Crossing the Bahama Banks to the Exumas! 

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It sure feels good to be on the move again!  Crossing the Bahama Banks is our next long passage.

While we enjoyed our two weeks in Bimini, we also love to move on and discover new places.  We can’t wait to get to the Exumas!

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Route

We have a few longer passages ahead of us before we reach the Exumas.

The first leg is to cross the Bahamas Banks to the NW channel marker. Then we’ll choose an anchorage at Chub or Nassau or the lesser-visited island of Andros.  Getting to any of those is more than a daylight passage for us (we’re a slow boat averaging 5 knots) so we’ll anchor on the banks overnight.  Some cruisers cross the banks at night, but with our 5’ draft and no recent experience in the shallows of Bahamas, we’d rather anchor this time.  

After the NW channel marker, the next long passage to reach the Exumas is either over the Yellow Banks or the White Banks depending on which side of Nassau you depart from.  Once across one of those Banks, we’ll begin our Exumas sailing at either Allen’s Cay or Highbourne Cay; both near the top of the chain of islands.      

Let’s head to the Exumas!

Why the Exumas?

We have our eyes set on the Exumas for a couple of reasons. 

One primary reason is we remember the gorgeous clear water and endless shades of blue from a few years ago.  OK, more than a few.  We sailed in the Bahamas about 20 years ago with our six children on our Columbia 33.  Yep, if you did the math, that’s 8 of us living on a 33’ sailboat for the summer.  We didn’t mind the small space living.  We were living our adventure!  All the stories from our family time in the Bahamas meant we were primed for a walk down memory lane on this trip.  It will be nostalgic to visit some of the same spots now in this season of life as just the two of us. We’re still living our adventure!

Another reason we chose the Exumas as our top destination in the Bahamas is that it offers a nice balance of adventure and convenience.  There are so, so many islands to explore, 365 to be exact.  Some cays have settlements and marinas, some are private islands, and others are uninhabited or nature preserves.  We can find solitude and quiet in the Exuma Land and Sea Park for a while and then head to Staniel or Black Point when we are in need of provisions or simply want more social opportunities. 

Staging: Bimini to Gun Cay

Knowing it’s a long passage across the Bahama Banks, we decided to stage the night before at Honeymoon Harbour anchorage at Gun Cay (just about 10 miles south of Bimini).   Some of the other cruisers leaving Bimini were heading North to stage off North Bimini before crossing the banks, but we wanted to visit Honeymoon Harbour since we had been there back in the day of sailing as a family of eight.  Tony specifically remembered giving Luke a haircut on the beach there.

We left Bimini Sands Marina on a rising tide and had a brisk sail to Gun Cay.  We slowly entered the anchorage.  “Wow, the anchorage is full!” Tony exclaimed.  We found a spot near the entrance to drop the hook.  Our anchor did not set very well and we could clearly see the waves on the reef not far from our bow.  “Think we’ll get any sleep here?” I asked.  “Absolutely not” was Tony’s reply.  

So, we moved.  Just around the outside shore of Gun Cay, we dropped the hook again.  We decided to dive on the anchor to ensure it was set. 

Shark Encounter  

Tony put on his snorkel gear and jumped in.  Here’s his story:

 “I was swimming along following our chain to the location of the anchor.  I saw a big shadow ahead and as I got closer I realized I was swimming closer to a big, very big, bigger than me bull shark!” 

From the deck, I saw Tony sprint back to the boat, it was as if he was almost flying across the water.  He reached Terrapin and in a blink, he was aboard.  He had his adrenaline rush for the day!

After he caught his breath, I asked.  “Well, is the anchor set?” 

“No, I don’t think so.  Let’s move and look for a sandier spot to drop it.”

Third time’s a charm, right?  We moved and when we saw a sandy patch, down went the anchor.  This time it seemed to set really well.  “I’m not going in to check it.” He said.  “Me either!”  I chimed in.  

Rough Night

Our night there was rough!  It was actually the worst swell against the wind that we’ve experienced yet.  Sleeping in our V-berth felt like I was in a washing machine on an agitation cycle.  Tony vacated the V-berth first.  He put a couple of the dinette cushions on the floor and slept there.  Being low and mid-ship was a big improvement.  Eventually, I gave up on sleeping while being tossed in the V-berth and moved to the settee in the main salon. 

Leg 1: Gun Cay and Across The Bahamas Banks

Gun Cay Cut

We were ready to move right away at dawn.  Up on deck, we saw we weren’t the only ones that had a rough night.  Two catamarans with families onboard were also hoisting anchor in the early hours of the morning.  As they motored past us they yelled, “we need to get the kids to a more settled spot!”      

Although it was a short distance to Gun Cay cut, the big waves and wind on our bow made it seem like a long haul.  At first, we tried motoring through the waves, but up and down into the water our bow went with little forward progress to show for it all.  Too bad we had left the forward hatch open slightly.  Even with our dinghy on top of the hatch we got a little water into the V-berth.  We noticed it fairly quickly and shut the hatch.    

Since we weren’t making forward progress, we decided to try a different approach.  We pulled out the staysail and continued using the motor to be on a close reach gybing back and forth often until we reached the cut. 

The cuts in the Bahamas are to be respected because of currents and rocky, jagged shorelines.  In this case, add a strong wind and large waves.  I was at the tiller.  It was my turn for an adrenaline rush!  We discussed our strategy of how to use the wind, waves, current, and our sail and motor to pilot through the cut.  It worked!  We both took a sigh of relief once we were thru the cut and behind Cat Island.  The waters were much calmer back here! 

We turned the motor off.  Ahh, quiet!  We had a fabulous 10-hour sail across the banks.

Shallow water

Sailing on the banks meant getting used to the shallow depth under our keel.  The first few hours we were tense about running aground.  When we were in the Bahamas with our children, we sailed on a shoal draft boat.  Terrapin has a 5’ draft compared to our family trips to the Bahamas on Bonaire with a draft of 3.5’.  As the day went on, we relaxed about the depth under our keel. 

Soon it was dusk and time to find a spot to anchor.  We moved a mile or so off the recommended charted course, dropped the hook, and said “good night”.

Good night in the middle of nowhere!

Leg 2 Bahamas Bank to Andros

Good Morning!  We slept so much better than the night before! 

Today it’s time for the Northwest Channel, where the shallow waters of the banks meet some serious depths of the Tongue of the Ocean.  This is a major intersection of boats; some heading down to Nassau and others up to the Berry Islands.  For such a busy spot, it’s too bad there isn’t better navigational aid there.  The chart indicates a light, but it is little more than a stick in the water. 

After running through the small slot of water of the NW Channel, we turned towards West Bay on New Providence.  A strong and building southeast wind made progress slow.  It was clear we wouldn’t arrive in daylight.  Our backup plan was to anchor at Morgan’s Bluff on Andros, so we adjusted course.  The entrance buoys to Morgan’s Bluff were non-existent.  Fortunately, that wasn’t a problem.  We watched the depth with our eyes and on our Garmin to enter the anchorage. 

As we entered the bay, we found calm waters.  The protection from the wind was perfect!

We anchored and jumped in to take a “sea bath”.  We call it a “sea bath” because we jump in to get wet, climb back aboard and use natural, biodegradable soap and shampoo to wash up, and then jump back in.  When we’re done jumping in and out of the salt water, we use an insecticide sprayer filled with fresh water for our final rinse-up on deck.  

For the rest of the evening, we relaxed and watched the harbor activity.  Fishing boats came, the mail boat left, and lots of commercial activity.  We’re the only cruising sailboat here.  We really wanted to explore ashore, but the thought of taking our dinghy off deck and then lifting it back up for the passage tomorrow deterred us.  “Dinghy davits would be nice!”  “True, but if we waited to have everything on our wish list before going sailing, we wouldn’t be here right now”.  That perspective has served us well over the years.    We enjoyed Morgan’s Bluff from our cockpit and it was gorgeous! 

Leg 3 Andros to West Bay, Nassau

West Bay, like its name, is on the western end of New Providence.  We think it is a great option instead of a stop in Nassau.  On the charts, it looked a bit tricky to get into West Bay, but there’s no time like the present to hone our skills at visual piloting.  We’ll need to use eyeball navigation a lot in the Bahamas. 

On shore, there is a beach, a free trash receptacle (that’s exciting!), and a state park, but no other amenities within walking distance.  Some friends of ours took a taxi to Nassau, but learned the taxi cost them nearly the same as a slip at a marina in Nassau!     

Speaking of friends, it’s always a treat to pull into an anchorage and recognize one of the boats. We happened to drop our hook near our friends Amy & Doug. When they invited us over for a visit, we teased and hinted with our answer “we can swim over”.

Our dinghy was up on our bow for crossing the Bahama Banks, the Tongue of the Ocean, and next up the White Banks. It’s a bit of work for us to get it down and then back up on deck if we don’t need to. They picked up on the hint and dinghy taxied us back and forth. Spontaneous social visits are the best!

The next morning as we were sipping our coffee down below, we heard a loud and distinct metallic sound close by, too close. We didn’t feel anything. Not a collision. We scrambled up into the cockpit to see a megayacht deploying its anchor and chain fairly close off our stern. The crew smiled and waved at us. Once the anchoring was settled, we still felt they were close, but it was acceptable.

Leg 4 West Bay, Nassau to Highborne Cay, Exumas

The Exumas are finally within reach! Just one more long passage to get to the island group of Exumas. 

Let’s go across the White Banks!

First, we navigated past some reefs to get out of our anchorage, then we were met with many big tankers and mega yachts anchored off the shoreline.  The opposing current did not make it easy.  Looking for the positive, we’re getting practice drills in tacking around large anchored obstacles. Oh Wait, as we’re tacking back and forth, many of the big boys decide it is time for them to go.  Yikes, there was lots of boat movement this morning as we departed New Providence to cross the White Banks. Once we got through the “parking lot of big boats”, we had a pleasant sail to Highbourne Cay. 

We reached Highbourne as the sun was setting.

Just seconds before darkness, we had our anchor down. 

We’re in the Exumas!

Thanks For Sailing Along!   

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