The Exumas

Whether for a quickie mini-cruise or for the whole winter, sailing the Bahamas is ideal. It’s only an overnight sail from the Florida coast, albeit separated by the Mighty Gulf Stream, and when you reach the other side — oh the turquoise!

If you ask me where I’d most like to come on deck each morning, I say without comparison, it’s the Exumas. This fascinating island chain stretches about 130 miles like a braid from Nassau through the central Bahamas. On the windward side of the cays is the heaving ocean, where an afternoon stroll is very likely to produce dinner. On the other side is the sheltered and mostly tranquil Exuma Bank, a shallow tableau of fascinating shifting sand bores, reefs and tiny uninhabited islands with pristine beaches, caves or limestone cliffs.

Nassau is a big city with an international airport and lots of shop- ping, so it makes an excellent staging port. The northern Exuma cays are an underwater national park. The southern Exumas are isolated pristine cays and anchorages. A few population centers and celebrated cruising anchorages are never more than a day sail from idyllic and private spots, so if you need to top up water tanks and refuel, buy basic groceries or meet up with fellow cruisers you are never far away. A Bahamian SIM card in your iPad or phone makes broadband Internet accessible in most places. What more could one want?

There is no such thing as paradise, but since I feel most serene in the watery life, the Exuma chain is as close as it gets. The endless patterns of varying blues and turquoise are dreamy. The water clarity, the cleanliness, and the reefs and sea life remind me that we are fortunate to live on an awesome water-covered planet.

Pat Mundus is a retired merchant ship deck officer who cruises her F. Spaulding Dunbar ketch, Surprise, in the Bahamas and the western Caribbean. During summer, she arranges crewed classic yacht charters through East End Charters.