Clear blue water, plenty of anchorages, warm weather and reliable winds, friendly people – the Bahamas simply add up to one of our favourite cruising destinations anywhere.
Gin-clear water. I always thought this expression was an exaggeration until my husband Paul and I made our first voyage to the Bahamas. I can tell you, the water really is gin-clear.
Skimming across the banks that lie between the island groups you can see details on the bottom 15’ down – flitting schools of silversides, bright red starfish, occasional wisps of turtle grass, miles and miles of pure white sand. And not only is the water clear, it is the most incredible blue. A blue you can't believe. Sparkling blue. Swimming pool blue. Blue as far as the eye can see.
During 23 years of international cruising to countries on five continents, the Bahamas remain one of our favourite destinations. Paul and I have been drawn back to these magical seas on eight separate voyages and have yet to be disappointed.
Why Visit?
Without question, it is the amazing water surrounding the Bahamas that is the initial attraction for anyone in the boating community. But the Bahamas have much to offer to every type of boater, from cruising sailors to sport fishers: a warm climate; boater-friendly facilities; numerous anchorages and protected coves with innumerable areas of natural beauty that you can only reach by boat; good swimming, snorkelling, diving and fishing; friendly laid-back people who are proud of their islands and welcome visitors, especially in the small settlements. You can live simply and self-sufficiently onboard in the out islands, yet for contrast you can easily sail to areas where the nightlife and resort facilities are top-notch. And for Canadians it is pretty connected by air if you need to get home in an emergency or you want visitors fly in to visit you on the boat.
Getting There
The ease of getting to the Bahamas by boat by boat was what first attracted us to these tropical islands when, as newbie cruisers, we set off to the tropics from Lake Ontario on our first international cruise in 1989. (The Tropic of Cancer runs through George Town in the Exumas, one of the island groups in the southern Bahamas.) From our home port near Toronto we could pretty much daysail all the way there in protected waters.
We travelled through the Erie Canal and Hudson River to New York, then waited for good weather to make quick hops down the New Jersey coast to the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays where, in Norfolk, Virginia, we entered the Intracoastal Waterway which takes you on a safe and interesting route all the way to Florida. From ports on the Florida coast it is only about 55 miles across the Gulf Stream to clear into the Bahamas in Bimini or at West End, Grand Bahama, so you wait for good weather and do it one jump. Before you know it you're in paradise and can island-hop for months – or years, in fact years – and many do.
We have also arrived in the Bahamas from the south a couple of times, following a winter in the Caribbean. In the gentle spring trade winds, it's often a nice downwind sail or reach from the Virgin Islands to get there. And you can make a stop in the Turks and Caicos Islands before reaching the really special remote islands of the southern Bahamas.
And if you don't have the time or inclination to take your own boat to the Bahamas, you can organize a skippered or bareboat charter, join a live-aboard dive boat, rent a beach house with a runabout, or heck, go for a week on a cruise ship – the options are endless!
The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation of island groups that lies in the Atlantic Ocean, north of Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti; northwest of the Turks and Caicos; and southeast of Florida in the United States. It is similar in area to the entire Caribbean island chain but the 700 islands and cays, mostly uninhabited, function as one country. The Bahamas became independent from the United Kingdom on July 10, 1973, but still retains membership in the Commonwealth of Nations, recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as monarch and has a governor-general and a prime minister, so as Canadians with a similar parliamentary system, you can feel pretty comfortable with how things operate here.
Shallow Seas
The name "Bahamas" is derived from the Spanish term for shallow seas, "Baha Mar," so even the name of this place relates to the water. The seas and the islands they surround lie on huge tablelands of limestone, coral and sand with reef-fringed platforms on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The average depths are 10 to 30’ (three to nine metres) across the large banks that lie between island groups, but there are plenty of deep-water routes if you have a deep-draft vessel. We cruised for several years in the Bahamas with our first boat, a Classic 37 sailboat with a six-foot draft and didn't feel limited. On our last two voyages we explored new places aboard our variable-draft Southerly 42 which draws less than a metre with the keel retracted and can dry out at low tide.
Around the edges of the islands and in patches on the banks you will find vibrant reefs alive with a rainbow of tropical fish, colourful sponges and corals, and waving sea fans. Even if you don't swim, the water is so clear and the reefs generally in shallow water, so on calm days you can watch the spectacle below from the side of the dinghy through a mask or "look bucket." But if you love to snorkel, dive or fish, it is a paradise.
Anchoring
The clear water makes anchoring a cinch since from the deck you can generally see the bottom and avoid weed or coral patches, dropping your anchor in good-holding sand. You can also often see clearly whether the anchor has set or not. And since the water is relatively shallow in most places it's easy to set sufficient scope even if you find yourself in a popular crowded anchorage.
But there are so many islands with protected coves and bays that it is not hard to find anchorages all to yourself, many of them with fantastic white sand beaches. You will find these primarily in the out islands, or Family Islands as they are officially named, distant from the crowds and resorts around Nassau, the capital city on the island of New Providence, that like any large city and port has problems with theft and crime but offers good facilities and shopping.
Navigation
The Bahamas has a relatively small population (353,700) stretched out over a large area of sea, so maintaining aids to navigation throughout the shifting sands is a challenge for the country. New developments in GPS and charting technology have helped make navigation around the islands safer and easier in recent years. But once again the amazing water clarity and pure sand bottom comes to the aid of boaters, because you quickly learn to judge the depth of the water by its colour.
Dangerously shallow water appears white to pale yellow, then pale blue as the water deepens to reasonable boating depths, and then very deep blue when the sea becomes very deep. There are dramatically deep ocean drop-offs surrounding the islands in places, too. Coral reef looks distinctively black or dark brown with clear defined edges if close to the surface. Weed patches are green or brown with a soft look about them. Before long you don't miss having aids to navigation.
A good pair of polarized sunglasses cuts the glare off the water and enables you to see down into the water more clearly. When navigating through coral or very shallow water with shifting sandbars, plan to do it with the sun behind you so there is no glare.
Of course, study your charts carefully and use these guidelines with caution until you are confident of your ability to read the colour of the water accurately. However, you do learn to do this reliably in a very short time.
When to Go
Most Canadians who want to avoid the cold winter at home plan their cruises of the Bahamas in the winter months and leave the islands in the spring so they are home to avoid hurricane season in this region, roughly from June to October. The weather in the Bahamas is definitely warm and “summery” in the winter, but during these months the winds are consistently stronger and there are more frequent winter storms called “northers,” powerful fronts that roll down from the US. However, you can easily hide from them in the numerous protected harbours and anchorages scattered all over the Bahamas; the storms are just a nuisance. The further south you go the less the northers make it down to you. That's why the Exumas and other island groups further south are popular cruiser hang-outs in winter.
In April and May, when most sailors start leaving the Bahamas and the Caribbean, the weather starts to get really nice in the islands. The winds ease but are still good for sailing, and the seas are generally smooth so great for snorkelling and swimming. Spring is the season when you see more powerboats and small sailboats making the run over from Florida to the Bahamas since conditions are more comfortable, especially for fishing, the major pastime for boaters at this time of year.
When the winter winds start to howl at home in Canada and your thoughts turn to escaping to the tropics, don't overlook the possibility of exploring the Bahamas by boat. So many people get fixated on going to “the Caribbean” – I know we did when we were first dreaming of “heading south.” But friendly and experienced sailors from our yacht club sat us down and explained the many benefits of cruising the Bahamas and begged us not to miss this great cruising ground. We're forever grateful that they did. If you've never been to the Bahamas, and its attractions appeal to you, we hope you take the opportunity to enjoy these islands, too.
Bahamas Basics
Main Island Groups in the Bahamas (north to south):
Abaco Islands
Grand Bahama
Bimini
Berry Islands
Eleuthera/Harbour Island
Andros
New Providence - location of the capital city, Nassau, where 70% of country's population lives
Cat Island
Exuma Islands
Rum Cay/San Salvador
Long Island
Acklins/Crooked Island
Mayaguana
Inagua
Bahamas Tourist Office
www.bahamas.com
Crewed and Bareboat Charters
www.360yachting.com/newlook2010/bahamas/index.php
(US Sailing-accredited sailing school)
www.bareboat.com
cruiseabaco.com
(ASA-certified sailing school)
www.floridayacht.com
www.mangoyachtcharters.com
www.moorings.com
www.navtours.com/en/destination_bahamas.html
www.sunsail.com
www.tropicalyachts.com
Private Luxury Yacht Charters
www.iyc.com
By Sheryl and Paul Shard
