The water is usually calm giving excellent visibility for snorkeling. Coral grows in clumps and the tides rush between them curving depressions in the shallow water. You can read the water depth by looking at its color. Light blue means shallow and dark blue deeper. Coral shows as dark areas.
Many small fish inhabit the shallow waters.
Scuba divers go to the reef a 100 yards out. Conch shells crawl the bottom along with the spring starfish migration. . Looking into the refuge, you can get an idea of the dense, semi arid tropical vegetation that inhabits the area and the thickness that hides the wildlife. Small needle fish and barracuda prowl the shallows in search of bait fish as do the locals. The underwater grassy areas are home to large sea cucumbers and crabs.