Shroud Cay

Monday January 20th  we left our anchorage at Norman’s Cay and cruised the short distance to Shroud Cay.   This is the first cay within the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park.  Formed in 1959 by a special act of  Parliament, the park stretches some 22 miles north to south and encompasses 15 major cays as well as numerous smaller ones.  There are about 176 square miles within the park.  It is a designated replenishment area for all the Bahamas and as such nothing is allowed to be removed from the park (this includes plants, animals, coral, rocks, shells, etc).  There is no fishing and anchoring is limited to certain specified areas.  Where mooring balls are available, the park asks that you use these instead of anchoring to protect the ocean floor.

The morning weather for our cruise to Shroud was very still and the water completely flat.  You could see the bottom as clear as if you were looking through glass.  Once anchored off the west side of Shroud Cay, we put the dinghy in the water and went for a ride.  Shroud Cay is actually a group of cays and rocks with an extensive mangrove salina in the center.  There are numerous saltwater creeks running throughout the mangroves.  The northern most creek allows dinghies at idle speed while all the rest are off limits to any motors (paddle board or kayak only).

After a little hick-up with the dinghy engine ( she acted like something might be clogging the fuel filter), we were able to ride all the way through Sanctuary Creek from the western side of the island to the eastern side.  It was a beautiful ride through the mangroves.  The creek is a bit like a nursery for fish and turtles.  We saw numerous marine life while cruising along the creek.

Entering Sanctuary Creek

Cruising the creek

 It's a little shallow to the left

Once through the creek,  we landed the dinghy and  walked the beach a bit.  There was a short hike up to the top of the hill that overlooks the mangroves.

Here is a juvenile sea turtle, I stuck the go-pro along side the dinghy to get his picture

Overlooking the creek and mangroves

  

View overlooking the Ocean

We also met a local on the beach who told us how as a kid he camped on the cays around Shroud.  He was also an avid fisherman and it was interesting to talk to him about fishing in the Bahamas.

We also did some snorkeling.  It was amazing.  I decided to try our go-pro which is water proof.  It did pretty good with the underwater pictures.  It was the first time I have used this, so hopefully I will get better with more practice.

Juvenile Conch

Fish around some coral 

Small school of Angel fish

Several yellow snapper

Monday evening just after we had dinner, the wind kicked up and it started to rain.  Of course all this stuff happens in the dark.  The dinghy was tied behind Southern Style and as the wind blew the dinghy was banging around.  It was a little like a fire drill trying to figure out if it was better to have the dinghy at the back or side of the big boat.  We moved the dinghy around a bit and moved fenders trying different combinations to see which might be best.  Finally the squall pasted and things calmed down.  Why does this stuff always happen in the dark of night and not at 2 o’clock in the afternoon?