From Nassau to Allen Cay and on to Warderick Wells - we are now in the Exumas!

The trip from Nassau to Allen Cay in the Exuma Islands is around 28 miles and takes you across "The Yellow Bank". Three years ago, when we chartered for 10 days out of Nassau, we also went across the Yellow Bank, and I was scared for 6 month before going, not knowing what to expect. Why is the Yellow Bank scary you ask? Well, because there are numerous coral heads, and you got to make sure that you don't sail over them but around them, so your boat doesn't get damaged (you get the idea, right?) One is advised to take this trip during the day (no night passage), as you need the sun, preferably behind you, to help you see the coral heads. They are actually quite easy to spot, you need a pair of polarized sunglasses, you place yourself at the bow of the boat, and you keep your eyes peeled. So that's what we did, Warren steered, and I watched. It takes about one hour to go through the Yellow Bank, and then the coast is clear. We only had to go around about 3-4 coral heads, but still, one got to watch. 
Once at Allan Cay, we stayed for a while. This was our first place to just "be", no agenda, just relax. The first couple of days, there was no wind, the water was flat as a pancake, you could see all the way to the bottom. We tried to fish for the first time, and right away, Warren caught a fish. I was fishing as well, but asked Warren to hold my line, so I could go and prepare us lunch. When I got back up on deck, Warren had put the line down, and when I checked it, there was a huge fish on it. But it swam around in a panic and got itself wrapped around the rudder. So Warren had to dive under the boat and decided to cut the fish loose, as it was too big to bring on board (3ft long)
We also went to shore to see the famous Allen Cay Iguanas. There were many of them, and not shy at all, so you got to be careful. 
The piece and quiet didn't last very long, and another "Northern" came through. These Northern are however quite common for January, even into February, but they get less and less strong. Once the wind settled down, we picked up the hook (the anchor), and started making our way down along the island chain. We stopped at Shroud Cay, and wanted to stay there for a few days, but listening to the weather forecast on the SSB (=marine radio) we heard that another blow was coming, and this one was not going to be a picknick. The forecast was for winds of 35 knots even gusting to 40 knts. The most we experienced so far was gusts of around 28 knots, and we thought that was a lot! For two days we studied our charts, and discussed our options. Where to go? Where to hide? We considered sailing back to Nassau, and even going into a marina as a last resort. This blow was supposed to last for up to one week. After much thought and discussion, we opted for Warderick Wells, in the Exumas Land and Sea park. There are mooring balls at WW, plus there are little islands all around, so good protection from pretty much any direction. We left Shroud Cay for Warderick Wells, and we were lucky to get a mooring ball right inside the main mooring field, yay! We were at WW two days before the blow, and were able to explore the area with our dinghy, and also went for hikes on the island. Once the blow started, nobody was able to move around, we all just stayed on our boats and waited for the winds and waves to calm down. The strongest gust we recorded was 36 knots, and this was in a sheltered area. 

Allen Cay, first stop in the Exumas, it's nice and calm, no wind today ...

Look at the colour of the water! You can see every ripple of sand on the ocean bottom, it's about 10 ft deep...

Warren caught his first fish, it made a nice supper! 

It's not all fun and games, chores have to be done as well! Here I do a bit of laundry by hand...

and then hang it up outside on the life lines to dry. 

We are anchored right across from this little beach...

We go see the famous Allen Cay Iguanas...

When you go exploring by dinghy, this is the stuff you come across all over the Bahamas, but it is so beautiful, you can never get enough.

We are in Warderick Wells!

On our mooring ball in Warderick Wells, there is room for around 20 boats, so we were very happy they had room for us...

We went for a hike up to Boo Boo Hill (highest point on Warderick Wells), we are the 5th boat from the left (the white one to the right of the small black boat). You see the dark blue water surrounded by the light blue and almost white water? The dark blue is the channel that's deep enough for the boats to come in and out of Warderick Wells, don't stray from the dark blue, or you get grounded! 

Here is another view from Boo Boo Hill. On the right hand side, the darker blue, that's the Exuma Sound, or Atlantic waters. On the left side you see Warderick Wells, which is on the Exuma Bank, or Caribbean side. The dark blue connecting the two sides is called a "cut". 

The calm before the storm....we decided to move happy hour to the fore deck...a change of scenery so to speak, instead of sitting in the cockpit, LOL!

Sunset!

Remember how I just explained about the dark blue water in the channel and how you must stay in the dark blue or else? Well, this poor guy was in the dark blue, but the wind caught him and blew him onto the light blue, and he got grounded. So that little dot to the left of the dinghy, that's the guy standing in the water with a rope and an anchor, trying to hold the boat from going even more into the shallows (he jumped in with all his clothes on, even a hat!). His wife was at the helm, steering, and the guy in the dinghy, that's Warren gone over to help. See the white stuff along the shore in  the background? That's the Exuma Sound side, waves crashing on shore, this is a few days after the big blow, seas are still crazy, and we are not leaving Warderick Wells yet. Not until it calms down.

Hope you enjoyed, see you next time!