The Bahamas are a great destination for winter time cruising, with most tourists coming from North America. Just 50 miles away from Florida coast, the islands cover around 700 miles, up until Haiti. You can sail around almost 700 coral islands. Just around thirty of these are inhabited.
Bahamas sailing is really interesting because of the waters that are transparent, warm and the various colors you will get to see. So much shallow water waits for you but there are also thousands of feet in island chains.
If you are interested in a great Bahamas sailing experience, you will want to avoid the really noisy and crowded tourist centers of Nassau, Freeport and West End. When you go to the Bahamas from Fort Lauderdale or Miami, you entry points can be avoided for faster entrance. Do be sure you consider the following sailing destinations as they are among the best.
Conception Island
This is a great destination that is not as well-known as it should be. We can easily describe it as being a sanctuary for so many birds, coral, turtles and fish. You want to go to the northern bay for great anchorage, to the south of the West Cay coral reefs. Anchorage will be safe and when normal conditions are present, everything is quite comfortable. You can go snorkeling here and you should also access the interior lagoon.
In Conception Island you will not see many boats. That is mainly because of the local weather conditions. It is important to be aware of weather forecasts at all time. You would need mot move towards a North Bay anchorage when northern winds are threatening.
Cat Island And Little San Salvador
This is basically a deserted, small island. You normally see it as being a stop-over when sailors go to Cat Island from Eleuthera. We can say that it is simply beautiful with the usual causarinas, machineel and palmettos vegetation in combination with palm trees. There are some wild hens you could see and snorkeling on the island’s north side is definitely really good.
When going to Cat Island, there are many anchorages available on the Western coast. Be sure that you visit the Armbruster Resort restaurant When in New Bight, opt for the hike to Hermitage. It lasts just half an hour.
Elizabeth Harbor – Georgetown
This is a 9 miles long channel that goes to SE from NW between barrier islands and the Great Exuma Island south end. It is highly shallow and careful navigation will be necessary at the entrances. Do not consider the Island shore since it is not attractive. However, there are some interesting anchorages that are available. The best option is definitely Stocking Island. It has great sandy beaches and even some snorkeling. Elizabeth Harbor will be crowded during winters as many Bahamian cruises end there.
Al of the Bahamas options we presented above are great but you should do more research so that you can identify the best one for you. If you have suggestions, let us know in the comment section.
