By SV Belafonte
Suspended in the clear cool water, I watch sand slowly drip from an underwater ledge into the abyss below me. I lock my eyes on a black particle in the sand. It funnels down like a leaf floating on a flowing river toward the edge, and then pours into deep shades of blue circles around a shadowed black center. Imaginably, never to be seen or noticed again. I feel light and heavy all at the same time. I float inside the second deepest blue hole in the world, like a bird flying between skyscrapers or deep canyons. However, gravity in my gut looms while I silently witness the sand particles slowly fall from their slippery seats. In the way smoke dances upward, it smoothly cascades down into a dark hole that few have ever seen the bottom of. Like an hourglass, the sand keeps falling, and the timer keeps running.
A couple days ago, we sailed into Clarence Town, Long Island, Bahamas. We had a stormy overnight cruise here but settled in on arrival just fine. We spent a day or two exploring the town by foot, finding coconuts, and meeting the welcoming committee of reef sharks at the dinghy dock. Our friends on S/V Amy Renae invited us to join them for an adventure the following day, and we were thrilled to tag along.
The sun dropped that evening like a ball of fire. In the morning, we tossed Brendan’s surfboard, our snorkel gear, and sandwiches into our dinghy, Scout. We met them at a nearby wave break, anchoring just outside it. Brendan hopped in the chilly water with his board and paddled out to catch some waves. After a fun session and lunch, we take advantage of the rising tide to slip over the reef and dinghy to the famed Dean’s Blue Hole.
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