Exuma Cay Land and Sea Park

Dark forbidding clouds with downpours crossed harmlessly in front of us as we left Norman's Cay.  As the clouds passed us the wind shifted to the North indicating the passage of a long awaited cold front.  The winds turned out to be much milder than originally forecast - but in line with updates we had received.  We were able to sail most of the way south to Exuma Cay Land and Sea Park in Warderick Wells.  We were lucky enough to get off the waiting list for a mooring in the preferred north mooring field near headquarters.  Some day we hope to post pictures!  Soon you will see Maryanne standing next to a skeleton of a 50 foot sperm whale.

We did go for a short walk but the terrain across the coral was extremely challenging.  We hope to get up to Boo Boo hill tomorrow.  It is a custom to put the name of your vessel on a piece of driftwood and leave it atop the hill.

Exuma Land and Sea Park - shot from atop BooBoo hill
Ours is the middle boat - the dark water is the channel
The light water is the sand bank where you go aground!

We did do some snorkeling at slack tide off of our dinghy.  We still haven't figured out how to get back in the dinghy having neglected to buy a dinghy ladder prior to departure.  I was able to swim the dinghy from the dinghy mooring at the coral garden to our friends' catamaran, Alesto.  Lee and Sherry were nice enough to leave their swim ladder down so that we could climb aboard and then reboard our dinghy.  The swim above the reef gave us good experience snorkeling and a view of a few fish and some coral.  The previous evening I was startled to see a 5 foot manta ray jump clear out of the water.  We have seen quite a few of them looking like giant black blobs swimming just under the surface.

Our days are taking on a little bit of a rhythm.  Maryanne is up before me at 6:15 to make her coffee.  The day begins with listening to Chris Parker's daily 6:30 a.m. weather synopsis and forecast on the SSB radio.  Chris entertains questions from cruisers about their routes, destinations, sea states, and winds.  The radio show may go on for almost an hour.  We have participated with questions about our routes on a couple of occasions.  After the weather we have breakfast and prepare for a voyage or a land-based adventure.  I have been accused of moving with less than lightning speed in the morning as well as many other times during the day - so our departures rarely take place before 9 a.m.  On the day of a sail I have to check the oil and re-tighten the fan belt on my slightly misaligned high output alternator.  If we are headed ashore we usually plan to be back aboard for lunch and then head out again for swimming or exploring.  Maryanne has been doing an amazing amount of cooking and dish washing.  It is definitely time to find a restaurant - but that won't be anytime soon!  Appetizers precede dinner and by the time dinner is over there is only a short time to read and relax until we start falling asleep by 9:00.  Today after snorkeling I had the pleasure of disassembling part of the toilet while Maryanne enjoyed applying vinegar to the mildew on the area next to our berth.

We plan to spend another day here - next: any island with a restaurant!