Astronaut Scott Kelly labeled the Bahamas “the most beautiful place from space”. I’m sure the bright turquoise waters are a stunning sight from 200 miles above, but I have to believe their beauty is better appreciated while floating carefree in them. I still remember the first time I set eyes on the incredible sight. On February 29th, 2016, after a 9.5 hour passage, Kairos cruised into the clear, stunning turquoise water leaving the rich, dark blue waters of the gulf stream behind us. We had left the comforts of the US and had arrived in Bimini, Bahamas. At the time, it felt like we were crossing the finishing line of our Gulf Stream passage. But looking back, I now realize it was just the start of a 15-month voyage that would be both frustrating and astonishing at times, but was always an adventure.
We feel extremely fortunate that our journey both started and ended in the Bahamas. I can’t think of anywhere else in the world where I would have rather spent my final cruising weeks. People are constantly asking us what our favorite place is that we visited. Because each country was so different, we honestly can’t choose just one. But without a doubt, I can say that the Bahamas was the most stunning. The Bahamas has the bluest water and the whitest sand. With over 700 islands, most of which are uninhabited, paradise awaits around every turn. From the moment we decide to turn around in Martinique, we couldn’t wait to get back to the Bahamas.
Hunter/Gather
One of our favorite experiences while cruising was catching our own food. We trolled fishing lines while we were underway, we looked for lobster under every rock while we were snorkeling, and we spent afternoons shucking conchs from their shells. The Bahamian waters are stocked full of sea life and are home to some of the best fishing and lobstering in the world. We happened to arrive back in the Bahamas on March 31st. We were exhausted from a 32 hour passage, but we didn’t have time to waste. It was the last day of lobster season and we were in a hurry to fill our quota. Within a couple of hours, we caught 3 spiny lobsters and 3 slipper lobsters, for a total of 6 (the most we could legally catch). It was good to be back in the Bahamas and we celebrated with a lobster dinner.
With lobster out of season, we had to rely on conch to get our seafood fix for the remainder of our weeks in the Bahamas. We made conch salad only once last season. We spent an entire afternoon hacking away at the shells only to be left with a handful of white meat and a boat covered in slime and sharp shell particles. But conch salad is the official dish of the Bahamas and we’ve watched dozens of fishermen shuck conch in seconds. So, we decided to try our hand at it again—only this time OFF the boat. I guess all we needed was a little practice, because after a few more tries we became quite efficient at removing them from their shells. Conch salad and cracked conch became staples on our boat.
Private Beaches
Only 30 of the Bahamas’ 700 islands are inhabited. Therefore, if you are seeking solitude, the Bahamas is your place. Time and time again, we found ourselves alone in an anchorage with stunning white sand beaches and bright turquoise water. The pups were free to run up and down the island with no restrictions. We spent the mornings strolling the beach with our coffees and the afternoons shelling. Clothing was always optional. Not only had we found paradise, but we had it all to ourselves.
Sand Bars
We’ve visited some pretty fabulous bars, especially in the Virgin Islands, but my favor type of bar is a sand bar. With tide swings of close to 4 feet, beaches in the Bahamas look completely different at low tide verses high tide. In some spots, small islands that are covered by water at high tide, suddenly become visible just a few hours later. Some of our favorite afternoons were spent exploring these sandbars and relaxing in the warm shallow waters.
It was amazing to be back in the Bahamas, but there are a few inconveniences in the land of turquoise water. And we were quickly reminded of them.
Mind the Tide
With our centerboard up, Kairos’s draft is specified at 4’8”. However, with the addition of 100 gallons of water, well stocked food cabinets, and extra cruising gear, we actually draw 5 feet. Down island this was never an issue. We usually anchored in at least 15 feet of water and tide swings were much less significant. But in the Bahamas, you have to mind the tide. A perfect example of this is when we dropped anchor in over 9 feet of water near Rudder Cay. We had more than 4 feet under our keel, but 6 hours later we were shocked to find only a couple of inches separated our boat from the ocean floor. So once again we committed the tide schedule to memory and planned our routes and timing accordingly.
With large tide swings, it’s not just depth that we had to worry about. We recalled a time last season when we were traversing from the Exuma Sound to the Exuma Banks near Black Point. We typically run our engine at 75% max rpm and on a calm day (with a fairly clean bottom) Kairos will cruise at 6.3 kts. But as we entered that cut, we instantly saw our speed drop to 1 kt! ONE KNOT! That’s 1.15 mph. I watched a video on youtube yesterday of a man walking on his hands on a treadmill at 1 mph. It felt as if we were sitting still despite our engine operating at full cruising speed. So that means, the current we were battling against must have been over 5 kts.
When the tide is changing from high to low, all of the built-up water on the banks side has to quickly exit through a few small cuts. This creates very strong currents, known as ebb currents. Not only did we have to avoid these currents when entering and exiting cuts to and from the Banks, but we also had to avoid swimming in these currents. Getting swept out to sea while snorkeling would be disastrous. So, we were always mindful of the tide table in the Bahamas.
Cash is King
I rarely carried cash in the US. There really wasn’t a need to—everyone accepts Visa. I certainly didn’t keep thousands of dollars stashed away in various spots in our home. That’s what we had banks for. But things are different in the Bahamas and CASH is king. Credit cards are almost never accepted, ATMs are only found on a handful of islands, and no one accepts checks. There’s only one widely accepted form of payment—CASH. US dollars and Bahamian dollars are equally accepted.
We were wise, and stocked up on bills before we left Puerto Rico. And we were happy that we did. As soon as we arrived in Mayaguana, we had to pay our $300 cruising fee to the Bahamas. Of course customs only accepted cash and there were no ATMs on the island.
Thinking our cruising adventure was coming to an end, we failed to pick up extra moolah while we were in Nassau. With our friend Pat on board we ran into some strong winds, which made us seek out safe anchorage in Great Harbor Bay (Berry Islands) earlier than planned. With the winds howling, we decided to explore the banks side of the Berries in a skiff. The only problem was that the rental office required cash and we had none. After asking several convenience stores if they could help us out, we found the one ATM on the island. We were relieved and felt like it was our lucky day. The ATM was brand spanking new and had just been installed a few months ago. However, our US banks were incompatible and we were out of luck. We didn’t even have enough cash to buy beers at the local watering hole to drown our sorrows. Finally, we talked with the marina and they agreed to charge our credit card for cash for a small fee. We were no longer cash poor and were able to rent both a skiff and golf cart to explore the islands. But we re-learned a valuable lesson. In the islands, Cash is King.
Food Deserts
Before we left on this adventure, I pictured us surviving on fresh fruit and seafood in a tropical paradise. I expected to pick bananas, pineapples, and mangoes on our morning walks. That might be the case on some islands—Dominica, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico—but many islands rely only on imports. Not only does this make food very expensive, it’s also very difficult to find fresh produce. This is exceptionally true in the Exumas and Out Islands where white sand covers the island, not soil. With the exception of the Exuma Market in Georgetown, most of the food stores we came across were very small. They were sparsely stocked with canned and boxed goods along with very limited produce (onions, potatoes, cabbage, and carrots). For many of the Out Islands, the mail boat only brings supplies a couple of times a month. A woman once told me in Clarence Town that Kraft dinner and canned tuna was the “Bahamian Way”.
We discovered new ways to cook carrots, we ate cabbage salads, and we invented recipes that incorporated canned vegetables. For the first time in my life, I craved broccoli and spinach. When we did finally come across Romaine lettuce and blue cheese in a store in Staniel Cay, I happily snatched it up despite the high price tag. We now realized how much we took our produce selection in the US for granted. And while there are many many things we miss about the Bahamas, we are very happy to be eating a wide selection of fresh groceries again.
The islands in the Bahamas provide arguably the best cruising in the world. Almost every anchorage has a postcard perfect beach, most of which we had all to ourselves. Many of the islands are so remote, the only way to reach them is via boat. We were thrilled to join a small group of people who were fortunate enough to explore these islands and truly enjoy their beauty. In this part of the world, it’s easy to lose track of time—to lose track of days even. It was the perfect paradise and the perfect way to spend our last cruising weeks.
