North mooring field seen from park headquarters

As Chris Parker prognosticated on the SSB about chances of 40 knots sustained, gusting maybe 50, we turned our thoughs to finding safe harbor.  We'd skipped Wardewick Wells in our haste to meet the puddle jumper and we'd heard it's beautiful. More importantly, Wardewick Wells' surrounding islands and shallow waters provide great protection from wind driven waves.

Anchored alone behind Pipe Cay we stretched the limits of the VHF's range confirming our mooring. As we motored north in calm seas a full three days before the blow we noticed boats already staking out their spots in the good west-protected anchorages.

Wardewick Wells serves as headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park. The park is a rectangular area of the ocean, encompassing hundreds of square miles and many cays within where fishing is prohibited and building is strictly limited to a few preexisting privately owned islands. The Bahamas National Trust maintains moorings at several cays and anchoring is generally allowed as well, but not at Wardewick Wells. If you want to visit the park you'll need a boat.

After picking up mooring number nine we noticed a boat-shaped shadow under Thistle. We were moored over the wreck of a Contessa that years earlier had burned to the waterline while the owners watched helplessly from the beach. Grinnell dove on the deteriorating hull and found that various brightly colored fish had taken up residence. The unlucky Contessa is serving quite well into the future as its own little marine-life-supporting reef.

We hiked the island, socialized with cruisers and park staff, and swam in the glimmering waters. When the blow came it topped out at 39 knots and the rain sheeted off the dodger in horizontal sprays of mist. We sat in the cockpit taking in the show and planning our next destination, the mysterious Shroud Cay.