Staniel Cay to Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas - Via Dotham Cut

The term ‘cruising’ always sounds so laid-back. In reality, there is quite a bit of adrenaline involved. Larry certainly had his fill on the excursion out the Dotham Cut, then followed by the entrance to Emerald Bay Marina. I’ll start with the cut. A Cut is the term used for a break in the Cay or Island chain where you can pass from The Great Bahama Bank to the Exuma Sound and vice versa. What makes it interesting is that there is so much water passing through such a small opening that the currents and conditions can sometimes be quite treacherous. In addition, all that water moves and deposits sand into sand bars and shallow spots that you need to know in advance, so you can avoid said spots. On the way to Dotham we avoid the shallows by going out of our way and around them. When the cut came into view I really could not believe how small it looked and how rough the water appeared as it rushed the gap. I guess that is why that area is also called “White Horses”, as in white-capped waves. Larry entered the cut with a good throttle and continued to plow through the six to seven footers that were breaking very close together providing quite a bouncy ride out to the Exuma Sound. We had thought the wind might calm on this side but no such luck. A few hours later we make it to the entrance of the Emerald Marina (46NM) and once again find a very tiny opening with choppy wave sets that we will have to take on the beam. Larry again throttles and crab/surfs his way through the waves and then powers through the opening into the more protected waters of the marina. Now to wash the boat…again!

We avoid that pretty blue water where it is very shallow

That tiny opening in the middle of the image is Dotham Cut

This looks a little more like it…but still doesn’t fully capture the size nor the impact

Larry does a great job varying the throttle to reduce the impact in and pitching

Love the clouds that reflect the green of the water

The tiny opening of Emerald Bay Marina above Larry’s right ear

Again, it is very hard to capture the sideways surfing of the boat while keeping forward motion to power through the current and waves into the marina opening…of course there are no channel markers

Our friends The Porter’s are coming to visit Great Exuma and this is where they will be staying, Paradise Inn

The beach at Paradise Inn on Paradise Bay

A relative of the agave, this plant was used for hemp by local sailors back in the day

Larry always likes a corner seat and a cold one…the view is pretty good too