Can we visit the Exumas in a seven-day charter without spending the vacation cruising?
Ask the captain to budget time before approving the list of stops. Our recommendation is to compare two plans: one beginning near the desired cruising area and another requiring more yacht transit or repositioning.
- Do not treat every named anchorage as pre-booked.
Request a route table with:
- Each leg’s navigable distance.
- Realistic planned speed, rather than maximum speed.
- Expected passage time.
- Time needed for tender transfers and shore activities.
- Fuel assumptions.
- Weather alternatives and the return-to-airport plan.
A simple illustration shows why this matters: 60 nautical miles at 12 knots equals five hours underway, before allowances for maneuvering or other delays. A return passage of the same distance makes ten hours. This is arithmetic, not a proposed navigational route.
Set a family-approved cruising-time preference and ask the captain what it permits. If the proposed itinerary exceeds it, choose among fewer stops, different embarkation, a longer charter or a different yacht.
Do not treat every named anchorage as pre-booked. Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park states that paying in advance does not reserve a mooring and that it does not accept reservations. (bnt.bs)
The approval document should distinguish desired experiences from confirmed arrangements and weather-dependent possibilities.