The Out Islands have long been a popular destination for sailors, sport fishermen and divers...

Entry into the Bahamas must be made at one of the official ports of entry. The Q flag should be flown within three miles of the port and no one should go ashore until pratique has been granted. Clearance must be done on arrival, and officers are on call at all hours. The Bahamas can be transited without clearing in until one arrives at a port of entry at a convenient time, but during transit one should not enter a port or go ashore.

On some of the outer islands, the customs officer may handle all formalities, but in Nassau and other larger ports both the customs and immigration officials must be seen. Officials should come to the yacht, but in smaller islands the captain will have to go ashore to find them. Crew must remain on board until clearance is completed. If clearing in at a marina, the marina personnel will call customs and immigration after arrival.

The islands that make up the Bahamas are generally low and flat. The highest point in the entire archipelago, on Cat Island, is just 206 feet above sea level. Except on Andros, the largest island of the chain, there are no rivers or streams. Apart from New Providence – where fresh water is shipped in daily from Andros, pumped from wells dug into the underlying rocks – fresh water is abundant.

Far away from the bustling streets and tourist attractions of Nassau and Freeport, the rest of the Bahamian population, some 40,000 people, pursue their everyday lives, fishing and farming, in sparsely settled little towns and villages from one end of the island chain to the other.

Each is a tiny land of dunes and rocks, sea grass, spider lilies, seagrape, mangrove, casuarina and palm. Each is a land of endless shores, tiny bays and rocky inlets, where the colorful families of the ocean live.