We are making quite the circuit of the Exumas. As usual, we are waiting for the right weather to move further south. After the south winds we had a few days of very light winds followed by another cold front (guys, it's APRIL. Enough with the cold fronts!). Our original plan was to head down to Warderick Wells, HQ of the Exuma Land and Sea Park, before the cold front arrived, but only one anchorage there provides all-around protection and it was already full up with boats (boats are only allowed to tie up to moorings in the park and reservations must be made through the park office). Instead we decided to head down to Shroud Cay, just inside the border of the park, for a night and then come back to Norman's Cay to sit out the cold front.
I thought Shroud Cay would be a cool stop as it has numerous estuaries that can be explored by dinghy plus several snorkeling sites. I had a day mapped out where we would traverse the island by dinghy in the morning and then spend the afternoon snorkeling. However, on our last stop at Highbourne Cay, we neglected to fill up our fuel tank for the dinghy and only had about half a tank (1 gallon) left. The next place where fuel is available is well south of the park, about 40 miles away. Hill's plan was to conserve our fuel by using the dinghy as little as possible until we had a chance to refuel. This obviously didn't mesh with my plan of island exploration by dinghy, not to mention the next week or so where we would use the dinghy to explore other parts of the park. A tense few hours of "discussion" ensued over what to do.
Fortunately, Hill came up with the idea that we motor back to Highbourne Cay to get extra fuel and then head down to Shroud Cay. Problem solved without resorting to extreme measures (i.e. the kitchen knives).
Motoring back to Highbourne, it was calm, still, and HOT. I spent most of the ride up on the bow trying to capture whatever breeze I could and using the thin sliver of shade provided by the mast. We got our fuel and then headed back down to Shroud Cay. We arrived at 6pm and spent the last hour or so before sunset exploring one of the mangrove swamps near our anchorage.
On Monday, the wind was supposed to shift from southeast to southwest around noon. We were hoping to snorkel in the morning before the wind shift occured, as the anchorage and nearby snorkeling sites were all exposed to the west. However, the wind shifted around 8 am so we had to book it out and back to Norman's Cay. Instead of snorkeling, we visited with some of the folks we met here and then took a walk on the Cay to check out the old drug lord's house and its several visible bullet holes in the garage.
The cold front reached us this morning and the wind has been blowing at 20+ knots all day. About 15 other boats are anchored nearby, one of them VERY nearby - as the current shifted at low tide both Hill and the other boat's captain were up on deck watching anxiously to see how close we would come, but we didn't hit (for the record, we anchored first).
Fortunately, the rest of the week calls for good weather and the long-awaited easterly winds. We have a reservation for the park HQ for tomorrow so we will be heading down there after we eat breakfast. Tonight we are going inshore to eat dinner at MacDuff's, a restaurant serving a small resort here on Norman's Cay. I'm craving conch fritters.
Comments