Another day in Paradise

After being on the hook in some of the most beautiful water for 4 nights it was time to move on so we hauled up the anchor and headed further south to Warderick Wells which is the center of the Exumas Land and Sea Park. We called the day before to get on the mooring list and confirmed this morning that we had a mooring so we set out.

IP 420 Amekaya and Eos.

There was a bit of wind between 5-10 kts out of the east and since we were going southeast it would be mostly in front of us. Very quickly we went to sail and with the apparent wind about 13-14 kts at 50 degrees initially we sailed smartly for about an hour. But as we got further south the islands run more to the east so we had to work up as we could. The winds also calmed a bit as we were sailing 45 degrees to the wind and even though we were towing our dinghy we maintained about 50% of the apparent wind speed. The wind was at 110 degrees and we were sailing well at 165 but we needed to be at 140.

So we sailed as long as we could and then headed straight for the cut into the Park. On the west side of the Exuma Cays are lots of shoals, rocks and coral heads so in many cases the approach to the anchorage is long and often twisty through the shallow obstacles and Warderick Wells is no different. Also, many of the approaches have current running in them that can either really help you or slow you down. Running in to Warderick Wells we were fighting current for the couple miles we had to travel to the curve into the Park.

Ironically once we turned into the mooring field crescent the current was flowing in so we went from fighting it to riding it. But going into the mooring field we would have preferred to have some ahead of us than behind us. So we motored in and turned around to come up on our mooring into the current and secured our place for the night.

Warderick Wells mooring field is one of the most spectacular anywhere. At high tide it isn’t so apparent but at low tide the deep water is apparent and the sand in the shallow water stands out making for a blend of colors that is truly spectacular. The water in the channel is deep and swift but it is not really wide.

After reviewing the weather we have decided to move on so we can run to George Town ahead of the next front and ride out some high winds there while we do some work and get caught upon things. On the way we will make some stops and hopefully get our blog up to date. Finally after all the bad weather we are now enjoying our days in Paradise.