The clearest water you will ever sail in, over white sand, with more empty beaches than boats. Of everywhere we have sailed, the Exumas are the most beautiful. We honeymooned in the Abacos, chartered there, ran charters in the Exumas and cruised our own boat from the Abacos to the southern Exumas by way of Eleuthera and Nassau. The Bahamas is not harder than the BVI because of wind or waves. It is harder because it is shallow, tidal and ruled by the weather forecast.
Who a Bahamas charter suits
The Abacos suit a BVI graduate who wants something quieter and is happy in a catamaran drawing four feet. The Exumas are a genuine step up and the big fleets rate them expert only. Neither is for a crew that wants a bar at every stop.
Where you start
For the Abacos you fly to Marsh Harbour (MHH), ten minutes from the fleets at Boat Harbour. For the Exumas you fly to Nassau (NAS) and start from Palm Cay Marina on the south-east corner of New Providence, about 30 minutes away. Provision fully at the base. It is expensive there and scarce everywhere else.
The 7 night route on a map
Gold pins are the nights, numbered in order. Light blue pins are day stops on the way. The longer passages are marked in nautical miles.
The Abacos
- Charter base: Marsh Harbour
- Hope Town
- Day stop: Tahiti Beach
- Little Harbour
- Man-O-War Cay
- Great Guana Cay
- Day stop: Whale Cay passage
- Green Turtle Cay
- Treasure Cay
The Exumas from Nassau
- Charter base: Palm Cay, Nassau
- Allans Cay
- Highbourne Cay
- Normans Cay
- Shroud Cay
- With more time: Hawksbill Cay
- Warderick Wells
- With more time: Cambridge Cay
- With more time: Compass Cay
- Big Majors Spot
- Day stop: Staniel Cay
- With more time: Black Point
- Rose Island
Not for navigational purposes. Positions are approximate and the route line is a sketch that keeps off the land. It ignores depth, reefs and shoals.
- Charter base
- Night stop, numbered in order
- Day stop
- With more time
- Typical route
7 nights in the Abacos: day by day
Everything is inside the Sea of Abaco, so the hops are short. The one leg that depends on the weather is Whale Cay passage, which you take out into the ocean and back in to reach Green Turtle Cay. If a rage is running, stay south of it.
Marsh Harbour to Man-O-War Cay
Seven miles from the dock. Pick up a mooring in the harbour and walk the boatbuilding village. It is a dry island, so bring your own.
Man-O-War Cay to Great Guana Cay
A short sail up the Sea of Abaco. Anchor or moor in Fishers Bay and walk over to the ocean beach and the bar on the dune.
Great Guana Cay to Green Turtle Cay
On the way: Whale Cay passage
Go out through Whale Cay passage and back in, in settled weather only. New Plymouth is the prettiest settlement in the Abacos.
Green Turtle Cay to Treasure Cay
On the way: Whale Cay passage
Back through the Whale on the morning forecast, then into Treasure Cay for one of the best beaches in the Bahamas.
Treasure Cay to Hope Town
The longest day, about 20 miles back down the Sea of Abaco. Moorings inside the harbour, the candy-striped lighthouse above you.
Hope Town to Little Harbour
On the way: Tahiti Beach
Lunch stop at the sandbar at Tahiti Beach, then south to Little Harbour. The entrance carries about three and a half feet at low water, so go in on a rising tide.
Little Harbour to Hope Town
On the way: Tahiti Beach
Back north on the tide, inside the cays the way you came. A last swim at Tahiti Beach, then a mooring in Hope Town and dinner ashore.
Hope Town to Marsh Harbour
A short run back across to Marsh Harbour. Most bases want the boat back on the dock by mid morning.
7 nights in the Exumas: day by day
An out-and-back down the chain from Nassau, as far as Staniel Cay. The first and last days are long crossings of the banks, and the whole week runs on the weather forecast: if a cold front is due, shorten the plan and stay north.
Palm Cay, Nassau to Allans Cay
About 30 miles across the Yellow Bank. Leave as early as the base allows and post a bow lookout for coral heads with the sun high. Anchor between the cays and meet the iguanas.
Allans Cay to Normans Cay
A short day south. Anchor off the west side and dinghy in to the sunken drug-runner’s plane.
Normans Cay to Warderick Wells
On the way: Shroud Cay
Stop at Shroud Cay and take the dinghy through the mangrove creek to the ocean side on a rising tide. Then on to the Exuma park headquarters. Call the park on the radio the day before to get on the mooring list.
Warderick Wells to Big Majors Spot
South to the swimming pigs. Anchor in sand off the beach. It is a big, easy anchorage with good holding.
Big Majors Spot to Shroud Cay
On the way: Staniel Cay
Snorkel Thunderball Grotto at low slack water, top up at Staniel Cay, then start north.
Shroud Cay to Highbourne Cay
A short hop. Fuel, water and a small shop at the marina if you need them, and a calm anchorage off the west side.
Highbourne Cay to Rose Island
Back across the banks, again with good light for the coral heads. Rose Island puts you about five miles from the base for the morning.
Rose Island to Palm Cay, Nassau
An easy run in to Palm Cay for fuel and check-out. Most bases want the boat back on the dock by mid morning.
The stops in more detail
Abacos: Hope Town
A candy-striped, kerosene-lit lighthouse over an enclosed harbour full of moorings. The best night in the Abacos.
Abacos: Man-O-War and Great Guana Cay
A boatbuilding settlement, then the beach bars: Nippers on the ocean side, Grabbers on the anchorage side.
Abacos: Green Turtle Cay and the Whale
New Plymouth and two shallow sounds, reached by going outside Whale Cay into the Atlantic for a mile or so. In a big swell the cut breaks right across, which locals call a rage, and you wait.
Abacos: Tahiti Beach, Little Harbour and Sandy Cay
A sandbar, Pete’s Pub at the end of a channel you enter on a rising tide, and the best reef snorkelling in the Abacos inside a no-take park.
Exumas: the Yellow Bank to Highbourne Cay
About 30 miles on day one from Palm Cay, across a bank dotted with coral heads that you cross with the sun high and someone on the bow.
Exumas: Normans Cay and Shroud Cay
A sunken drug-runner’s plane to snorkel, then mangrove creeks you ride by dinghy to an ocean beach.
Exumas: Warderick Wells and Cambridge Cay
The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. No fishing, no taking anything, first-come moorings paid by app, and per person fees for charter boats.
Exumas: Staniel Cay and Big Majors Spot
Thunderball Grotto at slack low water, the swimming pigs, fuel and a small store. This is the turnaround for a one week charter. George Town is too far.
Where the work is
Depth and tide
Much of the cruising ground is six to fifteen feet deep and some harbour entrances carry four feet or less at low water. Tide is part of every day’s plan. This is catamaran country.
Reading the water
There are few marks. You pilot by colour with the sun high and behind you: dark blue is deep, turquoise is fine, pale is thin, brown or black is coral or grass. Move between about nine and four, not before or after.
Cold fronts
From November to March a front comes through every few days. The wind clocks from east through south and west to a hard northerly. Most anchorages are open to the west, so you plan the week around where you will hide. The Abacos get it worse than the Exumas.
Cuts
In the Exumas the gaps between the shallow bank and the deep Exuma Sound run hard, and with wind against tide they stand up into breaking seas. Go through at slack water or not at all.
Anchoring and supplies
Very few mooring fields. You anchor in sand with excellent holding nearly every night. Water, fuel and food are only at a handful of stops, so keep the tanks topped up.
Fees and fishing
Boats chartered in the Bahamas do not need a cruising permit, but check who pays the park fees and the 14 percent charter tax on your quote. Visitors may not use spearguns, only a Hawaiian sling, and the parks are no-take.
When to go
April to June is the best of it: settled easterlies, warm water and few fronts. December to March is high season with a front every few days. Summer is hot and light with thunderstorms, and hurricane season runs June to November. Marsh Harbour and the cays were flattened by Hurricane Dorian in 2019. The bases and most of the settlements are back, Treasure Cay’s marina is not.
How The Bahamas compares with the BVI
| BVI | The Bahamas | |
|---|---|---|
| What makes it hard | Crowds and mooring competition | Depth, tide and weather fronts |
| Pilotage | Deep channel, line of sight | Shallow banks, read the water |
| Overnight moorings | In most anchorages | Very few |
| Bars and restaurants | At most stops | Few and far between |
| Water and beaches | Clear and busy | Clearer and empty |
New to all of this? Start with the BVI bareboat basics and see why most people start in the BVI.
The Bahamas charter questions
Abacos or Exumas for a first Bahamas charter?
The Abacos. The Sea of Abaco is sheltered, legs are 5 to 12 miles, there are settlements and moorings, and the big fleets rate it moderate. The Exumas start with a 30 mile crossing of a coral-strewn bank and are rated expert only.
Do you need a catamaran in the Bahamas?
You do not need one, but shallow draft makes everything easier. Many anchorages and harbour entrances carry four to six feet at low water, which rules out most deep-keel monohulls.
What is a rage at Whale Cay?
Steep breaking seas across the Whale Cay passage in the Abacos, caused by ocean swell meeting shallow water, often on a sunny day. When it is raging nobody goes through, so boats wait on one side or the other.
How far can you get in the Exumas in a week from Nassau?
Staniel Cay, Big Majors Spot or Black Point, about 75 miles from Nassau, is the practical turnaround. George Town is not realistic on a one week charter.
Thinking about The Bahamas?
Tell us your dates, crew and experience and we will tell you straight whether it suits you, or whether another island would suit you better. Same price as booking direct.