Day 5

Phoebe and Anna had the foresight to bring quite a few kid games which Sawyer delighted in whenever there was a lull in the watersports. By the time I came up for breakfast they were immersed in a "fishing game", shrieking and laughing with every plastic fish caught. The early morning divers have already surfaced from Marilyn's Cut. Over a hot breakfast of French toast and eggs they describe huge barrel sponges, along with myriad other sponges in fascinating colors. The photography discussions heat up as Franklin explains the best way to capture the deep colors of the yellow and purple tube sponges on film. The discussions have spurred the passionate and with breakfast barely digested the "photography crazed" are back on the dive deck preparing to blow through another 36 exposures.

This afternoon we re-visit Mixing Bowl and then bed down on the mooring at Cumbers Cave. The night dive didn't get under way until after 9pm by the time dinner was finished and surface intervals from a long day of diving were clear. While the nocturnal were out hunting, most of the day creatures were sleeping. Pastel Parrotfish were tucked safely inside their mucus cocoons. Not wanting to disturb them with bright lights, Franklin uses a red aiming light to assist his AF Nikon N90s camera. The final picture requires a quick burst of strobe light, but the Parrotfish usually does not startle or displace its protective cocoon. Moving on, the divers encountered a bold Spiny Lobster, fearless, as he stalked his prey in the dark. After an hour the regulator yawns became annoying so the divers once again returned to the LCDII to end another great day of diving in Little Cayman.

Day 6

Our last day in Bloody Bay Marine Park, the guests can make two dives this morning before the LCDII heads back to the Brac at noon. After a quick meeting at the breakfast table it was unanimously decided to end the week of diving on Mixing Bowl. Staying in the shallows of Three Fathom Wall (though I suspect some may have peered over the wall), the photography passionate manage to get in two nice long dives this morning. Escorting their parents, along with Sawyer in his boat, Phoebe and Anna snorkeled all the way into shore. It was with much reluctance that divers and snorkelers surfaced one last time. All gear was handed up to Andy who rinsed it and placed it on the sun deck to dry.

As Capt. Ossama starts the engines to begin our trip home to the Brac, I explain to Sawyer that his boat would have to be dried, deflated and packed just like his father's toys. His big brown eyes brimmed with tears as he asked me, "why can't we LIVE on the ocean?" That was a question I vowed to pursue and resolve this year. For now, it is once again time to say good-bye to Bloody Bay and Little Cayman. With the resolve of a four-year-old Sawyer looked out at the trailing seas and yelled "I'll be back!"

Viola Family
Kathy delivered twin girls in November. All five Viola's are currently visiting coastal towns in America to determine where "on the ocean" they will live.