Starfish Point

Starfish Point lies at the very tip of a finger of land extending into Grand Cayman’s North Sound on Water Cay.  The point is within walking distance of our villa.  As the name implies, the point is known for supporting hordes of starfish.

Okay we need to take a deep breath right here.  Most of us are in a bit of trouble (as always, this includes me and you, brother-in-law Terry).  Seems, marine biologists are a bit miffed about us calling these creatures starfish.

They are not a fish.  They are an echinoderm—which is first cousin to sea urchins and sand dollars.

I know what you’re thinking.  Sand dollars aren’t money, either.

Be all of this as it may, we are now invited to call the creatures slowly flexing along the fine white sands at Starfish Point “sea stars” from this time on.

Yes, I know, they are not actually stars, either.

One more thing—and you may not like hearing this—sea stars are not the hapless little beauties you may suspect they are.  While some sea stars might be content gathering up and eating decomposing whatnot in the shallows or on the beach, other species are nasty predators.  These “hunter types” prey on clams, oysters, sand dollars, and any other slightly slower-moving creatures.  They will even take an injured fish if they manage to latch hold of one.

And while sea stars are not blessed with the ability to scuttle away rapidly, they have been blessed with the ability to grow back a limb should they lose one to, say, another predator (or maybe a highly unlikely underwater wood chipper accident).

Yesterday, the whole lot of us pale (but weirdly attractive) Montanans waded around the warm water at Starfish Point—each of us exclaiming “here’s one!” every time we came upon a sea star.  We even made friends with some other folks in the water; one of whom grew up only a few miles away from where that girl did in Ohio.

All in all, I was very impressed with yesterday.  Here are a few photographs to prove it:

A sea star

That girl at Starfish Point

Chris and that girl with a sea star

Making friends in the water

Sunset

—Mitchell Hegman