Bahamas vs Grenada bareboat

[BrianInBoston]

I can offer a little insight having been to all three of your possible destinations over the last few years. I chartered a Dream 48’ FP cat in the Abacos with a bunch of friends, took a similar group to Grenada and the Tobago Cays on a Sunsail 404 cat and then last year doublehanded a Dream Bali 4.0 cat in the Exumas from Nassau. My summary:

Abacos was easy sailing in the protected and 7-14 foot deep Sea of Abaco. As others have noted, the better snorkeling is outside the protected area and most of my crew were not comfortable attempting to snorkel in the swells and current. Nippers is now gone with the hurricane, Treasure Cay and Hopetown I heard are coming back. Our highlight in Feb 2019 was the mangroves and quiet starry anchorages off Manjack and Crab Cays.

Grenada is awesome for land touring with mountains and waterfalls but once you’re underway northward there aren’t many places to stop along the west coast. Depths require more scope than the charter boats carry, though there were few balls near the Dragon Bay underwater sculpture park. We went to Carriacou first and that would be your limit if you weren’t checking in to the Grenadines at Union Island. Which means you miss snorkeling Tobago Cays and Mayreau Island, which my crew loved. Checking in and out of each country twice meant four multi hour stops in ports doing immigration paperwork, a major hassle even in pre-Covid times.

Exumas was memorable for the amazing turquoise water and the isolation from restaurants, marinas and crowds of other boats, which these days is a plus. The highlight was the mangrove river on Shroud Cay and the stunning beach at its NE tip. That said, the islands are flat so there’s no getting out of a blow. Anchoring is easy in sand, but the current reversal in many places near the inter-island cuts is something you really need to be ready for, with a second anchor or a good alarm and crew that can handle a reset in the middle of the night. Underway, that first day heading southeast from New Providence is a bash, 35 miles into the wind and swells. We kept the speeds down for comfort but it was still a long day. Last thing to consider, your crew will see sharks there under your boat once anchored. Likely just harmless nurse sharks, but they look big and really freak people out. Exumas is a hugely different experience than the BVI, definitely more challenging.

Have fun whichever you decide...

[doctorbill]

Such a great Summary! Thanks for all those tidbits. Very helpful!

~Bill

Originally Posted by BrianInBoston

I can offer a little insight having been to all three of your possible destinations over the last few years. I chartered a Dream 48’ FP cat in the Abacos with a bunch of friends, took a similar group to Grenada and the Tobago Cays on a Sunsail 404 cat and then last year doublehanded a Dream Bali 4.0 cat in the Exumas from Nassau. My summary:

Abacos was easy sailing in the protected and 7-14 foot deep Sea of Abaco. As others have noted, the better snorkeling is outside the protected area and most of my crew were not comfortable attempting to snorkel in the swells and current. Nippers is now gone with the hurricane, Treasure Cay and Hopetown I heard are coming back. Our highlight in Feb 2019 was the mangroves and quiet starry anchorages off Manjack and Crab Cays.

Grenada is awesome for land touring with mountains and waterfalls but once you’re underway northward there aren’t many places to stop along the west coast. Depths require more scope than the charter boats carry, though there were few balls near the Dragon Bay underwater sculpture park. We went to Carriacou first and that would be your limit if you weren’t checking in to the Grenadines at Union Island. Which means you miss snorkeling Tobago Cays and Mayreau Island, which my crew loved. Checking in and out of each country twice meant four multi hour stops in ports doing immigration paperwork, a major hassle even in pre-Covid times.

Exumas was memorable for the amazing turquoise water and the isolation from restaurants, marinas and crowds of other boats, which these days is a plus. The highlight was the mangrove river on Shroud Cay and the stunning beach at its NE tip. That said, the islands are flat so there’s no getting out of a blow. Anchoring is easy in sand, but the current reversal in many places near the inter-island cuts is something you really need to be ready for, with a second anchor or a good alarm and crew that can handle a reset in the middle of the night. Underway, that first day heading southeast from New Providence is a bash, 35 miles into the wind and swells. We kept the speeds down for comfort but it was still a long day. Last thing to consider, your crew will see sharks there under your boat once anchored. Likely just harmless nurse sharks, but they look big and really freak people out. Exumas is a hugely different experience than the BVI, definitely more challenging.

Have fun whichever you decide...