So we topped up our gas J Cans at the Highborne Marina and then pulled up the hook at 1000 hrs for a short run to Shroud Cay, ~10nm to our south. Light winds (on the nose) and calm seas as we motored past Norman Wells where Odysseus and Izzy R were anchored. Looked a bit busy for our liking and we were keen on getting to Shroud Cay, where we grabbed a mooring ball.
The Land and Sea Park has placed mooring fields throughout the park. While there are some cruisers who shun this, we think its a great idea. Firstly it protects coral from the clumsy anchorers and also provides the park with a meager income ($20/ni/boat) to help maintain this magnificent treasure. The park is a strict no take zone so the aquatic life as well as land based flora and fauna are flourishing and provide a wonderful sight to see and explore.
We spent two days at Shroud, with day one spend relaxing in the sun and playing on a small beach. Day two we went exploring via dingy, motoring up Sanctuary Creek to Driftwood Hill. Shroud has five mangrove creeks of which 4 are restricted to non motorized vessels, creeks we hope to explore on the way back up north with our kayaks. Shroud is someone unique in that it has so many creeks and a large mangrove area in the center, this provides a huge nursery for a variety of sea life, fish and conch as well as aquatic birds. The ridge off of Driftwood Hill has a bit of history as well, as this was the site of a DEA Observation post during the 80s where they reported on all the aircraft arriving/departing Norman Wells during the drug war.
During our explorations we came across a huge motor yacht anchored in a bay. This multi story 150+'behemoth had all the toys including many water lice (PWC). The most amazing though was an inflatable slide which ran from the top deck and dropped about 80 feet to the water surface. Interestingly only saw crew flirting to and fro in tenders setting up tents and beach buffets, moving water toys and cleaning the mother ship. Never saw any of the passengers except a few on the aft deck under canopies sipping their drinks.
We reluctantly slipped our mooring and headed south on Saturday, vowing to return next month with Wendy's sister. Interestingly as we sailed south to Waderick Wells we heard Merlin on the radio. Turns out our friends Wes and Sheryl from the MRSA days in Md were headed north to Norman Wells. Turns out they were anchored in the same bay as us! Talk about two ships passing in the night, we were two sailboats in the same bay and somehow missed each other.