hit before. It was pretty good. Except for one thing!!!!….. Tim, had a few bugs rounded up under a coral head. So Tyler drove the boat over with me ready to roll over as he went by Tim. As I rolled off into the super clear water, I could see Tim poking around about 12 feet down under a coral head. He came up and told me that there was a big one way in the back of the hole . I took a breath and headed down. At first glance, I saw a few lobster squared off facing me. So I stuck my head and body a bit further in. Just as I was getting ready to snare a good bug, I felt a sting on my left nipple. Man it hurt. I had a shirt on, but it offered not enough protection for the fire coral I had brushed against. Damn it stung. I would say it feels about 50 times as bad as a Jellyfish sting. It is much better this morning. but last night, laying in my bunk, I could not ever let the sheets touch me where I had been stung. No Lobster is worth that. Some of the reefs we are diving here are spectacular. No picture can do them justice. The plethora of hard and soft corals is amazing. But the constant great water clarity is what stands out to me. We are free diving on rocks that are in 10-30 feet of water. Some spots at deep as 50 feet, look like they are only 20 feet. Ones depth perception can be deceiving in water this clear. Its always easy to make it to the bottom. But ya have to remember that you still have to make it back to the surface.
We have been luck so far this season and have not had much in the way of tropical weather systems. But as the Saharan dusts wain, the inter continental convergence zone is becoming more active. The last system never became much. but the next one that is still mid atlantic seems to be a bit more of a threat. Will keep an eye on it.
Not many boats are fishing right now. The boats that have gone out, are seeing 3-5 shots at blues a day. Most boats will begging fishing again this week as the next full moon comes about.
Having my son here last week was a real treat. He was a big help as well. He has been aboard many times and knows how to work the boat. It was nice having him instead of some green horn that has no clue. He is home now though, and Tyler is back. Its good to have Tyler back.