DESTINATION
1 SNORKEL SCOOTER
SKYLORK (SKYLORK.COM)
Galleon Beach at English Harbour is the setting for this supercharged snorkel. Equipped with your own handheld propulsion device you'll feel like James Bond as you zip across the sheltered bay, the sleek snorkel scooter purring beneath you.
They're remarkably easy to use. Simply clutch the scooter beneath you, press the trigger and a propeller comes to life. One moment you're wading in the beach shallows, adjusting your mask and snorkel, the next you're gliding like an aquatic Peter Pan over seagrass beds.
Press the trigger in quick succession and you can engage two higher speed levels, mindful that your battery only lasts 90 minutes. But that's plenty of time to explore the bay and its diverse features. Green turtles are common – we spot one lying on the seabed peering at us with myopic eyes. Then there's the wreck of an old lifeboat, broken in half during a hurricane. It's since been colonised by corals and a swirling cloud of reef fish. Dive down with your scooter and peer inside the old cabin or the twisted knot of engine remains and you'll glimpse shoals of scarlet squirrelfish.
A little further out, we reach the reef where clouds of blue tangs drift over brain and elkhorn corals; sergeant major damselfish pulse inunderwater, weaving through the reefscape with far less effort than it takes with traditional snorkelling. We round off our jet-propelled adventure by posing for a photo in front of the Pillars of Hercules – strange limestone formations guarding the entrance to the bay.
