2023 Bahamas - What I learned

 Someone during the trip told me that Bahamas comes from the Spanish phrase "Baja mar", shallow sea. And this trip definitely highlighted that. There were many places on the chart that said: "shifting sands", meaning that the chart was unreliable and you shouldn't keep going. Similarly, this was the only trip I've been on where I've actually had to change direction during a channel crossing when I realized that the bottom was too shallow. Couple that with tides and unusually difficult anchoring and harbor entrances and this is definitely not a sailing location a beginner should visit.

The snorkeling on Sandy Cay was nothing short of amazing, as was Snake Cay, which surprisingly was hardly mentioned in the guide or chart briefing! Mermaid Reef was meh, and the wrecks near Rat Cay were ok. Fish Hotel was definitely a disappointment, as was witch point. We discovered that Fowl Cay is probably a summer/late spring destination, as all mooring balls described in the book were missing and the surface so rough that the dingy was taking on water. That was probably why the local dive outfit wanted $1200 for a visit!

This visit completely destroyed my view of the Bahamas. I thought that it was a popular cruise ship destination, and that the place would be crowded and full of parties. I don't know how much of the Abacos was popular before Dorian, but years after Dorian it's clear that cruise ships don't visit the area, and the sailing is so challenging that 5 boats at Sandy Cay constitutes a crowd. We saw plenty of sail boats, but it's nowhere as crowded as the BVIs, and nobody even tried to anchor near us in a crowded anchorage or in an anchorage where there was only room for one, indicating that most of the sailors knew what they were doing.

I'm curious as to what the rest of the Bahamas is like and whether it's quite different from what we experienced. On the other hand, as skipper the Bahamas isn't quite a chill-out experience so you'd pretty much have to have your act together all the time. The water is cooler which made mosquitoes less of a problem but when the wind dies you get biting gnats which can be just as bad!

All in all, when I think back about it this was a very good trip. While we backtracked more than necessary and wasted time at bad places, we made very good decisions such as not staying at Little Harbor overnight. We probably should have spent more time at Hope Town and Snake Cay, and I should have pre-planned the route on the dinghy tour at Snake Cay better, but all in all we had a great time!