Cape Santa Maria

It was no coincidence that we selected our anchorage near Cape Santa Maria – this locale brims with historical significance as the third island stumbled upon by Christopher Columbus during his legendary 1492 expedition, which ultimately led to the revelation of America. Legend has it that in his journal, Columbus waxed poetic about Long Island, hailing it as the most exquisite land he had ever laid eyes upon. Just a jaunty two miles north of Cape Santa Maria stands the Columbus Monument, a testament to Columbus’s fateful landing on Long Island’s shores. Our journey to reach it was no walk in the park – traversing through the untamed forest from the beach near our anchorage to the monument proved to be quite the adventure. Alas, unlike Stocking Island, there were no well-trodden hiking trails here; we had to channel our inner pioneers, akin to the intrepid crew of Columbus’s trusty ship, the Santa Maria. Ahoy, adventure awaits!

Sand beach with anchored SV Oceanolog
Rock formations
Fun with fan coral
One of the developments on the shore
Terns
Relaxing under palm leaves umbrella.
Beach walk
Relaxing in turquoise waters
Refreshing swimming
CTD cast near Cape Santa Maria
A plot of CTD cast’s data: well-mixed shallow waters( T=26.28+/-0.04degC; S=37.01+/-0.01) with near 100% oxygen saturation, very clear (backscatter attenuation 0.001 1/m) with a quite interesting distribution of Chl a and fDOM – very low concentrations at the surface with increase near the bottom, probably, sourced by nearby seaweed field.
Our dinghy’s landing
Salt deposits on shore rocks
Trees heading to the ocean
Cactus
Oceanolog with St.Piter’s Cape in the background
Walking through the tropical forest
Monument commemorating Cristopher Columbus’s landing
Columbus Monument
Monumental shadows
Cape Newton
Blossoming acacia
Poison tree
Under silver palm
Walking between beach rocks
Sunset walking on a beach
Another beautiful sunset

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *