Rudder Cay to Emerald Bay Marina on Great Exuma.

By Capt. Scott Buckley

Location: Emerald Bay Exumas.

In order to enter Elizabeth Harbor at Georgetown it is required to enter Exuma Sound which is the ocean side of the Exuma chain.  Most of the sailing thru the Exumas thus far has been on the west or bank side of the islands.  They are short hops between islands in the relative protection of the islands.  There are a few openings or cuts thru the island that let you travel from the shallow bank side to the deeper Exuma sound side.  These cuts can be dangerous due to seas and tidal currents. 
When tidal currents are flowing out into an incoming sea the interaction of the seas and currents make this area very rough and the proximity of shoals and reefs on both sides of the cut make precise navigation a must.  Loss of power, proximity of other vessels and adverse weather can ruin a guys days.
 
From Farmers Cay there are a couple of options for getting to Georgetown.  Farmers Cut, Galliot Cut, Cave Cut and Rudder Cut.  Galliot cut is the preferred cut for large boats but based on the tied we opted for Rudder Cut.  There is a section of 4 ft depth but with the AM tide we never saw less than 7.5 feet all the way. 

Rudder Cut

Rudder Cut is a private island  owned by the magician David Copperfield so landing on the beach is prohibited but you can anchor and snorkel anywhere.  It was really pretty place to hole up before pushing onto Emerald Bay marina just 7 miles north of Georgetown.
 
We rowed around and snorkeled.
 

Emerald Bay

The next morning we pulled up the anchor and headed out of Rudder Cut to head south to Emerald Bay Marina where the slips were just 50 cents / foot.  We would stay there for the next front and then head down to Georgetown. 

We planned to be here for at least 3 or 4 days and we decided to have some fun while we were here.
The guys went fishing and the girls spent the day at the Sandal’s resort.
 

 
After our fun filled time at Emerald Bay we headed to the Bahama sailing ultimate destination…..coming soon on our next blog post.  Preview: Big waves, expensive goods and Chat N Chill fun……