BellaGatto Cruising: WEEK TWO – Nassau to Warderick Wells, Exuma

This week we are slowing down the pace of travel dramatically – no more all day open water crossings, instead we will be working our way south along the Exuma Chain, where there is a fabulous anchorage with lots to see and do every couple of miles. We can’t see them all, but what we miss we will try to catch on our way back in a month or so. Click any image to enlarge.

Click here to see live Google map with details.
Red pins = marina stays & blue pins = anchorages

Leaving Nassau Harbor Club Marina around noon on a windy day, we did a short trip to west bottom anchorage on Rose Island. You can still see Nassau from here, and excursion boats come and go, but it is very well protected from the northeast wind and makes a perfect jumping off point to cross the banks to the Exumas proper.

This is our anchorage spot just off of Rose Island about 8 miles from Nassau.

Sometimes I wonder if it weren't for Bella would we take the time to launch the dinghy and visit these amazing deserted beaches. It's a lot of work but it comes with much reward.

Sunset at Rose Island anchorage. Tomorrow we cross over to the Exumas.

The next morning we got underway at 0900 for the 32 miles to our first stop in the Exumas, Allens and Leaf Cays. About halfway, there is a large area of patch reefs you have to cross called the Yellow Banks. A few of them are shallow enough to threaten a deep-draft boat at low tide, but for us they are just an interesting diversion. When we hit the Yellow Banks, we put out a big-lipped diving plug and slowly trolled it along and around the patches we came across, just in case a big grouper wanted to come out from his lair and grab it. After doing that for a while, we stopped and anchored near a couple of patches and I went for a snorkel. I figured a reef out here in the middle of nowhere might have some good fish on it, but no luck. At least it was a pretty snorkel. We pulled in to Allens and Leaf Cays and found a nice spot to anchor in this stunning archipelago of rocks and reefs. These cays are home to an endemic population of the southern Bahamian rock iguana, found here and no place else on earth. The iguanas are anything but shy, since tourist boats come over from Nassau just about every day full of people who feed them. Bella took an instant dislike to them, and we had to find beaches void of iguanas to land her. We stayed here for a total of three nights hiding from a strong south wind. We found a couple of really nice little shallow reefs to snorkel, and we met another Endeavour power cat, Waiting to Exhale.

Leaving the anchorage at Rose Island early.

Lunch today while underway is a plant based taco bowl with all the trimmings. We bought it because it is a shelf stable option and turns out it's pretty darn good. It's pre-seasoned but I add extra cumin, oregano & cayenne pepper to amp up the spicy/savory. https://www.urbanaccents.com/product/meatless-chipotle-taco-mix/

One of the many tour boats that zoom over here from Nassau. They feed the iguanas grapes on a long stick so these endangered critters are like trained seals at a marine park.

A typical "iron shore" shoreline on the many cays (keys) throughout the Bahamas

This is one of the larger iguanas who is absolutely standing his ground

BellaGatto way in the distance

When approaching the beach where the tour boats land the iguanas run from near and far for a handout. Honestly it's a little creepy. Feeding wild animals changes their behavior and we don't do it.

It's great to be snorkeling again! We saw very nice reef structure teeming with healthy hard and soft corals, tons of tropicals, some lobsters (out of season) and a couple of large black groupers who were big because they are smart. We had chicken for dinner 🤣

The Allen/Leaf anchorage at night.

Our Endeavour Catamaran neighbor, Waiting to Exhale

When the wind finally laid down a bit, we set out from Allens and Leaf Cays and had a very pleasant 22 mile trip south to Norman’s Cay. This is one cay in the Exumas that a lot of people have heard of, since in the late 70s and early 80s it was the center of Carlos Lehder’s cocaine smuggling empire back in the Miami Vice days. Now it is a playground for millionaires, but one reminder of the old days is still there. In about 6-8 feet of water near one of the anchorages lies the remains of one of the drug smuggling planes that crashed on a test flight and is now an artificial reef of sorts. We snorkeled there, and also on some hardbottom flats out in front of nearby Wax Cay, where we did manage to get a couple of nice conchs.

The new channel to the yet to be completed marina that will eventually be here in Norman's Cay.

This is a pretty impressive private boat ramp cut right through the limestone on Norman's Cay

Jonathan doing a quick recon of the reef while I finish gearing up

We are happy campers with our catch of two conch. This will be plenty for some fresh conch salad.

This is NOT my photo, I scraped it from the web, but it is an excellent shot of the wrecked drug plane that was so much fun to snorkel.

I no longer collect actual shells, only photographs.

Beautiful sunset and Norman's Cay

Dinner tonight is one of Jonathan's specialties, lobster sautéed with celery, shallots, and mushrooms in a white wine sauce. These were frozen Florida lobster tails we got from our good friends Steve and Debbie before leaving on our trip and we thought we better eat them as they are out of season now here and we don't want to have to explain ourselves.

Morning Bella walk exploring the ruins of this house that was never finished on a tiny cay adjacent to Norman's Cay. Broken dreams.

Looks like some fuel is being delivered to Norman's as we leave for our next destination, Shroud Cay

The next morning we set out south again and entered the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, a national park and no-take marine reserve that stretches 22 miles from Wax Cay cut in the north to Conch Cut in the south. We had intended to go to the headquarters of the park at Warderick Wells, but a steep and choppy head sea on the banks changed our minds, and we pulled in to Shroud Cay, the northernmost island in the park, instead. I’m very glad we did. Not only did we find an anchoring spot (mostly) out of the slop and chop, but one of the star attractions in the park as well. There is a little tidal creek that cuts through the mangrove flats all the way to the other side of the island. This is not the brown silty mucky water you find in a Florida mangrove creek, it is crystal clear bright blue water full of turtles and fish. We followed the creek through to the other side of the island and a white sandy beach.

So what is the first thing we saw when we entered the cut in our dinghy? A jet ski from one of the megayachts towing 8 people on a giant blow up raft. In hind sight I think he was rescuing them as they got caught with the wind and tide but...

These mangroves are in such a healthy ecosystem. We saw plenty of bonefish and green turtles on our tour.

Lounging around in the shallows to cool off.

We hiked up to the top of Camp Driftwood at Shroud. It was pretty steep and we were barefoot but the view was well worth the effort.

Everything chopped for the conch salad and ready to mix!

Yummy!

The Exumas are lousy with Cats. Mostly sail but some power as well.

Sunset at anchor in Shroud Cay.

We ended a full day of adventure with a game of Five Crowns.

The wind died down a good bit overnight, and by 8:30 the banks looked pretty good, so we continued our route to Warderick Wells. The anchorage right by the park headquarters is one of the prettiest and most photographed in the Bahamas and is a very popular spot. The park maintains 22 mooring buoys here, and we were on the radio at 9:00 am sharp to see if we could get one of them. By lunchtime, we were on our mooring and ready to explore. We hiked the trail up to Boo Boo Hill, where you are treated to a panoramic view of both the anchorage and the deep water of Exuma Sound. That afternoon we joined a floating cocktail party at the park headquarters beach. I think it was somebody’s birthday, as if you need a reason. The next morning we had to hike back up to Boo Boo Hill to fulfill a tradition. The tradition here is to leave a piece of driftwood at the top of the hill with your boat’s name on it, and BellaGatto is now represented in good standing. That afternoon was another round of amphibious cocktails, this time with our new friends on Waiting to Exhale.

There are dozens of cays in the Exuma Land & Sea Park but Warderick Wells is where the park headquarters is located.

This is a 50+ foot sperm whale skeleton that was found on this beach known as Whale Beach.

This is the north mooring field which has about 2 dozen mooring balls for boats of all sizes. Boats 40ft and under pay $25 per night on a first come first serve basis. We opted to join the fleet support membership for $60 which provides 2 free nights and the ability to reserve a day in advance. The little extra goes to a very good cause.