Season 2: Bahamas Exumas

Leaving Eleuthera

We awake bright and early in Rock Sound Harbour and prepare ourselves to head toward the Exumas. We were anxiously excited to see this part of the Bahamas because of how extraordinarily beautiful it’s reported to be. When you see the touristy commercials for the Bahamas, it’s likely that it was filmed somewhere in the Exumas. It was set to be a fairly straightforward sail, and it was for the most part. The leg of the trip that we needed to exercise a little extra caution was navigating through Davies channel. This channel brings you out of the Eleuthera island chain and is surrounded by reef.We had studied it extensively before departing and it’s a good thing we did! The very moment we turned into the channel, our chart plotter decides to go black. We were able to use eyeball navigation, and made it through annoyed, but unscathed. The trip was pretty uneventful after that. We got the chart plotter back up , and we made it to Highborne Cay around 6 that evening.

Arrival to Highborne Cay

Highborne Cay was a complete 180 degree vibe compared to where we just came from. It was beautiful, no doubt. I guess that why it was a total playground for the rich and important. We were surrounded by Mega yachts employed with staff in matching polos, people on those iron man jet pack water things, and more jet skis than you could imagine. It was strange to see so much affluence congregated in one place, but we poured ourselves a fancy whiskey, put on our best swimsuits and embraced it. We only stayed here one night as it wasn’t really our scene. Plus the weather was perfect the next day for sailing. So the next morning, we set our course for the slightly more remote anchorage in Shroud Cay.

Shroud Cay

It only took a couple of hours to arrive in Shroud Cay. We didn’t get the dinghy down right away because we just felt like lazing out and relaxing ( probably too many fancy whiskeys from the night before!). We ultimately regretted this decision due to the weather taking an ugly turn over the next few days. Our dinghy set up is pretty difficult at the moment and putting it together in rough weather is a chore, which is a huge understatement. We waited a couple of days in hopes that the weather would clear up so we could explore the island, which never happened.

Around 10 p.m., on the final night we spent in Shroud Cay , we got ambushed with a 45 knot squall out of nowhere. The boat violently sailed on anchor 180 degrees and we were heeled over so much , the rail dipped in the water. Our anchor held perfectly though, and everyone in the anchorage reported minimal to no damage. That morning we decided that we were done with this unprotected anchorage . Maybe next time, Shroud Cay.

Cambridge Cay

The conditions that morning leaving Shroud Cay were perfect for sailing. Windy enough to keep the sails full, but sea state calm enough for the passage to be comfortable. I sort of wish we were planning on going a little further that day. But in just a few hours, we arrived to our next anchorage, Bells Cay in the Land and Sea Park. The Land and Sea Park is a stretch in the Exuma Chain that is strictly regulated and protected, so its kept very pristine. We were excited to stay here awhile and explore the area, so after spending one night at anchor, we moved to adjacent mooring field in Cambridge Cay.

The mooring field is exceptionally well maintained here, so at only 10 dollars a day we were picked up a ball for a total of six days. We could have spent 30 days here if we weren’t starting to run low on food! Just a short paddle away from the mooring field to the shore, there is an awesome hike up a steep cliff where we found incredible views overlooking the ocean and the bay.

Rocky Dundas Cave

Taking a short dinghy ride around the other side of the Cay, there is a small reef to snorkel. We didn’t see many fish here, but still fun none the less. Our absolute favorite spot was the famous Rocky Dundas Cave. The Rocky Dundas Cave is a hidden cave that is only accessible by swimming under a submerged ledge that leads into a large open cavern on the other side. The amount of fish and colorful coral was like nothing we had ever seen! I was extremely nervous at first to swim under a ledge into a cave, and was a few seconds from chickening out. I am so thankful that I just went for it. Well worth it!

With our visa expiration approaching, our time in the Bahamas was running out. So we had to depart our new found paradise and set course for the famous tourist hot spot, Staniel Cay.

The Famous Staniel Cay

We arrive at our next destination, the famous tourist spot, Staniel Cay. We don’t usually go for the touristy spots, but we felt that we wouldn’t be doing the Exumas right if we skipped Staniel Cay. We dropped the hook in the very crowded anchorage just off the infamous “pig beach”. We stayed long enough to hit the hot spots. By hot spots, I mean the laundry mat, beer store, and trash collection. ( the laundry mat and beer store happened to be the same place… the liquormat ) It wasn’t all business though.

Famous swimming pigs

We relunctantly visited pig beach, which ended up being pretty much what we expected. Aside from the adorable piglets, it was a bunch of giant smelly pigs harassing you for food. We took a few pictures with them and then left. The spot we really enjoyed and would recommend was Thunderball grotto, an underwater cavern filled with beautiful fish. If it wasn’t for the current and tide, we could’ve spent all day there. It was a perfect afternoon, until we went to leave and our outboard failed and we had to get towed back to the boat. Embarrasing!

Fortunately we were able to get our outboard running later that day. We spent our last day just swimming off the boat in the crystal clear water. After Staniel Cay, we made a quick stop at the nearby Black Point where we hit up the local happy hour with a couple of other cruisers from the anchorage. After way too many rum punches, we had a great time dancing like drunken sailors. We drug ourselves out of our cabin the next morning and set course for Georgetown.

Georgetown

Georgetown is the perfect place for cruisers to do some provisioning, get diesel, or any boat supplies they need. It’s also a popular place to check in and out of the country. We spent about a week here taking care of few errands. We anchored just outside the famous chat n chill bar, so we had some fun too. We found a few nice snorkel spots, enjoyed the hike up to “the monument”, where passing cruisers leaving their boat name written in sandstone down at the base. We couldn’t leave Georgetown without leaving ours too! Our original plan was to complete check out here also, but with 2 weeks left on our visa , we figured we had enough time to see one more island. So we picked up anchor and set sail for Great Inagua.

Great Inagua

We arrived in Great Ingaua around 5 a.m. On our approach to the island, we were so excited to have caught a huge tuna fish, only to have it snatched away by the taxman just as we were pulling it up to the boat. If you’re a fisherman, you know how devastating this is, but I guess sharks have to eat too! We anchored around sunrise just outside the government dock , where you can tie up for 10 dollars a day. As soon as the office opened up , we called and secured ourselves a spot. The anchorage here is very unprotected and the docks have very limited space. So we were lucky to have gotten a spot , especially since it’s first come, first serve.

Great Inagua is definitely in the running as one of our favorite places we visited in the Bahamas. It’s a small island and there is not a whole lot there, but the friendliness of the locals make you feel right at home. There were a couple of restaurants to try. We loved Angies place, even though the menu choices were fried chicken or fried chicken. But, it was some damn good fried chicken!

Great Inagua

The lighthouse was another cool spot to check out and it was only a short walk from the dock. The views are breathtaking at the top , and Jerrod really enjoyed nerding out on all the mechanical gear. The checkout process was probably the most laidback encounter we’ve had with a customs agent. We were in and out within 15 minutes. Plus as a bonus, the customs and immigration office is conviently located next to the liquor store, so we were able to get one last bottle of our favorite Bahamian rum! The next morning around 4 a.m., we set course for our next adventure , The Dominican Republic.