The anchorage at Norman’s Cay south was very rolly, so next day we moved to the west side. It was much smoother. Jeff went into the water and started scrubbing off the beard of grass from the port side of the boat. We had also acquired a lovely oil slick from our night at the Texaco dock, so that got cleaned too. Although the air temp is lovely, with the wind and water together, you get cold after a half hour in the water. We’ve heard that the Great Bahama Banks exchanges 50% of its water with the ocean every day. That keeps it cool.

On Friday morning we sailed a quick 3 miles to Shroud Cay. Anchoring and moving around is very easy here. You see the chain laying on the sand and it always comes up quickly and clean. Our new 100% jib is working beautifully for these quick hops. We explored Shroud with George and Penny leading the way through the system of mangroves that compose most of the island. When we came out on the ocean side we looked at the most beautiful scenery imaginable! Truly breathtaking. Then we made a short hike to the site of a former “camp” that a cruiser had built. It is all gone now, but the 360 view from the top was great. The Cays are made mostly of limestone which has eroded with all sorts of crevices holes, making it look like a moonscape; it is very hard to walk on—you don’t want to fall either-ouch. We met some folks today, John and Brenda, from Britain, now Canada. Wow, did they have some stories to tell, including being rescued by helicopter. They were having outboard issues, so they joined us for an explore then treated us to drinks on their boat.

On Saturday, another quick sail took us to Hawksbill Cay where Susan took over scrubbing; it was hard getting the little barnacles off and the water was rolly again. It’s not really clean yet, but looks much better. Another hike today, over the top of the island—its looks high from the shore, but once you get going it’s really only a tiny hill. There are good trails here because it is part of the Exumas Land and Sea Park. Ah, the simple life! Today was also the first time I made bread aboard and it came out perfect. ? Now the next adventure—Susan learning how to anchor! All these years, Jeff has made it a mystery to me and his anxiety rubbed off on me. Here, the water is clear, there is no grass, no rocks, no current to speak of, no traffic, no other boats in the immediate vicinity. In other words, the perfect place to learn. Finally got to play Mexican Train dominoes tonight on Star Shot—they were supposed to come to Meltemi, but today they were having outboard issues.

Our next stop was on Sunday at Warderick Wells, the headquarters of the national Park. We sailed most of the way at 3.5 to 4 knots. It is so great that we don’t have to rush to get home, or make the tide change at Allen’s Harbor, or get in before dark. At home, Jeff and I find anything less than 4 knots annoying, but here- who cares? We had sundowners on the beach with some friends and then when we got to the dinghy dock, found 2 sharks underneath the dinghies! One was a grey lemon shark and the other a dark nurse shark. The nurse shark was being “groomed” by 3 smaller fish. They just hung out there as we loaded our boats, started the engines and pulled away. Tomorrow we will check in, get the hiking and snorkeling maps and buy WIFI.