The winds remained very light and I sailed from Île Tintamarre to Île Fourchue with full sails at a comfortable 4-5 knots in near-perfect conditions. The anchorage at Île Fourchue had all the mooring balls taken and I was thinking of anchoring (which other boats were doing, but which I thought was not allowed) when one of the moored charter boats dropped lines and departed. I set up my diving gear and dinghied over to one little mooring ball and was very pleasantly surprised that the conditions were just about perfect for diving - 30-50 feet of depth with steep rock drop-offs to a sandy bottom where I could photograph all sorts of flora and fauna.
I did two dives, the second one with the wetsuit on so I could lay in the sand and take pictures. I saw turtles and eagle rays, but both were moving away from me and there was no chance at getting a picture (I do have two pictures to prove I saw them, but the quality was so poor that I won't post them). After the dives I cleaned up and made dinner aboard, intending on doing some tasks and chores but somehow I ran out of both time and energy and ended up doing nothing at all.
Taken while departing the anchorage in the morning and heading off to St. Barths [18°6'57"N 62°59'39.54"W (facing E)]Ile Tintamarre anchorage
Saba seen while passing some of the rocks close to Ile Fourchue in St. Barths. [17°58'30.65"N 62°55'23.08"W (facing SW)]Saba Island in the distance
The little rocky island outside of the anchorage in Ile Fourchue. The steep drop-off underwater made for excellent diving pictures. [17°57'26.5"N 62°54'45.19"W (facing E)]Rocky outcropping at Ile Fourchue
Calm waters and no wind made this a wonderful stop this day, normally the wind is funneled through the rocks and makes it great for wind-generators, even at night. [17°57'24.59"N 62°54'18.27"W (facing S)]Ile Fourchue anchorage
Coral at Ile Fourchue [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Coral at Ile Fourchue
Bicolor Damselfish and sponges [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Bicolor Damselfish and sponges
Feather anemone and gobies [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Feather anemone and gobies
Corals growing at Ile Fourchue [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Corals growing at Ile Fourchue
I didn't understand why this Great Barracuda was just hovering next to the reef until I looked at the picture and saw the cleaning Goby doing its job. [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Great Barracuda being cleaned
Colorful reef at Ile Fourchue [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Colorful reef at Ile Fourchue
Spindly coral growing from the rocks [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Spindly coral growing from the rocks
Wrasse by the fan coral [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Wrasse by the fan coral
This big Great Barracuda swum around me twice then went off into the distance, later I notice him hovering in the water far above me. Perhaps it was just curious... or hungry. [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Great Barracuda checking me out
French Angelfish and Grunt [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]French Angelfish and Grunt
This green moray eel at first just had part of its snout out of the hole, but I layed down outside and waited for a couple of minutes and then it finally got curious and came outside. [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Green Moray eel in the rocks
Pair of Banded Butterflyfish [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Pair of Banded Butterflyfish
This was the first time that I'd see a Moray eel completely out of its hole and it was moving around the rocks quite a bit. [17°57'23.04"N 62°54'36.61"W ]Spotted Moray Eel foraging
A beautiful sunset seen from the anchorage at Ile Fourchue, St. Barths [17°57'23.41"N 62°54'20.12"W (facing SW)]Ile Fourchue sunset
Composite panorama from 3 photos taken from the anchorage in Ile Tintamarre, St. Martin. [18°6'58.17"N 62°59'20.38"W (facing W)]Panorama taken from Ile Tintamarre
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