Friday, February 26, 2010 Exumas Park North Anchorage 24 23.814/076 37.943

Listened to the weather, coffee in hand and enjoyed the beautiful still morning. It was nice to have a comfortable night in the anchorage once again. Peanut butter & jelly on the last of the homemade bread and fruit for breakfast, as we waited with anticipation for the morning call to “who’s leaving, who wants a mooring for the day” from Warderick Wells. Several boats reported that they were leaving and we’d heard a couple more from last night. Then the good news! Azaya and Kolibrie both have moorings in the North Mooring Field! YAY! I laid in a course from Emerald Rock to Warderick North Mooring and Azaya did the same. It was weird to plot a course for the North Mooring field taking us out and around the sand bars and into the other anchorage. We can look straight across and behind Emerald Rock and see the anchorage about a mile away. But in order to get there with our boats, we need to go six miles out onto the banks and around to get there. Both boats released our moorings at 11:15am and motored out and around the sandbar to the bore and into Warderick Cut to the anchorage. It feels so nice to be back here. Almost like coming home.

The deep channel leading up to the park feels like an old friend. Last year it was a little scary coming in. “Follow the deep, dark channel past the 3 outer moorings. Go between the red and the green markers, staying in the deep, darker water and follow it in to your assigned mooring” – number 8 this year. Last year the deep channel outside the park seemed foreboding until we turned into the channel and saw the light blue/white color of all the sand and shallow waters. Then that path seemed downright frightening, as I’d had visions of plowing into water that was a foot deep if I left the aqua channel. So many shades of blue…

This year we followed Azaya into the channel. I had to wonder if they’d felt what I’d felt last year coming into this place for the first time. As they pulled up to their mooring, someone was already on it. That boat released their mooring (9) and headed for ours (8). Mary told them that we were heading for #8 – that was ours. Thank you Mary. We managed to come in and hook our mooring – no problem. Ahhhh It’s good to be back. Mary and Axel (Azaya) have the mooring over the shipwreck. There’s a mini-reef growing on it and a ray, shark, and barracuda hang out there. Very cool.

Azaya went off exploring in their kayak and we headed over to one of many small beaches for Wayne to bath. The one we picked was close to the entrance to the park and a sign on the hill said “No Access”. So while Wayne bathed I walked around the point to Turn Around Beach and saw a Bayfield on Mooring Ball 1. I thought it might be Mad Cap and I was correct. After Wayne’s bath we dinghied over to the Park Headquarters. I wanted to use their electricity in order to burn our name into a piece of drift bone I’d found on a beach in Xanadu. That way we could leave it on Boo Boo Hill when we hike up there. I originally thought the bone was drift wood. But on closer inspection discovered it was bone. Wayne agreed – it was bone. He thought it might be part of a whale rib.

Beth & Jim from Mad Cap (fellow Bayfield 36 owners)

Mad Cap Group :)

When we pulled the dinghy onto the headquarters beach – I heard “Kolibrie! Kolibrie!” It was Beth waving to me from the Park Headquarters at the top of the hill. How good to see her and Jim again! They were here with their guests. As we got up to the headquarters they were feeding the bananaquits. I, of course, had to take pictures. We all stood around chatting, feeding the birds and taking pictures. It’s so great to run into Mad Cap and their friends from Ottawa. I like their friends. Just wish I could remember their names! I thought hers was Brenda but it’s Linda (?) and I’m so abashed that I can’t remember his – he was so friendly! Maybe it will come to me! Anyhow, the park office closed and I noticed the tide was coming up making our dinghy rock on the beach. We hadn’t secured it so Wayne went to rescue it, Mad Cap went to continue their walk and I stayed behind to burn our name into the drift-bone. After I finished, I headed for the dinghy wondering if Wayne had left me. He never came back to the headquarters. He was standing on the beach with the Mad Cap group. They were still on the beach chatting with another Wayne and Patti (from Bums rush) so we all stood on the beach chatting some more and taking pictures of conch and a “Colorful Atlantic Natica”. What a beauty the Natica was. It had a colorful and large foot in a beautiful reddish brown patterned, broad, ovate shell. It was just moseying along the bottom in the tidal zone sand. When we picked it up for a picture I couldn’t believe that it could fit it’s entire foot inside the shell but it did. It quickly closed the sturdy operculum (the cover protection of the foot – like a door) for protection and refused to come back out until it had been in the water again for about 15 minutes.

The Colorful Atlantic Natica

A conch strolling along the bottom of the water

After more pictures with the whale skeleton and Mad Cap it was time to head back to the boat and finish making dinner. Chicken Salad with vegis and apple and orange slices with grapes was on the menu tonight. Azaya brought over a wonderful garlic toast; cucumbers, olives and a nut/chocolate mix and we had a delightful evening eating and chatting. I’ll miss them when we go our separate ways.

Axel & Mary from the Sailing Vessel Azaya on their Kayak

On a side note here – I don’t know if I ever mentioned (last year) what killed the sperm whale whose bones are displayed on the beach here. Plastic. Eating to much plastic killed it. Many creatures that eat jellyfish eat plastic thinking that the plastic is their food when it isn’t. It ends up killing them. So a majestic 52 foot sperm whale was killed by man’s careless garbage that was thrown or ended up in the ocean. Actions and consequences. Think about what you throw away and where it’s disposed of