Arriving at Staniel Cay, Exumas Bahamas
What do you do when your friends ask you if you want to come sailing with them on their 46ft. sailboat in the Exumas? You say, YES! We were fortunate to be asked by some great friends, Jon & Jen, to join them for a portion of their cruise through the Bahamas this winter. After accepting their offer, we started researching flights to the Exumas. It is easy to find flights to the major cities of the Bahamas like Nassau and Freeport, but finding flights to the small keys is limited to a few small airlines and charter flights. After a quick Google search, we found Watermakers Air which flies scheduled flights into Staniel Cay. Staniel Cay was a perfect location to meet our friends as they sailed down the Exumas. The flight price was a bit of a shock, but when you factor in that we will be sailing in the Exumas for free for five days, it is a bargain. We were also flying to a very exclusive location which normally would require us to charter an entire plane, so the ability to buy individual seats and share the cost was a great option. Flying on Watermakers Air was a great experience. They are located at the Ft. Lauderdale executive airport in a nondescript airport hanger. The surprise comes when you walk through the door. The lobby looks like a five star beach resort and immediately puts you in vacation mode. After our experiences with the airline and Staniel Cay Yacht Club, we feel the price is very reasonable.
Watermakers Air Lobby
Brandy was very nervous about flying on a small plane as Watermakers uses eight-seat Cessna Grand Caravans. The weather did not help Brandy’s nervousness. Thunderstorms were covering the area from Fort Lauderdale to the edge of the Bahamas and our pilots came into the lobby to let us know that they were delaying our flight an hour to let the worst storms pass by our route. We also learned that if the weather did not clear by 3pm, the airline would need to cancel the flight as they needed to complete the round trip by dark. While we waited, the airline staff offered some complimentary wine which helped pass the time and relax the nervous flyers. (Brandy asked if she could have the whole bottle.)
The flight left an hour after the scheduled time. It was still very overcast around the airport, and the beginning of the flight was a little bumpy but not too bad. Brandy still managed to squeeze most of the blood out of my hand as we worked our way through the turbulence. The flight to Staniel Cay is a little over 300 miles and takes about two hours. We needed to stop at Congo Town on Andros Island to check into Bahamas customs, then it was a quick 30 minute flight on to Staniel Cay. Flying in the Bahamas is really cool! The water is beautiful colors of blues and greens and each island has its own interesting features. For anyone old enough to remember Fantasy Island on TV, you could not help but feel that you would be greeted by Mr. Roarke and Tattoo after landing.
When you arrive in Staniel Cay you are greeted by the staff of the Staniel Cay Yacht Club which is located near the airport. They were very friendly and offered to take us and our bags over to the yacht club, but Jon & Jen arrived to pick us up in their dinghy. There is a dinghy dock that is located about one hundred yards from the runway. If you have ever waited at a major airport cell phone lot to pick someone up from the airport, this will make you very jealous.
The small grocery store on the island is located in the pink building shown behind the dinghy dock. Selection of items is limited in the islands and it all depends on the mailboat schedule. Jon & Jen stopped by the store earlier in the day and bought some fresh vegetables, but the store was fairly bare as the mailboat was diverted that week to another island to supply a large sailing regatta. They also planned to buy some beer to stock up for our week on the boat, but at $85 a case, they decided we could drink from their rum stock on board. We will have more info on our search for beer in the Exumas in a later post.
Their boat was anchored on the west side of Big Major Cay. After a quick but slightly wet dinghy ride, we were getting settled on the boat. Their boat is a 46ft. Kelly Peterson, and it is in pristine condition. The center cockpit layout is very comfortable, and we slept great in the forward cabin.
Dingy ride to the boat
46ft. Kelly Peterson
Shortly after arriving on the boat, a line of storms started heading our way. The wind increased but we did not get any rain, and they soon passed. We were so excited to be in the Exumas that we did not care about the weather. We knew we would have plenty of sun as the week progressed.
Evening storm passing by our anchorage
Watch for our next post on our wild dinghy ride in the dark, the night life at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.
The Sailing Rode
The Sailing Road
