Sail New Providence.

New Providence is a starting line more than a destination. Nassau harbour is a working port — cruise ships alongside, mailboats, jet skis off the town beaches. The reason to board here sits 35nm south-east: the Exuma chain, a hundred-odd cays in 3m of water over white sand, most of them empty midweek.

Set your expectations right. This is not the eastern Caribbean. You are not reaching between volcanic islands in 20 knots of trade wind; you are working shallow bank water where the bottom is visible all day and the navigation is done with your eyes. The trade is a busy first night in exchange for a short hop to some of the clearest water in the Atlantic, off an airport with direct flights from Florida, New York and London.

Three directions from here. South-east are the Exumas: Allen's Cay, Highbourne, Norman's, Shroud, Warderick Wells, Staniel. Bank on one side, ocean on the other, cuts between the cays where the tide runs hard. This is where most weeks go, and rightly.

North-west, across the Tongue of the Ocean, are the Berry Islands — Chub Cay, Great Harbour Cay — quieter, thinner on anchorages, better if you have sailed the Exumas already. East lies Eleuthera and Spanish Wells: a longer beat in the trades, and best sailed as part of a one-way rather than squeezed into a return week.

Navigation is visual. Depths change by the metre, the Yellow Bank between Nassau and the Exumas is scattered with coral heads, and you want the sun high and behind you to read them. That single fact shapes the whole week: leave in the morning, not the afternoon. The cuts run at 3 knots on a spring tide, so transits get timed rather than guessed.

Nassau Harbour sits between the island and Paradise Island, bridges at the western end, harbour control on VHF 16 — you call before entering or transiting. Fuel, chandlery, spares, banks and a hospital are all here, and none of that exists in the Exumas. Fill the boat before you go.

Palm Cay Marina, on the south-east corner of the island, is the better place to start. Protected basin, showers and a pool ashore, and it puts you on the Exuma side without the harbour transit. The entrance channel is marked but shallow; deeper-draught boats work the tide.

Boats sail from New Providence in the March-to-September window. March and April still catch the tail of the winter fronts: north-east to east at 15-20 knots, a northerly clock through for a day or two as a front comes down, then settled again. Good sailing if you do not mind sitting out a day in a lee.

May and June are the sweet spot — east to south-east at 10-15 knots, long settled spells, water in the high twenties Celsius. July and August go light and hot: 8-12 knots, and afternoon thunderstorms that build over Andros and blow through inside an hour.

Said plainly: hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November and the risk is real from August. Systems are forecast days out and charters are moved around them, but if you want certainty, sail in spring.

The boats sailing from New Providence in this window are crewed — captain aboard, catering depending on the boat. Crew details on request. Crewed suits this ground: the banks reward someone who has read this water before, and the tidal cuts are not the place to learn eyeball pilotage.

Bareboat is not offered from New Providence in this window. If bareboat is what you want, message us on WhatsApp and we will tell you which of our bases actually has it, rather than talk you into the wrong boat.

Shoal draught earns its keep in the Bahamas. Anything drawing much under 1.2m opens anchorages a deeper keel has to admire from a mile off.

Crewed weeks are quoted per boat, not per person, and the figure moves with size, cabins and dates. Price on request for the boat itself — send us dates and crew numbers on WhatsApp and we will come back with a real number instead of a range you then have to argue down.

For budgeting: crewed charters in the Bahamas generally start around €15,000 a week and run past €30,000 for larger boats. Most are quoted plus an advance provisioning allowance covering food, fuel and dockage, with crew gratuity separate.

Two costs people forget. The Bahamas charges entry and cruising fees on arrival by sea and the rates were revised recently, so confirm what is and is not included before you book. The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park charges for its mooring balls, and marina nights around Nassau are not cheap by Caribbean standards.

Day 1 — Board at Palm Cay, provision, night in the basin. Dinner ashore.

Day 2 — Cross the Yellow Bank with the sun up, 35nm to Allen's Cay or Highbourne. Iguanas on the beach at Allen's; keep your hands to yourself.

Day 3 — Norman's Cay. Snorkel the sunken smuggler's aircraft in 3m off the beach, then anchor clear of the cut.

Day 4 — Shroud Cay. Dinghy up the mangrove creek on a rising tide and walk up to Camp Driftwood for the view over the bank.

Day 5 — Warderick Wells. Park mooring field, the hike up Boo Boo Hill, and no fishing anywhere inside the park boundary.

Day 6 — Staniel Cay if the forecast is settled: Thunderball Grotto at slack water, pigs at Big Major's Spot.

Day 7 — North to Palm Cay. Be honest about the miles — Staniel is roughly 75nm from home, so that is a long day or a pre-dawn start. Weeks that turn at Warderick come back unhurried.

Lynden Pindling International (NAS) is 35 to 50 minutes from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, a couple of hours from the US north-east, and around 9 hours direct from London. Taxi fares are set by zone — agree the fare before you get in. Palm Cay is 30 to 40 minutes from the terminal.

Flying home to the United States you clear American immigration at Nassau before departure, so leave time on the last morning. Provisioning is good but pricier than Florida, since most of it arrives by ship; plenty of crews bring their own coffee and reef-safe sunscreen.

Right for families, first-time crewed charterers, and anyone who cares more about water clarity than nightlife. Less right for sailors after long passages, big breeze, or a harbour town to walk around every evening.