2001 - 5/26 - 5/29 - Shroud Cay; Bell Island; Wardwick Wells

Saturday, 5/26  Same…cloudy, gentle, intermittent rain. We pulled anchor and decided to fish a little in the sound, as I would not be able to fish once we entered the Exuma Land & Sea Park, which starts at Shroud Cay and extends South to Compass Cay. Got put on the waiting list for a mooring at Warderick Wells Park. We went through Wax Cay cut with lots of current and rip. Just before entering the park I got a hit. By the time I reeled it in, something lots bigger got to it and I was left with just the head of the fish. Looked like it might have been a Mackerel. Too bad! We anchored in 6-½ ft near WOODJA. Dinner and a game of dominoes - I won - again.  Sunday, 5/27  WARDERICK WELLS-EXUMA LAND & SEA PARK - 85 degrees, cloudy, light winds. Finally, the water is warm. Pulled anchor about 11:00 am – an easy run of about 20 miles. I took the helm while Wayne put another coat of Cetol on the aft handrail - he wore shorts this time.

you can sorta see the Dinasor bones on the beach to the right of the powerboat's bow

Arrived at Warderick Wells about 1:45. The park, the worlds first in marine conservation, was set up in 1958 and covers 176 square miles of cays, rocks and reefs. It is pristine and the world should take note of its success. We were assigned mooring #5, WOODJA, #11. The park headquarters were closed so we had a little ‘discussion’ about which was mooring #5.  We tied up to the one Wayne thought was #5…it wasn’t.(Nuff said). The remains of a 52-ft whale had been assembled on the beach -an incredible sight.These whales were HUGE. Fishing is not permitted in the park and some very big and extremely friendly fish came up to the boat looking for a handout. Four jacks a couple of really big snapper and a ‘tame’ Barracuda. We were told that we could pet this Barracuda -

"Tame" Baracuda

….yea…right!! Pete and Geneva came over for dinner and more games of dominoes rounded out our evening. Monday, 5/28 - Winds picked up. Is this really Memorial Day? I awoke to rocking and rolling; wind one way, current the other. Wayne went to pay for the mooring and to inquire about the Southern moorings. We decided to move to the lee shore of Warderick Wells and anchor rather than take a mooring. The wind and current had swung BLUE MAX around so much, the lines were fouled.  We used the dingy tow lines to tie off to the mooring ball and Wayne had to use the dinghy to untangle them. I had the helm and checked the charts as to the best route to take. Wayne consulted the chart and we disagreed as to the best approach. We took Molly ashore to yet another gorgeous beach area and followed a trail to an abandoned Loyalist settlement (1780’s) Very interesting. I wish we had more historical information about the area. It mush have been awful for the Loyalists as the ground (rock) was full of holes and deep caves. It would have been impossible to walk around especially at night. Molly did very well climbing the rocks but was getting overheated. I had to carry her on the way back. We skinny dipped and played on the beach. This is soooo great and I’m getting very spoiled having all this time and privacy. We were still rocking and rolling so Wayne set the starboard flopper but couldn’t let it down all the way as we were only in 6’ of water.  Wayne was in a bad mood. Dinnertime was yet another story and another ‘discussion’, or as he calls it, a “tiff”. It boiled down to the fact that I would appreciate some assistance, partnership if you will, without having to always ask for it. “it’s dinner time…help me out here…anticipate what’s needed; like setting the table; pour the wine; feed Molly…”(I guess this is part of learning about each other) We had a restless night’s sleep. Tuesday, 5/29 - BELL ISLAND – ROCKY DUNDAS CAYS Beautiful! Headed South. 
Our goal? Snorkel the caves at Rocky Dundas. We anchored on the East side of Bell Island.  What a gorgeous area! We had to wiggle our way back into an anchorage past many shallows and coral heads but it was soooo worth it! Been sorta traveling with WOODJA – they were anchored about a mile away. Most of these little islands are private and the architecture is quite distinctive; the buildings look very sturdy and hurricane proof. The toilet broke when Wayne flushed it...“Damn, the aft head is trashed – A #@% design and plastic parts on a twelve hundred dollar toilet!  It’s not even a year old!” He was not a happy camper. He managed to jury-rig the thing so we could still flush it…thank God. He snorkeled an area called “the Sea Aquarium” near O’Brien Cay in the afternoon while I stayed ‘home’ and tried to keep current with this log. (stupid decision on my part) Wednesday, 5/30 - Took the dingy to the Rocky Dundas caves – Pete and Geneva met us there. Really incredible.  These pictures were taken with the waterproof camera. After exploring the caves we packed up and headed into Exuma Sound towards Staniel Cay.