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Posted By:
Nickens, Dan
Date Posted:
Dec 1, 2017
Description:
A lovely lady stranded on a deserted island surrounded by giant lizards rescued by SeaRey? Now there's a story....
Date Taken:
Nov. 10, 2017
Place Taken:
Exumas, Bahamas
Owner:
Nickens, Dan
File Name:
- Photo HTML
Full size - <img src="/show.php?splash=7G8pLC1kEh">
Medium - <img src="/show.php?splash=7G8pLC1kEm">
Thumbnail - <img src="/show.php?splash=7G8pLC1kEs">
Category:
Yacht Tending Bahamas
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Read what others had to say:
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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"It was a dark and stormy day....." and an appropriate start for anything other than a SeaRey story. Another morning of wind and rain? Apparently the forecast that sent the other SeaReys scurrying for home was coming to full fruition. SuRi had moved a bit further north, near a nice sandbar where I could ride out the coming storm.
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35 Storm Warning 2066
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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Unlike the day before, SuRi was ready for the SeaRey as the guest lined up for some fast and furious, er, slow and fine flying.
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40 Waiting for SeaRey 2084
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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Nearby there was evidence of a less lucky airplane that ended up on a beach. The old news report doesn't say much about why, though.
Over the past several days a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter had been haunting the Staniel Cay airport. Another pilot approached and was abruptly forced away by the local Staniel Police Lady. Now it circled SuRi. To avoid its rotor wash I asked its intentions over the local radio channel. "Just sightseeing," was the professionally delivered answer. Then the copter flew on for sightseeing something else.
| | Attachments:
Old News
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41 Missed Runway 7853
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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Any stromatolites down there?
Rare modern descendents of primordial stromatolites in an open marine environment occur commonly in the Exumas. They started out about 3.7 billion years ago to become the first fossilized evidence of life. They are simple things, cyanobacterial mats or alga turf, colonized by macroalgae, characterized by millimeter thick laminations of agglutinated sediment. Stromatolites are macroscopically layered, lithified sedimentary structures built by the interaction of microbes and sediment. Previously believed extinct, living stromatolite colonies in an open marine environment were first discovered in the Bahamas in the 1980's.
| | Attachments:
42 Rocks Below 7919
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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The condo building microbes live in gooey patches on top of the high rise structures they build. Stromatolites now occur only in the high stress environment of migrating sand waves scoured by currents that keep predators at bay. Or the super salty waters of Sharks Bay in western Australia.
Sadly my above water camera only captured indistinct forms lurking just below the SeaRey's hull.
| | Attachments:
Shadows of Stromatolites 7897
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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Fly a guest to a giant lizard infected island? I was feeling pretty important to be transporting a lovely Monégasque lady there until she told me I wasn't her first choice. She had missed the boat. "But I could have ridden on the jet skis with those two guys," she said pointing. Small consolation, that.
Sure enough, there were two white water trails heading north through heavy seas. "Do they know where they're going? It's miles away!"
"Maybe."
Just in case they were wandering I decided to fly low by them and point them in the general direction. At the time they were headed into a long, one-way bay with no outlet. They got the idea and followed us towards the big lizards.
The water beside lizard beach looked to be a bit too rough for an impressively smooth landing. It was also heavily populated by SuRi's boat and it's guest. I opted to land in an adjoining protected u-shaped bay.
| | Attachments:
43 Possibly Protected 7933
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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As soon as I pulled up to the beach the lady jumped out. I grabbed my camera to shoot one of the giant lizards. Apparently my former passenger mistook my intentions, thinking I wanted a picture of her. Oh, sure. With all those beautiful, rare iguana lurking right behind her!
The Exuma Island iguana is considered critically endangered with a population of just over 1000. The Exuma Island lizards are a subspecies of the northern Bahamian rock iguana. The large lizards are unusually social and don't display the territorial or hierarchical behavior of their foreign relatives. Perhaps it's because they subsist on grass seeds, berries and pigeon poop.
They are considered endangered because of tourism ("ahem!" and feral pigs. Just for the record, I did not get out of the SeaRey to participate in extinction inducing lizard interactions.
| | Attachments:
43a No Wait 2090
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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With seven hours of flight time during the busy flying day, quiet time-outs were limited. It was nice to take an occasional break to wade around the sand bar, though, followed by furious water-splashing sprints chasing the seaplane as it blew backwards into the open sea.
("Where was my anchor?" you may ask. "Safely secured in SuRi's aviation storage room," I'd have to say.)
| | Attachments:
45 Shallow Parking 2093
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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The sand bar was supposed to provide protected water near SuRi for SeaRey operations. That might have worked except the tide came in.
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46 Wave Reflections 7949
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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With a shrinking bar and rushing currents, there wasn't much smooth water available.
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47 Complicated Flow 7945
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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When the sun set, flying stopped, leaving only air boating on rough water.
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48 Rough Wait 7953
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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In the end, all that's well is well ended. The SeaRey was loaded back aboard for the trip back to the dreaded island of bureaucrats, Nassau. No way was I inclined to tangle with them again. I hunkered down in my cabin for the overnight trip back.
| | Attachments:
49 Last to Load 2107
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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"You're going to put the yacht where?" Someone had convinced the captain to park the SuRi at the Atlantis marina. It's suitable for smaller boats. No vessel the size of SuRi would dare venture in. Until now.
The channel was tight enough I could have just jumped to shore. That was comforting given that we were maneuvering beside giant hull ripping boulders. And the wind was howling, blasting the giant sail SuRi's superstructure offered it. The lateral thruster engine labored mightily, rapidly heating towards meltdown. The chief engineer was a wreck.
| | Attachments:
50 Cruising to Atlantis 7972
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Nickens, Dan - Nov 27,2017
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In a remarkable show of seamanship, the captain safely docked SuRi at the Atlantis, occupying about 15 of its normal slips. And, that was it for SeaRey adventures in the Bahamas. Even though the channel outside the Atlantis was once used for seaplane operations, the local bureaucrats thought it was all too risky now that big cruise ships plied the protected water.
My friend the videographer made a movie about the SeaRey rescue of the lovely lady from the giant lizards. Well, maybe it's more about playing on SuRi in the Bahamas. Whatever.
| | Attachments:
SuRi Video
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52 Fancy Parking 7985
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Russ Garner - Nov 30,2017
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Great video Dan and what a lucky guy you are.
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Nickens, Dan - Dec 01,2017
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Amazingly, improbably lucky, Russ, to have a lovely, loving wife that let me leave a lucrative professional career mid-stream for frivolously flying around the world. And, to have a dog that doesn't bite me when I get home!
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Russ Garner - Dec 01,2017
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Dan, you're lucky coming and going then.
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Dave Edward - Dec 01,2017
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What a great outlook and philosophy Dan. You are indeed a ' lucky ' man, but, me'thinks luck had little to do with your wonderful life.
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