Scattered like jewels over the ocean just southeast of Florida, The Bahamas offer endless possibilities. With 700 islands and thousands of cays to explore you’d be hard pressed to find a place closer to paradise on Earth. Warm, gentle trade winds consistently caress the sheltered waters around The Bahamas, making it a perfect choice for families and novice sailors.
The Bahamas is one of the best yachting and catamaran sailing destinations in the world. The waters are so clear and the sailing diving and fishing are so incredible that chartering a private yacht in these beautiful waters has to be the greatest experience in the world. You cannot imagine that there are so many shades of blue. Aside from the raw beauty, the subtle changes of blue have been used by mariners throughout history to determine the depth of the water and the presence of reefs. Christopher Columbus christened the Islands as Baja Mar. Which means Shallow Sea in Spanish. And shallow it is…. Best to charter a shallow draft yacht like a catamaran so you can get close in to some of the more exotic islands. Nevertheless, a good captain can navigate the deeper channels and take you safely through the island chain.
Some of the best sailing and yachting itineraries take you down the Exumas to what the Bahamians call “the Out-Islands”. These include Rum Cay, San Salvador, Acklins and Crooked Island, Mayaguana and Inagua. A charter vacation to the Out Islands can also start in Georgetown at the Southern tip of the Exuma chain. This is the really unspoiled Bahamas, the Bahamas that is not in the guide-books or in the glossy hotel brochures.
The local residents are very friendly, scrupulously honest and always ready to help. Very few tourists or charter vessels except for the occasional delivery captain running a boat down from Florida to the Caribbean Islands.
If you are a bareboating enthusiast and like to captain your own boat the best locations are North of Nassau especially in the Abaco and Berry Islands. The Exuma and Out-Island experience is best with a skipper due to the strong tidal currents that require special anchoring techniques. As the marine charts say: “some local knowledge required”.