Day 15 - One Last Dive of Sapphire Beach

I figured I would do one last snorkel dive at our reef at Sapphire Beach Resort. It is amazing the diversity one sees daily and the new marine life you see day after day. I only wish we lived closer to such an abundant coral reef. Enjoy the pics!!

The hues of blue and green on this guy were awesome!

It's hard to see but there are hundreds of baby fish. They were no bigger than a dot. I wish my camera could have gone super micro!

Coral reef near the shore.

No bigger than 4 - 5 inches wide. First that I had seen of this fish since the trip. Will update the name once researched.

Damsel fish hanging under a coral ledge. I wish the camera would have gotten a clearer picture.

Gorgeous! He moved with elegance. The only one have seen since our arrival. Not sure of the species. Will update.

This was some sort of shell that almost looked like a sea urchin, only its spines were about a 1/2 thick. It has its mouth open.

Three pompano swimming near shore. Took this picture while coming in from snorkeling.

Big Needle Fish. Was about 1.5 feet in length.

Day 14 - Hannah Davis has got nothing on the Schiffers girls!

Olivia on top of Grey Goose

Anna and Olivia at Golden Age Ranch,, St. Thomas

Today the ladies went out with horses from Golden Age Ranch and managed to trot along the beach. All the horses from the place were rescues and the ladies said they had a fabulous time. Thomas and I stayed at the resort and chilled.

Golden Age Ranch was the ranch that DirecTV used for the commercial with Hannah Davis. The commercial was filmed on Lindquest beach where Anna and Olivia rode. It is a small beach and the girls were right where the commerical was shot. Unfortunately, neither rode the horse that was in the commercial, but they did get a chance to pet her - not Hannah Davis - Dad would have enjoyed petting her - Hannah Davis - not the horse!!! Unfortunately she was not present!

Olivia following behind Jesse James on Lindquest Beach in St. Thomas,USVI.

Anna on Lindquest Beach in St. Thomas USVI riding with Golden Age Ranch.

Olivia and Jesse James on Lindquest Beach

Day 13 - Hanging out at Sapphire Beach Resort

Today we are having a laid back day. Thomas ended up bursting his ear drum Friday night, so I took him to the local clinic to have him check and make sure everything was okay. After seeing the doctor we found out that he did rupture the eardrum, but there was also an infection. So, we got some antibiotics and all should be good to go now.

The kids are simply mac'n out in the condo and watching some movies today, but Mama and I decided to put our faces back in the water.

Gorgeous blue fish - only about an 1.5 inches long.

Group of Blue Tang along with two cuddle fish in the front.

This guy was somewhat hard to chase down and take a picture of. 

Sea Urchins - Pretty, but not sure they scream, "Eat me!"

Three different Parrot Fishes in one photo. You just can't appreciate the colors.

Day 12- Out with Double Header

Matt and Olivia holding her first caught Mahi -Happiness!

Today we went fishing with Double Header. It was captained by Matt - aka “Making it Happen” and first mate was Chi – aka “Killer”. Matt and Chi grew up on St. Thomas and had been fishing their entire lives. We knew this was going to make for a great trip out.

Thomas showcasing a yummy Blackfin Tuna!

We made our way out to the North Drop about 20 north of St. Thomas. The North Drop is a shelf that runs along the entire region of the British and US Virgin Islands where it drops down to 28,000 feet at its deepest. It was to be our Tuna Mecca.

On our way, we made a slight stop near a local salt pond and Matt managed to catch some bait fish with his cast net. After a few casts, the net was stored and we were back on the run. Luckily today, the wind was laid down so the water was too. It was a smooth ride out to the North Drop and after about 45 minutes into the ride, the guys put out the lines and we started trolling.

Mom trophying her Mahi catch!

Once we started trolling, it was game on. Most of the time when one line hit, two more hit. Yes, it truly was “Tuna Mecca”. On one of our hits, we caught three different tuna species – Blackfin, Skipjack and Yellowtail. We trolled for most of the afternoon, except for about 45 minutes when we used live bait. Matt stopped near a bouy and checked to see if anything was hanging out. First throw and “BAM!” – caught a Mahi! We quickly scurried to through more lines in and reeled in another 6 Mahi!

The real Mahi Master - Thomas!

After the Mahi wrangle we tried one more bouy a little further out with no success and then went back to trolling. We trolled for the remainder of the trip and kept hitting jackpots!

We knew of six times that we had 3 lines going at the same time. It was fun to watch the kids and Anna reel in the fish. The smiles and faces are now etched in my mind and are priceless!

Thomas with the only Bonita caught!

Around 6:15pm we started making our one hour trip back to St. Thomas. On the way back we witness an amazing sunset, some beautiful landscapes and a couple of rainbows. What a day!!!!

We ended up with 7 Mahi (2 dropped in the water at the docks), 1 Blackfin, 1 Yellowtail and 18 Skipjack tunas. SUSHI TONIGHT!!!!!

Anna, Olivia and Thomas all  reeling in after running into a school of Skipjack tunas.

Anna happy being back in her natural habitat - on the water!

Olivia mocking the smallest caught of the day!

Thomas with the only Barracuda caught of the day!

Olivia holding her Skipjack!

Sunset off the coast of US Virgin Islands heading back to St. Thomas after fishing with the Double Header.

Day 11 - Another Dive Day with Red Hook Dive Center

We'll just let the pictures speak for themselves. Great dives!

The blue in this picture really doesn't do it justice.

Olivia giving me thumbs up on the first day dive. 

Angel fish. I wish it would have been clearer.

Spotted Eel. It was about two to three feet long. 

School of Snappers.

Grouper sitting on the bottom believing he was hidden with his camoflage.

Small fish which looked really neat. Not sure of the species.

Grouper hanging out in a large sponge.

Small cowfish.

Very elegant tropical fish putting on a show.

Day 10 - Fishing with Ocean Surfari

Thomas and Anna posing with a Skip Jack Tuna - first one of the day!

Today was our first day out on a fish charter. We were fortunate to have Mark, our captain, with Ocean Surfari take us out today. 

Originally the day started with nothing but rain. Mark called me around 1pm to tell me the charter was cancelled for the day due to the storms. I convinced him to re-evalute the trip after checking the weather one last time and see if we could reschedule to go out an hour later. It seemed that an hour is all we needed. The storms dissipated and the thunder was silenced.

We ended up leaving the docks at 2:30pm and headed past St. John to a place called South Point. South Point is about 6 miles southeast of St. Thomas and is a reef where it drops off to 3,000 feet. Places a little further out drop to a little over 14,000 feet.

Mark wrangling the hook out!

Thomas, Anna & Mark with the Caribbean Reef Shark.

It wasn’t long until we had lines in the water and started trolling for Tuna. It didn’t take but a couple of minutes before one of the lines started streaming. “Fish on! Fish on!” Thomas grabbed for the pole and started reeling. Mark got him positioned in the chair and than the real reeling began. As soon as Thomas started reeling, another pole started squealing. I jumped on the pole and reeled a bit, before the fish came off. Thomas reeled for a couple more minutes and brought up a beautiful Skipjack Tuna.

Thomas and I both hooked on!

The lines went silent for about 30-40 minutes and then it started with a fury. We pulled up a Blackfin Tuna and then Mark rigged up one of the poles with one of the half bitten tunas we brought in. The catch was to be a shark and that’s exactly what we managed to get. Thomas hooked right into a Caribbean Reef Shark. This bad boy was a cool 100 pounds and man handled this guy right to the boat.

Anna's Rainbow Runner

Mark then went and rigged up a bunch of lines with live bait. LET THE REELING BEGIN!!! We landed all kinds of fish! The coolest fish I think we caught that we had to release was one called a Horse Eye Jack. 

Mark told me that certain reef fish, along with Barracuda, which feed on smaller fish have a certain bacteria called "Ciguatera".  In this part of the Caribbean it is highly recommend NOT to eat those type of fish. Trust me, after he explained the effects and as much as I like fish, you won't see us eating any we catch.

Anna, Thomas and I caught a bunch of Rainbow Runners and before we knew it was time to start heading back to the docks.

Anna and Thomas fishing with live bait, while Mark is keeping us in check.

Thomas with a nice Barracuda!!!

Thomas holding a Horse Eye Jack. These guys put up a great fight!!

Back at the docks getting ready to start carving up some fish!!!

Additional Pictures From Throughout The Week

Trunk Bay Panoramic View. Just doesn't do it justice.

Needle Fish. I think he liked having his picture taken - he's smiling.

Really interesting creature. Seen them several times here on various coral fans.

Thomas hooked on a tarpon. What a fun reeling!!!

Olivia diving and ascending up a rock wall.

Roosters are all over the island. Some even like this one are a little bolder and enter restaurants.

Thomas catching a blue runner on the 1st day we arrived

Anna and Olivia on our rental Jeep at the resort.

Octopus in hiding.