Shroud Cay... again!

Headed north to Shroud Cay. Ben had a call until 3:30, which was perfect because high tide was a little after 4 and we wanted to head to the Secret Beach (aka The Washing Machine) during high tide for a change. When we stumbled upon this place in 2022, we wound up swimming, floating, and carrying the tender a lot of our way through the water in the mangroves. We knew we needed the higher tide to make the water navigatable.

Bear had a headache and stayed behind. The other 4 of us got into the tender and set off for the mangroves. We noticed the tide difference right away! The mangrove roots were completely submerged and the top layers of the leaves were above water.

We spotted a few turtles, but with the water 3 feet deeper than usual, it was harder to see the creatures or their shadows under the water.

As soon as we could see the beach, I said we weren't going anymore. The waves were rolling in and crashing over the sandbars and we finally figured out why this is called the Washing Machine! The place we beached our tender and ate lunch just a few weeks ago was completely submerged. Ben got us close enough to anchor and not one of us wanted to actually get out anymore. (Shockingly, not even Moose wanted to!) We took a few photos for evidence of the extreme difference to show Lori and Bear. Ben asked if we wanted to take the tender through the rapids and we all told him- no way, take us back!

On our way in, we spotted a beach that we could see from the Cartermaran, so we decided to go to that one. It was much calmer and we could actually enjoy it! There was even a giant sea turtle that swam by to say hi. Moose swam out to look at it underwater with his mask and said it was the biggest one he has ever seen.

I looked up tide times for tomorrow. Low tide is around 9:40 and Ben's first meeting is at 11. I think we could make a quick secret beach trip around low tide. Fingers crossed.

Anticipating getting to the beach and back in time for Ben's meetings had me up earlier than normal. I told Ben my plan. If we left by 9, we should make it through with enough clearance before low tide. That would mean that coming back at least 40 minutes after low tide (10:20) would give us the same passage and clearance, getting Ben back in time for his meetings.

The kids were still asleep a little after 8 and Ben said I had to wake them up if it was going to work. For a few minutes I debated just sneaking out with him and letting the kids sleep. Decided against that. I woke Bear up first. She said she would rather sleep longer and went back to sleep. Roo woke up and I asked her if she wanted to go. She said yes. I almost left Moose sleeping (he never sleeps in!), but Ben said if he woke up and he found out we didn't take him, he would be really mad. He said Moose doesn't care about sleep like us girls do, so I went in and woke him up. Sure enough, he hopped out of bed to join us. (Later, I asked him if he would've been mad if we left him behind and he said no.) I told the kids we would be gone for such a short time and back before the intense UV part of the day, so they just needed to wear rash guards. This cut our getting ready time drastically. 

At the entrance of the mangroves river, the water level was back to how we have seen it so many times, roots, sand, and rocks exposed. There were a few shallow spots in the channel, but we kept an eye out to navigate around them. We saw several turtles. Turning the last corner, we could see the sandbars and calm waters left behind. We were the only ones there!😍

Ben and Moose anchored the Chicken while Roo and I went to enjoy the beautiful morning at the secret beach at low tide. We walked all around, as far as we could in every direction, admiring the shells 🐚, the sand patterns, and the water. Moose and Ben decided to connect the water pools. Roo and I found the smallest conch we've found yet. It was maybe 3-4 inches long! We talked to it and watched it crawl under the water, leaving a long trail behind itself.

We got back in the Chicken when Ben spotted a shark- its fin above the water- back where we had come from. A fish was jumping out and thrashing around in the water near it, so we kept an eye on the area as Ben took us closer to it. It was a small lemon shark. We quietly followed it until it took the fork to the left and we had to go to the right. There was a tender full of people headed in as we were headed out. We told them they get to enjoy the beach all to themselves.

Got back to the Cartermaran at 10:50, giving Ben just enough time to shower and get dressed for his first meeting. We had to dry off so we could put sunscreen on and head out leaving Ben with peace and quiet for his meetings. A little after 11, Ben came out and told us his meeting was at 11 mountain time, not eastern, so he still had some time. I wasn't even bummed that we could've stayed longer at the beach because I knew that other tender would've been there with us and we were able to enjoy it the whole time, just the 4 of us.

Ate lunch, filled water bottles, and got sunscreened. Then, Moose took us to a small beach by the anchorage to hang there. Bear spotted some small jellyfish 🪼 and made Moose touch them to see if they stung. They didn't but she still wasn't happy with staying there, so he took us to the beach from yesterday. He did great driving us and anchoring the tender at both beaches on his own. I was so proud of him and I know he was beyond proud of himself too.

We hung out at the beach for several hours, just floating, chatting, and snorkeling. The sea turtle from yesterday came by a few times too. Bear, of course, loved being able to see it. Although, we all wished it swam closer to us.

Ben called me at one point between his meetings to tell me that the Malcolm Tennant cat he has been wanting to see was anchored right in front of us. He said they were out on their tender and for me to keep an eye out for it when it came back and let him know. He said he had 2 more meetings and then was done for the day.

Moose brought us back to the Cartermaran about an hour later. We thought Ben would be done with his meetings, but he came out and told us he still had 2 more- some of the senators were running late. The kids and I dried off on the deck and in the cockpit. As we were drying off, the Malcolm Tennant tender was coming back, so I told Ben. He said it was perfect timing because he was almost done and we could go over there and check it out.

Ben knew they had family on board, so he said it would just be me and him going to see it. The kids were bummed to stay behind.

Waymaker is a beautiful boat with a crew that adores her. It was great to get on a Malcolm Tennant boat since Ben has spoken so highly of them. I can see why now! It is definitely bigger, taller, and can navigate the water with much more ease. We got to tour the boat and chat for about an hour and a half.

Being the amazing children they are, when we got back to the Cartermaran, they had dinner all cooked for us and ready to eat! Little did I know it was an effort between Bear and Moose to not share our rose and thorn for the day. Silly kiddos. We still did!

I rinsed off and cooled down. We knew we had an early morning to get to Nassau by noon tomorrow, so everyone went to sleep early. 

Rudder Cut Cay, take 2

We knew we wanted to get further north and tucked behind the islands before Wednesday, the 8th, due to the forecast. Most of our cruising time today consisted of 4 foot waves following, which normally feel fine, but they must have been closer together because I was having a hard time doing anything but staring off into the water without feeling nauseous. 

Rough inlet by Rudder Cut Cay. The waves were coming out, instead of in, like we thought they would based on what we were experiencing on the outside. Ben had it under control and it wasn't a big deal. It just took a little bit of manual steering.

Went by the caves Lori and 4 of the kids explored a few weeks ago when we were here and anchored in the exact same spot. We picked up speed cruising by and knew the current was strong. 

I prepped the snorkel gear for me and the kids. Lori told me she hoped the current was in our favor for exploring and to look for the big conchs moving along the floor. Since we knew the current was strong when we came in, we planned for Ben to take us to the further of the caves, unload there, and have him follow nearby on the tender, ready to rescue any of us.

Last time, the kids couldn't make it around the corner against the current to the large cave, so we figured we could ride the Chicken over to that one and work our way back with the current. 

On our way over, I pointed out a sharp rock at the surface, so the kids could be aware of it. Ben told us to go between that rock and the island rather than further out in the water to avoid the current.

The big cave was so shallow. We could stand as soon as we god off the Chicken and there was a little beach area- even just after high tide. Looking up, there were several skylight holes, with trees peeking through. It was so pretty! We snorkeled out of the cave and toward the channel.

Roo spotted some giant conchs. We were watching them move along the sand, leaving tracks behind. Then, I realized their eyes were out! They looked like coral popping out from under the shell. Their eye stalks were so thick. It popped its eyes in and then came back out again. I was so excited that Roo and I both got to see that. Thanks, Lori, for telling us fun things to look for!

Then, coming around a corner, we saw that sharp surface rock we spotted on the way over, but the rock was so tall and wide under the water. I wanted to go on the water side instead because it was closer and I wouldn't have to go against the current. I was telling Ben that I changed my plan and when I put my head in, I was probably 4 feet from a sea turtle!! The water was so clear and perfect for viewing the beautiful creature! I screamed and grabbed Roo so she could see it. Moose and Bear saw it too. I was closest to it. Moose swam after it with the camera, but he didn’t have it on. They were not as excited to see it as Roo and I were, since they watched several turtles eating sea grass for a while the last time they were there.

When we got to the side of the island where we could see our boat, the current was awful. I was kicking so hard and told Roo I needed her to also. (When we snorkel, she holds onto my life vest and I swim us around.) It hardly made a difference and it just made me anxious thinking about how much we were splashing, thinking we would attract sharks. 😂 

When my head was out of water looking to see where Bear and Moose were, I spotted another turtle, this time much further out- popping its head out of the water. Roo saw it too. We could barely see it as it swam to the second cave. 

Once we got to the second cave, we looked underwater at it, and didn’t go in. Everyone was worn out and done, so we climbed in the tender and came back.

It's okay that our snorkel adventure didn't last long because I saw what I wanted to see! I'm so happy we came back to do that. I missed out last time because I had just washed my hair and didn't want to get in the salty water. 🙃

Mother Nature is in Charge!

About 2 hours into our journey north, Ben announced that the waves are going to be 4 footers the next few days instead of the 2 footers we anticipated from the last few days' forecasts. He and I made the quick decision to turn back and head toward the Exumas today.

A few hours into that new journey, he brought up stopping at Long Island for the night instead, cutting off a few miles and an hour or so from our journey. This sounded like a great plan, so that's what we did. 

We passed by the water side of the Columbus Monument that we drove to last week and anchored for the night by the Cape Santa Maria resort in Galliot Bay.

Heading toward Moriah National Park, once again, today. We shall see what the area offers as far as protection while anchored goes.

Moose and I were rockstars with grabbing the mooring ball at Redshank Cays. He had the boat hook and pulled up the eyelet on the first try. I pulled the starboard cleat line through first and tied it off. Ben was able to come out and we worked together to get the port line through the eyelet and tied off.

Ben and Moose went to Brown's for the fishing supplies that he had been looking for at every store for the past several weeks. They stocked up and when they got back, Moose put it all away.

I made lunch. Girls and I got ready for a beach tour day. When the boys came back, Ben took a look at the radar because he said it looked like a storm was heading our way. Nothing threatening on radar, so we took the tender out to explore beaches. 

We wound up circling Crab Cay, got off the tender once or twice (found a small beach with tons of snails, an abandoned resort, and a shipwreck) before going to George Town to check for bread and yogurt.

Unfortunately, the water conditions were not in our favor to get us over to Moriah on the tender. It looked like it would be 30-45 minutes with choppy waves on the bow, so we will just have to try again some other time.

Cat Island

Moose casted his line as soon as we were deep enough. He noticed some insects in the solar panel above him. Ben sprayed them. There were so many! He did some research and found out they were actually helpful insects that eat microscopic plant molds, fungi, and plant debris. They are completely harmless to humans and structures. Oops. It made me wonder why they were up in the solar panels, but then I read that they're attracted to bright lights at night and I remembered we had the underwater lights on for a while last night.

Once we anchored at Cat Island, we cooled off in the cabin for a while and waited for the heat to dissipate a bit. That's kinda a funny game we have to play because by the time the sun is further down, it then becomes a race to get back to the boat before we run out of sunlight and the mosquitoes start to come out. Always gotta find the perfect time!

We left the boat around 4 and took the tender to the beach next to the dinghy dock which was a super tall cement dock, about as wide as a 1 lane road. The tide was about 45 minutes from low tide, so we knew we had about 90 minutes before the tide was back at this same level again. That helps us determine where to put the anchor so that we don't have to carry the boat back to the water, like we did after our hike to Gemstone Cave. It was an easier choice to anchor the tender than tie up to the dock.

Pulling into this anchorage, we saw one of those fun, tall, colorful art island letters signs spelling out Cat Island. The I was part of The Hermitage, which sits at the tallest point on this island, and is the tallest point in this country. 

Walking over to the letters was our first stop on Cat Island. We all picked a letter to sit on and took some photos. (Bear picked C, Roo picked the tunnel of the I, I picked the L, Ben picked the A, and Moose picked the N. Bear was sad to be the only one in Cat.)

The letters weren't added to Google Maps yet, so I also took a picture without anyone in it, and created a new place on Google Maps for all of the future tourists who want their photo op. 📸 You can even see the Cartermaran looking cute in the picture. 😉 

The very air conditioned police station was across the street (Queen's Highway!) from our Chicken, so we walked back over there to chat and get some info about the hike we intended to do (up Mount Alvernia aka Como Hill- she said it would take us 15 minutes and made sure we brought water) and hours and location of the nearest grocery store (open until 6, after discussing our hike, she said open until 6:30).

A goat was leashed in the trees at the start of the road/trail and marked the start of our journey, along with a sign closer to Queen's Highway. It took us 16 minutes to get to the end of the paved road, which included 2 water stops. We passed a mini-farm where we noticed corn and watermelon growing. 

The next leg of our trail was very steep and made of coral. I read that this was a hard hike and thought it wasn't too bad, until we got to the next change in paths at the fork off for the Stations of the Cross. (I added this on Google Maps too, so the current photos there are mine.) The coral and limestone path became even steeper and had narrow stairs, which made it feel more like we were bouldering than hiking at some points.

These stations were carved in stone, by hand in 1939, by the priest who built and lived in the Hermitage, Father Jerome, and were very beautiful. (Those of you who grew up Catholic, I'm sure, have some recollection of the Stations of the Cross commemorating Jesus' path on his way to crucifixion.) They were dispersed, though not very far apart, along the super steep path and offered a good distraction along the last leg up the hill... mountain?

The Hermitage was built as a retreat from the world and sits at the highest point in all of the Bahamas. From what Ben could identify, there was a chapel (tiny church), a bedroom, and a kitchen all sitting at a whopping 206 feet above sea level, with amazing views of the island and water around it. The kids and I peeked inside, but didn't go in as far as Ben did because there were some huge wasps that must have felt a spiritual calling to live there.

On the way down, the girls spotted what they thought were artichokes growing from a tree in the little farm area. I wondered if they were hops. I took a photo so we could look it up later. Turns out they were sugar-apples, which have a custard like pulp. Those are now on our list of things to find and eat while here!

All 5 of us were sopping with sweat and purposely walked through the minimal shade we could find. I told Ben we should stop back in the police station just to cool off for a minute or two before our walk to the grocery store. He said he needed to ask for directions anyway.

We were back at the police station about 45 minutes after we left. The lady was gone, but we talked to the man for all of 60 seconds and were back in the heat and humidity on our way once again.

As we passed by the Cat Island Sign, walking single file on the left side of the road, Ben in front while I pulled up the rear, a truck pulled up next to us and stopped. We all looked back to find a local man who offered to drive us to the grocery store. The kids and I shoved into the back of the cab and Ben took the passenger seat. The windows were down and the breeze was more than welcomed. We all giggled about being told this was a 10 minute walk and were relieved we didn't have to walk this far! Ben said we would be okay to walk back, but just wanted to make sure we got there before it closed!

After all of the stores we've been to recently, this one was like a Costco! It was huge and had everything we could've needed... except for fishing lures and 2 lb containers of yogurt. We bought a few new drinks we hadn't seen before to try later.

As we were checking out, Ben asked the lady if she knew of anyone who could give us a ride back to the police station. She said normally she does that, but she was the only one working so she couldn't. She told us the other customers who were there right now rented a van and could probably take us. When they came to check out, Ben asked if they would be able to drive us back and they said it wouldn't be a problem at all. They said something about being from Colorado and I said so are we. Turns out they're from Arvada! We all couldn't believe it. They dropped us off, we all wished each other a Happy 4th of July, and we took our tender back to the boat for the night.

Looking out at the stern, with the underwater lights on, the water was the clearest we had ever seen at night. The bottom was right there and we could see further out than usual. We even saw a sea star on the sand just off the swim steps!

Tomorrow we will go further north on Cat Island and explore another beach area.

Conception Island

I didn't sleep good because the wires came loose in the forward air conditioner and it was hot. So... once most of us were awake (Moose slept until 10 am!!) Ben started repairing the AC, trying a few ideas to see what would work.

Loaded up into the tender to go to shore. We took the obligatory national park sign picture and then took a little trail to the Atlantic side of the island. The water was much rougher and Ben said it had a bit of an undertow, so the kids didn't get in. 

The sand here is considered pink, even though it doesn't look super pink, you can tell that some pink corals definitely contributed to the sand. We've seen this at a few beaches in the out Islands.

We ventured around the curve of the crescent beach to some big rocks. I read that there was a rope to hold onto to help people up to the top of the rocks, so we walked over to it.

Ben, Bear, and Roo went up first, each of them gasping once they could see over the top. When I climbed up, I could see why! The views were stunning. The beautiful Bahamas blues, with the waves crashing on the craggy rock in the foreground was a sight to see. Moose wasn't excited to walk over here from the other beach and thought I was lying about the rock climb. Once he saw it was real, he perked back up. We explored from the top of the rocks for a while before descending back down the rock face.

The tall rock we climbed up acted like a breakwater for this little cove so the beach over here was much calmer and had no undertow. We hung out, swam, beached, and built for a while.

On our way back to the other side of the island, Roo and I picked up several handfuls of trash that had washed ashore. Some of our noteworthy finds were 3 single shoes, a plastic hair barrette, and a sippy cup lid...  the rest of the trash included a lot more plastic bags, plastic bottles, and soda bottle lids. We likely could've picked up more, but we only had our hands to hold it all and got to a point where we were dropping and picking up stuff that was already in our hands more than grabbing new pieces.

On the beach on the other side, we did some more beaching, swimming, floating, and hanging. Moose was determined to find the most rare boa constrictor that only lives on this island and was discovered in 2015- a Conception Bank Silver Boa. Although he found some of their trails, he sadly did not see any snakes.

Bear and Moose snorkeled this side of the island since it was much calmer and had a few good finds.

Tomorrow we plan to take the Chicken through the mangroves trail. We have to go an hour before high tide and be back out by an hour after high tide, so we've got 2 hours to explore. We knew we wouldn't make it out there today for high tide, so we will go tomorrow.

Took a morning tender ride through the mangroves in turquoise water an hour before high tide. No issues with the tide getting into or out of the area. Just cruised through all of the routes until they deadended or got too shallow.

Back to the boat for lunch and sunscreen, then off to explore and play at the beaches.

Some days I don't have much to document because we don't do much. Today is one of those days. We were chilling out on the island for most of the day. It is so gorgeous here. The best part is that it is so secluded from the tourists and we get it all to ourselves!

I could stay here for several more days... or weeks. So could Roo. Moose can't fish here because it is a national park, so he is itching to move on. We will head to Cat Island in the morning.