Baby Sea Turtle Release - Memoirs of Paradise

I sit on the bow of the M/V Shear Water as she slowly moves through the crystal-clear waters of the Little Bahama Banks. Looking out in the horizon, the calm ocean blue water mends with the blue sky above. Puffs of powder white clouds dance in the reflection of the boat's wake while the noon day's sun glistens off the crest of each wave.

The rhythmic sound of the waves breaking on the boat's bow entrances my state of mind. Staring out the port side of the boat, I watch as a patch of orange-colored Sargassum seaweed slowly drifts past me.

Entering the water with only my mask, snorkel and fins, I carefully swim with my right hand high above the water. Softly clenched in my hand was one of nature's little wonder – a baby loggerhead sea turtle. This little creature, along with close to two hundred of his siblings, traveled through the night from West Palm Beach, Florida onboard the M/V Shear Water to the glass-calm Gulf Stream near the Bahamas. My mission, like that of the rest of the passengers, was to release these little wonders onto the patches of floating Sargassum seaweed.

The instant the baby sea turtle's body touches the water, he begins to unwieldily flutter his flippers — even before I could break him lose from my grip. With all his might he instinctively swims for the small patch of Sargassum seaweed. This living raft is home to a number of juvenile creatures making their long trek across the ocean. Although these little turtles have been saved the dangerous journey from the shore of Palm Beach, they now rest at the fate of the ocean's current and the many predators who will visit these floating biospheres.

I watch with much delight as this little turtle and his siblings return to the wild. Some decide to take refuge on this floating raft while others clumsily swim in all directions out into the deep ocean blue.

Where their instincts guide them to go is a secret locked deep within the mind of these little marvels. Meanwhile, many of us take of advantage of the moment to swim alongside them and capture some images that will forever lock this wonderful memory in our minds and hearts.

Within this moment our adventure begins with high hopes of great weather, wonderful diving, and magical encounters in the northern Bahama Islands . To make this fabulous trip possible, we enlisted upon some very special individuals who have made the waters of the Bahamas their second home – Jim Abernethy, Anna Abernethy, Capt. Mike Walker, and Steve Silliker; a wonderful group of people that make up part of Jim Abernethy 's Scuba Adventures.

See our baby sea turtle photo gallery here