Proper cruising down here demands waiting out the wind and waves. However, we lack the luxury of unlimited time, so we endured another choppy ride from Nassau to Highborne Cay. We remained two nights and enjoyed a brief snorkel, but there's nothing to do there unless you go to the marina, so we moved on southeast to Hawksbill Cay. Hawksbill was once inhabited by "loyalists" i.e. refugees from the American Revolution. They built small houses from limestone rock and mortar. A few ruins are all that remains of their lives here.
Dinking along the west side of Hawksbill we watched a pair of Tropicbirds. We think these are the same birds known as Longtails in Bermuda.
We enjoyed a calm ride to Warderick Wells, headquarters of the National Land & Sea Park. This large cay offers rugged walking trails, shelter from winds of all directions, and a nice coral reef for snorkeling. Our first night here included happy hour on the beach with the Park manager and cruisers from US, UK, Venezuela and France.
Snorkeling on the reef.
The moorings at Warderick Wells. Sea Angel is the nearest trawler behind the sailboat.
By tradition, cruisers place driftwood displaying their boat names on top of Boo Boo Hill. Nancy, Barb and Bill created our joint effort. Sea Angel, Kindred Spirit and Iffin are in the background, left to right.
