Because of Covid many cruisers decided to not come south this season or at least to delay their trip south until later in the spring. This meant that in January we anchored out at Shroud Cay with a couple other boats and it was spectacular not only because of the scenery but because it was peaceful. Leaving Eluthera we thought it was a good idea to take advantage and return to one of the most beautiful spots in The Bahamas before heading north.
What a difference sixty days made. Where before there were only a couple boats, this time we were surrounded by no less than fifteen super yachts with associated toys, people, noise, jet skis and dinghies running all over the place. We lasted twenty four hours and decided enough was enough and moved up to Highbourne Cay instead. While there we did take the dinghy into one of the creeks to go turtle hunting. Jet skis, otherwise known as “water lice”, are not allowed in the creeks so it was peaceful there.
Someone posited that it was more crowded because of Easter and spring break. I’m not sure that’s the answer but it definitely changes where we want to anchor. More and more we are happy that we are down here this season because everyone keeps telling us how “not crowded” it is.
At anchor we are always at the mercy of the wind and look to the various cays and islands as protection from the worst of it. We dropped anchor at Oyster Cay just south of Highbourne but by the next morning we were rocking and rolling because the wind had shifted from the normal east/southeast to west. So we anchored somewhere we would normally never be. The windward side of Highbourne Cay has numerous coral heads and small reefs so we anchored in a sand channel between the reefs. The snorkeling was nice both from the dinghy and right off the back of the boat. On the second day the wind died down and the water became incredibly clear without any wind waves. It was like looking through a clear window and we could see everything on the bottom. This doesn’t happen often but when it does you have to take advantage of the situation and get in the water.
From there we moved to the northwest side of the island when the wind once again changed and today re-anchored on the southwest side. At this point we have anchored on all sides of Highbourne Cay and are currently surrounded once again by lots of super yachts with associated toys, people, noise, jet skis and dinghies running all over the place….
