Well we left the bright lights of Georgetown behind us on Monday 21st March 2005. The crossing was fine apart from the fact that the wind clocked round to a direction it was not supposed to coming from. As usual this was the direction we wanted to go in. We sailed as close to the line as we could and then dropped the sails and motored the last 5 miles to the anchorage. When we try to drop the mailsail it refuses to come down and is jammed up the mast and when it finally releases the first sail runner (see picture) has broken away from the mast. The sailrunner slides up a track attached to the mast and pulls the sail up. Its 2 weeks before we get a new one from France, Until then we make a temporary repair. We get to Conception island and anchor up in what is one of the most untouched places we have ever seen. There are no human residents on Conception. The island is home to thousands of turtles who breed in the shallow protected water of the natural creeks that enter the island from the sea.

The anchorage was peaceful and the next day we headed off to see if we could find lunch. On the north side of the island are hundreds of small coral heads about the size of a small car, inside some of these live Grouper. Now Grouper in the Bahamas is like Cod in England, its a very popular dish, and in Conception Island there are Grouper as big as pigs. We set out on a hunting expedition to find supper. We find several grouper in a large coral head and play cat and mouse for a for about 10 minutes until the activity catches the attention of the local shark population. A 5ft Reef Shark arrives to see what all the commotion is about. Now while the sharks have not got snorkelers on their menu, the grouper we are after would be an easy meal for them if we manage to shoot one.

I must also explain the rules about shooting fish. There are such things as spear guns, very accurate and deadly devices needing not much skill and thought to use. However in the Bahamas spear guns are illegal, in fact on entry into Bahamian water with a sailing vessel you have to declare if you have a spear gun on board. The penalty for getting caught are severe and include confiscation of your vessel and prison. The only methods to catch these fish is by hook and line or Bahamian Sling or pole spear.

The Bahamian Sling is best described as a spear catapult, using one of these is very much an art, the locals are taught at an early age, and visitors have to learn quickly the techniques that work. Grouper are predators that normally live around coral heads which offer them good protection. They are very wary and suspicions of anything new. A snorkeler with a spear is very suspicious and more often than not they disappear into the maze of holes before we even see them.

After having several shoots at a particular fish hiding in a large coral head myself and another boater Chuck had attracted the attention of a near-by Caribbean Reef Shark, at this time we may as well go home. The sharks knows there is food about, and if we manage to spear a fish the problem will be getting the fish to the dingy in one piece. Sharks are very opportunistic hunters who believe there is such a thing as a free lunch. To them we are competing for the same food and possession is 9/10ths of the law. He who shoots the fish doesn't own the fish. Knowing that sharks can be persistent and excitable the rule is" if you shoot a fish then see the shark .... let the shark have the fish. If you see the shark first don't bother to shoot the fish .... come back and try again tomorrow".

Sharks are fairly predictable, they eat fish and a bleeding fish that is struggling after being speared is a sure way to get them excited. When this happens they are much less predictable and more likely to bite the wrong thing (ie Me). So we just leave them to it and come back another day.

The next day 5 of us decided to visit a local dive site which was about 15 minutes away by dinghy. As the first diver left the dinghy and looked down there were two large sharks circling below. As all five divers descended to 65ft the smaller shark made a retreat but the larger 6/7ft reef shark slowly cruised and studied the new visitors. For the next forty minutes the shark cruised in and out of sight, never threatening or too close but keeping about 30ft or more distance between itself and the divers. At this point the shark is relaxed and its swimming and movements are slow and unhurried. As I said sharks are opportunistic hunters, why catch your own fish when you can eat someone else catch. Two things excite them, blood in the water and thrashing movements in the water. As long as we have neither, things are cool. If they sense blood they will home in on it from several miles away like a beacon. Searching in a systematic pattern until they find the source. They have special senses that can detect the electrical impulses that are given off when muscles move. These impulses are magnified during distress, such as an injured fish struggling, and light the touch paper whereby a sharks behaviour can change in a matter of second from cruising to hunting.

When we dropped into the water it was about 35ft to the top of the coral head, on the North side of the head its about another 40ft down to the sand. The south side of the coral head is what's known as a wall, it just drops away to about 1500ft. Visibility was good at about 75ft and the dive was spectacular and uneventful. In addition to the sharks we saw some extraordinary coral formations, and numerous other fish including Grouper, Barracuda, snapper, and Tuna.

Another day snorkeling for Grouper provided no supper but when we go hunting we always keep an eye open for lobster, looking under every rock and in every hidey hole that may conceal lunch. After 3 hours in the water, having not even got close to any grouper and no sign of lobster, Chuck spots a crab and brings it back to the dinghy. Another 5 minutes later I look under a large rocky ledge and see a large lobster looking back at me. So I invited him back to the boat for lunch.........

The next day we decided to try our luck at fishing from the dinghy, myself and Chuck went out to the reef and dropped some lines into the water. The amazing thing is that as the water is so clear we could look into the glass bottomed bucket and see not only our bait but the fish swimming around looking at it. We started off using strips of filleted barracuda as bait, then we tried some ballyhoo which are small bait fish and a typical source of food for most predatory fish. Unfortunately the ballyhoo attracted the attention of the sharks. In the matter of about 10 minutes we have about 8 sharks ranging from 4ft to 8ft circling under and around the inflatable boat we are sat in............time to move on.

We move 1/2 a mile and fish again watching the fish take the bait off our hooks. We catch a couple of fish and then the sharks find us again but only a couple this time so we carry on fishing. We have 3 fishing rods in the water, all with wire traces to stop the fish biting through the line. A sun fish eats the bait and gets hooked, the thrashing about as the sun fish tries to escape excites the sharks and they bite at anything close by. They grab Chucks bait and bite clean through the wire like it was cotton.

A little later with 3 tuna and a sharks circling my bait, Chuck has his head in the bucket leaning over the side of the boat giving a running commentary on the action below. Instructions like "lift you bait up quick the sharks moving in" or "drop it down there's a tuna 10ft lower down". Then I feel the rod pull, the reel clicks as it lets line out and then Chucks says" Oh crap you've got a shark". After probably 30 seconds of holding on and watching my line disappear off the reel as the shark, who is apparently not overly bothered that he is attached to me and swimming normally underneath, decides he will bring the battle to a end and bites through the wire again. .................phew......

After four hours and as much excitement as 2 people in an inflatable dinghy surrounded by sharks can handle we head home. Just one fish on board but a good day.

Two days later we sail from Conception Island to Cat Island to try and hide from an incoming weather front.....