What experience do I need?

I plan to have frequently asked questions answered on this page soon, when further explanation comes in handy. We had someone recently ask us on Instagram the following:

"What kind of experience would be beneficial to have to do some of the tours?"

 First, we have a few types of tours:

1) Guided Kayaking (multi-day and half day)

2) Guided Sailing

3) Self-Guided Rentals

I will link and suggest places to get training and experience at the bottom of this post.

Guided Trips:

For starters, if you are going on one of our guided kayak trips, then you need very little experience. Kayaks are pretty easy to learn on the fly, and we will be right beside you to help with all aspects of the trips from packing, paddling, navigation and more.

Guided sailing trips are a little different. We design them so that you will be sailing your own sailboat, and we go along in the powerboat. To do this kind of trip you need at least one person on each sailboat with Skipper experience. You need a Skipper to:

-be the boss on the boat, this person calls the shots and should be able to single-handedly sail the boat or be able to give clear and direct instructions for the rest of the crew to assist them in sailing the boat

-man the tiller, you are responsible for knowing how to steer the boat, when & how to tack or jibe, when to reef the sails, when to raise and lower the leeboards, where to point the boat based on the wind, how to safely navigate the seas to avoid collision with rocks, boats, strong currents, docks, reefs, & other unforeseeable objects

-anchor the boat safely and securely at camp each night; the last thing you want is to wake up with a boat that is dragging into rocks or out to sea

If you really want to learn how to sail on a guided trip, then we will need to restructure the trip so that you have a guide with you in the sailboat. This kind of trip may vary slightly from a regular trip.

Self-Guided Rentals: 

Whether you are going out paddling or sailing for a few hours, or going out for a week or longer, if you are doing a self-guided rental, you need a little more experience. You will be responsible for the safety of the gear, securing it at the beaches, navigating safely, and so forth. If you break it due to misuse then you are responsible for paying the cost of replacement.  And just FYI, to get things to the island we pay:

the cost of the item + shipping to the boat (in FL)+ shipping on the boat (or plane) + a brokerage fee + a customs fee + a duty tax= the big fat total

So you are pretty much guaranteed to pay double the retail cost of anything you buy in the States or Canada. Example double kayak, about $4,000 {yikes}.

More importantly, however, is the safety of YOURSELF and YOUR GROUP! You need to be able to paddle or sail safely, navigate areas (read the chartbooks and/or compass), make smart decisions on areas to avoid and waters that are unsafe, and be able to use your head out there. For instance, if there's a big crossing on the chart that you know is coming up, and there's no where to get out of your kayak along the way, you need to judge the weather, tide, and currents accurately to insure the safety of your group. Or if you get out there, and it's too rough, be smart enough to know that maybe you should turn around and head back instead of pressing onward, just to be safe!

Most areas that you are paddling and sailing in are pretty mild and easy going, however, there are some areas that you can get in trouble really quickly if you aren't smart. We will do our best to go over all these areas with you on the chartbooks before you head out, but it is your job to listen and make the calls out there. And there will be some instances that we cannot foresee that you need to be prepared for. Your safety is the most important thing out there to us. Gear can be replaced, it may be expensive and it may cost you extra if you damage things, but it can be replaced. You obviously can't! Be comfortable with your responsibility and have confidence in your skills so that you have one less hurdle to overcome out there.

On a physical note however, if you're signing up for a week long kayak, sailing and/or camping trip, it might be a good idea to put some time in on the water. Loosen up those muscles and make sure you won't be too sore while you're out there. A little soreness is a sign of a good trip ;)

For training and instruction, you can always go to a local outfitter and get some time paddling, familiarizing yourself with being in a kayak and floating around. A loaded kayak will be a lot less tipsy than an empty one... so keep that in mind. We can also recommend organizations such as ACA (American Canoe Association) for training and certification--if you want to go that route, or ASA (American Sailing Association) for sailing.

If you know of a great paddling or sailing club in your area, could you please leave notes for others in the comments here?

I hope this helps to explain what kind of experience you need to do one of our trips! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to comment, email (goexuma@outislandexplorers.com) or call us (242-336-2246)!

Exuma Park vs. the Southern Exuma Cays-- Which Option is Best for Your Trip?

So you’re thinking of visiting the Exumas to do some paddling, sailing or sightseeing.  When you look almost anywhere online for information you are finding a lot of information about two things: the swimming pigs and the Exuma Land & Sea Park (ELSP).  

Big Majors Spot/Swimming Pigs (near the park)

Because of the overwhelming information on these two subjects a lot of people have the impression that the Staniel Cay/Land & Sea Park area is where all the paddling is done in Exuma.  The truth is, the Staniel Cay area is a very small part of the entire Exuma Cays.  And the entire Exuma Cays chain offers many hidden secrets and fantastic adventure opportunities just waiting to be explored.  

Bock Cay area (Southern Cays)

For the purposes of this post I will be referring to the cays that stretch from Barraterre to Big Famers Cay as The Southern Cays,  and the area from Staniel Cay to Warderick Wells as The Park.  

First, the stats:

The southern cays cover an area of 25 miles, host about 40 cays, and one Bahamian Settlement - Little Farmers Cay.  Of the 40 cays, 21 are private or leased, 10 are developed.

Normans Pond Cay (Southern Cays)

The park covers an area of about 40 miles, host about 35 cays, and one Bahamian Settlement - Staniel Cay.  Of the 35 cays, 21 are private or leased and 18 are developed.  

Big Majors Spot/Swimming Pigs (near the park)

By rough estimates, the southern cays are 52% private and the park is 60% private.  

But what is the most important aspect of a peaceful kayaking vacation?  Seclusion.  The most frequent thing we hear from people reaching out to us about paddling in the Exumas is “We want to be somewhere isolated.  Somewhere where we will not see a lot of people and boats.  We want to be on our own.”

Brigantine Cays (Southern Cays)

The development in the cays is what most people are wanting to avoid. You are looking for your own uninhabited cay to call your own, with nobody else around.

The Southern Cays are 25% developed.

The Park is 51% developed.

So why is the Staniel Cay/Park area so popular?  We may not be able to fully answer that question, but if I were to guess I would say a large reason would be the massive increase in the Swimming Pigs popularity.  Although the pigs have been on Big Majors Spot for over 20 years, it certainly seems that their popularity has skyrocketed in the last few years, probably because of the increase in social media and the influx of easily accessible pictures on the web.  In my opinion, coming to The Exumas Cays just to see the pigs would be like going to watch a movie and walking out after the previews and missing the feature presentation.  Except to even get into this movie you have to navigate past about 50 anchored boats, dodge jet skis and tour boats, and share the pig beach with a few dozen other people.  

Does that sound relaxing and isolated?

Compass Cay (edge of park)

 The second reason for the popularity of the Staniel Cay area: The Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park.  Now when you hear of a national park that is protected from fishing and development you think of endless deserted beaches, no houses, and coral reefs teeming with fish and wildlife.  And usually you would be right.  

While the ELSP (Exuma Land & Sea Park) was the first national park in the country and the protection it has provided for the fishing population is to be applauded, it is also the center of much hypocrisy and governemnt greed and is therefore almost 50% privately owned.  The paddling area of the park stretches from Cambridge Cay in the South to Warderick Wells mid way up the park. 

Inside Rocky Dundas (at the very edge of the park)

 Anything farther than that forces the paddler to cross “The Wide Opening” which can be a dangerous paddle, and forces them far far north into the cays where help is even farther away and you are probably closer to Nassau than Exuma.  That leaves paddlers with an area consisting of 10 cays to explore: Cambridge Cay, Bell Island, O’briens Cay, Soldier Cay, Pasture Cay, Little Halls Pond, Halls Pond Cay, Osprey Cay, White Bay Cay, and Warderick Wells.  Of those 10 cays you can camp on 3, Cambridge, O’Briens, and Warderick.  Of the remaining 7 cays, 6 are private and developed and one is inhabited by iguanas and landing is prohibited.  White Bay Cay actually has a resort being built on it!  The ELSP also requires park fees for camping and campfires are prohibited.  

Diving near the Sea Aquarium in the park

Are you are looking for a quiet area to paddle?  With such a high percentage of developed islands and lack of camping options, how can that area be the park?

Lets compare the Southern Cays.

The general paddling area for the southern cays is from Rolleville to Normans Pond Cay.  This area consists of 21 cays, 12 are campable, 3 are developed.  So based on the area you will actually be paddling in the Southern Cays vs. the park, the southern cays are 57% campable vs the park which is only 30%.  

The southen cays are also only 14% developed vs 60% in the park.  Based on these stats you are far less likely to run into another person while paddling in the southern cays.  There is also the issue of price.  Transportation to Staniel Cay from Barraterre for two starts at $1000 one way and goes up depending on how far past Staniel you want to go.  So if you add on the park fees of $5 per person per night, a two person two single kayak rental goes from $680 in the Southern Cays to $2730 for a paddle in the ELSP.  

Big Farmers Cay (Southern Cays)

When it’s all said and done, is a rental that is 4 times more expensive, has a significant increase in traffic and development, and generally a more difficult trip to organize, worth it to see the swimming pigs??

And here’s a little known secret...there are swimming pigs in the southern cays as well!  

Liter of baby* pigs just across from Rolleville on Great Exuma (Southern Cays)

*Disclaimer: the baby pigs do not stay this cute and tiny!

Feel free to ask any questions below that you would like to hear answered that you might think others would like to know as well. We're happy to discuss this issue further because it is a hot topic in our inquiries :) We hope this has been helpful to some of you out there!

Haven Raising the Bar High

 I (Tamara) recently returned from my first Haven Conference! Dallas surprised me with a trip off the island to go to this conference for my birthday back in January, so I've been counting down the weeks & days since then.

 It wasn't a kayaking, sailing, camping conference by any means, and I got a few interesting looks when I was asked what I blog about or where I'm coming from. Of course, saying I'm from the Bahamas was a big hit with most folks, but beyond that I was pretty much lost in the crowd. It gave me a chance to meet up with a lot of DIY bloggers that I really enjoy following. Living in Exuma has definitely pushed me to the DIY field and in that field you have so many incredibly talented people to learn from and follow on their blogs. I am so thankful that I can't just go out to a store and buy things that I need. I don't know that I would do as much stuff on my own if I could get it so easily, but now that I'm used to doing things on my own... I can't won't go back! I do have the occasional envy for a nice box store to get things at much lower prices or to be able to find the parts and pieces we need... but that just adds to the challenge of things!

One of my favorite bloggers is the very talented Ana White (above). She is a huge reason why I love woodworking and building my own furniture. Who knew that was even a hobby I would enjoy, but it comes in so very handy down here. She's a very sweet lady, and it was very nice meeting her in person, along with many other people in this field. 

I had hopes of taking away something, anything, beneficial from the conference that I could implement into our company so that I didn't feel quite so guilty for going away and having a luxurious weekend getaway. And boy did I! I learned tons of tips on generating more followers on Facebook and Instagram, which will in turn hopefully lead more people to our website and eventually more people coming down to to trips with us. Google Analytics which is a science all on its own, but a very handy tool that helps you reach your target audience. Working with sponsors and brands to test their gear and write about it, which I would LOVE to be a part of in some form or fashion. Need some kayaks tested? How about some new sunglasses? What about a new boat paint? Or a modified camping stove and pot set? How about some paint for a new piece of furniture I just finished? You get the idea... I'm all ears for working with and talking to brands for relationships like this. This and much more (including a sweet bag full of SWAG!) was some of the stuff I took away from the conference!

 The workshops were great, and they had some awesome hands on experiences as well. My favorite workshop was painting with Amy Howard of the Amy Howard at Home. I honestly didn't know much about this lady or her brand before this conference, but she was a very pleasant surprise!

 The workshop was on the paint finish for this piece of trim below, but we also got a copy of her awesome book and heard part of her story and history, which I could say more accurately as part of her testimony. What a fascinating and inspiring lady! If you are interested in pursuing your creative dreams at all and trying to make it your life's work and career... Please grab a copy of her book. You won't regret it. This is not an affiliate post or link in any way... just out of respect for a job well done!

 After being away from my little island boys for a week and a half (I went to see my sister and nephews in Vegas as well), I was more than ready to get back home. I left the conference feeling very encouraged and inspired to really make our little company into something more. If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, then you have seen increased activity over the last week that I've been home. We have a mission, and Lord willing, we're not gonna quit until we get there :) 

 We hope to turn this blog into an area that deals with our kayaking, sailing, camping, DIY and island living all in one spot. We plan to share with you our many, many DIY projects for all our interests (Kayak, sailboat & trailer repairs, painting, building, etc). We would love to have you along for the ride. At the very least, I can promise you won't be bored if you hang out with us ;) 

61st National Family Island Regatta

I have already posted a ton of photos on our FB page for the 2014 National Family Island Regatta so if you'd like to see more of this stuff, feel free to check them out there. I'm trying to stick with my goal to be a better blogger, so I'm documenting it here as well :) Just may not cover everything I did with all the pictures.

 We had a wonderful time in Regatta this year being involved with the Junior Sailing for the first time. The kids did great, and now we know what we can work on and areas we can target for next year. It's just fun being a part of something that helps us become more a part of this wonderful community. 

 I felt like I could actually CHEER on a few boats this year because I was more familiar with the crews and the boats Dallas has been racing with in all the C Class races throughout the year. A lot of the guys all sail together in the various classes. For instance, this boat below, Lady Sonia (who swept the B Class races by the way) is a guy from Exuma that also sails a C class boat call Bul Reg. We have sailed again Bul Reg many times this last year that Dallas has been sailing on Two Friends.

 Like any competitions... it's way more fun to feel a connection to the team that you're pulling for. Marky, pictured below, is our neighbor. His grandfather is our landlord, and I'm trying to talk our boys into sailing with him next year ;) We'll see how it goes! He finished very well. 4th place overall in the Junior Class! 

 The weather was definitely 'not ideal' for the week. We had really low winds, down to 1-2 mph on a few days and scattered rain, but somehow they still managed to pull it off. It has definitely made me appreciate when we get a good, strong and steady breeze to race with. 

 The A Class boats are always a beauty to watch racing around the harbor. I'm still not really 'connected' to one of these yet. The go-to boat to cheer for from Exuma is Tida Wave from Staniel Cay. They are really fun to watch for sure, so for now... that's who I'm pulling for. They are Exuma afterall. Man, it would be so fun to have a George Town boat though!

 Maybe one day...the races are over for now, but not for long. Dallas is getting pumped about being able to sail his own C Class boat that a guy is letting him Skipper from his fleet. The end of May will bring the Barraterre Regatta for C Class.... that'll be his premiere on that boat if all goes well. {fingers crossed} He missed being on a boat during the bigger races, but we still had fun. 

More from us soon....

ASA 2014-- That's a wrap folks!

 Dallas is officially back home as I type this :) These are a few of his photos from the week. He'll be putting together a video soon for the trip too. I thought it might be fun (or exhausting) to hear how we wrap things up at the end of trips like this from our perspective. If nothing else it'll be fun to look back on a few decades down the road when we can say, "man, no wonder we feel worn out these days" :) 

 For Dallas, his day started around 6:50am with Tazy up in Staniel Cay. They got up, jumped in the boat and started their long tow back to Great Exuma. Today we had some very strong winds, around 20 mph straight down the cays, so he didn't really have a leeward side of the islands to stay on to make it easier on him. Straight in his face the whole time. It was a very wet and bumpy ride for the two of them. Two snapped tow ropes + big waves + boats that don't want to stay in a straight line + 5.5 hours later= meeting me out in Barraterre. 

Our pilot from Staniel Cay, John Chamberlain always looks for Dallas and the boat when flying our guests back and tries to buzz them when they fly by!

Rewind a bit for my start of the day. My boys and I get up and get going...nice and slow at first, just the way we like it. I load up our little car with all the luggage from all the guests that got stored with us for the week. For 11 people, it really wasn't that much, but it just barely fit in my little car. The boys and I looked like little clowns driving around. 

{Side note- just to give you the full picture: as I'm pulling out of my driveway, I forget something inside, jump out, go get it, jump back in, forget one more thing from the work shed, jump out, go get it, climb back in, shoo my crazy little dog out of the car 2 different times, and then finally we're underway, get to the end of our main road and stop to dump the garbage and who is there, but my crazy little dog. Have to take her back and make sure she stays this time... THEN, we are finally going.} 

 I went to pick up a suburban that the Exuma Foundation let us borrow since our truck is still down (going on 3-4 weeks now). I switched the luggage from the little clown car to the big ole "Sore-bin" as my boys call it, and headed for the airport to meet our first round of guests. The plane can only carry about 5-6 at a time, so we had to do 2 flights for the group. Met the first group at the private terminal, gave them t-shirts, did the luggage shuffle, and shuttled them just around the corner to the airport to wait for their outbound flight. Said my good-byes to the group and then "rinse & repeat" for the second flight. Some folks on this flight were staying an extra night and Dallas said his tow-back was going super slow, so I had time to run them into town to their hotel before heading out to meet Dallas and Tazy at the other end of the island in Barraterre. 

Steve giving Carrie a turn with the sexton to pinpoint their position on this beautiful place called Earth!

 On the drive out to Barraterre, my boys have a blast playing their games on the phone and iPad. It buys me a bit of sanity, and there's only so many times we can play I-spy on a route we do so often. We stopped to pick up a lady with her two little girls that needed a ride (hitch hiking is just a way of getting around down here), and the boys had a blast talking to them :) 

 I made it out to Barraterre about 40 minutes after leaving the airport, grabbed a sea pearl trailer from the guy out there that lets us store things in his yard and head over for the ramp. As I'm reversing the trailer down the ramp, Dallas pulls up with the boats. PERFECT TIMING!

 We had a little glitch with the 'sore-bin' while towing the first boat out of the water, so "who ya gonna call?" MY DADDY! This man knows his way around cars. He told us exactly what to check and how to fix it, and we did. Thanks Again, Dad!!! ;) Now that we were back on track, we finish towing the boat out, haul it down the road to the storage yard, rinse the trailer with fresh water and pick-up the next trailer to get the 2 boat. Repeat this process 4 times and we're done getting all the boats out. Each boat coming out takes a load of gear out of the powerboat too to lighten Dallas' haul on the final stretch of his trip. Once the final boat is out, that one stays hitched up and I start driving back home as Dallas and Tazy drive the boat the final stretch home as well. 

 This particular tow back day, we ended on the beach right by our house with the powerboat. We plan to take it to regatta a lot this week so it's easier to just leave it here instead of in town in the middle of the crowds. So, once we're home the car gets emptied of all the gear, then we drive down to the beach, load it up again, drive to our house, unload, drive back down, load it up again, then drive back to our house and unload the finally bit of gear. There are two big piles of gear in the yard and driveway to be cleaned and put away... then over this next week as we're going out to Barraterre to launch kayakers and such we'll pick up the remaining boats one by one and bring them back home. 

The cleaning gets saved for tomorrow... Dallas, Tazy & myself are all about to drop where we stand and are slab-dab-worn-out after a long, hard, but good day's work! Eye-yi-yiiii, that's probably way more info that you really wanted to hear, but it's part of it :) 

Hoping to keep at the blogging better now, this week has been fun! Feel free to comment and leave a note if there's anything in particular you'd like to see us post on here sometime. Thanks again for following!

ASA 2014-Final day of sailing...

Osprey Cay, Exuma

  This morning our sailors woke up on their final morning to the sounds of the waves crashing on the beach, mere feet from their tent, wind rushing through the palm fronds and sand hiding in places they didn't even know existed.

 The wind came out strong today, blowing around 20 mph. According to Dallas, the sailors loved the extra boost it provided. They had a little race to the pigs I believe. When one of them landed on the beach, I believe she exclaimed, "That was the best sail ever!" It is way more fun to sail these boats rather than drift in them ;)

A visit to these crazy swimming pigs is always on the schedule of events for this day of the trip. As is a trip the Thunderball Grotto, a really cool place to snorkel! 

The group then heads over to the nearby island of Staniel Cay. Once here, they make their way to Isles Inn run by the sweet Vivian Rolle. This is where the group stays their night in Staniel Cay. As all the guest go enjoy some long hot showers and cool air conditioning, Dallas and Tazy work to get the boats and gear all secure and ready for their tow back home Saturday morning. 

 What's in that box?

Breakfast: Oatmeal & fruit

Lunch: Salami, hummus, cheese, crackers, fruits & veggies

Dinner: at a local place on Staniel Cay

They enjoyed one final group dinner at a little local restaurant on the island. Then everyone is usually pretty ready for a bed out of the sand :) 

In a few shorts hours, Dallas & Tazy begin their trek back to Great Exuma to meet me up in Barraterre to start our clean-up process from the trip. All the boats & gear come out of the water and get towed back down the island where they are all cleaned and prepped to go back out again. This is the not so fun part about it all, but it's like dish duty after a yummy meal ;)

Meanwhile, the guests are all being flown back from Staniel Cay to Great Exuma on a little 6 seater charter plane. The flight takes about 20 minutes. They usually try to find Dallas with his trail of boats and buzz him from the air. I'll meet them all at the airport with their luggage they left with us and souvenir t-shrits. Then we say our farewells and hope everyone had a fantastic time. Dallas has been raving about what a great group this has been, so hopefully they all feel the same. 

Thanks for following along with me. I know it hasn't been super detailed, but until he gets home, I don't even get to hear all the fun stories out there myself. He's taken lots of footage in plans for another amazing video of his (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqEWk-e3J_c2PSP7Bm7BL_w) for the trip... stay tuned for more!

ASA Flotilla 2014- Days 4 & 5

Bitter Guana Cay, Exuma -Bahamas

 Welcome back to our recap of this year's ASA Flotilla. At least, the recap given to me over brief phone calls each night. It never fails that when Dallas is out on his trips, his cell phone goes on the fritz. It's always hard to hear him, and usually it cuts out here and there and makes actual conversations with him pretty frustrating. So we have gotten into the habit of asking the important questions first "Is everyone okay? Any gear mishaps? Weather update? Is all the food making it?" and if we get through all those questions without losing service then we're doing good :)  

 On Wednesday, the group took the day sailing from Big Farmer's Cay to Bitter Guana Cay. The winds were really light, so this particular day was very slow going. They had plenty of beautiful sunshine to pass their time. 

What's in that Box for Wednesday?

Breakfast: Egg Wraps & fruit

Lunch: Tuna wraps & fruit

Appetizer: Salad

Dinner: Homemade Spaghetti

Dessert: Snickerdoodle cookies

photo from 2011 ASA flotilla

 After their stay on Bitter Guana Cay, where their island neighbors were the rock iguanas, they woke up to strong winds and another sunny day. They sailed a few miles above Staniel Cay to Twin Cays for lunch and to starting setting camp for the night. 

After lunch, they headed up in to Compass Cay to swim with the sharks and then on up into the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park for some snorkeling. 

What's in that box for Thursday?

Thursday was good day for breakfast for sure. The group got to enjoy Coconut French Toast. They picked up the coconut bread from our sweet baker in Black  Point on Wednesday while passing through. YUMMY!!!!!

Lunch: egg salad sandwiches

Appetizer: Homemade Spinach-Artichoke Dip with toasts & crackers

Dinner: BBQ Chicken (they weren't able to get the fresh catch unfortunately--no fish were biting), mashed potatoes & broccoli

Dessert: Pecan Tassies ( a dessert I make that Tazy loves for his birthday_

Tonight they are camping on Twin Cay. The photo above was taking on that cay when we took out boys camping for the first time. I'll always have a fond memory of it. Dallas said the wind is howling out there right now, and keeping the bugs away quite nicely! 

On a side note, George Town, or The Bahamas is preparing for their 61st Sloop Sailing Regatta in George Town. It's crazy around town right now, but it'll only be around for a short time, then we'll have our calm, quiet and peaceful island back ;) 

Hope you're enjoying following along a bit!

(PS-- please excuse random typos or incoherent sentences... it's after 1:00AM... my eyes are getting heavy")