EXUMA, BAHAMAS, FEBRUARY 5TH— Getting from our home island of Eleuthera to other Family islands is complicated, usually requiring air travel via Nassau. But the nearest of the Exuma Cays is only about 40 miles from Cape Eleuthera, or 65 miles from Governor’s Harbour, and you can do that in under two hours in a fast boat. So off we went from Cupid’s Cay aboard Capt. Paul Petty’s immaculate Marlin 35 skiff, Martinis & Bikinis.
The date was our anniversary, so it couldn’t have been better timed.
Paul and his affable mate Dwayne had six passengers, including three residents of Rainbow Bay and three Canadian ladies, one of whom organized the expedition. The entire trip took nine hours: two hours out and back, and five hours among the islets—which went like a flash. The 130-mile-long archipelago forming the Exuma chain is a majestic display of Bahamian 
nature—however you get there, it’s worth every minute. All the colors from aquamarine to sapphire shimmer through the most beautiful ocean water in the world. But I’m going to charter a sailboat next time. A skiff is built to plane, and when you have 2-4 ft waves and chop in the deeper parts of the Exuma Sound, she just pounds, and we took the pounding at 35 knots. Paul is a good seaman and handled the waves well. He could have slowed down but then we would have had much less time in the Exumas. The ride was rougher out against an incoming tide. On the return, Paul had a following sea and after passing Cape Eleuthera cut diagonally northwest past the Schooner Cays, which gave us a smooth run over turquoise water. Our bodies only ached for 48 hours.
Once reached, the jewel-like islets of Exuma invite you to meander at a deliberate pace in placid, gin-clear waters. There were sailboats and cruising lots galore along the islets, and you can see why. Sailing from one to another, dropping anchor by whim or fancy, is a way to wash the world away.
Richard and Friends
Every islet is different and has its own attractions. At Warderick Wells Cay is the Exuma Cays National Land and Sea Park (http://bit.ly/11PIvoY)—a good first stop after crossing over from Eleuthera. A marine fishery and native plant preserve, it occupies 176 acres. Fishing is banned to preserve the amazing array of marine life, which you can see by diving or kayak. . Thunderball Grotto (http://bit.ly/11pNk9g), location for a famous James Bond film, is a cave in the coral where at low tide you can swim inside, surrounded by schools of curious, multi-colored tropical fish. The diving was spectacular. An upper wet suit was the most we needed, and it seemed the water out there was warmer than the south side of Eleuthera.
At Major Cay, the famous “swimming pigs” prove that Churchill was right: “Cats look down on you, dogs look up to you—give me a pig! He looks you in the eye and treats you as an equal.”
The establishment of pigs on this uninhabited islet near Staniel Cay began a few years ago by a friend of Paul Petty. They have a freshwater pond for water and food to root in the bush, but are also well fed by tourists, who beach their whalers or anchor in shallow water. The pigs swim out, dog-paddling with their noses snorkeling in the air. A half-dozen fat, seagoing pigs are the only residents. Baby porkers are removed when weaned, so the islet doesn’t overpopulate.
For a good YouTube video see: http://bit.ly/11PJ9CP.
Staniel Cay is an active stopover for sailing yachts with an affable yacht club for lunch. We spent an hour meandering its winding lanes and admiring the colorful cottages. On the way back we stopped at Compass Cay to “swim with the sharks”—big, friendly nurse sharks which behave like aquatic dogs, nosing up to a water-level dock to be fed bits of conch and allowing their sandpaper backs to be scratched.
These nurses are quite different from your image from “Jaws” (and as veteran Bahamian divers know, we have nothing that threatening in local waters anyway). Adult specimens are as big as a man, but they tend to spend most of their time on the bottom, feeding on lobster and other bottom dwellers, some covered with sand. With snacks in the water they swim up leisurely and literally take it out of your hand. Just watch the fingers to avoid being gummed. We were back in Governor’s Harbour before sunset, and amazed that we were able to see so much in just a day, thank to Paul Petty’s expert knowledge based on his years in Exuma; he wasted little time shuffling us between points of interest. Even then, we had seen only perhaps a quarter of it. A high powered skiff is the quickest way over, but perhaps you want to think of something else if you’re over 50. For sailors. the place idyllic. We have never seen such water–even clearer and more shimmering than Eleuthera. Still, after any such adventure, Eleuthera is the best place to wind down.
