THE BAHAMAS SAILING GUIDE
The Bahamas: 700 Islands, One Perfect Blue: Exuma Cays • Nassau • Swimming Pigs & Sandbar Heaven
You’ve seen the photo - that impossible turquoise sandbar with a sailboat floating in mid-air. That’s not a filter. That’s the Exumas. And the crazy part? You’ll have 365 cays to choose from, pigs that swim out to greet you, and water so clear you’ll swear you can read the bottom at 30 feet.
The Bahamas is not like the rest of the Caribbean. No steep volcanoes, no winding jungles - just low, sun-bleached cays scattered over the clearest waters on the planet. Shallow banks, coral gardens and sandbars that appear at low tide and vanish by lunch. It’s the world’s greatest natural playground for a catamaran - and nowhere is it more magic than the Exuma Cays, a 120-mile string of desert islands between Nassau and Great Exuma that feels designed for sailing, snorkeling and forgetting what day it is.
The Bahamas enjoys subtropical sunshine with a more open-ocean feel than the southern Caribbean. Expect 70–82°F (21–28°C) year-round, sea temperatures 75–84°F (24–29°C), and easterly trade winds generally 10–18 knots - lighter and kinder than the Windwards, ideal for relaxed, flat-water sailing (your mimosa will not spill).
The best time to sail is November to April. Dry season, stable high pressure, cool nights and brilliant blue-sky days. This is peak season for a reason - perfect conditions for the Exumas, plus wonderful events like the National Family Island Regatta in Great Exuma (April). February–April sees the most visitors; November–January and May–early June are the sweet spots if you want great weather with fewer boats and better rates.
Hurricane season is June to November, peaking August–October. Many crews avoid it, though the Abacos and Exumas can still be delightful in early June with proper weather routing. Always monitor forecasts and travel with flexible insurance. Shoulder months offer warm water and quiet anchorages - just keep an eye on the tropics.
The Exumas start where Nassau ends. Most charters begin at Palm Cay Marina or Nassau Yacht Haven on New Providence - modern, full-service, and just 25–30 minutes from Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS). Non-stop flights from Miami (40 mins), Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, New York, Toronto and London make it the easiest Caribbean charter to reach - no ferries needed.
You’ll also see Exuma charters from Great Exuma (Georgetown, GGT) or Marsh Harbour, Abacos (MHH) - great if you want the Abacos’ colonial charm or the Berry Islands. But for first-timers, Nassau → Exumas → Nassau is the classic loop: protected banks, short 20–35 NM hops, and every highlight in one week.
Entry is simple: valid passport for US, EU, and UK citizens (no visa for short tourist stays), plus a Bahamas cruising permit arranged by your base. Currency is Bahamian Dollar (BSD) pegged 1:1 to USD - both are accepted everywhere. And unlike much of the Caribbean, you’ll be sailing on the Great Bahama Bank - shallow (10–25 ft), insanely clear, and best navigated in good sunlight with polarized sunglasses. Your catamaran’s shallow draft is your superpower here.
- This is shallow-water sailing - embrace it. Updated charts, depth sounder, and eyeball navigation are essential. Sail with the sun high (10 am–3 pm), wear polarized lenses, go slow over coral heads, and time cuts through the banks at mid-to-high tide. Your crew briefing will cover it all - the banks look intimidating, then become addictive,
- Anchor on sand, protect the reef. Never anchor on coral. The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (Warderick Wells) is a no-take zone - no fishing, no shelling, no anchoring on coral. Mooring balls are available, and rangers are friendly but firm (and rightfully so),
- Water & provisions. Your yacht leaves fully stocked, but fresh water is precious out here. Conserve, top up at Highbourne Cay Marina, Warderick Wells HQ, or Staniel Cay Yacht Club. Provision in Nassau - Harbour Bay or Solomon’s Fresh Market - let your Charter Company pre-provision and have it aboard on arrival,
- Bring cash for the cays. Staniel Cay Yacht Club, Black Point’s Lorraine’s Café, and the odd floating conch shack are wonderfully old-school - small bills appreciated, cards sometimes. And pack reef-safe sunscreen, a good snorkel set, and an underwater camera. You’ll use them every day.
Our signature Exumas loop from Nassau: ~180 NM total, 20–35 NM per day. Short sails, long swims.
Day 1: Palm Cay Marina, Nassau → Highbourne Cay (35 NM)
Gateway to the Exumas - Welcome to the Banks
Clear the Nassau Harbour cut, and suddenly the water turns that famous “Bahamas blue” - pale aqua so clear you can count starfish at 15 feet. Highbourne Cay is your first taste: a private island with an 8-mile beach, horseshoe coves, and a small marina where you can stretch your sea legs. Snorkel the rocky eastern shore, sip a Goombay Smash at Xuma, and watch the sunset melt the banks pink. Tonight you sleep to the sound of absolutely nothing - except maybe stingrays gliding under the hull.
Day 2: Highbourne Cay → Warderick Wells Cay, Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (25 NM)
The Park That Looks Like a Screensaver
Sail south on the banks to Warderick Wells Cay, headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park - 176 square miles of pure protection since 1958. This is the Bahamas at its most pristine. Pick up a park mooring (you must - no anchoring on coral), hike Boo Boo Hill for the 360° view that’ll break your camera, and snorkel the reefs where Nassau groupers are as big as dogs and utterly unafraid. No fishing, no taking - just looking, and it’s spectacular. Visit the blowholes, say hi to the park’s hutia (a curious native rodent), and fall asleep under the Milky Way.
Day 3: Warderick Wells → Staniel Cay & Big Major Cay (25 NM)
Pigs, Grotto & the Yacht Club That Has Seen It All
The day everyone posts about. First, drift-snorkel Thunderball Grotto - the hollow, light-filled cave from the James Bond film where shafts of sun turn the water neon blue and angelfish swirl around you (go at slack low tide, bring a waterproof flashlight). Then hop to Big Major Cay for the world-famous swimming pigs - yes, they swim out, yes, they’re adorable, no, don’t feed them bread. Anchor off Staniel Cay and pop into the Staniel Cay Yacht Club - part dive bar, part museum, always cold Kalik beer and cracked conch. This is Exuma character, bottled.
Day 4: Staniel Cay → Black Point & Great Guana Cay (20 NM)
Laid-Back Settlements & the Sandbar You’ll Never Forget
Sail to Black Point Settlement on Great Guana Cay - one of the few inhabited cays, where 300 locals live off fishing and friendliness. Tie up at Government Dock, order cracked conch and peas ’n rice at Lorraine’s Café, do laundry if you must (it’s an adventure). Then slip to the nearby sandbar at low tide - a blinding white crescent that appears for a few hours, surrounded by turquoise so vivid your sunglasses feel redundant. Wade, float, do nothing triumphantly. This is why you chartered a catamaran.
Day 5: Black Point → Compass Cay & Shroud Cay (30 NM)
Nurse Sharks & a Mangrove River That Flows to the Ocean
Head north. At Compass Cay Marina, you can swim with the famous docile nurse sharks in the marina (pettable, toothless smiles - surprisingly soft). Then onwards to Shroud Cay, the park’s northern gem. Here, a tidal mangrove river cuts the island in two - take the dinghy up the lazy creek through turtles and rays, then float back on the falling tide to a beach that faces the Atlantic roar. Hike to Camp Driftwood for the view where Exuma Sound crashes into the bank. It’s wild, quiet, and utterly Bahamian.
Day 6: Shroud Cay → Highbourne Cay → Rose Island (35 NM)
Sandbars, Snorkeling & Sunset Near Nassau
Begin the gentle run back, but the highlights keep coming. Pause again at Highbourne for a final sandbar swim, then head to Rose Island, just 8 miles from Nassau - the locals’ secret. A thin, uninhabited strip with pink-tinged sand, a small reef perfect for a farewell snorkel, and a beach bar that appears when you need it and vanishes when you don’t. Anchor off for the night; the city lights of Nassau twinkle distant, but you’re still on Bahamas time.
Day 7: Rose Island → Palm Cay Marina, Nassau (8 NM)
One Last Swim Before We Hug Goodbye
A sleepy, short motor-sail back into Palm Cay - perfect for a final breakfast on deck and that last snorkel. Check out is easy, but the goodbye is not. You’ll leave with a phone full of blue, sand in unlikely places, and a new understanding of why the Bahamas has more shades of turquoise than any language has words. The banks will be waiting when you’re ready to come back - and you will be.
Want Abacos instead? Ask us about Marsh Harbour loops - colonial villages and protected bays, perfect for families and first-timers. The Exumas are our classic for “wow,” the Abacos for “ahhh.”
SEEN THE PHOTOS. NOW LIVE THEM.
-------------------------------------
The swimming pigs, the grotto, the sandbar that only exists at noon - they’re not marketing. They’re your Tuesday in the Exumas. Let Emerald Sail put you on a luxury catamaran with shallow draft and full comfort, with a skipper who knows every cut and a chef who knows every conch shack.