21 April 2014 | Cambridge Cay, Bahamas 24’18.16N 76’32.39W – Warderick Wells, Bahamas 24’23.71N 76’38.12W
“Happy birthday to you. Squashed tomatoes and strew. Bread and butter in the gutter. Happy birthday to you.” The Ruffians have managed to murder a yet another perfectly good tune, discover perfectly formed natural dungeons and seek out the most perfect of gems that are impossible to steal. It’s certainly been a crime and justice centric few days.
The tunes rang out from ‘Il Sogno’ as we sat down to Craig’s special birthday dinner and Iain’s favourite, chilli. At the time of eating it gave a certain va va voom but the following morning the va va voom wasn’t quite so welcome and neither was the war crime of dropping a WMD at such an early hour. If Fiona had been acting judge and jury she would have jailed Iain in an instant.
With the chilli eased out of our bodies we now needed a way to shed some of the birthday calories and to do this we were given the opportunity to ‘upgrade’ from our usual transport medium of ‘Thug’ to that of a 2 man Kayak. Quiet as a water based mouse we snuck around the coral strewn waters of Cambridge Cay and were able to follow turtles and fishies with impunity.
Although Cambridge Cay was full of delights we wanted a change of scene but with yet another front coming our way our options were limited. Our only option was to get into the ever popular and highly rated Warderick Wells.
Warderick Wells is like nowhere we’ve ever been and is so popular that there is a waiting list to get a mooring. There is no option to anchor as room is so limited with the channel being just one boat length across. At 9am we listened on the radio and were elated to find out that the day before the front was due we’d bagged ourselves a nice protected mooring. We were even happier to find out that we’d be protected on 3 sides by sandbanks and on all sides by islands. All we had to do now was get Ruffian onto the spot that was tighter that a Scotsman with a saving complex.
Warderick Wells was startling in the extreme. The deep blue water of the channel looked all the more blue for being framed on both sides by the brilliant white of the sandbanks. Fiona expertly snaked Ruffian thought the other moored boats and into the dead end where our ball was. Now with sand on all sides, and our hearts in our mouths, Fiona utilised Ruffians little used the handbrake turn feature and Ruffian magically stopped on the ball.
The location of our ball simply took our breath away at its beauty and its surrealness. At low water we were completely surrounded by sand and once we jumped off Ruffian we could stand up within spitting distance of her, and that’s with us not being very good at spitting. When we then took the three strokes to get back on board, sharks and rays cruised by in gin clear water making us feel like we’d moored in a big aquarium.
The island is also covered in trails and so we were able to take in all the marked delights of loyalist ruins, blowholes and perfect beaches. Most importantly however we discovered the unmarked delight of a really weak mobile phone signal.
After spending the whole day romping around the island we returned to the top of the hill with all the required technology and worked our hardest to get online. This activity was much to the amusement of all the cruisers enjoying their happy hour drinks on the beach. We discovered that the only way we could get enough signal was for Iain to stand like a statue, extending his mifi encrusted hand above his head, on top of the bench, all while silhouetted against the setting sun for all to see.
With the front passing there was a real cruisers community and we took part in the most American of activities, an impromptu baseball match on the exposed sandbanks. We were lacking all the proper equipment and so instead of the usual baseball we had a bouncy tennis ball and instead of the obligatory bat we had a trusty collapsible oar.
After being briefed of the rules of baseball and being reminded that it wasn’t cricket Iain sidled to look the bowler, sorry pitcher, in the eye. The ball was bowled, sorry pitched, and with all his might Iain sent the ball soaring across the sound one way and soaring across the sound the other was one half of the oar, come bat. In the rules of sandbar baseball this was considered an out. Thankfully, both the ball and the bat landed without incident or Iain could have been up on some sort of oar related assault charge.
AS the weather settled down Chris Parker gave his usual soothsayer forecast and we slipped out of Warderick Wells still spellbound by its radiant colours and wildlife. There was however one last treat in store for us. As we rounded the reef, clear of the water jumped an eagle ray and then, just in case we missed it, out he came again showing his pure white underside and powerful pointed wings. Warderick Wells was simply wonderful.
We switch from 3.3 horsepower to 2.0 person power in ‘Il Sogno’s’ kayak.
Just in case we didn’t know we were in the ‘Land and Sea Park’.
Sensational snorkelling.
You’ve got to love brain coral.
Iain takes Thug for a walk.
Cruisers leave their mark on custom made driftwood signs.
Wonderful Warderick Wells.
We get the 360 degrees of turquoise.
Three strokes from Ruffian and you can stand up!
If only we had a way of catching all that rain.
That’s reminiscent of the 1980 Spielberg classic.
Never have we been quite so close to land.
The top of Booboo hill give us just enough signal to check email.
Life on the lean. This time walking.
The landscape is riddled with deep black holes.
What a great view.
Boots off means it’s time for a mid hike swim.
Sting Rays are everywhere.