Recap Interlude, Part 2: Ahhhh!
Sunrise in the Salt Bay anchorage just east of Nassau…
Made it.
We left the anchorage just east of Nassau this morning and made our way to the Exumas. The trip itself meant navigating some skinny water in several places, including one spot right off the bat where I was convinced the mark shown on the chart wasn’t the one I was seeing ahead of me (and nearly running into a shallow coral reef in the process) but, to be honest, it was simply a great sail…a great day on the water.
After getting past the narrows (with the aforementioned navigational mark) and the Porgee Rocks, we rolled out both sails and went blazing across the Yellow Banks, a particularly
Ripping across the Yellow Bank
shallow section of the water en route to the Exumas. We saw a few coral heads but the depth was never really a worry—it helped that we were traveling as the tide was peaking—so we kept the pedal to the metal and did a steady six-plus knots, with peaks approaching eight. By late afternoon, the anchor was down off Shroud Cay in the Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park among a couple of dozen other boats spread out among a mooring field and several anchorages.
And then…ahhhhh.
…followed by sunset that same day at Shroud Cay in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park
On the way into Shroud Cay we heard someone announce on the VHF that there was going to be a gathering on the beach for sunset. After some cajoling, my crew and I jumped into the dinghy and headed into the small inlet jutting into the cay just in front of where we were anchored. There were three other dinghies there (including one couple from the DC area who kept their boat in Annapolis) and we chatted, enjoyed the gathering dusk and just reveled in FINALLY being out there cruising.
So yes, I made it. I’ve brought Further to a white-sand, turquoise-water paradise. It was a long, long journey, but it feels so, so good to have finally made it. Let’s hope it keeps going so well.
