We left Highbourne Cay and headed toward the Exuma chain of islands. This area was one of our favorites when we were here two years ago. Much of the Exuma chain is a Bahamas national park which provides protection from development and preservation of the natural environment (more on this park in the next posting).
We were able to sail all the way to Shroud Cay, about 19 miles, with winds in the mid-teens and gusts as high as 25 kts. That is a pretty healthy gust. We were under reefed sails (making the sails smaller by not putting up the whole sail) to keep the boat from being overpowered by the strong winds, and we settled back and let Regina do her thing. It was a pretty day with emerald water all around us and the sun shining. We wished we had farther to go!
We found a good spot to anchor behind Shroud Cay and enjoyed great views, calm waters and a nice breeze.
By morning however, the wind had moved from due East to South East, and our nice comfy spot when we went to bed was now rolly and uncomfortable. The captain suggested moving a few miles to a small spot she knew of (how she keeps all these places in her head astounds me), so we upped anchor and motored up to a different part of Shroud Cay with protection from the east and south. It had a narrow channel with enough water for us to get through only near high tide so there weren’t many boats here. It is quite lovely.
The added benefit here is a couple of mangrove “rivers” to explore. One goes to the ocean and rewarded us with a stunning beach and beautiful views of sand, coral and clear blue/turquoise water. A former sailor used to have a spot where he camped out on land called "Camp Driftwood" that has an absolutely amazing 360 degree view of the water and cays. We saw some turtles and rays and other small fish in the mangrove creeks too. This really is an amazing place.
It’s still blowing pretty hard, and we may get some rain squalls later today (which only last about 5 minutes and rinses the salt off the boat so we actually welcome them), but it really doesn’t get much better than this.
Thanks for reading!
David & Mary Beth