Here was the moon setting on Thursday, December 4, 2025

And dawn beginning simultaneously. This was taken moments after the one above, but from the other side of the boat.

We pulled up anchor at 0630 and headed towards the pass into the ocean. All the sailboats left about the same time we did. They made a conga line again and we joined in. Navigating the pass was easy, as it was an extra high tide (thanks to the full moon), favorable currents and moderate beam seas. 

The passage itself was also easy. The winds were light, about 3 to 4-knots. Swells were about 4 – 5 feet, but had a long wave period at 10-seconds, so it was a nice ride. Currents were favorable the whole way and our speeds were good, averaging about 7 knots at only 1600 RPM. The day was mostly sunny with scattered clouds and pleasant temperatures.

Based on the direction they were going, we figured the sailboats were going to Spanish Wells. Our destination was a little southeast of Spanish Wells. We’d chosen the anchorage because we knew inclement weather was coming on Monday, and we needed to be in a really sheltered place on Monday. However, the wind was going to switch directions multiple times between today and Monday. We either needed to change anchorages each time the wind changed or we needed to find an anchorage that had 360-degree protection. We didn’t like to move every day, and this was one of the few anchorages in the area that had 360-degree protection.

As we neared ur destination, Eric saw a 100-foot ship go through a pass between Egg Island and Little Egg Island that Eric had routed us around because he was concerned it would be too shallow. Since the conditions were favorable and the charts were so accurate, he decided it would be safe to take the little shortcut, which saved us about 15-minutes. All went smoothly. We entered the small lagoon at Royal Island at 1520.

Here was a zoomed out map so you could see how far we’d come and how close we were to Spanish Wells (the white line to the right and slightly above the blue dot).

The anchorage was lovely and flat as a pancake. Here was a photo of the entrance.

And a shot of the fully protected lagoon. Later, we figured out that the small powerboat in the background was used to transport guests to and from the island.

After getting Kosmos situated, Eric and Keith got the dinghy down and tried to go to shore. Like Highbourne Cay, the entire island was a privately owned resort. We had no idea what it cost to rent a villa at Highbourne, but according to the app No Foreign Land, prices for Royal Island started at $20,000 per night.

There were two docks. Eric went to the main dinghy dock and saw a sign that said “no trespassing.” He didn’t try to go ashore as he figured security guards would immediately run him and Keith off.

The other dock was inaccessible as it was low tide — and thanks to the full moon, was a negative tide. That dock also had a sign that said no trespassing, but other cruisers had said that there were some ruins there from a previous hurricane that could be explored.

As was typical for us, we had a mellow evening onboard. Here was the full moon rising.

And Christi taking a photo of the full moon

It was another colorful dusk.