Yacht Charter Bahamas

Yacht Charter in the Bahamas

The Bahamas is one of the most extraordinary yacht charter destinations in the world — a vast archipelago of more than 700 islands and 2,400 cays stretching for nearly 1,400 kilometres across the western Atlantic, from the Grand Bahama Island north of Miami to Great Inagua near the coast of Haiti. What defines the Bahamas for sailors is the water: shallow, incredibly clear, ranging in colour from the palest aquamarine to the deepest turquoise, with sand banks and coral heads visible from the masthead. This is a destination where the act of sailing itself — reading the water, navigating the passes, anchoring in deserted bays — is as rewarding as the destinations themselves.

The Exumas

The Exumas are a chain of 365 islands and cays stretching southeast from Nassau, and they represent the most popular and rewarding sailing ground in the Bahamas. The water throughout the Exuma chain is extraordinarily beautiful — shallow, flat, and lit from beneath by white sand and patches of coral. The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, the first land and sea reserve in the Atlantic hemisphere, protects 453 square kilometres of pristine reef and is famous for its abundance of nurse sharks, lobsters, and giant sea turtles. Big Major Cay — home to the famous swimming pigs — has become one of the most-visited and most-photographed spots in the entire Caribbean basin.

Nassau and New Providence

Nassau, the Bahamian capital, is the main entry point for charter yachts arriving in the Bahamas and offers excellent provisioning, repair facilities, and nightlife. The historic downtown, with its pastel-coloured colonial architecture, straw market, and Queen's Staircase, is worth exploring before setting sail for the outer islands. The Paradise Island casino resort and the Nassau Harbour Club marina provide alternatives for those who want a more resort-style beginning to their charter.

Eleuthera and the Cat Island

Eleuthera is a long, narrow island known for its pink-sand beaches — the result of crushed coral and shells mixed into the white sand — and the charming harbour town of Harbour Island, consistently voted one of the Caribbean's most romantic destinations. Governor's Harbour has a laid-back, off-the-beaten-path atmosphere that contrasts pleasantly with the busier Nassau scene. Cat Island, to the southeast, is one of the least-visited and most authentically Bahamian of all the major islands, with excellent wall diving and a sense of tranquility that is increasingly hard to find elsewhere in the Atlantic.

Marine Life and Watersports

The Bahamas is a paradise for underwater enthusiasts. The wall dives of Andros — some of the deepest in the world, dropping from 18 metres to thousands of metres in a near-vertical face — are legendary in diving circles. Sharks, rays, sea turtles, and colourful reef fish are commonplace throughout the archipelago. For snorkellers, the shallow-water reefs of the Exumas and the famous shallow-water "aquarium" at Compass Cay are accessible to all ability levels. Fly-fishing for bonefish on the Bahamian flats is a world-class angling experience, and the deep-water channels between the islands produce blue marlin, wahoo, and mahi-mahi for sport fishing enthusiasts.