Keith’s Perspective on Long Island and Trekking Through the Exumas/Le point de vue de Keith sur Long Island et la randonnée dans les Exumas

Saturday, February 7 – Friday, February 13 – This week has been very fun. On Saturday, all of the families rented cars. We went in a van with Blue Heeler. We went to a cave and a few other boring places, then went to Dean’s Blue Hole, one of the deepest blue holes in the world. We met up with Tiki Tour, Zimovia and Another Summer there. 

The people who rented the cars brought them to us at Tiny’s

Cette semaine était très amusante. Samedi, toutes les familles ont loué des voitures. Nous sommes allés dans un van avec Blue Heeler. Nous sommes allés à une grotte et d’autres endroits ennuyants, puis nous sommes allés à Dean’s Blue Hole, un des blue hole les plus profond en monde. On y a vu Tiki Tour, Zimovia et Another Summer.

Inside Hamilton Cave
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Trying to get to Thunderbolt Grotto, Staniel Cay, Exuma Islands, The Bahamas

The moon was not full anymore, but still shone vividly at dawn on Thursday, March 5

We’d arranged to meet two of the families at Thunderball Grotto at 0900, which was slack high tide. We were leery about getting in and out of the cave at high tide, but they assured us that it would not be a problem and said they thought it was better to go when there was no current. 

We left Kosmos at 8:40, figuring it would take us 20-minutes to get there. But even though it was supposed to be nearly slack tide, the current was strong and our little 3 hp electric motor struggled. For a portion of the time, we were only going a little over one knot. It took 40-minutes to get there. Eric was frustrated. He’s been contemplating switching to a fast gas motor for the last few months, and he announced that this was the last straw – he was buying a new motor. When we got to the cave, we could barely see the entrance. We don’t think we would have been able to find it at all had we not been there before.

As our friends had assured us, getting in was not difficult. Here was a selfie with a view of the entrance from the inside.

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Dean’s Blue Hole and The Shrimp Hole, Long Island, The Bahamas

Continued… The next stop was Erica’s Store and Bakery in Clarencetown. Much to Eric and Keith’s disappointment, the bakery portion was closed, so they yet again struck out on buying bread.

Next was Dean’s Blue Hole, the deepest saltwater hole in the world with a depth of 202 meters (663 feet). Blue Heeler and Kosmos met up with Tiki Tour and Zimovia there. The hole was a random deep spot in an otherwise shallow area that was surprisingly close to shore. There was a platform anchored there, and people dove into the hole using the line to help them descend/ascend. Everyone in the cruiser family group snorkeled, adults and kids. They saw some fish. Eric said it was his worst nightmare — a deep, dark abyss. Keith said it was cool, though it was eerie to look down into the hole. Afterwards, the kids played in the sand.

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The Hamilton Cave Tour, Long Island, The Bahamas

Saturday February 7 — Tiki Tour and Zimovia were also in the anchorage. Diane from Tiki organized a family outing to Dean’s Blue Hole. Diane arranged for us to rent minivans. The people renting out the vehicles met the group at Tiny’s to collect the money and hand over the keys. Tiki and Zimovia shared a minivan, and Kosmos shared one with Blue Heeler.

Kosmos and Blue Heeler took full advantage of the vehicle to do some shopping and sightseeing. The first stop was a farmer’s market, which was not far from the anchorage by car, but too far to walk. The market wasn’t all that big, with a small selection of produce, eggs, and some artisan goods. Eric wasn’t sure if it was normally small or if they’d just come too late and the majority of goods were already sold. But he was relieved to have finally found eggs.

Next was the Hamilton Cave Tour, which was a privately owned limestone cave in Clarencetown. The owner had a small storefront on the road. Eric called a number listed on No Foreign Land, and thankfully the owner said there was a tour starting in a few minutes. They went to the store, then followed the owner about 1/4 mile or so to his property (which would have been hard to find on their own). There was a fee for the tour, but Eric couldn’t remember what it cost. They joined some other tourists, and the group went down a staircase to the mouth of the cave.

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Back to the Blowhole, Blackpoint, Exuma Islands, The Bahamas

On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, it was windy again with 15 – 20 knots sustained that was forecast to last all day. In good news, the wind had shifted to be from a more comfortable direction and there wasn’t much motion onboard.

Thanks to the big winds, there were 6-foot waves in the ocean. Eric was anxious to see the blowhole in action at high tide with the big waves. Neither Christi nor Keith were particularly interested in going with him, but he talked them into it. At 0745, we set out on the trek to the blowhole.

Here is a video from another angle where you can see the water hitting the land better.

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