Staniel Cay - Sailing Adventure - Boat Charter - Yacht Charter Bahamas

Northern
Exuma Cays
Staniel Cay

Most of the action on Staniel Cay centers around the friendly Staniel Cay Yacht Club, where yachters and landlubbers alike stay, dine, and congregate. Our crew will take you to some of the uninhabited islets nearby, see marine life like nurse sharks, and visit with the famous "swimming pigs" of Big Major Cay, which paddle out to sea in hopes of getting a handout from sailors. Thunderball Grotto, a natural fishbowl, is featured in the James Bond film "Thunderball."

One of our favorite eco-adventures is Thunderball Grotto. The Grotto is a small, partially underwater cavern with a sky-light, which is accessible to snorkelers at low tide. It was made famous by the James Bond movie Thunderball; you can see pictures from the filming of the movie at the SCYC bar. Getting inside the grotto is at first a little intimidating, but if you go at low tide you don’t even have to put your head under water to gain entrance, just find the opening and guide yourself in using your hands as a brace against the sides of the rocky cave. Once you are inside Thunderball you will be amazed! Any fear you might have had will instantly be replaced by awe when you enter the interior. Inside the cave the light beams down from the opening in the roof, illuminating the crystal clear blue water below. The light beam penetrates the surface of the water and dances all the way to the ocean floor 20 feet below, a myriad of tropical fish dart in and out of the light, their bright colors flashing in the sun. Among the colorful parade are queen angelfish, sergeant majors, rock beauties, grouper, blue chromis, snapper, and parrotfish.

The next stop is Big Major Cay, home of the famous swimming pigs. Yes you read that right, swimming pigs! We’ve counted at least six pigs that have made this small island their home, and each one has become accustomed to the fact that visitors most likely mean food. So when they a see a boat floating up to shore they know it means a handout, and so they will swim out to beg. It is the coolest and craziest thing you will ever see! Pigs in paradise—you gotta love it!

Snorkeling through a school of sergeant majors inside the Thunderball Grotto.

Underwater entrance to Thunderball Grotto.

The small opening at the top of the Thunderball Grotto.

Aerial picture of Staniel Cay and surrounding islands.

Snorkeler in the underwater entrance to Thunderball Grotto.