A Week Aboard S/V Sabado: 1/17/21 – 1/24/21

Last Sunday we spent the day double checking the weather and discussing our options for next hurricane season (because of COVID-19, our options abroad are limited and we need to plan it out now if we want to make a reservation to haul out in the US).

Monday morning we said goodbye to the Remora that had made our stern it’s home last week…

(I gave him some green onions, he loved them) 

…and headed out to Highbourne Cay! 

The trip took us about 6hrs, and we motorsailed almost the entire way. We’re not sure what’s been going on here in the Bahamas, but every time the forecast projects 10-15kn winds in our favor, we get flat calm conditions.

On a more positive note- we could see the bottom almost our entire trip! We’re loving these crystal clear waters.

We arrived in Highbourne Cay around 2:30pm, and were instantly excited. There was only one other boat around, no buildings in sight, and a very appealing beach within dinghy-ing distance. 

We set out to explore the next day. We took the dinghy to a marina just around the corner, where we had to show our negative COVID-19 tests before being allowed on land. 

Once we were cleared, we headed over to check out the nearby beach- it was gorgeous! The sand was super fine/soft and bright white, and there were nice padded lounge chairs and umbrellas set out for everyone’s use- we even had a baby shark come visit us! 

That beach had a bit of a resort vibe though (which is nice, but not our style), so after an hour or so we decided to get some lunch then venture off to find something more interesting. We ended up eating at the only restaurant on the island- check out the view:

Before seating us at the restaurant, they took our temperatures and gave us a squirt of hand sanitizer… even though we were the only ones there. We split some conch fritters, I had a blackened mahi mahi sandwich and Ray had a burger. Lunch was a bit expensive, but we were two happy (and stuffed) sailors! 

After lunch we hiked around the island. There were tons of little trails around, so we found a few super pretty spots (and only saw one other person the entire time). 

The next day we took the dinghy around the island in the opposite direction in hopes of checking out the iguanas, but the waves were a bit too big for us so we headed home, made some dinner, and enjoyed the sunset instead. 

Unfortunately by Thursday, super yachts had invaded our anchorage… 

So, we decided to head out! We pulled our anchor up around 9am, and headed to Shroud Cay, which is a completely uninhabited group of islands owned by Exuma Park. 

The wind finally aligned with the forecasts, so we were able to sail almost the entire way! We used our main and jib, and even got to fly our Code Zero for an hour or so.

We arrived in Shroud Cay around 2pm and picked up a mooring ball. The water was beautiful, so I jumped in for a swim and dove on the mooring to make sure it was secure. Ray flew the drone for a bit, then we took the dinghy around to check things out. 

We found ourselves in a dinghy route (kind of like a creek/river) nearby that weaves through a bunch of mangroves! There is supposed to be a nice beach at the other end of it, but we came in at low tide so we had to turn around halfway so we wouldn’t end up stuck.

We ate dinner at home that night, hung out on our beanbag chairs on the bow, and watched another impressive sunset. 

Friday morning our friends, the O’Kelley’s on their boat Clarity, came by to say hello and pick up a package we had grabbed for them in Florida and brought to the Bahamas (getting things shipped here is a nightmare!). They ended up on a mooring next to us, so we decided to check out the dinghy route through the mangroves again- this time at high tide- with them. We made it through and ended up at a stunning beach that we decided to spend the day at! We beached our dinghies, swam, ate some snacks, and chatted the whole afternoon.

Later on, we parted ways for showers but met back up for dinner on their boat. We had some tacos, swapped stories, and wrote down some of their Bahamas anchorage and snorkeling recommendations since they are seasoned Bahamas cruisers. 

The next day Ray and I decided to check out a different beach, so we packed our lunches and spent the day here: 

It was unreal. We had the whole beach to ourselves.

When we got home we did a load of laundry, I swam some laps around the boat, made us some dinner and called it a night. 

This past week in the Exumas has been incredible, and we are so excited to continue exploring all that the Bahamas has to offer! We’re so happy here. ❤️ I filmed a video this week to show you guys everything a picture couldn’t seem to capture, but we don’t have enough service for me to upload it yet (it would actually be impressive if this post goes through), so keep an eye out on our YouTube channel! I’ll upload it when I can. 🙂

I hope you all had a good week!