Back to Rachel’s Bubble Bath on Compass Cay, Exuma Islands, The Bahamas

Dawn on Saturday, January 10

This morning, we brought in paravane pole and snubber, then pulled up anchor at around 0730 and headed to Compass Cay. Last time, we came down the ocean side of the island. This morning, winds were 12 – 18 knots from the east with gusts to 24-knots, which meant the ocean would be an uncomfortable ride. Eric decided to take the lagoon side.

Even in the more protected waters of the lagoon, it was a bit of a lurchy ride. We couldn’t take the most direct route because it was too shallow, but we were able to utilize deeper channels (that had probably been dredged), which eventually got us there. The majority of the channels were plenty wide and deep for Kosmos… until the last one. The channel directly into Compass Cay from the lagoon side was very narrow and barely deep enough for us.

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Rachel’s Bubble Bath at Compass Cay, Exuma Islands, The Bahamas

The sunrise was blocked on Sunday, December 28, 2025, but there were still some neat colors.

This morning, the boat was moving strangely. When Eric went to see what may be causing it, he saw that the chain had gotten caught on multiple rocks, creating a zig zag pattern. Oy vey.

This morning, the flotilla moved to an island called Compass Cay. We pulled up anchor a little before 1000, and needless to say given the rock situation, getting the chain up was tricky. Eric had to do some serious maneuvering to straighten the chain out and the windlass was strained a few times as the chain clung to the rocks. But all in all, getting it up wasn’t too bad — it could have been much worse.

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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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The Blowhole, Blackpoint, Exuma Islands, The Bahamas

Dawn on Sunday, December 14, 2025

This morning it was windy, then both windy and rainy, then the wind died and there was light rain for a few hours. Once the wind died, it was hot and humid. Eric cleaned the bottom.

The wind was forecast to shift direction, so he made sure that the anchor was well set, which was easy to do in such amazingly clear water.

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Thunderbolt Grotto and Moving to Blackpoint, Exuma Islands, The Bahamas

Dawn on Friday, December 12

And the sunrise.

This morning, the wind shifted back to the prevailing winds from the east. This meant we could finally go back to Thunderball Grotto. Coincidentally, this week Keith studied limestone rock and its erosion patterns in science. Thunderball Grotto was the perfect place to see the effects of erosion!

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