Turtles & Mangroves

En Route to Royal Island

We took a dinghy tour of the mangroves off the coast of Lynyard Island yesterday to see the turtles and boy were we rewarded. We saw no less than 100! It seemed they were everywhere snacking on the turtle grass enjoying the warmth of the shallow waters. Very cool but contrary to popular belief they are fast, and we didn’t get a good photo. It’s like trying to capture the dolphins.

The mangroves were pretty cool in their own right and it has been a while since we have driven that close to them. Apparently, the mangroves are endangered due to loss of habitat. Typically, they occupy very shallow water and are important to build habitats for baby reef fish, sea grass for the turtles, and coral reef. Their complex network of roots is quite beautiful.

We are heading down today to Royal Island, and it is the last open ocean cut we will have to do since our plan (boat insurance) doesn’t let us go any farther south than Clarence Town. The Abacos are beautiful but based on the time of year, just a bit too chilly to swim and I am looking forward to heading south. We will likely pass back through here on our way up as there is still plenty we have not yet done here (i.e. Man-O-War snorkeling).

For now, we are off to Eleuthera and so far we have made it through the cut and the swells are not too bad. Sailing hubby has nailed another weather window! It may be our last for a bit and being south gives us some more options without braving the open ocean. Seems are part of a 7-boat parade this morning and there are plenty of others who had the same idea we did. We also have heard there have been a few COVID breakouts in Georgetown and Nassau so if we can stay away from the bigger cities, there are many places to simply anchor offshore when we get south. Also if they shot anything down again, I sure would like to be in the Exumas!