We left Hawksbill Cay and motored the short distance north to Shroud Cay, anchoring just south of the mooring field, and were greeted once again by the Tropic birds. On our trip south the moorings were filled, but now only one boat was on a mooring, 4 more were anchored.

Last time at Shroud we had dinghied up the north mangrove creek, the only one that allows motors. This time we explored the larger shallow bays, then paddled up a winding, narrowing creek at the head of one of the bays until it got too narrow for the dinghy. There was surprisingly little visible sea life there, we saw a total of 3 fish and one ray.

The white Tropic birds vividly reflect the ocean color, I thought this was unique to that bird but discovered that it is not: some white terns were equally colored, and looking back at Anomaly’s white mast and mizzen sail it was also the color of the ocean, a bright teal. You just need the angle to be right.

The next day we sailed off the anchor and were able to make the lee anchorage of Highborne on one tack close hauled in 8 knots. We anchored there and dinghied into Xuma restaurant for another very good (but very high priced) lunch. This time the small store had fresh milk (last time only superpasturized bottled) and we were near emergency rations for the latte machine. In the anchorage were 5 very large power yachts, most of them had inflatable water slides deployed from the 5th deck, and a string motorized toys moored to the stern. A couple had sent shore parties to the beach to set up a settlement: canopies and tables, catered - no doubt - by the galley staff. It was quite a spectacle.

After lunch we motored around the Highborne rocks to the anchorage between Allan and Leaf Cays, so that Ann could visit the iguanas again, joining 3 boats already there. She had purchased fresh apples and oranges to feed them and carefully cut them into small bites. But when we tried, the lizards spit the chunks out immediately. A motor launch beached with some rather rotund and burnt people on board, who began to feed the lizards Doritos. These they eagerly snapped up and fought over. It seems they have developed a taste for the super-palatable salty foods of a suburban western diet.

Later from the boat I observed a couple of women feeding the reptiles and I developed a greater interest in them.

The deep water in this anchorage is narrow, we dropped the hook in 16 feet but with the considerable current across the wind we hung sideways to the wind swinging towards the sand bar in the middle. A snorkel revealed only about 18 inched under the keel, and ridges of sand something less than that. A bit later we got a couple of tell tale bumps indicating we were touching. By now there were 5 more boats and not a lot of options to move, also the sun was near setting. I thought that with the tide coming in and high at midnight, we would probably be OK, but as it got dark we bumped again. I pulled in 15 feet of chain and we went from 7.0 feet to 12.5, indicating the steepness of the bank. Now though, our scope was marginal as I knew the anchor was in 16 feet. A latecomer had anchored only a boat length to the north, it was now dark, and there was little to do: trust the Spade and mild conditions, or move in the dark to an unknown spot? I set all the anchor alarms and monitored the situation every couple of hours and we did not move or touch overnight.

The next morning we set off over the Yellow Bank to Nassau. There was good wind, good light, and only a few scattered coral heads that we saw, depth never got below 15 feet. Though ideal sailing - wind abeam in 8-10 knots and flat water - only one other boat was sailing among the many that we saw going either way on the banks. We overtook this one, a steel double ender of about 35’ going surprisingly fast for traditional heavy design. We had seen them before further south and had taken a long time to catch them up then - when we did so their exhaust was evident, but not today. In the distance we raised huge high rise hotels in Nassau. Looking through binoculars, we saw that these were in fact 5 cruise ships dwarfing even the Las Vegas style Atlantis development. We tied up in a slip at Nassau Harbor Club, just across the busy street from the exit door was the first Starbucks I had seen since Moorhead City, and next to it a US style supermarket with a cornucopia of food compared to anything to the south. We even had water at the dock for only $10/day (unlimited, not optional). Though our tanks were filled from the Spectra water maker, I was able to thoroughly wash the salt from the boat for the first time since leaving South Carolina. The water I’m told, is imported by tanker from Andros.

The next day we took a taxi to the Zoo/arboretum which was an interesting local effort and we asked the taxi driver where to eat lunch. Her favorite she allowed, was Twin Brothers in the Fish Fry, the latter a collection of restaurants and food stalls near the arboretum. Looking at it from the outside it had all the trappings of a tourist establishment, and I became suspicious of the recommendation. On a subsequent taxi ride, Ann asked the same question as a test, and this driver also without hesitation said Twin Brothers in the Fish Fry - confirming that the drivers are getting at least comp’ed if not spiffed for the mention. It wasn’t that good and I could see no local Bahamians eating there. The guide and other cruisers in the marina warned about being careful to keep from getting mugged or shot, and how dangerous it was downtown, but in fact it felt no more so than any large city to me. To be sure there is the real danger of being run over by the madcap drivers and disregard for traffic laws, but that is different than willful violence. It is less friendly than the out islands, still the majority of people are friendly but there are more than a few that seem to have long ago grown tired of tourists, thousands of whom spew forth from each cruise ship.

Very interesting reptiles on Leaf Cay: