Compass Cay

 I open by saying that without question this facility is one of, if not the most interesting and enjoyable stops we have made with Freedom or any of the other boats we have owned. It rivals all of our travels except, perhaps, French Polynesia.
 The ride down from Highbourne was uneventful except for one Grand Alaskan style 80 footer that blew by us at 20+ knots leaving a wake about 7 feet high when it caught us.
 Otherwise we were mowing down the wind generated 2-3 footers that were coming straight at us. It was lumpy but nothing like the offensive rolling we absorbed after passing through Fleeming Channel on the way to Nassau. But it was enough to deposit copious amounts of salt all over Freedom yet again. Fortunately our water maker is working well this year so I can get after the salt once in a while at  a reasonable cost.
 Upon arriving at the entrance channel to Compass Cay one is greeted with shallow water. They have channel markers that sort of match up with the cartography we have so in spite of what was a imposing appearance we moved on slowly. This makes the entrance to Cocles Harbor on Shelter Island look like a cake walk. Heading up into the Navesink in New Jersey was a breeze in comparison. Propeller scour marks in the bottom were a frequent observation.  I was constantly bumping Freedom in and out of gear even though we only require a bit less than 4 feet of water to prevent damage to the running gear. By the way, there is no place South of Spanish Wells that can haul our boat let alone some of the large yachts down here. We made our turn in and we were immediately greeted by Tucker the owner of Compass Cay.
 They really make you feel at home here, and he congratulated me for being a first timer that did not run aground. The hindsight based on that remark was somewhat sobering.
 When a new boat pulls in all sorts of fish show up to see what scraps you might have to throw in for them. Many nurse sharks, snapper, grouper, and triggers, cloud the water looking for a hand out. With water that is crystal clear to 20 feet it makes us feel as though we are floating in an aquarium. Part of an acrylic bauble.
 While all of these nurse sharks are docile, something like big salt water cat fish, there are others lurking about. For example once in a while a large barracuda will pass through. This shot was taken at the marina shark feeding station. The dock at the right of the photo is actually submerged during high tide and the sharks swim up onto it and wait to be fed. Reaching down and petting them discloses just how rough their skin is. It feels something like 80 grit sand paper. Certainly different from a Hudson River catfish. No slime.
  Today we went out in the dink and made it over to Sampson Cay for a burger. It was actually reasonably priced and quite good. The conch salad was fresh and we are certain of that since they were cleaning it when we pulled up to the dock and the chef left the kitchen to go get some.
 The ride over was interesting in that we had to cross a few ocean openings when the tide and wind were in opposition and the ocean is rough. Although we were well inside, some serious rollers and breaking waves were coming at us. It was challenging to get through it all while standing up in the dink. Deb was sitting but when cruising around in shallow water if you don't want to run aground it's advisable to stand for a better perspective.
 Regardless of the challenge, we were both taken aback by just how scenic it is down here.

 The GPS data is uploaded and these photos will have to suffice until we get some more bandwidth.