We go to GSB to snorkel off the beach. We spend most of our time there and rarely have a need to venture off. We weren’t sure what to expect this year. Some things we read had indicated fewer fish.

For us, there are two types of fish: ones we see all the time/common fish and ones that appear less frequently. They might be there all the time and based on talking to people on the beach could well be, but we manage to see them only every couple of years. Our first reaction was that indeed there were fewer fish, not counting the smaller fish. We were struck by the large number of small, and we guessed, baby fish. It almost seemed that the fish were in the process of replenishing themselves, more so than we had ever seen that time of year. The waves were rough the first couple days and there was a strong current. As the water calmed, there seemed to be an influx of larger fish with the small fish still hanging around. In terms of the common fish, we saw something we never had before. We usually count on seeing reef squid in schools of anywhere from a dozen to perhaps two dozen. It was different this year. On several days, their schools numbered well over a hundred. They were swimming in a large oval configuration. We usually saw them snorkeling to the Baths.

On to the less frequent fish. This trip, on about the third day, we saw two octopi at about the same time. One hid very quickly and the other, a good sized one, gave us an opportunity to observe for a while. We returned to the same spot every day but did not see them again. We spotted at least three turtles over towards the Baths at different times and saw at least as many sting rays. There was a small tile fish, about a foot long, that we stumbled across couple times including our last snorkel. We also managed to spot a porcupinefish several times, first at the middle rock and then at the rocks you first encounter swimming towards the bath. This is always an interesting fish to watch. We also saw a juvenile French angel on several occasions. One day we saw what looked like thin black strands in the water. A few minutes later we saw a very black object that appeared to have a body shape that was a cross between an octopus and a reef squid. A barracuda swimming down to take a look caught our attention and made us aware of it. Tina was not sure what it was but thought it could have been a squid and that the black strands we saw were probably ink. Most interesting and a first for us. While a common fish for us, one day there seemed to be far more lizard fish than normal all over the place, ranging from very small ones to normal ones. So, if you go to Guavaberry to snorkel, you have nothing to worry about. You’ll find fish and have a real treat.

The coral suffered considerable damage from the storms, but there are already signs of it growing back. That damage was done by a winter (perhaps January) storm. The waves were so high they made it to the beach parking lot. That wave action probably did more damage than Irma. Also, many of the underwater rocks had a washed out, bland appearance. The Crawl was good, but the water level seemed lower than normal. We had no idea what might have accounted for that. The string of buoys that mark Spring Bay as a swim area remain intact.

Our conclusion: this trip had some of the best snorkeling ever. Each day we found something interesting and saw most of the fish we hope to see but often don’t.