Insider Tips for Sailing the Exumas by Captain Glenn Shephard

December 15, 2025 5 min

This fall Captain Glenn Shephard completed his second charter as The Moorings new Brand Ambassador. This time in the Exumas Bahamas aboard a power catamaran. The Moorings’ Bahamas Sailing & Destination Expert Ian Pedersen sat down with him afterwards to see what he thought of this spectacular destination. Read on for some words of advice on how to best experience the incredible Exuma islands.

Q: Captain, your first charter with The Moorings was in a well-known destination, in the British Virgin Islands, and aboard a sailing vessel, something you are familiar with. How did this charter in the Exumas compare, especially as it was aboard a power catamaran?

A: I’ve been lucky enough to have cruised the Bahamas a couple times quite extensively on my first sailboat almost 20 years ago, and once on a charter on SY Parsifal, the boat from the Below Deck Sailing Yacht show. 

The Bahamas are such an amazing cruising ground, there are so many incredible island groups to explore, from the Abacos, to the Exumas, Bimini, Eleuthera, The Berrys, it just goes on and on.

But that also means if you want to take in a lot of what’s on offer, you’ve got a lot of ground to cover.

If you’ve got the whole season, great, but most people don’t have that luxury, if you want to take in the highlights of an area like the Exumas in a week like we did, I can definitely see the attraction of a power cat, we were zooming everywhere at 17-18 knots, that’s over three times faster than top speed on my first sailboat.

And I haven’t even started talking about all the space there is on board, just the expansive flybridge alone makes it a no-brainer.

One of the most beautiful aspects of The Bahamas is the color of the water. The endless shades of beautiful aquamarine are due to the sandy bottoms and shallow water – awe inspiring for sure, but that shallow water also presents a challenge to navigation, another reason why catamarans are so well suited to a Bahamian escapade.

Q: What would you say was your favorite aspect of the Exumas compared to other locations you have sailed?

A: Who doesn’t want to drop the hook in an amazing, protected, sandy-bottomed bay in turquoise water? That’s sought after in sailors’ favorite spots all around the world. In the Bahamas, those spots are everywhere, but the icing on the cake is the plentiful marine life, tropical fish of the most vibrant colors, sharks, (mostly docile nurse sharks, but still exciting to see and even swim with), rays of all varieties big and small, barracudas etc. We even saw dolphins swimming right next to our boat inside the marina, that’s what keeps me wanting to go back, if you head down to Big Majors Spot next to Staniel Cay, you’ll even encounter swimming pigs. 

Q: We experienced so many amazing things during the week, from swimming with sharks, meeting some amazing people at Staniel Cay Yacht Club, to paddleboarding the protected river in Shroud Cay, do you have an experience from the week that stood out above the rest?

A: The whole trip was out of this world, but for me the highlight was exploring the sanctuary river on Shroud Cay. I’m not sure how I missed it on my first two trips through the Exumas, but that has to be my best excursion ever.  

Just the serenity of the place, seeing the baby sea turtles darting around just below our paddle boards, the baby sharks hunting in less than a foot of water, the secluded beach where the whirlpool empties into the open sea at the end of the river. 

The whole thing just blew me away.

I can’t wait to go back there; I’ll probably spend two or three days exploring that river. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced in my boating life. 

Something special that you can only find in a place like the Bahamas.

The hike up to Boo Boo hill in Wardrick Wells would be a close second.

Q: If I had to pick one theme for our week in the Exumas, it would probably be “shallow water”. Moreso than at any time during our week in the British Virgin Islands, we found that very careful navigation was critical in the Bahamas. Do you have some advice for potential captains before they embark on a charter in the Bahamas?

A: The Bahamas are all about careful route planning, and “eyeball” navigation. You need to see the bommies or shallow reefs, make sure the sun is high in the sky, ideally over your shoulder, especially when transiting areas known for having too many reefs that charting them all is not practical. 

A second pair of eyeballs at the helm is a good idea.

Besides a good chart plotter, make sure you’ve got the correct Bahamas Explorer Chartbook for your area on board, they’re invaluable and detail commonly used waypoints and routes through safe water. 

And finally keep a good eye on the tides. High tide will give you an extra meter / 3 feet of water, that’s equal to the draft of the power cat. Overall, we found it best to play it safe, often going well out of our way to avoid any risk to the yacht, and we were better off for it.

Q: In addition to the overall shallow water throughout the cruising area, the tides and currents also played a major factor in our planning throughout the week. Can you go into some detail on how best to accommodate for this when planning a route through the islands?

A: The tides in the Bahamas are up to one meter or just over three feet, so you’ll want to factor that into your navigation, having that extra buffer at high tide will give you a bit more breathing room in tight spots, but don’t forget to calculate that into your anchoring plans. 

The charts and chart plotter soundings will be for LAT, lowest astronomical tides, so you’ll always have that much or a bit more, but make sure you’re using the correct units, i.e. feet, meters or fathoms. 

The tidal rips and currents can be quite strong, you have to account for that when choosing an anchorage, if unsure don’t be shy to seek local knowledge and try to favor established mooring balls if available for a sound night’s sleep. 

Also don’t forget to factor in tidal state and current when exploring popular snorkel spots like the Aquarium and Thunderball Grotto. Your best bet is just before, during and just after slack tide. 

Insider Tips for Sailing the Exumas by Captain Glenn Shephard

Q: Any final thoughts on this incredible destination?

A: The Bahamas are known as one of the best cruising grounds on the planet, the added challenge of navigating “skinny” water makes it that much more satisfying when you get to your destination. It can be tricky, but it’s definitely manageable with the right preparation and diligence. 

I’ve never met any sailor that regretted visiting the Bahamas.

What are you waiting for?