A Quest for Food in Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

Dawn on Saturday, May 3, 2025

In the am, Eric filled the tanks that were used yesterday. After he was done, Eric and Christi jumped in the water and finished cleaning the bottom. Eric saw a nurse shark while he was underwater. Between the two of them, they used one tank of air. They were both relieved to finally be done. They vowed to never let the bottom get so bad again.

We decided to get a late lunch/early dinner onshore. We landed the dinghy at the yacht club. We saw there was another shark feeding in process. Someone was filming the sharks with a Go-Pro. She dropped the camera in the water. The sharks attacked it, and one of the sharks ate it. The shark immediately spit it back out. A man went into the water with the sharks and retrieved the Go-Pro for her! She said it was on, so she probably has footage of it being eaten and spit back out.

We decided we wanted to try a new place, and walked over to The Ship Yard. We’d put in a photo of the Ship Yard’s property in another post, and here is a photo of the restaurant itself. They told us that their chef was on vacation this weekend, so only the bar was open.

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Keith’s Perspective on Staniel Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas/Le point de vue de Keith sur Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

On Saturday, we were still in Palm Cay marina. Dad and I changed the engine oil, then we ate some food at the marina restaurant. 

Samedi on était encore au Plam Cay marina. Papa et moi avons changé l’huile du moteur et nous avons mangé de la nourriture au restaurant de la marina. 

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The Cruiser’s Beach, Big Major Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas

Sunrise on Friday, May 2

Keith does not do well when his schedule is thrown off its normal routine. As a result of going to bed so late last night, he was a super grumpy pants all day today.

This morning, while the generator was running, Eric filled up the two air tanks he’d used yesterday. We were pleased to report that Eric did fix the dive compressor while we were in San Diego. It turned out to be an issue with the drive belt, but putting a new belt in was difficult because the frame had corroded. He also replaced a lot of other parts on it, and it seems to be working fine now. All the effort to fix it has finally paid off.

After we finished with morning chores and school, Eric and Christi both worked on cleaning the bottom and waterline. Christi agreed it was the worst that Kosmos’s bottom had ever been — and Eric had already cleaned a lot of it! Between the two of them, they went through two tanks of air. They managed to get the entire bottom and waterline mostly done, but they would need to go back in one last time to finish it completely.

After showering, we went over to the Cruisers Beach. Apparently, the cruisers regularly get together at this beach for social activities, but we haven’t seen anything happening there since we’ve arrived. The shoreline looking south.

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Snorkeling Thunderball Grotto, Staniel Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas

On Tuesday, April 29, after we finished our morning school/chores and were getting ready to leave Kosmos, it started raining hard — we did not want to be out in that kind of rain.

When it stopped, we checked all the rain forecasts to see if more was coming. They all said more rain, but conflicted with when it would hit and how hard. The clouds in the distance looked ominous, so we played it safe and stayed onboard for the whole day. It did indeed rain hard again, but not until the evening.

On Wednesday, it rained lightly in the early morning, but cleared up by mid-morning. After school and chores, we went to Thunderball Grotto. It was windy, and the ride over was a little bumpy and wet. 

We anchored near the Grotto entrance, got our gear on, and jumped in. We took this video because we thought the sound was funny. We had no idea that it was significant.

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Welcome to Big Major/Staniel Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas — And Pig Beach

Sunday, April 27 — We got up at 0530 and untied from the dock at 0630, just as the sun was beginning to rise. It was high tide. Today was the new moon, so the tides were extra high/ low. We were grateful to have a little more water under the keel as we navigated the narrow channel out.

We were heading to an area called Staniel Cay, part of the string of tiny islands that make up the Exumas.

The sea conditions were okay. The 1 – 2 foot wind chop waves were sharp, hitting at 2 – 3 second intervals, and breaking. They were hitting us on the starboard. The motion was lurchy. Much to our frustration, the closet was squeaking like crazy like it does in head seas. In good news, there was no swell. It was a sunny day with scattered clouds.

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