Snorkeling at Warderick Wells

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By Kevin

About ten years ago a cruising sailboat sunk while on its mooring ball at Warderick Wells. The story I heard was that the couple living on the boat left their generator running while they went to dinner on another nearby boat. A fire broke out while the generator was running unattended and they lost the boat. Here is a picture of that boat still sitting in 30 feet of water.  

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One thing I’ve noticed through the snorkeling that we are doing is that underwater life will claim anything that sinks to the ocean floor. Whether it is a boat, a 50 gallon drum, or anything else, once it has been sitting on the bottom for a few months, nature takes up roost and plants and fish begin to occupy the new artificial reef.

Warderick has some of the best snorkeling we’ve experienced. The fact that it is a zero-tolerance protected area shows in the number of different wildlife species that are present. And the sheer quantity.

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Arrival in Warderick Wells

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By Kevin

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We had a smooth passage to Warderick Wells, which is the island that houses the Exuma Land and Sea Park headquarters. This large park of protected waters and islands is a gem in the heart of the Exumas. It is one of the few places left in the Bahamas where the lobster will practically walk out of their holes to greet you. The conch and grouper are plentiful.

But the catch: You can only take pictures…and you can only leave footprints.

We stayed in Warderick Wells, attached to a nice mooring ball, for 4-5 nights. We wandered trails, snorkeled coral heads, and enjoyed late afternoon sundowners with a few of the boats that we’ve met on the trip.

The kids even met up with a 12 and 9 year old aboard S/V Dulcinea, an Austrailian sailing yacht that was stopped over in Warderick Wells while en route to Singapore.