Our planners travel with you to Bimini to assist onsite managers to ensure that your special event is a perfect one! A tiny island of the Bahamas, Bimini is just 7 miles long and barely feet wide at its widest point.
Bimini is the western most island in the Bahamas and the closest foreign island to the US mainland and has previously been recognized mainly for the famous Hemingway era. Whether you come with the family, as a couple, or single for bar hopping, casinos, scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing, tanning on the beaches, or relaxing in a hammock in the cool breeze, the Bahamas will leave you speechless and satisfied.
A US Passport or birth certificate is required when traveling to the Bahamas. Either way, even on a power-yacht, it will take a week or longer to when traveling by yacht. If leaving from Miami, charterers will cross the Gulf Stream with its seasonal uncertainties, with slight chances of the charter being delayed a day or so, if the seas are too rough, but this is not normally the case and the journey is well worth it!! Most our charter guests prefer to fly into Nassau, and board their sailing or motor yacht at the Atlantis Hotel and Marina, beginning their cruise in Bahamas, avoiding the seven-hour delivery across the Atlantic Ocean.
Other charterers, especially the bare-boaters, like to fly into Marsh Harbour in the Abacos and rent a charter boat from there and explore the Sea of Abaco. Many charters begin and end their charter at the Atlantis Marina, which provides just enough excitement and action for a couple of days, while other days are spent exploring the more remote islands.
The Exumas chain of islands or cays in the Bahamas, starts about 35 nm South of Nassau and runs about nm South from Allen Cay, all the way to Georgetown that has an airport with regular scheduled flights. This is considered the most sought after location in the Bahamas with crystal-clear waters, swimming pigs, superb diving, friendly petting sharks, snorkeling, fishing and lots of neat little bays and coves to anchor out.
Exumas is a special strip of private islands where one can find a lone Tiki beach bar in the middle of seemingly nowhere…in paradise! There are some great itineraries that start and end either in Nassau or Staniel Cay and cover the upper Exumas, Cat Island, Eleuthera, and Harbour island. The few locals you encounter are very friendly and polite. The island of Great Inagua has a fine National Park and nature reserve with the largest population of West Indian Flamingoes, Parrots, and other bird species.
Little Inagua has a large population of feral donkeys and goats that were originally left there or escaped from the numerous wrecks caused by the Inagua reef.
The Abacos are especially known for calm waters, warm breezes and panoramic beauty that make this mile—long chain of islands a boating and sailing paradise. Those who prefer to explore by land will find championship golf courses on Treasure Cay, charming colonial towns on Green Turtle and Elbow Cays, and countless hotels, restaurants and bars throughout.
The real Bahamas can be seen only by a private charter boat and remains one of the most unbelievable recreational cruising grounds in the world.
We spend the nights anchoring near beaches, or stay in the marinas. We recommend at least a five day itinerary to Bimini or weekly charter to visit nearby islands.
Sidebar [Skip]. Visit No. Sailing to Bahamas from Miami Previous. Thank you for visiting MiamiSailing. Hope Town is dotted by a number of small hotels and villas. No worries about traffic jams here, but be sure to watch out for a bicycle or golf cart whizzing by. Green Turtle Cay ranks with Elbow Cay as one of the two most important destinations that have wonderful beaches and a relaxing atmosphere. The main town of New Plymouth also has New England look-alike pretty clapboard houses surrounded by white picket fences.
More than anything else, Abaco is synonymous with sailing. Marinas abound throughout the cays, and many are the permanent home to numerous yachts and bareboat charter companies. In addition to sailing, fishing and diving are popular activities in Abaco.
Deep-sea fishing generally takes place off the Abaco cays, where the drop-off from the reef to the Atlantic is steep and the shallow marshy flats to the west of great Abaco are ideal for bone-fishermen. Deep walls, reefs and a multitude of shipwrecks provide excellent diving territory right around the Abaco cays. The Moorings has a base in Marsh Harbour as do several other charter companies.
Please Contact Us for a complete information package. Sailboats and Sailing Catamarans are ideal to cruise these shallow but protected waters. Exuma has the distinction of being the only island in the Caribbean where not one but two James Bond movies were filmed.
There are islands and cays that lie strung out across over miles of ocean that make up The Exumas. From the air, these cays look like jeweled stepping stones surrounded by a shimmering emerald sea giving this chain the distinction of being one of the prettiest in The Islands of The Bahamas.
The bright white sand of the deserted beaches is a striking contrast to the deep aquamarine and jade hues of the water. These friendly and outgoing people are genuinely happy to receive vacationers.
Most Exumians make their living fishing or farming, with the main crops being onions, tomatoes, pigeon peas, guavas, papayas and mangoes. Lord John Rolle, who imported the first cottonseeds in the late 18th century, had more than slaves working on Great Exuma.
When cotton proved to be a financial failure for him and the prospect of emancipation loomed, Lord John Rolle deeded the 2, acres of land that were given to him by the British Government to his foremen slaves. This land, in turn, has been passed on to each new generation and can never be sold to outsiders. Today almost half of the residents go by the name Rolle and one of the largest settlements is appropriately named Rolleville. A tribute to tradition, the regatta is a race of Bahamian workboats, handmade sloops with wooden hulls, canvas sails and tall wooden masts.
George Town is also home to the Government Administration Building, a pink and white building modeled after the Government House in Nassau.
A few steps north is St. Naturally, in the heart of the Exuma Cays, is the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, a square mile natural preserve which is home to brilliant coral reefs, exotic marine life and the rare Bahamian iguana — some of which grow to over two feet long. Harbour Island was actually founded before the United States was even a nation! Today, Dunmore Town is renowned for its three mile pink sand beach and charming New England-style architecture. The Plateau and the Arch, both giant coral structures densely populated with marine life, attracts divers from around the world.
At one time Harbour Island was second only to Nassau in terms of prosperity. The pastel-coloured clap-board homes edged by white picket fences and tropical flowers line the old streets of Dunmore Town. Eleuthera, first settled in , is perhaps the best known of the Out Islands of The Bahamas. Shaped like a praying mantis, the island is just under five miles wide and miles long. The magnificent glass window bridge to the north of the island affords spectacular views of the deep blue Atlantic on one side and the turquoise Caribbean Sea on the other.
Eleuthera attracts those who wish to explore, either by bicycle or car, the land and nature in its undisturbed atmosphere. Despite a coral and limestone surface which may seem forbidding to farmers, Eleuthera is one of the agricultural centres of The Islands of The Bahamas. The hilly farming area in the centre of the island with its rich, red soil is ideal for producing pineapples, tomatoes and a variety of vegetables.
History reveals that in British Puritans seeking religious freedom settled in Eleuthera. Led by William Sayle, a former governor of Bermuda, the group called themselves the Eleutheran Adventurers. They gave The Islands of The Bahamas its first written constitution which called for the establishment of a republic.
The enterprising Eleutheran Adventurers were able to survive on the island with the help of their generous Puritan relatives in the newly formed colonies of Massachusetts and Virginia. The New Englanders sent supplies and the Eleutherans thanked them in return with rare and valuable wood — from which the proceeds were used to help build Harvard College.
Today, many visitors are attracted to Eleuthera for its abundance of water-related activities — there are plenty of great fishing holes and dive spots. The Current Cut, located between Eleuthera and the small island of Current is exciting for experienced divers, where changing tides send a tricky current through a yard wide channel.
No one is quite sure how Cat Island acquired its name, however this island has many lives. Others say that the island resembles a feline sitting on its haunches when looking at it from above. For more than four centuries Cat Island was actually called San Salvador and many believed this was where Christopher Columbus first landed in the new world. However, in a nearby island was redesignated San Salvador as it is known today and the name Cat Island was revived.
British Loyalists who were fleeing the newly formed United States settled the island in They established cotton plantations but when the cotton industry failed and the slaves were freed the people of Cat Island turned to farming peas, corn, potatoes, and later to growing pineapples.
A single road runs the length of the island making it difficult to get lost while exploring. Along the way visitors will spot residents participating in traditional activities such as straw plaiting weaving hats and bags. The historical sites of the island are all accessible from the Main Road. Many beautiful churches dot the picturesque landscape. At Port Howe one can see the ruins of the Deveaux Mansion, a two story whitewashed building formerly used as a cotton plantation and now overrun with wild vegetation.
Deveaux Mansion was once the home of Col. Andrew Deveaux of the U. Navy and was given to him as a reward for recapturing Nassau from the Spaniards in Alvernia rises up feet through a thick forest.
However this is not its only interesting characteristic. The Hermitage, a small monastery at the summit of this mountain, is to this day still shrouded in mystique. Father Jerome built the Hermitage and the rock staircase leading to it as a final act of religious dedication.
An Anglican seminarian turned Catholic priest, Father Jerome was well know for having built cathedrals and convents throughout the islands. Home to miles of pristine and secluded beaches, an emerald blue sea of sparkling clarity and challenging reef and wreck dive sites, San Salvador is the ultimate escape for divers, fishermen, yachtsmen and those who yearn to relax in a serene atmosphere. The island is actually the exposed peak of a submerged mountain that plunges 15, feet to the ocean floor.
Then, in , Columbus made his first landfall in the New World on the island. Today, four separate monuments mark the exact spots where he came ashore, although it is generally regarded that he landed at Long Bay where a large stone cross stands.
However, British Pirate Captain George Watling took over the island, making it his headquarters of the buccaneer and named it Watling Island after himself. The island retained this name until when it was then renamed San Salvador. San Salvador is dotted with monuments, ruins and wreck sites, all illuminating its history. Besides lounging on secluded beaches, basking in sunshine and diving, snorkelling and fishing in clear waters, guests to the island enjoy touring the old plantation ruins, climbing to the top of the old kerosene-operated lighthouse and exploring the archaeological site of the Lucayan Indians.
Rum Cay is just ten miles long and five miles wide. The only settlement, Port Nelson, is home to the few inhabitants of the island. While rimmed with stunning beaches, Rum Cay remains one of the less developed islands of the archipelago, with very little in the way of tourist activities. Only miles long and 4-miles wide, Long Island is one of the most scenic hideaways in The Islands of The Bahamas, famous for its world-class scuba diving and bonefishing.
The island is divided by the Tropic of Cancer and is bordered on each side by two contrasting coasts, one with soft-white beach, and the other with rocky headlands that descent into the sea and serve as boundaries for the crashing waves.
The topography of the island varies as well — from sloping hills in the northeast to low hillsides in the south to stark white flatlands to swampland to pristine beaches, all of which combine to create a picturesque landscape and an ideal haven for seamen, sun-lovers and vacationers alike.
Then, in , Loyalists from the Carolinas and their slaves settled Fernandina. They built large plantations and produced sea-island cotton until the abolition of slavery, which made them unprofitable.
Although the plantations are overgrown and non-productive, agriculture is still a very important part of life. Pothole farming, which is a method that utilised fertile holes in the limestone where fertile topsoil collects, yields much of the food supply for the other islands, including peas, corn, pineapples and bananas. Raising sheep, goats and pigs is also popular amongst Long Islanders. Little-known Acklins and Crooked Island lie next to each other and are connected by ferry.
These waters are popular with the more adventurous tarpon and bonefishermen, as well as with divers, as a 50 mile barrier reef rings the islands. Crooked Island is the main island of the two, with most of the sparse population living in and around the capital of Colonel Hill.
Experienced birders also know that the undisturbed wooded areas are a popular resting place for numerous species, including the ever elusive hummingbird.
Crooked Island , approximately miles southeast of Nassau, is one of three major islands called The Crooked Island District. At the southeastern tip of Crooked Island, a ferry transports visitors across the ocean to the exotic Acklins Island — also part of The District — where gentle hills as well as the colorful scattering of the purple, green and blue houses make Acklins Islands a very unique site within The Islands of The Bahamas.
According to Bahamian historians, when Columbus was sailing down the Crooked Island Passage, the sweet aroma of native herbs and flowers drifted out to his ship and delighted his senses. These Loyalists established almost 50 cotton plantations, but in the plantations were ruined because the crops were destroyed by blight and poor soil conditions. Those remaining were able to survive by adapting to fishing and small-scale farming. In addition, since the middle of the 18th century, Crooked Islanders have been stripping the Croton Cascarilla shrub and shipping the Cascarilla bark to Italy to be used as flavouring for the famous Campari liquor.
Some interesting structures, old plantation houses and the like, still remain on Crooked Island. Yet another interesting spot to explore is Crooked Island Caves. These are dark passageways, which widen into gaping chambers and embrace speckles of sunlight that poke through holes from above. Built in the north the glistening Bird Rock Lighthouse on Crooked Island is a popular nesting spot for ospreys and acts as a guard to the Crooked Island Passage, one of the most important sea passages for ships, which follow the southerly route to the Panama Canal.
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