We are sailing slowly north up the west coast of Cat Island.
Very light winds dictate we do not get far each day, but we might as well enjoy it.
We sailed out of New Bight, around the out lying reefs of Bonefish Point, and into the secluded Kelly Bay.
We chose this anchorage because we heard it was wonderfully secluded, despite having a resort in the next bay over, Fernandez Bay.
The humans had a look at the charts and found that there is an extensive mangrove river system just behind the coastal ridge.
With a river entrance south of our anchorage and an exit into Fernandez Bay, it looked like a great place to go exploring. So into the kayaks they went.
South of our little beach the coast line became sand stone cliffs carved by the wind and sea into unusual shapes.
The waters were crystal clear. A half mile down the coast they found the river opening into the mangroves.
From here they found a maze of rivers running through the shallow mangrove beds.
The kayaks are great in the shallow waters and quiet, for sneaking up on wildlife. Unfortunately the human’s are not that fast with the camera, and missed most of the wild life shots.
Despite it being the ‘heat of the noon day’ they still saw herons, a baby shark and lots of fish in and amongst the shelter of the mangroves and their roots.
They saw a couple of young turtles, but were even more rubbish at photographing them.
The mangroves opened back up to the sea at Fernandez Bay.
You can also anchor here, if you like.
But you will have to share the beach with the resort guests.
We prefer to have our own beach, just a short paddle around the point.
Here on my own beach I do not have to worry about running about and being noisy.
From the ridge at the top of the beach you can see back to mangroves the humans visited.
On the beach itself former visitors have left their mark using the slabs of sandstone.
The snorkelling here is very good, both along the coast line, and around the pair of outer rocks.
It is a nice place to relax and enjoy life.
