Day 44-45. May 5-6. On to Shroud Cay in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. MIles 16.2 Total Miles 695.9
Day 44
Had a lazy morning and left the anchorage at 9:15. As we were preparing to leave the first tour boat, "Pieces of Eight" from Nassau, entered the harbor. All the iguanas came out to greet the new tourists!
Bill also took some drone shots of this beautiful anchorage.
We pulled anchor and headed out of the harbor heading west to avoid numerous sandbars. The sea had a slight swell and winds are 10-15 knots.
Our plan is to take this week to get to Georgetown, our southern most point and then begin our return trip north stopping at the cays we missed on our way down.
Beyond the sand bars we turn south and pass Highbourne Cay with its big marina, then the smaller rock cays of Lobster, Long and Saddle. We then pass the larger Norman's Cay which we will hit on the way back.
We then enter the Exuma Land and Sea Park, which was established in 1958 and is the first marine reserve in the Bahamas and the wider Caribbean. The park is a no catch, no take zone. Leave only your footprints, read the sign!!! The park is known for its beautiful beaches, scenery and varied wildlife.
Along the north shore of Shroud Cay are a few boats anchored.
We took a mooring ball just past the point along with 8 other boats. Here are some shots of our anchorage.
Such gorgeous water color here. Shroud Cay is known for its mangrove creeks which we will explore. These creeks are habitats for turtles, fish and shore birds. We have already been greet by the Forster's tern with it long tail feathers flying over our boat.
Also heard the Bahamian Mockingbird and a Red Eyed Vireo in the Shrubs of Allen's Cay.
Bill took the drone up at Shroud also and got some great shots. The first ones are of the shore line and anchorage.
These last shots are of the island interior with its mangrove creeks.
We put the dinghy in the water so we can explore the creeks. Bill did make a map so we would not get too lost!
Going around the point which protects our mooring field, we head into the mangrove creek which winds its way through the island and ends up at a beach affectionately called The Washing Machine.
This is what the creek looked like.
You have to travel the creek at a rising tide as some areas are quite shallow. We slowed several times in our one mile journey inside the island to watch for depths.
Arriving at the beach area, we found it crowded with dinghies and people! Everyone was jumping and wading into the pass and floating out to the Atlantic where a convenient sand bar allows you to wade back to shore.
We walked the rocky beach and, of course, Bill had to climb on the rocks.
We then found a trail which took us to the top of the bluff for some great views.
Returning to the dinghy, we headed further north to exit the mangrove creek into Exuma Bank and make our way south, back to the boat.
Along the way we stopped to try to photograph a turtle swimming with us in the creek. Well I tried!!
Day 45 Lay day in Shroud Cay
We took a deserved rest from travel to stay in this beautiful location one more day. Slept in and at rising tide traveled along the Shroud Cay's shore line to discover a beautiful cove and rocky limestone walls.
We were in the company of some might big boats in this anchorage!
We then went into the mangrove river again to enjoy the beach. We took some extra shots of the beach and its rocky walls. Along the way we saw 6 turtles swimming in the creek.
We met some fellow travelers on the beach, who have lived on their boat for 15 years and seen the world!! Was interesting to hears their stories. as the tide began to change we then made our way back to the boat for a leisurely dinner and evening.
Left Delaware City at 5:35am to be able to take advantage of the strong currents going with us while traversing Delaware River and Delaware Bay. The Delaware River goes south about 15 miles and flows into the Delaware Bay. As we travel south, New Jersey is to the east and Delaware is to our west. We are traveling just outside the shipping channel and are really moving at 10.9 knots. That is three knots faster than we normally travel, as the outgoing tides are pushing us along. Nice to have Mother Nature helps us save on fuel. The Delaware River is about 8 miles wide so there is plenty of room for the freighters and the pleasure boats. So far, we have not encountered any commercial traffic, but there is a large freighter behind us that will eventually pass us as they travel at 14 knots. The Delaware Bay proper varies from 23-29 miles wide and 26 miles long. There are five lighthouses on the Delaware marking the shipping channel. We went by Ship J...
Reflections on the Bahamas Over the past 10 weeks, we have traveled through Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma Islands and enjoyed the hospitality of the Bahamian people. We have learned all about the islands, its unique geography - limestone, caves, blue holes and chalk cliffs; and colorful history-pirates and rum running, salt ponds and cotton plantations, boat building and wrecking/salvage. Traveling over 1300 miles through narrow cuts and wide bays to vast depths of ocean, we negotiated the islands and found safe harbors, calm coves for anchoring, bays filled with moorings and marinas large and small. This trip required us to pay close attention to the weather, the tides and currents as we traveled between and through the islands. The Bahamian people are warm and friendly, willing to give us rides, advice and directions, as well as some secret recipes!! We enjoyed hiking trails, walking the beaches, snorkeling the coral rocks and reefs, discovering ruins and ol...
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