Trapped in Paradise

A beautiful passageway through the mangrove 

 Exuma‘s land and sea park is a real treasure. We headed for the southern tip of Shroud Cay so we could dinghy through the mangroves to the ocean. Our stop in the park was one that requires timing of the tide so I listened carefully to Sheri’s tide calculations and agreed that we wanted to go in on the mid morning tide and return after lunch. 

It seems a little odd that the current was flowing so strongly as we were going in but we were excited to see the turtles and focused on our route. Well nature decided to close off ocean access so we beached the dinghy and found a shady hilltop to set up to enjoy the beautiful beach and ocean. 

 A dead end

After a Long Beach walk I went back to check the dinghy anchor and found the water had receded more so I marked the level and with each visit all afternoon the water kept disappearing. I talked with some people who had walked across the sand flats and we all thought we would be there a while. The water would have long returned if were a stream to the ocean but it was now the end of a huge bay and it needed to stop emptying before it came back. 

And it kept Disappearing

Our place to wait out the tide

We passed the time having lunch, swimming, enjoying the view, and watching the wildlife in the tidal pool that was once a

Around 4 We packed up our stuff and I pulled the dinghy through the shallow water and eventually, slowly we made it to water that was deep enough to put the engine partially down. It was a nice place to be trapped for 6 hours though. 

I was just happy the water was coming back!

We are on the way before 8 AM to enjoy a beautiful sail to O’Briens Cay which is another great Land and Sea Park stop to snorkel in the area known as the Aquarium. This spot is next to Johnny Depp’s island (we read he was in but no sightings) and Aga Khan’s— the wealthy hereditary spiritual leader to the world's approximately 15 million Ismaili Muslims. However the fish and coral are the stars here.

The weather is adjusting our plans so we set sail early Thursday for Big Major Cay so we can get a good spot out of as much of the forecasted 25 kt winds coming this weekend. Also we needed milk for coffee…very important. Another sailing day …Yay🥳

Next settling in for the blow