Exuma Cays, Bahamas

[Content63]

Greetings, In addition to this site and the VHF, is there a certain forum or chat site that Exuma Cruisers use? I’ll be Cruising the Exuma Cays this winter and was wondering how to best connect with other Cruisers on local and current conditions. Thank you for your assistance.

[Lowcountry]

Probably several groups on Facebook.

[Content63]

Yeah...well... I don't do Facebook. But I do appreciate your input. Thank you and Best regards.

[Content63]

I've been putting off joining Facebook....but maybe this the reason I needed to join. Any other input on additional Exuma Cruisers Forums that may be out there would still be appreciated. Thank you.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Content63

Greetings, In addition to this site and the VHF, is there a certain forum or chat site that Exuma Cruisers use? I’ll be Cruising the Exuma Cays this winter and was wondering how to best connect with other Cruisers on local and current conditions. Thank you for your assistance.

The Exumas are easy. Get the usual guide books which will help. With charts the "too shallow" areas are pretty obvious.
Much of the sailing is down the lee side of the island chain in +/- 15 feet of clear water. The wind can blow in the winter but the water is mostly flat, creating some great sailing!
Prevailing winds are NE to E and when the wind clocks around to the S and then W it finishes the clocking fairly quickly. From those directions it is usually pretty weak as it clocks around.
Are you chartering or have your boat down there...? One of my favorite areas anywhere...

Not sure you will have internet access there anyway...

[Content63]

Thanks Cheechako,


I'm Bareboat Chartering. My experience level is high, but the Exuma Cays are relatively new to me, so I'm doing my research ahead of time. One of the areas I'm studying is tide time differences between the Cays and Nassau. Specifically at Galliot Cut and nearby Cuts. Any input there would also be appreciated. Best Regards...

[wsmurdoch]

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post2611574

[gonesail]

not sure if you have the Pavlidis guide book on the Exumas but it might be worth reading in your spare time.

[AllenRbrts]

A good resource is the explorer charts for the Bahamas. It is a three book set but if you are doing the exumas, that is in a single book. Also very helpful is the electronic version which you can access in the Aquamap app (iOS and Android). Aquamap includes the tides. I assume your charter is from Nassau, it is more than a week of awesome things to see before Staniel Cay, don’t try to cover too much ground.

[GordMay]

Bahamians & Cruisers use VHF as a principal communication link for all types of purposes, such as hailing businesses and taxis, public announcements, etc.
Several communities have a "Cruisers Net" radio broadcast, usually on Marine VHF CH 68, or 72, every day at about 8:00 - 8:15 AM.
ZNS-Radio Bahamas, main station in (ZNS-1 AM) Nassau (1540 khz), along with ZNS-2 AM, ZNS-FM, and ZNS-3 (in Freeport), air daily weather reports and forecasts.

[Content63]

Thank you for the useful replies/information. Best regards...

[dougweibel]

Internet access in the Exumas is generally good. There are some weak spots in the Land and Sea Park and some areas in the northern Cays, but south of the Park you will have coverage pretty much everywhere.

[MicHughV]

As pointed out above, in the B'mas, the vhf gets used like a phone and general source of information. Restaurants broadcast their menu's on there, taxi's, etc, etc and there is any number of weather folk that will repeat weather broadcasts, etc.
Most modern vhf radio's can monitor several channels, you will soon learn which one's to monitor, The chatter will be non-stop, 24/7
Internet coverage is quite good.
It's highly unlikely that you will ever be in any spot that doesn't have vhf reception.

Prior to arriving, you can download tidal information from several sources for the weeks you'll plan to be there. There is not much tide there, generally about 24", but this can off course vary.

Cruising in the winter means you'll have to deal with "northers", these can last 1 day or several days. You can use this to your advantage or may find you'll have to hunker down somewhere.

Prior to a " norther" the wind will swing to the west, making the entire chain a leeward shore on the bank side, where most sailors hang out, so plan accordingly.

Several good cruising guides are available. These are a must. Nautical charts generally have limited detail, whereas, a guide book, will give you the nitty gritty on just about every place.

While several of the " cuts" through the chain are relatively straightforward, like anywhere else, wind against tidal flows can set up wicked seas in the cut.

Hope this helps.

[sailjumanji]

Buy the Explorer Chart books that cover the cays you plan to visit. You will need them for routing anyway, plus they give information for each of the cays. Including whether there is a local radio net. I frankly don't remember any nets outside of Georgetown, in the Exumas

[MicHughV]

I just returned from Nassau....I was on cruise ship.....yes, from time to time, I opt to give my wife a treat

Nonetheless, I did not notice a lot of sailboat activity there.
I saw only three sailboat anchored out in the Nassau harbor area. In years past, there would be dozens.

Covid masking is apparently still mandated there. There were four cruise ships at the cruise ship terminal, so it looks like Nassau is open for business again, but many passengers were opting to stay on board. Though cruise ship passengers were all required to be vaccinated prior to boarding, the vaccination situation in Nassau is unknown to me. Our ship was only 1/4 full. I'm not complaining. I did not go ashore. The whole place appears to be under construction.

The day we left we had a doozy of a nor-easter roll thru'. It was likely as bad as I've ever seen. Interestingly enough, I spotted two sailboats out there, some 50 miles due east of Ft. Pierce. They were clearly not having a good time. It really tore up North Florida beaches.

The problem with leaving for a planned trip with a predetermined departure date is that the weather on your day of departure will be unknown.

I've crossed over to the B'mas at least 50 times. I'd say in most cases, I almost always invariable hook with another boat going the same way.

You don't say where you'll be leaving from, or the day you plan to go, or the type of boat you have, but these are all inputs, that give us posters a better idea of providing you with any useful....or useless information.