Eagle Ray Roundup
Bloody Bay, Little Cayman, Cayman Islands
June 12, 1988
 | Turtles on land seem so clumsy, but in this clear water we found this one to be the epitome of grace and efficiency. Marvelling over the scenery at the edge of the wall, I was in my usual reverie when Mark motioned to me and started off swimming at full speed. I saw that he was chasing this turtle and followed close enough to get off a couple of shots. As the turtle banked in a graceful turn, easily outdistancing our most frantic efforts, we came out over a deep cut in the wall and the coral below dropped away to the beautiful deep blue. My eyes traced the features of the side of the wall downward until they were lost in the blue water. Coming out over the edge, in hot pursuit as it were, gave me a slight vertigo feeling as coral 6 feet below me dropped away to nothingness. |
 | The turtle seemed to play with us. We were using our fins for all they were worth, and the turtle just seemed to be gliding along. He would occasionally give a sweep with his flipper-like front legs and shoot out away from us. It was with a sense of exhiliration that we recognized his great superiority in his element. |
The turtle made a big circle over toward the edge of the reef where you can see the white sand through a crevice in the reef.
| Night dive at Radar Reef |
1988