Bahamas · The out islands
The highest point in the Bahamas, a hermitage on top, and nobody
Cat Island is fifty miles of empty beaches east of the Exumas with Mount Alvernia, all two hundred feet of it, and the stone hermitage a monk built on the summit. Eight-mile beaches, pink sand, rake-and-scrape music and no other boats. For the second visit, on ten days or more.
Where
Out islands, 40 nm east of the Exumas across the sound
Fly to
Nassau, then the yacht; New Bight (TBI) has a strip
Best months
December to April
Give it
A night or two on a ten-day trip
Known for
Mount Alvernia and the Hermitage, eight-mile beaches, rake and scrape
Water
Calm on the west coast, Atlantic on the east
Why go
Cat Island, honestly
Cat Island is the Bahamas before anyone arrived. Fifty miles long, two thousand people, a single road down the west coast, and beaches that run for miles without a footprint. Sidney Poitier grew up here. Rake-and-scrape music, played on a saw and a goatskin drum, still comes out of the bars at weekends.
The island’s odd landmark is Mount Alvernia, at two hundred and six feet the highest point in the Bahamas, with a hermitage on the summit that Father Jerome, an architect-turned-monk, built with his own hands in 1939. You climb the stations of the cross to a chapel the size of a cupboard and look out over both coasts.
We send people here on ten days or more, after the Exumas: across the sound from Great Exuma, two nights on the west coast, and on to Eleuthera or back. Never on a first week.
Where we anchor
The anchorages, in the order we use them
- New BightAnchorageBelow Mount Alvernia, with the hermitage path from the settlement.
- Fernandez BayAnchorageThe crescent of beach with the one resort, calm and shallow.
- Hawk’s NestMarinaThe southern tip, a small marina and airstrip, and the blue holes nearby.
- Orange CreekAnchorage, settled weatherThe northern end, miles of pink beach and a cave system inland.
Ashore
Cat Island off the boat
Not a directory. If it is here, we have sat at the table or stood at the bar.
Eat
Simple, fresh, friendly.
Fernandez Bay VillageDinner on the beach at the island’s one resort, honour bar.
The crew’s dinner on deckCat Island has few tables; the yacht is the restaurant.
Drink and dance
Rake and scrape, if you find it.
- A weekend bar in New BightA saw, a drum and an accordion. Ask the crew where it is on.
Stargazing on deckNo towns, no lights. The darkest sky in the Bahamas.
Do
The hermitage, the beaches, the blue holes.
- Climb to the HermitageFather Jerome’s hand-built monastery on Mount Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas.
Eight-mile beach walksPink sand at Orange Creek, white at Fernandez Bay, nobody on either.
Dive the blue holesInland and offshore holes near Hawk’s Nest.
Where it sits
Cat Island on the chart
Cat Island sits forty miles east of the Exumas across Exuma Sound and south of Eleuthera. Part of a ten-day loop after the Exumas, never a first week.
Drag to move. Double-click or ctrl-scroll to zoom.Zoom with the buttons, then drag to move.
When
When to be in Cat Island
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
- December to April: the season, with the west coast calm.
- Early June: the Rake and Scrape Festival at Arthur’s Town, if you are here late.
- The island is quiet all year; the few restaurants keep short hours.
- June to November: hurricane season.
Itineraries
Itineraries that call at Cat Island
Full plans, day by day, with the boat each one runs on. Send one to the people coming with you; we reshape it around your yacht and dates.
Yachts
Yachts in the Bahamas now
Anyone in the fleet can anchor off Fernandez Bay. Few do, which is the point.
CORAL OCEAN
Lürssen · 73m · 1994, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 28 crew
€650k – 790k
ESCAPE
Hatteras · 35m · 1995, refit 2023
9 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
US$55k – 65k
SOUTH
Heesen · 55m · 2012
12 guests | 6 cabins | 13 crew
US$320k – 350k
HANNAH
Westport · 34m · 2003, refit 2020
9 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
US$65k – 75k
Lady Joy
Christensen · 48m · 2007, refit 2025
12 guests | 6 cabins | 11 crew
US$199k – 225k
KASHMIR
Splendor · 41m · 2008, refit 2021
12 guests | 6 cabins | 7 crew
US$110k – 130k
LADY GRACE
Westport · 28m · 1996, refit 2025
6 guests | 3 cabins | 4 crew
US$35k – 40k
FAVOR
Crescent Yachts · 39m · 2000, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 6 crew
US$95k – 110k
TCB
Trinity Yachts · 50m · 2008, refit 2022
11 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$175k – 200k
MARY KATHLENE
Westport · 42m · 1989, refit 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 7 crew
US$85k – 95k
RELENTLESS
Trinity Yachts · 44m · 2001, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$150k – 173k
MISS STEPHANIE
Richmond Yachts · 42m · 2004, refit 2023
12 guests | 6 cabins | 8 crew
US$135k – 165k
INDIGO
Viking Yachts · 28m · 2019, refit 2024
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$58k – 75k
NAMASTE
Benetti · 37m · 2013, refit 2023
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$105k – 135k
MIDORI
Sunreef Yachts · 21m · 2016, refit 2026
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$45k – 48k
LEXINGTON
Horizon · 26m · 2006, refit 2024
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$45k – 55k
SEASCAPE V
Benetti · 44m · 2005, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$153k – 180k
Princess Mila
Fountaine Pajot · 20m · 2022
6 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
US$45k – 49k
PIER PRESSURE
Azimut · 27m · 2020, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 4 crew
US$70k – 80k
NORMAN'S T4
Sirena Yachts · 21m · 2022
6 guests | 3 cabins | 2 crew
US$35k – 40k
LADY ELAINE
Christensen · 50m · 2008, refit 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$200k – 225k
EMINA
Benetti · 42m · 2014, refit 2021
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$165k – 195k
NEVER ENOUGH
Feadship · 43m · 1992, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$110k – 127k
TOTAL
Mangusta (Overmarine) · 33m · 2006, refit 2020
9 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$60k – 65k
GAIL FORCE II
Hatteras · 24m · 2011, refit 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$35k – 40k
BG
Feadship · 47m · 1990, refit 2022
12 guests | 6 cabins | 10 crew
US$149k – 170k
A SALT WEAPON
Ocean Alexander · 35m · 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 6 crew
US$120k – 130k
MARGATE
Broward Marine · 34m · 1997, refit 2022
10 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$55k – 60k
NO BAD IDEAS
Trinity Yachts · 49m · 2000, refit 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$225k – 250k
NO SHORTCUTS
Westport · 34m · 2006, refit 2022
8 guests | 4 cabins | 6 crew
US$65k – 75k
LIMITLESS
Hargrave · 31m · 2010, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$55k – 62k
NOMADA
Mochi Craft · 24m · 2010, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$50k – 55k
INSIEME
Azimut · 32m · 2012, refit 2023
8 guests | 5 cabins | 4 crew
US$63k – 69k
KEFI
Christensen · 46m · 2005, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$175k – 195k
MEMENTO VIVERE
Westport · 40m · 2005, refit 2021
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$120k – 150k
CHANSON
Christensen · 37m · 1995, refit 2020
9 guests | 4 cabins | 6 crew
US$75k – 85k
SeaQuest
Christensen · 38m · 1999, refit 2025
10 guests | 5 cabins | 6 crew
US$85k – 98k
NEW LIFE
Lazzara · 28m · 2009, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$57k
STARSHIP 185'
Delta Marine · 56m · 2001, refit 2021
12 guests | 6 cabins | 11 crew
US$275k – 315k
SWEET ESCAPE
Christensen · 40m · 1993, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 8 crew
US$115k – 140k
BEACHFRONT II
Princess · 32m · 2012, refit 2023
10 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
US$80k – 95k
SEA AXIS
Heesen · 38m · 1988, refit 2026
12 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$105k – 135k
LADY J
Palmer Johnson · 43m · 1997, refit 2021
12 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
€109k – 119k
KING OF FUN
Northern Marine · 40m · 2005, refit 2022
10 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
US$120k – 138k
BEACHFRONT
Hargrave · 33m · 2006, refit 2022
10 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
US$65k – 90k
EROS
Custom Line · 37m · 2019, refit 2026
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$140k – 160k
CROSSED SABRE
Burger · 44m · 2006, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
US$175k – 195k
PLAYTIME
Lagoon · 20m · 2018, refit 2021
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
US$46k – 49k
48 yachts in rotation. The order changes with every visit so no boat is always last.
Questions we get asked
Cat Island, answered
Common questions
Is Cat Island worth visiting on a yacht charter?
On ten days or more, after the Exumas, yes: empty beaches, the hermitage, and the quietest anchorages in the Bahamas. Not on a first week.
What is the Hermitage?
A tiny stone monastery on Mount Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas at two hundred and six feet, built by hand in 1939 by Father Jerome, an architect who became a monk. A short climb from New Bight.
How do we get to Cat Island?
By yacht across Exuma Sound from Great Exuma, forty miles, or down from Eleuthera. New Bight has an airstrip for anyone joining.
What is rake and scrape?
The Bahamas’ folk music, played on a carpenter’s saw scraped with a knife, a goatskin drum and an accordion. Cat Island is its home, and the bars play it at weekends.
Want Cat Island in your week?
Tell us the dates and who is coming. We will say which nights to give it, which berth to hold, and whether the week you want is still open.