January 30-31

As soon as the gale force winds at Highbourne Cay died down, we upped the anchor and had a nice easy sail 12 miles south to Shroud Cay.  There are a bunch of well maintained moorings here, the weather was benign, and after our anchor held so well in the gale, we just dropped the hook.  This spot didn’t seem as popular as Highborne. Just us and a super yacht for most of the time (super yacht being over 150ft, but not big enough to be a mega yacht at 200+ft!) It was described by the guidebook as “a unique mangrove ecosystem” that we could kayak through, so we were expecting something swampy. 

It was a nice surprise the next morning when we dinghied the kayak and paddle board in to the shore the next morning.  We found more gin clear water (Jeff’s favorite – Bombay Saphire blue) and a perfect jewel of a beach.  We paddled through wide channels in the mangroves to a big lake in the middle of the cay.  We really had to pay attention to be able to find our way back to the dinghy.  Turns out one mangrove looks a lot like another.  It was a great paddle.  The mangroves are a nursery for small fish and shimp, and we did see tiny silver fish, but no larger fish or apex predators.  It was a gorgeous day so we played around on the beach for a while enjoying the water after we were tired of paddling.  We recommend Shroud Cay as a peaceful, relaxing stop at a deserted island.