Two weeks in the Exumas

The Exumas greeted us with crystal clear blue water; it was like we were floating in a massive swimming pool. We had motored due west for about five hours from Eleuthera and entered the Exuma island chain and the Exuma banks just north of Shroud Cay. The water is so clear that as we were coming onto soundings we could start seeing the bottom at 30 meters. It comes up quickly and soon we were in 5 meters of water, pointing out starfish, coral formations, and even small reef fish from the deck of PW.

The Exuma islands are a long chain of small cays that run for over 100 nautical miles in a more or less north-south orientation, starting a little southeast of Nassau and ending at Great Exuma and George Town, the cruising hub of the Bahamas. We landed in Shroud Cay, near the northern end of the Exumas, specifically to paddle through the mangrove-lined waterways and visit the pristine beaches on the windward side.

We continued to have little to no wind which was perfect conditions for exploring Shroud Cay. We paddled among the mangroves, I hiked across one of the cays and found a freshwater well with bracingly cold water; Hans and the kids made a tow rope and created a hybrid kneeboard-boogieboard tow behind toy; we had sundowners with fellow cruisers; shared beach space with guests from massive mega-yachts; and generally marveled at the spectacular natural beauty despite the heavy human impact.

Hans

Matilda

Freja

At the top of the hill at Shroud Cay

paddleboard fun, and full sun protection!

Trash on the windward beach

We had at least two weeks to travel from Shroud to George Town, a trip that could be done in about 18 hours if we went directly. We had time to spare but with the number of islands and snorkeling options, we could easily spend a whole season in the Exumas. We looked at the chart and at Google Maps and decided on the islands we wanted to visit.

From Shroud we motored south to Wardewick Wells, headquarters of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. The Bahamas has designed a large group of the Exuma island chain as national park land (and water), successfully protecting the area from development and fishing. It was a windless day so we were treated with another trip of snaking our way through intricate waterways, reading the water color to determine depth (and confirming with our chart and depth sounder).

Instead of picking up a mooring at the more popular northern anchorage at Wardewick Wells (the location of the Park headquarters), we found our way into the southern anchorage at Hog Cay. There were only two other boats there. The location was gorgeous—quiet and private—but the current was incredibly strong. So strong that it was hard to get on and off the dinghy and it didn’t feel particularly safe for swimming, especially for the kids. The weather stayed calm so we dropped the kids off at a beach and Hans and I went snorkeling on a few coral heads. As expected, without the human impact, the coral was alive and beautiful with lots of fish.

The anchorage at Hog Cay, southern end of Wardewick Wells

After Hog Cay we continued our journey south and spent a few days at Pipe Creek, moving the boat a few times to avoid no-see-ums while also being in a comfortable spot for wind, current, and waves. Hans and I snorkeled the cut on an incoming tide, drifting with the dinghy. No fish or lobster for dinner, but one afternoon I found a few large conch that Hans opened and chopped to have in conch fritters. Exercise is hard to come by in the Exumas. While there are plenty of swimming and snorkeling options, it’s harder to find a good place to stretch your legs. The islands are generally rather small and a lot of them are private. We ended up spending a lot of time on the boat or swimming around the boat. I do yoga and sit-ups in the mornings on the foredeck and that was often the extent of my exercise.

Doggy and the Abadas made a rocket for their "Mission Howl"
wherein Doggy and the Abadas went to the moon to eat it.

Cracking open conch for fritters

Staniel Cay was a fun stop—our first brush with civilization for over ten days. We had lunch at the yacht club, got rid of our trash, and restocked on groceries and beer. We all swam in the Thuderball Grotto which was used in a scene from James Bond’s Thunderball and we visited the swimming pigs at Big Major’s Cay. Matilda and I loved the pigs, Freja and Hans were ready to leave within minutes!

Fellow aluminum boat owners snapped a great picture of us sailing away from Staniel Cay

Always selfies on my phone. Blue eyes to match the blue water.

Cruising in the Exumas was challenging for us. If it were just me and Hans, we would be snorkeling, free diving, and spear fishing for hours every day. The kids, however, have shown little to no interest in snorkeling and if we can cajole them to join us, they only last for about 30 minutes in the water. We could (and do) leave them on the boat while we go diving, but we have to wait until after school and if we do that then the kids end up being stuck on the boat all day. They don’t mind that, but boat time = no exercise and after a few days on the boat everyone gets a little testy. There are only a few small towns in the Exumas and the towns don’t offer much beyond some houses, a couple gift shops, hopefully a grocery store, and maybe a restaurant. We found that we were spending a lot of time on the boat, between school and lack of interest to do water activities or beach time. They love getting pulled behind the dinghy on the boogie board, but that uses a lot of gas and isn’t particularly eco-friendly. After two weeks, Hans and I were frustrated, to say the least.

Hans spent a solid day building shelves for the sail locker.

We kept island-hopping south, stopping for one night just south of Black Point settlement and another night at Rudder Cut Cay, owned by David Copperfield. The water in the Exumas is crystal clear, a result of the massive tidal flow and absence of freshwater run off from larger bodies of land. We finally got some sailing in after weeks of no wind and had a fantastic sail from Rudder Cut Cay to George Town. We arrived in George Town quite a few days before my mom was scheduled to fly in and we were excited to find other kid boats and be more social. Cruising can be very isolating if you don’t work to find friends, buddy boats, or just fellow humans to chat with. It’s very easy to go inward and become a little reclusive, but since we’re all extroverts we definitely need some level of social interaction beyond our immediate family.

We got the anchor down and immediately went ashore to the Chat-n-Chill, the local beach bar and cruisers’ meeting point. Kids, parents, adults! We got some rum punches and quickly started chatting with other boat families.

Sailing down the island chain