Palisadoes

Palisadoes is the long, naturally-formed shingle spit which separates Kingston's huge anchorage from the Caribbean Sea. At its end, where the ships enter Kingston harbour, stands the old pirate settlement of Port Royal. The spit also accommodates Kingston's international airport.

Such sand as it had was black, and it was littered with flotsam of all types - as well as a couple of shipwrecks - but we went there frequently partly because it had personality, partly because it was the nearest sea to our house, but mostly because....

....it was a good place to go fishing. I used a spinning reel, usually with spoons but also with more exotic lures such as poppers, and it was possible to catch some very fine fish. The best time to fish was through the dawn on a rising tide, when snook and jackfish came in close to feed. Friends used to worry about my going there as it was inhabited by 'Rastas' but they never bothered me: the only time they became excited was when I hooked a shark which, to their disappointment, I lost as it came through the breakers.

We also took the family, and our friends, out there, and at first we swam off the beach, though the currents meant it wasn't particularly safe. We became even more careful after I spotted a shark swimming just offshore when Gill was holding Katy in the water for her swim.

Since the geology of the island to the east of Kingston was very varied, and several rivers also emptied sediment into the sea, the beach had a wide range of pebbles. So, as well as interesting igneous rocks such as vesicular lavas for the school collection, we picked up semi-precious stones including jasper and agate.

We would sometimes end a day at Palisadoes by driving along to the point where the airport's runway ended, and stand at the fence watching jumbo jets coming hurtling down the runway towards us to pass low over our heads in a great roar of power.

The fish in the picture is a snook and, yes, I was very proud of it.