Waiting on Weather – Wardrick Wells, Exuma Islands Bahamas, April 12, 2025

Simply put, the last 2 weeks have left us doing a lot of waiting.  We took the first window available to make the crossing and then the southern winds took over.  There have been 5 days sitting in Royal Island and then another 7 days waiting in Hatchet Bay.  These are the two most protected places.  And the weather did not disappoint, since we had a major storm and 35% of the boats in Hatchet Bay drug.  Once again, we were up at 4am hoping not to get hit since two of the boats who drug anchor were next to us.  Ron did amazing job of seeing these storms coming.  We were there days before they hit, our anchor was set, and then like clockwork we got a slew of new boats who came into the bay an hour before dark and plopped the anchor 50 feet in front of us.  All inexperienced cruisers from Georgetown.  It is one of our least favorite parts of cruising.

After one beautiful night near Rock Sound, we had a chance to cross the Exuma Sound and now sit in one of our favorite places – Exuma Land and Sea Park.  It is an extremely protected little bay and one of the most beautiful places on earth.  It makes the last two weeks’ worth the wait.  On our first snorkeling adventure we were quickly reminded how ripping the current is!  In these types of conditions, we typically tow the dinghy with us.  The Bahamas is known for their wild currents between the islands and this place is that on steroids.  In the evenings though we can sit and watch the turtles and rays swim by the boat.  It is incredible. 

Hiking here is also a plus.  This small park has a few hills and stunning white sand beaches, so we felt the need to go back to Booboo Hill!

The next day was my birthday so we took a nice long snorkel with the turtles!  It was nice to relax here but the rolly overnights and close calls with the charter boats trying to fit through the narrow channel of mooring balls made that our last day here.  We are heading south while the winds are calm to Pipe Cay.  It’s nice to be somewhere warm and lovely!