Alan's Lobster Hunt

In my college days, I took a scuba class where we learned how to skin dive first i.e mask fins and snorkel before we learned how to scuba dive and we practiced a lot. Now that we are in the Bahamas around all these tropical islands I am getting back into skin diving and have been doing as much as possible lately and also mainly in search of a big juicy LOBSTER! MAN i want a lobster so bad.

Yesterday after we left Great Harbor Cay we went and anchored in "Slaughter Harbor" and as soon as we anchored I jumped in my wetsuit and went looking for a lobster after checking to make sure our anchor was set well. I swam about a 1/3 mile to the rocky shore all about 15 feet deep and saw a sting ray, lots of conch (smaller ones) and a beach chair on the bottom. As soon as i got to the rocks i found a huge conch and lots of small reef fish and star fish all over the place. Sea urchins and anemones and sponges. Then i saw the antenna of a lobster! a big looking one with thick antennas. I mentally prepared and went for his antenna and right as i grabbed hold he slipped away pulling hard through my fingers back under his big rock. i couldn't believe it. I dove all around the shore looking for another one with no luck coming back to the first rock to see if he had re-emerged but nothing. I couldn't lift the rock so i had to let it go. The crew almost didn't believe me so i can't wait to bring back a lobster and prove IT.

So lobster around there have to have at least a 6" tail in order to be harvested legally. They don't want everyone taking all the baby lobster. So today has been my third attempt at lobster hunting. We anchored in between Hoffmann and Devils Cay and Trevor, Deb and Adam went south to Devils Cay to try and find a blue hole that is somewhere in the middle of the island. They say they saw it but couldn't get there due to the dense plant growth and lack of trails.

Meanwhile I proceeded to dive the entire cove we were anchored in looking for a big fat lobster for dinner. I saw... two large sea turtles one right under the boat and one hiding in the coral, more fish than ever some red, some blue, some tiny yellow and black and some very pointy with huge black eyes. Sea Urchins are all over the place too hiding in the rocks and you have to be very careful if you are walking on the bottom.

I took a rest on a small island with a beach and walked up the hill to take some pictures and there were hermit crabs everywhere just like in the pet store only all over the ground so that you had to be careful where you stepped or you might crush one. I also found some garbage on the little island unfortunately. Some bottles, an old fire pit, a broken pair of shoes and some plastic stuff. I didn't see any trash in the harbor however which was nice.

So the hunt for a lobster continues...stay tuned.

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Ham Radio Email Update

Hello everyone. We are having a rainy day here on the WTP waiting for the weather to change around in our favor so we can cross the gulf stream and get over to the Bahamas. Meanwhile, I have been working on setting up our capability to send emails over the ham radio! This is a test of that system. This journal post was sent completely over ham radio from south Florida. No, blackberry, no internet. That means that this post could have been made while in the middle of the ocean! I for one am exited to have this system working.

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A Trip to the Everglades

Here are some pictures I took from our trip to the Florida Everglades. Enjoy

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Alan is Alive!

Thats right, i'm here and kicking. Here is an update for all of you Alan fans out there.

Life on board the WTP has been very exiting over the past month since leaving Virginia. Every day there has been something that needs doing from the to-do list and there is always something new to see or learn about. I have always loved building things and working with my hands. So far living on the boat has been like living in an Alan playground of electronics, mechanical systems AND it's also a sailboat!

Working on the electrical system is very rewarding. Especially when I can watch us use energy to power lights and recharge laptops and then during the day watch the solar panels and wind generator just charge the batteries back up again. It gives a lot of satisfaction seeing that we are essentially a zero energy home meaning that we use only the energy that we produce ourselves! This is something that is pretty difficult to do on land in a "normal" home. And not only energy but water too. Since we have a water maker on board we are that much more self sufficient at sea.

Eating on board is also very interesting and can be exiting depending on who is doing the cooking. Everyone has their own style of cooking. Trevor cooks with love, Adam cooks by the seat of his pants (which actually works a surprisingly large part of the time) and I just try to make it taste good and sometimes employ Trevor when in doubt. Overall I would say we have been eating much better than I ever did living in Raleigh in an apartment since we are forced to make a meal more often than we can just go to McDonalds or Wendy’s although we still enjoy a good burger and fries of course. We are all looking forward to catching more seafood once we get moving.

Everyone we have met and told about Eye of the World has been very impressed, intrigued and interested in the website and following us along which has made us very hopeful that the program will continue to grow and more schools and classrooms will tune in. Much thanks to those of you who are already following and emailing us regularly. You keep us on our toes and we love getting emails from you!

Of course I miss my friends and loved ones in North Carolina and I am very thank full to have such great support from them for something that takes me away from home for such a long time.

-Capitan Alan

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A Picture Says A Thousand Words

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