Shroud Cay

Amberisle2
Valt & Sandy
Tue 5 Feb 2013 22:36
24:32:10N 076:47:85W
Feb. 4, 2013
After a 30 minute run from Norman's Cay, we inched in close to shore, in front of the mooring balls and dropped anchor in 10' of water. We were at Shroud Cay! Uninhibited, it is one of many islands inside the Exuma Land and Sea Park. They charge between $30-100 a night to tie up to the mooring balls here, more inside the Warderick Wells park headquarters. The Park is a protected area, no fishing or shelling allowed. Right in the middle of the Exuma Cays, it covers about 176 sq. miles. It even extends 4 miles into the sea on either side of the islands!

The view is breathtaking. In our little cove, the rocky landscape forms a half moon around us. Shallow for miles, the water is pristine, clear, turquoise. It is the waters the Bahamas is famous for. The light easterly breeze is partially blocked by the island, leaving the sea flat calm. That night we turned on our new underwater LED lights. Wow! It illuminated the water around the back of the boat, exposing curious little fish.

Shallow little mangrove creeks go through Shroud Cay. Only accessible by dinghy, we waited for the tide to start rising, packed a lunch, and set out to explore. We saw few fish as we slowly motored along. Reaching the end of the creek, we found ourselves at the Exuma Sound side. We tied up the dink and walked the sandy beach. Climbing a marked path to the high point of the cay, we could see the Sound, the Exuma Bank and the mangrove creek we'd run. The colors were spectacular. A dog barked and we saw our new neighbors come around the rocks. Finishing our lunch, we meandered back thru the creek. We followed the shoreline back to the boat.




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