Bahamas, Part 2: Eleuthera and Exuma Cay Land and Sea Park

What is that strange sound following us around the Bahamas?

Today we are waiting out a gusty low-pressure system that is blowing through the Bahamas, so it’s a great day to sit down and share an update with you! Since leaving the Berry Islands, we’ve explored two more island groups, hunkered down for our first winter “blow,” and visited the Caribbean’s first marine reserve. Oh, and had a very strange sound follow us across multiple island chains. Before all that, here’s a quick look at where we’ve been since our last update.

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Route Overview

Sunday, 1/4: Hoffman Cay, Berry Islands → Royal Island, Eleuthera
Monday, 1/5: Royal Island, Eleuthera → Spanish Wells, Eleuthera
Tuesday, 1/6: Spanish Wells, Eleuthera
Wednesday, 1/7: Spanish Wells, Eleuthera → Levi Island, Eleuthera
Thursday, 1/8: Levi Island, Eleuthera → Rock Sound, Eleuthera
Friday, 1/9: Rock Sound, Eleuthera → Warderick Wells, Exuma
Saturday, 1/10 – Sunday, 1/11: Warderick Wells, Exuma
Monday, 1/12: Warderick Wells, Exuma → Cambridge Cay, Exuma
Tuesday, 1/13 – Friday, 1/16: Cambridge Cay, Exuma

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To the Exumas via Eleuthera

If you read our last blog post, you know that the first Bahamian island chain we explored was the remote Berry Islands. With their pristine beaches and abundant sea life, we could probably spend months exploring those islands alone. However, we decided to take advantage of good wind and make progress—via Eleuthera—toward the next island chain we were eager to explore: the Exumas.

There are two common routes sailors take to travel from the Berry Islands to the Exumas: through New Providence, home to the capital city of Nassau, or via Eleuthera, a narrow island dotted with smaller, historic towns. Wanting to avoid the bustle of Nassau, we opted for the Eleuthera route and planned to do a bit of exploring along the way.

View approaching Devil’s Cut as we leave the Berry Islands and head to Eluether

As we motored out of Devil’s Cut outside of Hoffman Cay on Sunday morning, we expected moderate winds with a westerly component to facilitate a comfortable downwind sail. However, once we were out of the cut and into the Northwest Providence Channel, we discovered the wind was not following the forecast (serves us right for expecting Mother Nature to listen to human predictions). Instead, it was light and out of the south, making sailing nearly impossible. Reluctantly, we turned on the motor and settled in for a slightly less magical day of being a motorboat, all the while hoping for a wind shift that would let us sail for at least part of the day.

Well, as they say, be careful what you wish for. A little over halfway through the day’s journey, our engine alarm went off, signaling an issue. We quickly shut down the motor and opted to sail the rest of the way to our anchorage for the night, despite the less-than-ideal sailing conditions. With very light wind on the nose, we slowly tacked back and forth for the remainder of the passage. Once anchored, Michael discovered that the wire terminal on our oil pressure sender had broken, causing a false alarm. Fortunately, we had a spare sender onboard, and Michael was able to resolve the issue easily. In the end, we got what we asked for—and managed to squeeze in some sailing without too much mechanical drama.

While enjoying the sunset that evening, we both noticed a whistling sound that seemed to be coming from the boat next to us. To us, it sounded like someone learning to play the recorder. We imagined a patient husband sitting onboard while his wife earnestly practiced her new instrument. It’s pretty common for liveaboards to take up new hobbies—learning an instrument included—so we didn’t think too much of it. Still, we looked forward to moving anchorages in the morning and escaping the sound ourselves, and we felt a little sorry for the imagined husband who wouldn’t be able to do the same!

Our next anchorage was a short hop away, just outside the town of Spanish Wells. There were a few boat parts we wanted to pick up, as well as restock our supply of eggs and fresh produce. I’d also heard that local home bakers were famous for their “Johnny Cakes” and hoped to pick up a few to try.

Clear blue water is all around Eleuthera - and so are good eats like Wreckers restaurants and breakfast sandwiches made from Tony's homemade Johnny Cakes!

Spanish Wells has traditionally been a fishing village and is now supported by tourism as well. It is the only predominantly white settlement in the Bahamas, with many current residents descended from Loyalist families who sought refuge on British-held islands during and after the American Revolution. Many families share the last name Pinder, so it’s common to see that name on businesses around town (Pinder Grocery, for example).

We spent two nights anchored outside of Spanish Wells—and wouldn’t you know it, so did the boat with the novice recorder player! While the sound wasn’t unbearable, it was fairly constant. Whoever was playing was certainly committed to their practice.

We spent an afternoon exploring town, including lunch at a local marina restaurant and a stop at the supermarket, where an entire section of the bread aisle was dedicated to local bakers. I could choose from fresh-baked cookies, breads, and cakes made by residents of the island. I finally opted for a mix of plain and cinnamon raisin Johnny Cakes baked by Tony. They were absolutely delicious, and I will definitely restock if we find ourselves back in Spanish Wells.

Over the next two days, we continued south along the coast of Eleuthera, anchoring first at Levi Island and then at Rock Sound. We enjoyed both anchorages—and were thrilled to get away from the boat with the novice recorder player that had seemingly followed us for several nights. Surprisingly, while the boat didn’t follow us, the sound did! Realizing the noise must be coming from somewhere else, we concluded it was likely a whistle buoy or perhaps a very loud blowhole that could be heard across the island. Either way, we looked forward to making the jump to the Exumas and finally getting some peace and quiet.

Glassy calm water as we crossed the Bight of Eluethera from Spanish Wells to Levi Island

Since Eleuthera was meant to be a layover on our way south, there’s a lot we didn’t see. We hope to spend more time exploring the island on our way back north this spring.

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Crossing to the Exumas

We left Rock Sound, Eleuthera early Friday morning. The water directly off the southern coast of Eleuthera is quite shallow, so until we cleared that area and entered Exuma Sound, I stood on the foredeck watching for shallow spots and coral heads—things we very much wanted to avoid. By this point, my confidence in “visual navigation”—reading the color of the water to judge depth and spot hazards—was steadily growing.

With wind from the southeast, we set our sails on a beam reach and pointed our bow toward Conch Cut, just north of the midpoint of the Exumas. While we anticipated a fairly comfortable passage, the waves ended up hitting us directly on the beam, creating an unpleasant rolling motion.

As we approached the Exuma islands, we realized we would reach Conch Cut with current against wind. Knowing this could create uncomfortable (at best) and unsafe (at worst) conditions in the cut, we changed course to enter at Warderick Wells instead. This gave us a more favorable entrance and had the added benefit of shifting the waves to just aft of the beam, making the remainder of the passage much more comfortable.

Warderick Wells mooring field (Osprey is the last boat on the left)

Warderick Wells is the headquarters of the Exuma Cay Land and Sea Park, the first marine reserve in the Caribbean. Founded by the Bahamas National Trust in the 1950s, the park aims to preserve the natural beauty and wildlife of the Exuma islands. We’re so glad we chose to enter the Exumas here—it’s been one of our favorite spots in the Bahamas so far.

While at Warderick Wells, we enjoyed incredible snorkeling, hiked to BooBoo Hill, the highest point in the park (a whopping 97 feet!), and attended a cruiser happy hour on the beach. The highlight of our stay was snorkeling alongside a school of about 18 spotted eagle rays as they swam back and forth through the anchorage. Each ray was roughly 10–15 feet long, and watching them glide through the water was one of the most majestic sights we’ve ever experienced. Although we do have an action camera we can bring snorkeling, we didn’t have it with us at the time. That moment will have to live on in our memories—and sometimes that’s the best place for it anyway.

Cruisers write their boat name on drift wood and leave it at the top of BooBoo Hill as an offering to Poseidon for safe passage through the park; we opted just to enjoy the views along the hike.

And remember the novice recorder player from Eleuthera? Well, the sound followed us to the Exumas! It finally dawned on us that the noise wasn’t an aspiring wind musician or something on the island—it was the wind whistling through our rigging. We still hear it most nights, and while it’s not the most pleasant sound, it’s become oddly comforting—and pretty funny.

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Weather Patterns

While in Warderick Wells, we began tracking a low-pressure system forecast to hit the Bahamas later that week. These systems pass through regularly during the winter months—about once per week. They typically bring one to two days of moderate to strong winds (usually from the east), drizzle, and cooler temperatures before moving on and giving way to warmer air and lighter breezes for several days.

It’s a nice rhythm: plenty of days for hiking, snorkeling, and beach time, followed by a few dreary days that provide a good excuse to stay inside and catch up on chores, naps, and indoor hobbies (like writing blog posts 😉).

Most winter systems bring easterly winds, which makes finding protection easy since most Exuma anchorages are on the west side of the islands. This particular system was different, with winds forecast from the west. That meant we needed to find a rare anchorage with good west-wind protection. After consulting friends who’ve cruised the Bahamas for years, we decided to hunker down at Cambridge Cay, another spot within the Land and Sea Park.

We moved to Cambridge Cay a few days before the blow to explore the area in good weather. While there, we were thrilled to reconnect with our friends aboard S/V Peaks, fellow clients of our sailing coaches whom we met at the Annapolis Boat Show in the fall. Together, we explored some incredible spots in the park, including Rocky Dundas Caves (accessible only by snorkeling), Rachel’s Bubble Bath (a natural pool where Atlantic waves crash over the rocks to create a jacuzzi-like effect), and the Aquarium, a snorkeling site filled with crystal-clear water and vibrant, colorful fish. The following day Michael, Maisie and I enjoyed a relaxing day together on the beach.

We had a lot of fun exploring around Cambridge Cay!

As the blow approached, our anchorage—nearly empty when we arrived—slowly filled with more than 20 boats seeking shelter. Fortunately, Cambridge Cay offered excellent holding, and as the wind picked up over the next 36 hours, no one dragged anchor or experienced any major issues.

After the weather passed, we stayed an extra day to hike to the top of a nearby ridge and search for a cave on the Atlantic side of the island. If you’d like to see a video of that adventure, it’s up on our Instagram and Jen’s Facebook.

View from the top of our hike on Cambridge Cay

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Looking Ahead

We’re really enjoying having no set schedule and being able to listen to both our bodies and the weather when deciding what to do each day. While we hope to head farther south and explore the more remote outer islands of the Bahamas, we’re in no rush. Next, we’re looking forward to exploring the Exumas outside of the Land and Sea Park—where fishing is allowed—so we can try our hand at catching fresh fish, lobster, and conch.

We’ve been dreaming about a beach barbecue with friends, featuring freshly caught seafood and a fire on the sand. Maybe that will be part of our next update!

Until then, cheers!
—Jen, Michael, and Maisie