3.23/Monday Highborne Cay Marina

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Steve spent the morning on Gigi’s Island with Vic and Dan; I guess talking about sailing. Julie/Nike and Glenn came by to use the Internet again. I worked a little on the Blog after Julie and Glenn left and tried to straighten the inside of the boat. After lunch, Steve and I rode the bikes as far north on the island as the paved road would take us expecting to find a path leading us to the upmost end of the Atlantic beach. We came upon a cul-de-sac at the end of the road, with nothing but mangroves and palms and no path leading to the beach. We both noticed a clearing a few yards away from the cul-de-sac made by surveying the property which lead to a body of water; we decided to see is it would take us to the beach. Unfortunately, it was only a coral ledge, but we did enjoy the view.

We enjoyed our last Mahi-Mahi fillets for dinner and I called/Skype Jacob and Catherine. I can’t believe how much he has changed in just a few weeks. For our evening entertainment being hooked to shore power, we watched the movie “Outboard.”

3.24/Tuesday Highborne Cay Marina to an anchorage at Highborne Cay

I forgot to mention one rather funny experience while in the marina these last few days. We have a really nice shower area in the head that most sailboats are lacking and I use it frequently, except when we are in a marina, I shower in their facilities. Why do I load up all my shower stuff and haul it to the public shower? Because we now have to purchase our water for the boat and our tank has to last as long as we can stretch it. At Highborne Cay Marina, you purchase a token for $4; you’re given a code number to open the secured door, and you are allowed 4 minutes of running water in the shower. Darnell, the lady I bought the token from, told me to make sure I had everything ready to go for my shower before I inserted my token. So I was prepared and ready to take a $4 shower in 4 minutes. I might add, you didn’t have to pay for the running water in the sink and I did briefly ponder washing my hair in the sink. I took the fastest shower on record, only to find that the water was still running when I finished. I stood there and stood there and stood there……….I probably had 3 minutes remaining. I decided the next shower I took, I would bring along the kitchen timer so I could enjoy the $4 shower. Sunday, it worked and I enjoyed the experience to its fullest. Life on a sailboat!!!!! What can I say!

I also forgot to mention my shopping trip to the small grocery/gift store adjacent to the marina office. Julie/Nike served wheat corn chips with salsa the night we ate on their catamaran, which I really thought tasted great. I asked her where she had purchased them and she said in the grocery store at Highborne Marina. So, before we departed I found the medium bag –it was $8. I plan to enjoy each individual chip to the max!

Even though we were anxious to move south, the high pressure front with prevailing easterly winds at 20-25 knots, was lingering, forcing us to stay another day in the Highborne Cay area. We moved to same place we anchored on Friday of last week , to spend the day and night. Our friends on Nike were there also, but were planning to leave later in the day for Allens Cay.
The wind howled all night 20-28 knots, but we were in the lee of the island and were able to get a pretty good night’s sleep.

3.25/Wednesday Highborne Cay to Shroud Cay

The high pressure continues to lingering with 20-25 knot winds out of the east. We had 12 miles to travel to Shroud Cay, sailing until we changed course motoring into the anchorage. Our motor sail to Shroud Cay was short, arriving at an anchorage around 11:30 am. We had been told about a creek that you could motor through, taking you to the Atlantic Ocean and to a beautiful beach. After lunch we hoisted the dinghy off the bow of the boat and attach the outboard motor so we could go exploring. Before we took off, Steve said the motor was not operating as usual and wanted make a “test drive” before we started off exploring. The motor quit on Steve about 200 yards from the boat and he rowed back. For most of the afternoon, he tinkered with the motor trying to diagnose the problem. After pouring some of the gasoline into a coffee can, he found water somehow had gotten into the gasoline tank.

With strong currents and 10-15 knot winds in the afternoon, we decided to just stay on the boat and try to row into shore tomorrow. I finished reading my book and Steve reviewed charts.

3.26/Thursday Shroud Cay

I was cloudy today with 10-15 knot winds. Steve messed with the motor and the gas for several hours, until he finally felt like we would need to get some fresh gas in order for it to run properly. We hoisted the motor back onto the boat, but kept the dinghy in the water for Steve to row us into shore for the afternoon. We were both disappointed to not be able to motor out to the beach area or explore some of the snorkeling areas, but agreed we would stop over on our return trip.

Of course, the winds were beginning to shift southeast, which was our course direction for the next week. Why is the wind always “on the nose?” We watched the sunset and made plans to leave in the morning for Warderick Wells.

3.27/Friday Shroud Cay to Warderick Wells

Again, the high pressure was still lingering producing 15-20 knot winds with 2-4 foot waves in the Exuma Sound. Steve said it would probably be a rough travel day, with the waves pounding the bow. I closed all the ports and hatches and made sure everything was secure for the uncomfortable motor some 12 miles south. We departed at 10:00 am, facing strong winds and high waves. At times the waves would slow the boat down a few knots as it hit the bow and many of the waves would splash over the bow and into the cockpit, leaving Steve and I wet.
In order to secure a mooring ball at Warderick Wells, you call the Exuma Cays Park radio at 9:00 pm. They put you on a list with your boat name, length of the boat, and draft of your boat (how much water you need before you run aground). Once they feel everyone who wants a mooring has signed in, they assign mooring ball numbers based on your size boat. The north mooring field is a much more secure spot for most all wind direction, as it is mostly surrounded by hills on all sides. We were given a mooring ball number, told to let them know when we arrived, and they would give us directions into the mooring field.

Even though the trip was uncomfortable, the colors of the water were magnificent, especially when the sun would shine down to the bottom, causing the water to look more beautiful. We arrived at the mooring area, but could not find our mooring ball number. When we spoke with the Exuma Park office, we found we were at the south mooring field, not the north. We had to motor back out the channel and around a huge sand bar which took us another 45 minutes. The mooring field resembles a donut shape with a deep channel on the outside rim of the area and a sandbar in the middle. The channel is just wide enough for two boats to pass each other and is about 14 feet deep at high tide.

Warderick Wells is the headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. The park, a no take zone by land and sea, (meaning look but don’t take plants, shells, fish, etc.) was established in 1958 to preserve and maintain the delicate ecological balance of marine life in the Bahamas. The park stretches from Wax Cay Cut in the north to Conch Cay in the south, some 22 miles long. It includes 15 large islands and many more tiny ones. Throughout the park there are lovely reefs and underwater life for snorkelers and looky-bucketers. (looking through a glass/plexiglass bottom bucket)

After eating a late lunch, (check out the pictures of the birds trying to eat lunch with us) Steve rowed us a short distance to a beach area by the park office to pay our mooring fee and pick up information about the park. We were met on the beach by a 52 foot skeleton of a Sperm whale who died from eating plastic in the ocean. Since we were limping without a motor on the dinghy and couldn’t come and go easily, we decided to hike to Boo Boo Hill and to the BlowHole while we were on the island.

Boo Boo Hill, the highest point on the island, is a shrine for boaters/visitors who would like to leave a memento of their visit on the hill in various forms. Check out the picture “ TharSheBlows;” it will tell the story of the hill. As we walked along the sea cliffs overlooking the Exuma Sound, we could hear a sound much like “Boo, Boo.” I found myself walking around the area looking for the blow holes, only to be surprised when air suddenly burst out of two holes below me, blowing my cap completely off my head. At another blowhole, you could actually see water spray forced out of the blowhole. The sounds were errie. I was sorry I had not brought along my video recorder, but made a mental note to plan a trip back with the camera before we departed.

3.28/Saturday Warderick Wells

We hiked to Boo Boo Hill and Blowholes again but the waves had subsided and you couldn’t hear or see anything coming out of the blowholes. Earlier in the day, I snagged a small piece of wood on the island, probably from a boat. I put it in my pocket to use as my memento of our visit to Boo Boo Hill. See the picture of my creation. So if you ever get to Warderick Wells, I little “War Eagle” magic was left on the hill. Hope it brings us luck this year!