Sailing the Exumas
Shroud Cay in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park
Imagine being surrounded by crystal clear turquoise waters with an entire white sugar sand covered island all to yourself. Sounds like a dream, right? Well this vision can be your reality if you’re willing to think a little outside of the box for your next vacation. We just returned from an incredible 8 day sailing trip to the Exumas which is a chain of 365 islands and cays in the Bahamas. I know what you’re thinking. Don’t you need to be a millionaire, own a boat, or know how to sail to partake in this sort of adventure? Well I’m here to tell you the answer is no to all of these questions (although a yes to one or all certainly doesn’t hurt either).
The best crew
To start, I am very fortunate to have good friends with sailing experience which allowed us to charter our own boat. We used a company called the Moorings which has locations in over 20 destinations across the world including the British Virgin Islands where we did our last group sailing trip a couple years ago. They offer sail charters, power charters, and all-inclusive crewed charters for those that don’t have sailing or yachting experience. If you are doing it all yourself, there’s a lot of planning and strategy involved. In addition to the obvious crucial navigation of the captain, a lot of time and effort must also go into provisioning because once you leave the marina access to groceries and supplies is typically extremely limited (or completely unavailable). While most would consider this a luxurious vacation, and don’t get me wrong it totally is, I like to use the metaphor of “camping on water” when describing the experience to family and friends. There are many amenities on the boat including a stove, air conditioning, hot water, showers, a generator, and even spotty Wi-Fi, however the quarters are tight (a kin to a large RV) and the cuisine is “camp friendly” with an emphasis on non-perishables due to limited refrigeration/freezer space and quick spoilage of produce and bread products at sea. Prior to our trip we actually had a couple planning meetings to create a menu and shopping/packing list together. And let me tell you, all that time and effort was so worth it because it made everything run incredibly smooth with some actually pretty great (and creative) meals!
Paddle boarding at Shroud Cay
But let’s skip to the good part, shall we! What does one do while on a sailing adventure? While underway, there is a lot of reading, sun bathing, trolling (the fishing kind), and playing card games. Once we arrive at a new anchorage we swim, snorkel, scuba/free drive, spear fish, paddle board, meal prep, or take the dinghy ashore to explore a new island which sometimes includes hiking or grabbing a drink at a little beach bar when available. Traveling by boat, you get to visit remote areas that typically aren’t accessible to those staying in the resorts on the bigger islands. Our highlights this trip included Shroud Cay in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, Pig Beach (home of the famous swimming pigs), Thunderball Grotto (filming location of a James Bond movie), the plane wreck at Norman’s Cay, and the iguanas on Allan Cay. I’ve shared our itinerary which was slightly altered by weather but thanks to a skilled captain and a flexible crew we still had an amazing time! This type of trip may not be for everyone, but if you have an adventurous soul and are looking for a unique idea, this is it. Let me know what questions you have about planning your own sailing charter below!
Diving for conch snacks
Itinerary:
Day 1: fly into Nassau, get boat from marina, anchor at Rose Island
Day 2: stop at Allan’s Cay to see the iguanas, anchor at Highborne Cay
Day 3: anchor at Shroud Cay in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park
Day 4: anchor at Big Major Cay, stop at Pig Beach
Day 5: stop at Staniel Cay, snorkel Thunderball Grotto, anchor at Norman’s Cay
Day 6: snorkel plane wreck, stay anchored at Norman’s Cay
Day 7: long crossing, anchor at Rose Island
Day 8: return to marina, fly home
Plane wreck at Norman’s Cay
A few things that were a bit too far south and out of bounds for this trip but that look amazing maybe if based out of the island of Great Exuma are: Chat ‘n’ Chill on Stocking Island, snorkeling the The Musician at Rudder Cut Cay, and the mile long sandbar at Farmer’s Cay. Definitely keeping these in mind for a future endeavor! ;)
Pig Beach at Big Major Cay
