While calling Eleuthera “home” for the week, my parents got this idea in their heads that they wanted to take a boat ride… all eleven of us. So we did!

We chose the “Conservation and Education” package, but Captain Bubba also offers fishing, snorkeling and probably any other kind of excursion you can think of.

We met the Captain (Bubba), his mate (Tubby- a bean pole of a man), and the captain’s son (Little Bubba), an adorable 10-year old with impeccable manners, and boarded the boat. They had a cooler of soda and Sands, the sun was shining, and there’s nothing quite like the feel of a boat speeding through the water. Life is good!

In our tour of the Sound, we saw some artificial reefs and met some jellyfish. They looked like stars sitting on the bottom of the sound. Then we saw a spotted ray- it was truly beautiful. The underwater cameras were new, so I’m not that quick or adept with them yet, and this picture doesn’t do the ray any justice. It initially came very close to the boat and everyone was really excited. It inspired some art when we were back at home in Canada.

The absolute HIGHLIGHT of the day was seeing a tiger shark. Even the captain and crew were excited! It swam with the boat for quite a while, then would swim away and then circle back around to us. The captain knew right away it was a tiger shark, and he guessed it was about 7 feet. Everyone on the boat was screaming with excitement because the shark went right next to the boat — only a few feet from us — over and over again. We kept telling the children this is a once in a lifetime occurrence - soak it in!

After the excitement of the shark, the captain asked if we wanted to see some turtles. Of course we did! We had seen them at Turtle Beach, but you can never see too many turtles :) He took us to a spot with a lot of turtle grass.

The Captain told us he works with a research institute in Florida to track information about the turtles found in Savannah Sound. He asked if we’d like to see what that means. This process took a while- first you track a turtle by driving behind it, and wait for it to come up for air three times. After the third breath, the turtle is tired giving you a better chance of catching it. Catching it? Yes! Unbelievable! First Little Bubba- the 10 year old- gave it a try. He dove off the bow, hands outstretched to grab the turtle before the rest of his body hit the water. Unfortunately, the turtle was too fast and got away. Next Tubby tried. He had an unsuccessful attempt, and then got a turtle!

The children all touched the turtle and we counted the spines on it’s stunningly beautiful shell, noting the special shape at the tail. Then we measured the turtle. He showed us where a tag would go, and then we released the turtle. The turtle was on board for less than five minutes, but it is something we will never forget!

Next, the captain took us snorkeling by the reef. We didn’t last long because the water was a bit choppy, but in our short excursion we saw a lion fish, two flashing squid, and a lot of fish! Maria (7) stuck next to the captain and took in all he could show her; she really loves snorkeling and the underwater world.

Our last educational bit of the day was about starfish. Each child (who wanted to) jumped off the boat and dove down into the water to get a starfish, then waded with it to shore. They thought they were turtle catchers :) and were super proud of themselves. We learned about starfish; I honestly don’t remember anything we learned, except how to safely put a starfish back in the water. We took some pictures, returned the starfish, boarded the boat and headed back to the dock. It was a FABULOUS day!

Check out our other Savannah Soundvidoes —more of the shark and turtle catching!— and Eleuthera videos on YouTube.