Shroud Cay - Exuma Islands

This morning started off clear and windless. We motored down to Shroud Cay and anchored just off the southwest side of the island. We are now just inside the protected waters of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. It is 176 square miles that the Bahamian government has set aside as a wildlife sanctuary. There is no fishing or taking of any sea or land life, including seashells. Fines are hefty -- if you are caught poaching they can do anything from fine you $500 to the more drastic measures of confiscating your boat and sending you back home. So we don't intend to fish, in fact Kevin put his fishing poles away so that he wouldn't forget. Of course this afternoon we spotted a huge barracuda hanging out not five feet behind the boat right at the surface watching us. The fish stayed there at least an hour, hardly moving. We aren't sure what he wanted -- he might've been expecting a handout or maybe he just wanted to taunt Kevin who has been dying to see, let alone catch, a fish that size.

The early afternoon was hot, and with no wind it was sweltering. After our nurse shark encounter the other day we consulted via email with Darlene, our friendly neighborhood shark enthusiast. She confirmed for us that nurse sharks are non-aggressive and don't like the taste of humans too much so long as we aren't swimming around with chum tied all over us. So Kevin and I felt safe enough going for quick swim to cool off (sans chum, of course). After that we put up the bow shade which was something the original owner had made for the boat. It is basically a huge white canvas circus tent that shades the front half of the boat. You can lay out on the trampolines and get cooled by the breeze without getting roasted in the sun. It looks bizarre from a distance, but it really works well. We had to take it down pretty quickly when we saw a dark patch of clouds in the distance. Within 30 minutes we were hit by a brief squall with 20 knot winds and rain. Funny thing about squalls like that, they move so fast. This one was gone in less than 2 hours and we had sunshine and no wind again for the rest of the afternoon.

Our friend Brett emailed us a good question the other day, asking what kind of boat is a trawler. It's a big slow motor vessel that's usually not very aerodynamic-looking (as opposed to a power boat, which looks like it was built for speed). A lot of couples cruise in them, since they have good fuel economy and can be fairly roomy inside. Note when I say "slow" it's relative, a trawler's cruising speed can be anywhere from 5-10 knots (we cruise at about 7.5). Anyway, I try to remember to define any sailing lingo we use in these logs, but if I forget let me know.

Where we are:
Lat: N 24 32.051'
Long: W 76 48.163'