Compass Cay

Sea conditions this morning, combined with gusting winds, put an end to ou rsnorkel visit to Rocky Dundas Caves, the Coral Garden and Sea Aquarium. A consensual decision was
made to continue heading south.

As we departed Cambridge Cay, we passed Bell Island, home of Aga Khan. Bell Island is part of the Exuma Land and Sea Park, a “no-take” zone, set up to preserve and protect land and sea life, as well as preserve the cays in their natural state for generation s to come. Obviously money talks………loud and clear! Even the Bahamian fishermen are prohibited from fishing, conching and lobstering within park boundarie, yet this billionaire can dredge the seabed to provide a marina for his mega yachts. We find this offensive, and what he has done to the topography and natural island beauty is obscene. The Bahamian governments, both current and past should be ashamed, selling out for one hundred million dollars. One wonders what benefit the average Bahamiam derived from all this?

 We have heard reports of cruisers anchoring off Bell Island and being told “we would prefer you not be here” and offered a bottle of wine to move. How cheap do they think we are…………a case or two and we might negotiate (just kidding). The standing joke now is to just head over to Bell Island and say “I'm here to collect my wine”.

Our first stop was Compass Cay, where we dinghied in to the marina for a burger and beer for lunch and to see the pet nurse sharks. Compass Cay Marina is a funky, remote place, operated by Tucker Rolle.

We were warmly welcomed and assisted with tie-up of the dink. The fishermen (Tucker’s sons) had just gone out for conch and Tucker (lunch cook) was down with a headache. We were invited to visit the beautiful beaches and when the fishermen returned in about 45 minutes, we could have lunch.

Hot and hungry, we returned to the marina after enjoying their beach. Upon our return, we found that Tucker was still not feeling right, and boat owners were cooking their own lunch on the dock grill. Captain Kaos agreed to cook for us, while we watched the sharks. Some folks were swimming with the sharks, and after lunch, it was my intent to swim with them and film it for the grand kids.

In the meantime, the sharks were being fed hot dogs, which they love, and they will come right up to the dock and beg for more, sometimes, spitting water at you.

The fishermen returned and proceeded to clean their catch of conch and lobster, throwing the scraps to the sharks, who, by this time, were in a feeding frenzy.
Suzanne and Dave took a dip to cool off before lunch, but didn’t venture in too far. By the time we had eaten lunch, the fishermen had returned and were busy cleaning the catch. I certainly was not going swimming at this time, maybe next time.

That’s some catch! They were only out for about an hour, but they certainly know where to go!

After our shark fix, and with full bellies, we upped anchor and headed to Sampson Cay for a few supplies from the store and overnight anchorage.