From Compass Cay to Emerald Rock

We planned an early wake up on the 11th, as we wanted to get to shore and walk to Rachel’s bubble bath before high tide, but still leave ourselves enough time to get out of the anchorage before the tide turned. (The exit was near the cut between the sound and the bank, which can get pretty sporty if the tide is against the wind.) It was a very windy morning, but we were determined to see that bubble bath. It’s a cut in the rocks where the tide comes pouring in and fizzes up the water. We’ve seen a similar pool in the BVIs (and I have been to one in Hawaii) and it’s pretty cool!

Our timing wasn’t fabulous…it was a little early for high tide and it was so early in the day it wasn’t exactly sunny….and it was really too windy to be warm!

When we got there, none of us really wanted to get in and swim, plus we were feeling the time pressure to get back and weigh anchor. So…it was a nice walk, and we saw it!

Back at the boat, we raised the anchor and the wind picked up even more. We motored out and headed to our next destination of O’Brien’s Cay, where we were planning to anchor and then hopefully snorkel a spot called the Aquarium. The wind, however, just wouldn’t let up, and even after threading the needle of a very narrow pass to get there, the anchorage at O’Brien’s was what Patrick called “unsavory” due to its orientation to the wind. The four park moorings that were there were taken already (they wouldn’t have been great in the wind either anyway), so we saw no alternative but to leave, as the tide was falling and we had some skinny spots to get through if we were going to head somewhere else for the night.

We decided to make our way up to the Emerald Rock anchorage a few miles away, on the outside of Warderick Wells, which we had been to back in December. Patrick steeled himself for threading the needle yet again, and we headed off.

We had lunch and took naps when we got anchored, in a much calmer anchorage. That afternoon we dinghied ashore to meet up with the crew from SV Audacity. Always fun to meet another sailing family!

The next day, we did school in the morning and then went to snorkel some of the coral heads near the Warderick Wells mooring field. We saw more coral, cool fish, and a ray!

We dinghied back to the boat and enjoyed the gorgeous blue scenery all around.

Back at the boat, we decided to see just how close to the bottom we were floating, as the anchorage was not super deep. Luckily, the weather was settled, so it wasn’t too much of a concern. You can see here we had but a few inches under the keel. Living dangerously!

2 Replies to “From Compass Cay to Emerald Rock”

  1. Beautiful pictures as always. Makes me happy to look underneath the sea and see the beautiful colors and underwater life. It reminds me of my two vacations scuba diving in the Caymans. That brain coral looks interesting, as well as that unusual type of mermaid that you saw on your visit!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *