PegNDerek's Snorkeling
Where intelligent life returns to the Sea
Swim with the Sting
Rays Excursion (Blackbeard’s Cay), Nassau, Bahamas
Ship: Millennium (Celebrity Cruises)
Sailing Date: December 29th, 2002
Date of Snorkel: January 4th, 2003
Equipment Availability: we have our own which we take with us, but snorkels, masks, and vests (No Fins Allowed since they would harm the animals and obscure visibility) are included in the price of the excursion and provided to snorkelers on the island. The equipment appeared to be well worn, but clean.
Water Access: Beach
Blackbeard’s Cay is accessible by a 25 minute launch ride from the pier in Nassau. Given that our ship was in the slip farthest from the terminal in Nassau’s large harbor, it was a real hike just to get from the ship to the launch! They had warned us about this, and we were grateful for our tennis shoes (sandals would have been positively painful for a walk that was this long). The launch ride was comfortable and snacks were provided (cash bar).
Blackbeard’s Cay is a small island beyond the one recently purchased by Eddie Murphy as his summer home. It is an attractive spot with good facilities, although the snack bar and food service were closed (for some unknown reason) during our excursion. The gift shop is terrific and so is the bar—drinks were $6, although you got a dollar back if you returned the cup.
After filling out the lengthy release form for snorkeling, we were escorted to the beach. The snorkeling area is small—about the size of a baseball diamond—fenced in (above and below the water line) to house 26 Southern Sting Rays, ranging in size from large females (up to 5 feet in span) down to immature animals (about 1 foot in span). The animals had been surgically altered to remove their teeth and stings. All of the animals appeared to be in good shape, but were remarkably lethargic for sting rays; the only time they displayed any energy was at feeding time when the humans formed two lines spaced about 7 feet across from each other and got to shove pieces of raw herring into the mouths of the sting rays and they passed through the space between the two lines. It was fun to touch them (incredibly soft and silky skin), but one felt as if one was in a petting zoo with provisioned animals who have nothing to do, and no where to go, until it is time to be fed. This is a former common problem with most land zoo animals, and the staff at Blackbeard’s Cay needs to get their act together to give these animals more exercise and a reason to live! Other snorkeling elements were meager—some algae covered concrete structures (a “treasure chest” and a “cannon”) with a few immature fish. The water varied from 3 to 6 feet deep, with good (not great) visibility.
The whole experience was, quite frankly, rather sad. It is not one that we would repeat or recommend to other snorkelers. It is much better to see Sting Rays in their natural habitat, despite their (undeserved) “dangerous” status.
Snorkeling Grade: D/F
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