The cays themselves vary in size; the smaller islands just a few miles long and wide. Some are low and barren others have rolling hills covered with dense vegetation and small trees. Almost all have beautiful beaches and snug anchorages. The water is crystal-clear and the vivid colors, shades of jade, aqua, and amethyst, on a bright sunny day are brilliant. The water turns to transparent opal near the sandy shores. Most islands have coral reefs that can be investigated on dinghy or by snorkeling. The exquisite coral formations are alive with darting schools of fish.
Most of the islands we visited were very remote, some uninhabited, some with very few services for boaters. We found all these out islands to have gorgeous crystal clear "see to the bottom" water, nice beaches, and most had protected reefs to snorkel off. (See attached photo of view from Farmers Cay) The weather was beautiful for most of our trip, with some high winds experienced as fronts moved through. The weather improved as we moved further south, with many of the fronts that hit the northern Bahamas, simply fizzling before they reached us further south.
Our first stop in the Exuma Islands chain was Allen’s Cay. We sailed there from Nassau, about a 35-mile sail. The winds were perfect for sailing and we made good time to Allan’s Cay. We arrived at a snug anchorage between Allan’s Cay and Leaf Cay in the late afternoon. There were already 20 boats in a tight anchorage, so we slowly poked around trying to find a spot with sufficient depths and enough swing room. We finally threw down the hook, closer to other boats than we prefered, and hoped for light winds.
After dinner we were a bit nervous with the other boats so close that we decided to stand anchor watch through the night. Another sleepless night! We did fine through the night, swinging in time with the boats around us. The next morning however, the winds picked up and we were too close to one of the boats, so we decided to leave and find a spot a little less crowded.
Less than a mile south of Allan’s key was Highborne Cay, a beautiful private island with a nice marina. We decided to tuck in there as a front was moving through from the north bringing with it high winds and rain.
Highborne Cay is a private island and as a marina guest, we were welcome to roam the island and enjoy the beaches and the other amenities the island had to offer. Monica was raring to go snorkeling. So we grabbed our gear and headed out to the reefs close by to check out the snorkeling. Unfortunately, the water was so choppy from the heavy winds it was not good snorkeling weather. We headed back into the marina to the protected harbor. Not far from the marina was a secluded beach we could reach by dingy that had a lagoon that was calm and settled. We spied tons of conch shells on the rocky ledges and headed over to explore. Monica jumped out into the water and scrambled up the rocky ledge. There she found many conch shells (the animals had already been removed) from which to choose. We began examining them all and we picked out five that were perfect.
The next few days we spent our time walking the beaches and exploring the island. The views from on top of the hills on the island were spectacular, overlooking the deserted beaches. We came back from the beach one afternoon to find a little bird, a Banana Quid, had joined us on board. These birds, although cute and colorful, are notorious in the Bahamas as being little beggars. They love sugar and are attracted to it. Monica poured out a bit of sugar and was able to get the birds to land on her hand and feed from it.
We enjoyed our visit to Highborne Cay and would return if the opportunity presented itself.
On Thursday morning we left Highborne Cay and headed south to Waderick Wells Cay, which is an island that hosts the headquarters for the Exuma Land and Sea Park. We went out on the eastern side of the islands and planned to head south via the Exuma Sound. The sound drops to hundreds of feet deep just about a mile off shore. It can get very rough in high winds. Once we got out there, we realized we’d picked the wrong route as the waves were huge and the wind was just off the bow. We made our way down to the next passable inlet to cut through back over to the Yellow Bank side. Once we were back on the Bank side the waves were decreased and we made our way into the Park. The park has moorings and does not allow anchoring within the protected park area. We picked up our mooring about 4:30 p.m. and were happy to be safe and sound for the next few days.
There are miles of trails on Waderick Wells that lead to rare plants , caves, wells and the runs of a small loyalist plantation. We walked several to find secluded beaches and up to the highest point called Boo Boo Hill where we added our token to the sculpture of cruisers’ mementos that is piled high.
