Our sailing the Bahamas adventures were full of all sorts – storms, sharks, new friends, beautiful turquoise waters, engine failure, pigs, iguanas, carnivals, lots of shallows, and more. Read and watch our Sailing the Bahamas series, full of articles and videos, to get a feel for sailing in and around the Bahamas, booking in, varied anchorages, lovely sights, must-see spots, and some great sailing.
Within each of our Sailing Destination areas on the website, we provide information that will give you a feel for our passage to and throughout the region. The information includes our passage plan and route, a diary-style article about what we got up to and a video showcasing the surrounding area and/or some sort of special event that happened (ex. engine failure and having to sail into an anchorage).
Each article and post has been created to get an idea of the various areas, some of the highlights, whether we think they’re a hit or miss, and some of the difficulties we ran into. We hope these sailing destination series will prepare you for more than just sailing to a destination blind.
Our trip through the Bahamas was prior to a major hurricane.
However, the areas we sailed in were not affected. I’m told that everything we saw is still as it was. Considering we’re a deep keelboat (9′), we skipped the Abacos due to their depth, but it’s not uncommon for sailors with keels to still pay a visit.
We enjoyed the Eleuthera and the Exumas with only a few scary moments!
We started sailing from Miami to the Bahamas (via Fort Lauderdale) for two nights to arrive at our destination, Royal Island, Bahamas. Instead, I should say that we motored half and sailed half. The crossing of the Gulf Stream was noticeable but nothing bad. The whole boat shifted from side to side for a while but eventually slowed down. We timed our crossing well. (Videos and more in-depth articles are included via links below.)
Royal Island – Sailing the Bahamas
The sea state and wind were almost perfect.
Just before entering the area outside the harbor of Royal Island, we slowed down and waited. We wanted the sun to be a bit higher so we could see the ocean floor. The entrance to the harbor was littered with rocks, so we needed to take it slow, stay on the recommended navigation line, and have someone keep a lookout.
Our first stop sailing the Bahamas was beautiful – a deserted island with almost no other people or boats around us. The peace was bliss.
The highlights of Royal Island were testing out our new Mantus Anchor, watching my husband inadvertently swim up to a hammerhead shark eating a ray, and meeting new friends who were testing out their new Outremer Catamaran.
Read more about our voyage and watch our video, Sailing from Florida to Bahamas.
While anchored in Royal Island, a substantial storm blew through, sending over 45mph winds through the anchorage. Our priority was to check into The Bahamas, in Spanish Wells; however, we’d have to wait until the weather cleared.
Once the winds and seas were calm again, we were fortunate enough to take a trip on our friend’s Outremer catamaran to Spanish Wells, the closest port of entry. Getting there ourselves would have been impossible, as our keel is too deep, so it was great to hitch a ride on such a spectacular boat.
We went into Spanish Wells, booked in (there’s a lot of paperwork!), and got some bread and milk. The cost to book was $300, which includes the fishing license. The $20 extra was for our crew member. Check out our article and video entitled Catamaran Bahamas.
After our lovely stay in Royal Island, we pulled up our anchor. We headed for Governor’s Harbor on the island of Eleuthera, The Bahamas. Following the inward track we made on our plotter, we motored out. We did so the same way, knowing we’d avoid all the rocks and shallows. Once we were clear of obstructions, we pulled out the sail and enjoyed the quietness and freedom that our sailboat provided.
For an hour, we motored, but the wind changed in our favor, and we eventually managed to get the sail back out. After ten hours we pulled into Governor’s Harbour, the old Capital city.
Governor’s Harbour, Sailing the Bahamas
We were delighted to find mooring balls, a cute town, a great restaurant, and a carnival sailing the Bahamas.
Watch our video to see our passage plan on Navionics. There are also highlights from the passage, such as a walk around the town and discovering what momentous thing our crew, Andrew, got up to. Our next stop sailing the bahamas was planned for Pig Beach.
Head over to Sailing The Bahamas Governors Harbour to get the full scoop.
Cape Eleuthera Marina
Instead of making the 12-hour sail to Pig Beach, we made a pit stop. We enjoyed a night’s stay at the beautiful Cape Eleuthera Marina. When we arrived, a kind attendant helped us tie up the boat at the end of a T-dock. We all got off and were blown away by the area’s beauty.
After a lovely night’s sleep, we left the marina early in the morning and headed south to the Exumas. We sailed for the first five hours, had to motor for a while, and eventually sailed again. We had to go over a very shallow area just before arriving at Pig Beach.
I held my breath as Simon navigated back and forth through the shallows. When I saw 0.9 meters below the keel, I became very anxious. Sailing the Bahamas is not for the weak-hearted.
Pig Beach – Sailing The Bahamas
Eventually, we anchored near the Pigs. We all got into the dinghy and headed for the beach. To my utter amazement, the beach was filled with pigs – BIG PIGS. As we slowly approached the beach, the pigs started swimming out to the dinghy.
Discover what it’s like Swimming With Pigs In The Bahamas.
While anchored off Pig Beach, we were a short distance from one of the Bahama’s best natural attractions – Thunderball Grotto. Not only is the grotto full of colored coral reefs, high caverns, and beautiful fish. We also happened upon a nurse shark!
There are great fish and amazing views from inside the cavern. And if you’re very adventurous, you can climb to the top of the rocky island and jump into the middle of the Grotto. The drop is around 20’ to 25’. Both my husband and Andrew did the jump several times.
Thunderball Grotto & Iguana Beach, Sailing the Bahamas
Afterward, we went over to Iguana Beach and saw loads of lizards! It was amazing. The day ended with beef stew and a family movie night. It was a perfect day.
Little did we know, however, that a disaster—and I mean DISASTER—would strike the following day. While leaving Iguana Beach, we started taking in water. And it wasn’t just a little water—it was Niagara Falls.
Watch our video about the grotto and Iguana Beach before moving on to our disaster: Thunderball Grotto & Iguana Beach In the Bahamas
Emergency while Sailing the Bahamas!
So, we started to take on water while traversing a very turbulent waterway.
Water was rushing in fast, and the bilge was working hard. It took us around three minutes to find the issue. I headed to the stern of the boat (back), pulling up the floorboards. Andrew went to one side of the engine, and my husband, Simon, went to the other.
Andrew discovered that an elbow connection on our raw water system had split. When I looked, gallons of water spraying everywhere in the engine room were all I could see.
We survived! We had to anchor under sail power only after navigating through reefs, rocks, and land. To get the full play-by-play, read our article and watch the video Sailing In The Bahamas—Engine Failure.
Georgetown, Sailing The Bahamas
We then hung out in Georgetown, The Bahamas, for over a month.
Georgetown is a massive hang-out for live-aboard boaties. Hundreds of sailboats are anchored just outside of Georgetown and across the waterway. Many boaties sail from Canada or the US, spend the season in Georgetown, and then return to North America for hurricane season.
And it’s a tremendous kidboat destination. When we were there, we encountered loads of kidboats. Two became boat buddies, and we sailed down to Trinidad with them.
Check out our two-part video series about our time in Georgetown. It will give you a great feel for the area, what cruisers get up to, and why they call it “chicken harbor.”
More here: Living on a boat in Georgetown Bahamas
And then it was time to stop sailing the Bahamas and head to Turks & Caicos!
Join us for a sail from Georgetown, the Bahamas, to Turks and Caicos, and then take a tour of the beautiful island. Gain a deep insight into boat life—fixing problems, exploring the area, provisioning, and liveaboard life among couples and boating families with children.
We’ll share our passage plan with you so you can use it as a blueprint. We cover some unexpected complications and how we fixed them. You’ll gain an understanding of what you need to do to enter the Blue Haven Marina – an escort is required for deep draft boats.
Several large nurse sharks stake out an area next to our boat. We take a land and sea tour; if you observe, you might see a Mermaid! The kids go for a horse ride along the beach, and there’s a bit of fun at the resort.
Check out Turks & Caicos
Is it time for you to have your own Sailing adventure?
We may not be sailing the Bahamas anymore, but we’re still out sailing. If you’d like to join us for a fully immersive bluewater cruising experience (wherever we are), learn more about our Sailing Lifestyle Experiences.
| THE BRITICAN EXPERIENCE – A WEEK-LONG BLUEWATER CRUISING EXPERIENCE | |
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| During Merrill’s Sailing Lifestyle Experience he learned how to book out and into a different country, what it’s like to fly a mainsail, genoa, and staysail, how to anchor, tie onto a mooring ball and dock up at a marina. And unfortunately/fortunately Merrill managed to experience what it was like to ride out a surprise tropical storm. If you’d like to experience what it’s truly like to live and cruise on a bluewater sailboat, come join me for a week. Check out our availability here: Click here for more information. | |