After enjoying our time at Exuma Land & Sea Park we headed out on Thursday to get fresh water and find some new scenery. Only 13.8 nm south lay the small marina at Compass Cay on a beautiful private island. Several folks had recommended it, so that became our destination. They have good wi-fi here, so today’s log has lots of photos.
Upon arriving, Noah met two families visiting from Chicago and struck up an immediate friendship. While Beth headed to the laundry room, we headed to the beach with three other kids.
Even on the East side of the island, the reefs kept the waves from the sound from pounding the beach.
Tucker Rolle, the proprieter here, feeds the local nurse sharks and they hang around the piers. Since they are well fed (we hope), it is a good opportunity to get up close to these amazing creatures.
Noah was hesitant at first (smart kid!) but did come into the water and came to enjoy being able to see the sharks up close. He even let go of dad and swam on his own for about 15 minutes. There are also huge remoras, jacks, a Nassau Grouper and lots of bone fish that came through looking for a free meal.
On Friday a boat docked next to us with a family from Sweden who had a nine year old boy aboard. John and Noah hit it off immediately and we took them on a walk to find the “Bat” cave. We had interesting views of the cliffs and sound, but never did find the infamous cave.
Went swimming under the boat later to make sure the prop and rudder were okay since we bumped a sand bank coming in here. Actually saw more fish under the boat than anywhere else on the trip. There are coral heads under the dock and no fishing is allowed in the marina. This and the fact that most guests feed the fish let the marine life really thrive.
Noah and John met up with yet another nine year old, Richard on Mustang Sally. Turns out Richard had four siblings and it turned into a kids day with r/c boats, swimming to a tiny island and playing with water toys. It helped that Richard is on a big yacht with a crew that was enthusiatstically spraying the kids with water hoses. Noah was invited for dinner and played in the hot tub and watched a movie, coming home way after cruiser’s midnight.
Since Noah was having such a good time, we decided to extend our stay through Saturday night. The kids played hard all afternoon. Beth and I were able to go off and explore Rachel’s “Bubble Bath” a rock formation at the north end of the island. Here the waves break over rocks on the sound side sending foam and bubbles into a shallow rock pool making a natural bubble bath.
Can’t say enough about what a beautiful island this is and how much fun Noah has had with his new friends. He didn’t get home until after 1000 last night and it wouldn’t surprise me if he tries to stow away on Mustang Sally today. They are leaving to go home to Denver and we are going to explore the southern end of Exuma Park.
You can see more of the island at www.compasscaymarina.com