We had spent three days in the relative luxury (and expense) of Highborne Cay Marina. We went around the corner to Allan's Cay, where the Bahamian iguanas hang out mooching food on the beach. We anchored just off the mooching beach, went ashore and conservatively fed them a small bit of dehydrated apple, feeling guilty as you are not supposed to. However we noticed that no one heeds this advice, including the large tour boat that rammed up on the beach disgorging 20 odd passengers, many of them beer in one hand and video camera in the other and attempting to hand feed them. There were only 2 boats in the anchorage when we arrived and we thought we had tourble finding a spot, but this increased to 12 by evening. Next day we motored away from a 6 knot NNE breeze towards Shroud Cay. As you go down the Exuma chain to slowly turn left, and we finally got the wind over the quarter enough to sail, picking up an Exuma Park mooring. Ann counted 29 Tropic Birds soaring overhead, these have white reflective feathers and turn an almost unbelievable hue mocking the sea they are flying over.

Not far away was the 130' motor yacht 'Murphy's Law'. Things can go wrong and did: they had been all over the radio all day with calls between the yacht and "tender one" and "tender two", now they had two PWCs in the water terrorizing the mooring field. We took the dinghy up the north mangrove creek, (3 knots maximum park regulation) and found the PWCs blasting through there too at about 10 times the speed limit. From Shroud Cay we radioed Exuma Park headquarters for a mooring in the North Field at Warderick Wells. This is the most sought after mooring field, you can request to be put on the waiting list one day in advance, then in the morning at 9:00 a very patient ranger assigns mooring balls based on waiting list, length and draft, and who is leaving that day. It was wise to call a day ahead, as we got one and many requestors that morning did not. We motored the whole distance from Shroud, with 1-4 knots from aft. Warderick Wells is in the middle of the Exuma Land and Sea park and has 21 moorings in a beautiful channel through the sand flat between the cays. There are snorkeling reefs very nearby (200 yards off the mooring we were assigned), and hiking trails on the island for those who can stand the heat. It also has some of the characteristics of an RV Park: the 50' motor Yacht on the next ball (which is very close) moored with its generator running and did not shut it off for the entire two days they were there. Nevertheless we enjoyed the time spent there which was meant to be two days. However another front is due, the wind has switched into the southwest, and our next destination of Black Point is open to the west, so we opted to stay another day - the generator running motor yacht having left!

With better sun and less wind than in the Abacos, we are learning to read the water depth a little better. The no see ums that were attacking Ann (who was miserable and ready to get on the first plane home) have relented, here in the Exumas she has gone from wanting to go home, to wanting to sell the house and move onto the boat permanently!

Most of the things on the boat are working well. The battery charging scheme is finally in its element, with enough sun to add meaningful energy. There were some water maker comments after the last post. My take on it is that even at $0.50/gal water, it is a hard thing to justify economically. I installed it when the boat was built for the Islands and the possibility of some offshore passages. However on the Lakes, throughout Atlantic Canada, and down the east coast it was wanted so little that I never commissioned it until now. Having already sunk the investment, I am happy to use it, we last took on water from a dock in South Carolina and have not been conservative with its use: showers every day, washing clothes and snorkeling equipment, even rinsing down the dinghy occasionally. We have about 100 gallons tankage, this would last us about 2 weeks without being particularly careful, and cost only $50 to refill. That's at least 100 refills to pay for the water maker equipment not counting installation costs. But it is awfully convenient to push a button and 3 hours later have 35 more gallons.

Yep, it really does look like that: Anomaly at Warderick Wells North mooring field