Little Billy was born on an island, a small island. So he was surrounded by the sea, but not just any sea. Little Billy learned that most of the world was water, some places called seas, some oceans, some lakes and ponds, and puddles, and there where rivers and streams. As he grew older he realized that he did indeed live surrounded by a very special sea called the Caribbean.
He had heard about the cold and violent Atlantic Ocean from his Grandfather, and read about the vast and warm Pacific Ocean so far away from where he was born and giant cold lakes which seemed so much larger then his own Caribbean home, the warm, soft, clear, sea he felt safe in, so full of fascination, and danger.
To visit the the sea he had to learn to swim in it, since he was not a fish, and could not breath water, he learned he could float in it near the surface and breath through a tube and wear a mask to protect his eyes from the stinging salt. Though oceans and seas can be fearfully deep, the waters near the shore of the little island were shallow and welcoming, and full wonders and colors and shapes so amazing.
Though surrounded by the sea, the little island only had two clean white sandy beaches allowed for the public, the remainder were private, and where there was no beach at all there were sea walls to protect the roads, and docks for boats, and wharfs for ocean going vessels. Of the two beaches he could visit, his favorite was called “Smathers Beach”, he had no idea who Smathers was at the time, just that whomever he was, he must have been important to have Billy's beloved beach named after him.
Billy's father had found a diving mask small enough to fit his head, and a breathing tube he said was called a “snorkel”. He taught Billy how to prepare and adjust the mask and how to fit and use the snorkel so he felt well prepared to explore the wonders that laid beyond the gentle waves that softly kissed the warm white sand and beckoned.
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