Exumas

The Exumas are the Bahamas distilled: a chain of low, sandy cays running 130 miles south-east from Nassau through water so shallow and clear that the bottom is visible from the cockpit for most of the passage. The sailing here is not about wind and waves — it is about navigation, reading the water colour, and understanding tidal cuts that can run at three to four knots through narrow gaps between the cays. Most Exuma charters depart from Nassau, on New Providence, or from George Town on Great Exuma at the chain's southern end. The route between them, known as the Exuma Bank, passes over water that rarely exceeds 15 feet deep and is often much less. The bank is on the western, leeward side of the chain; the Exuma Sound, to the east, drops to thousands of feet and is open ocean. The cays themselves are mostly uninhabited. Warderick Wells, the headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, provides mooring balls in a protected anchorage and walking trails through native coppice. No fishing, no collecting, no anchoring outside designated areas — the park is genuinely protected, and the marine life reflects it. Big Major Cay, commonly known as Pig Beach, is where the swimming pigs live — feral pigs that wade out to visiting dinghies for food. Compass Cay has nurse sharks in its marina that allow interaction. Thunderball Grotto, a sea cave near Staniel Cay used in the James Bond film of the same name, is best snorkelled at slack low tide when the current through the cave is minimal. Staniel Cay, the social hub of the central Exumas, has a yacht club, a fuel dock, and a small store. It is the closest thing to a town in the middle of the chain and the practical resupply point for a week-long passage. Winter cold fronts, arriving from the north-west every few days between November and March, are the main weather concern. They bring wind shifts, falling temperatures, and rough conditions on the bank. Experienced Exuma sailors watch the forecast and position themselves in protected anchorages before a front arrives. Provisioning in Nassau is adequate; in the Exumas, it is limited to Staniel Cay's small shop and George Town's modest supermarkets. Water is scarce on the cays. The Exumas demand self-sufficiency and careful passage planning, rewarding both with some of the most visually spectacular sailing in the western Atlantic.