Getting The Cruising Groove

Wed Nov 14:  On a mooring ball #9 at Warderick Wells in the Exuma Park.   Pretties place yet, but it is remote.  We are in between the BTC (Bahamas Telecom) cell towers, so we are reduced to no internet except for the 56kb Satellite connections…very very slow.  I'll be making 2 or 3 posts from here, but I'm not sure when they will be uploaded.  I'm hoping at our next anchorage at Cambridge Cay or certainly by Saturday night at Staniel Cay.

Saturday November 10th:

West Palm Into the Exumas

We left Highbourne Key on Saturday morning for the 90 minute cruise to Shroud Cay.  ActiveCaptain, which is a social media site for cruisers, had high reviews so we decided to anchor there of 2 nights.  We had problems with the "down" part of the windlass.  Motor spins, but the clutch is slipping.  Fortunately the "up" works fine.  We anchored in 12 feet water and I let out a 7:1 scope.  Scope is the ratio of the length of the anchor chain to the depth of the water plus windlass height above water.  IF there is no current or other boats nearby and the wind is going to blow in a consistent direction, larger scope is more secure.  At

Southbound Exumas

the Shroud Cay anchorage there is no current, no other boats and the wind was going to be consistent out of the ENE but blowing up to 25 kts.  More anchor scope, better holding, better sleeping!

Shroud Cay had a number of cool things to do.  There are 3 Cays to explore.  Norman's to the North, Shroud, and then Hawksbill to the South.  There were two hikes, two mangrove creeks and two good snorkeling areas to explore. 

No Cocaine - I Checked

After anchoring, we went north to Norman's Cay to see the wreck of Carlos Ledher's cocaine over-loaded plane that crashed in the 1980's.  Norman's cay was the launching point for most of the cocaine going Florida in the 1980's.  Norman's Cay had changed and the bullet riddled houses once part of the cartel's housing were gone.  There is a significant construction project going on with a huge marina almost complete.  This will be the biggest marina in the Exumas when complete.

Tender at  Camp Driftwood

We headed back to Shroud Cay and explored the two mangrove creeks.  The most northern creek is named Sanctuary Creek which led to the east shore where you could see the full force of the North Atlantic in November.  We beached the tender on the shoals for the hike to Camp Driftwood. 

Camp Driftwood is a place a hermit lived during the 60's and 70's.  Cruisers would visit him and bring driftwood, food and other things found on the beach.  He got sick in the late 70's and cruisers would leave messages for him in a large glass jar.  Just before he died, one cruiser brought the jar to him in Nassau with hundreds of notes wishing him well.  The Exuma Park Service has removed all of the driftwood and there is nothing at the site other than a sign and a fantastic view.  But the legend still lives on.

Sanctuary Creek - Shroud Cay

Back to Top Shelf to start dinner around 4:15pm.  Tonight's menu is grilled sausage and Elaina's beans and rice that she "canned" for us.

Sanctuary Creek from Camp Driftwood

Sunday November 11th:  After breakfast we headed south to Hawksbill Cay.  The second hike was to Russell Ruins.  In the 1860's during the American Civil War, Russell brought 60 or more freed slaves to the island to farm fertile areas.  Their main food source was conch and fish.  One of the prominent remains is an oven that was used to melt conch shells to make mortar for the limestone bricks used for their buildings.  Kind of cool, but the exploring was cut short when the mangrove bugs drove us back into the sea!

Julianne Snorkeling

On the way back to Top Shelf, Julianne had her first snorkeling opportunity in the Bahamas.  It was a very small reef, but because the location is remote, the reef was packed with fish.  Julianne has a tough time with any type of mask as she is extremely claustrophobic.  But my small volume free diving mask seems to be working for her.  Each day she is making big gains in the snorkeling skills department.  Dinner Sunday night was left overs from the previous two meals.  The food on Top Shelf is at a new level, delivery sandwiches excluded!