Loela

Bahamas Attitude

After the Grenadines (MW202), there was the Lesser Antilles, then the BVI. The crew of Loela continue their Atlantic voyage and this month tell us about their paradise-like stopover in the Bahamas.

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Publié le 25/09/2025

Par Gilles Ruffet

Numéro : 204

Parution : Nov. / Dec. 2025

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Who: The 3M3A: Antoine & Magali, Arthur, Alice, Martin, Mathilde.
Where: The Bahamas
Multihull: Outremer 45 (the catamaran is for sale)
Blog : www.sailingloela.fr

After leaving the Turks and Caicos behind us yesterday in the early morning, we gybed towards the passage between Christopher Columbus Bank and the southernmost island of the archipelago, Little Ragged Island. Some while later, in the middle of the afternoon, we cautiously start the engines to cover the last ten miles to reach the shelter of the islands, in waters 6 to 15 feet (2 to 5 meters) deep. The colors are magical. We entered the turquoise waters stretching as far as the eye could see, and we were still not very comfortable navigating in this gigantic shallow pool, where the depths and dangers could be “read” by the color of the water. A few weeks later, we didn’t hesitate to sail at 12 knots under gennaker in even shallower water than today! It is always amazing to see how experience allows us to do more... We anchor off Hog Cay, with its small hut covered with leaves, which serves as a meeting point for passing sailors. Although the breeze outside is still blowing at around 20 knots, we are perfectly sheltered from the wind and even better from the waves. The beach stretching out in front of us is what we imagine the Bahamas to be: golden sand on a completely calm turquoise sea. The hut is furnished with tables and chairs built or left behind by previous crews and, above all, it is decorated with a multitude of signs made by the boats that have passed through here. We disembark with our painting equipment to make our mark. Alice picks up a piece of wood on the beach. And we all set about decorating the wood in the colors of Loela. Then we sail to Racoon Cay and Flamingo Cay to end our few days in the Ragged Islands archipelago. We now set our bows towards the Exumas. We anchor off Bitter Guana Cay. From the catamaran, we can already see the pink iguanas of the Bahamas. A shark swims around the boat and we avoid swimming, as we have already encountered some rather aggressive bull sharks at Ragged Island. So, we approach in the dinghy. As soon as we put the dinghy on the sand, iguanas rush towards us. Tourists are probably used to feeding them - in theory, this is prohibited in the reserve. We can get very close to observe them: they look like little dinosaurs. They don’t seem shy, they even seem interested, but their interest quickly wanes when they realize we have nothing to give them. The pattern repeats itself with every group of iguanas we encounter as we walk along the beach. We change anchorage; the wind is very light but just right for Loela. We glide quietly southward over the sandbanks, which are only 6 to 12 feet (2 to 4 meters) deep. We sail under gennaker on the flat sea. We pass another Outremer, whose crew later sends us photos of Loela under sail. Then we anchor off to the Musha sandbank. It is a vast expanse of white sand covered with only 12 to 18 inches (30 to 50 cm) of water. The colors are absolutely magnificent. Shortly after low tide, we put the dinghy on the edge of the bank and walk in the water on the white sand, collecting sand dollars. These are the skeletons of flat sea urchins. They lie on the surface of the sand. We find so many that the children have fun throwing them like Frisbees. We walk to the mushroom rock that rises above the sand. We come across a ballet of two rays and surprise a long-legged crab dancing. The water is so clear that we can see almost everything below. It’s a magical feeling! On the other side of the bay, we discover a plane wreck. We put on our fins, masks, and snorkels and go to admire the corals and fish that have repopulated the remains of the aircraft. There are all kinds. The sun is setting and it’s already time to head back. The night will be very calm with no waves to rock us. We are alone in the middle of the turquoise water. The next day, we wake up in the middle of a huge swimming pool, the water is so clear and smooth. We start the day with a swim. We laze around like it’s Sunday. We then motor a few miles to Rudder Cut Cay to take advantage of the low tide and explore other wonders. We anchor in front of this private island, where signs indicate that it’s forbidden to go ashore. We put on our wetsuits to dive and as we climb into the dinghy, we discover a nurse shark that has taken up residence in the shadow of Loela. Arthur goes down to observe it underwater a few feet away. It does not seem frightened or aggressive at all. A few hundred feet from the boat, we discover the submerged sculpture of a mermaid at the piano. A little further on, we admire the coral reef: it is a veritable garden with corals of all shapes and colors and multicolored fish. A nurse shark patrols peacefully. It is impressive but not at all aggressive. Arthur and Alice follow it for a short distance. We can now say we’ve swum with sharks! We loved our week in the Exumas with the incredible landscapes above and below the water. We’re starry-eyed with it all!