Media
SCYC rocks the boat in the media.
Read below what others are raving about!
50 Minutes Inside
Exumas – L’Archipel Paradisiaque des Bahamas France’s television show, 50 Minutes Inside, explores the Exumas by visiting the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, the swimming pigs, the Exumas Land and Sea Park, and several private islands. This 18 minutes segment showcases the white sands and the turquoise waters of a place like no other on earth — from the French perspective.
The Telegraph
Fyre islands: the real paradise behind the luxury festival disaster by Noelle Nicolls 11 FEBRUARY 2019 For the uninitiated, it will be difficult to distinguish between what is true and false about the Exumas after watching the grippingly comical Fyre Festival documentaries recently released by Netflix and Hulu. But the paradox of the Fyre catastrophe is that its promotional material actually has some of the most accurate and compelling imagery of the real Exumas, the holiday destination in the Out Islands of the Bahamas.
Coastal Living
These Five Bahamas Islands Are Exactly Where You Need To Go Right Now By MARCH, 2019 From the Exumas to Eleuthera, these islands are trending hard with beautiful new ways to stay, eat, shop, and play.
The Boston Globe
Playing Robinson Crusoe — and swimming with pigs — in the Exuma Cays By Gina DeCaprio Vercesi DECEMBER 01, 2017 Cerulean blue, I thought, though some people would probably say turquoise. Or maybe aquamarine. The sun emerged from behind the wispiest of clouds and I squinted, blinded by its brilliance, at the endless stretch of clear Caribbean Sea. Definitely aquamarine.
Flying and Travel
Swimming with Pigs in the Bahamas: An Exotic adventure at Staniel Cay July, 2017 The string of 365 northbound islands, known as the Exuma Cays, is part of the Bahama’s Out Islands. While few people know about the existence of the Out Islands, and fewer still have even visited, this series of islands takes up 84% of the Bahamian landmass.
The Today Show
Swimming pigs? Take an inside look at this Bahamas phenomenon June 14, 2016 The Bahamas is known for its beautiful beaches and crystal clear water, but just off Staniel Cay there’s a tiny uninhabited island, Big Major Cay, an island with pigs…that swim. NBC’s Kerry Sanders investigates for TODAY how pigs came to live in paradise.
The New York Times Magazine
An Island in the Bahamas Where Pigs Swim Free Photographs by ROBIN SCHWARTZ MARCH 31, 2016 On Big Major Cay, tourists and pigs play together on the sand and in the water…
Dockwalk
Exumas: The Director’s Cut SWIMMING PIGS, JAMES BOND-WORTHY CAVES, and tantalizing teal water that many will argue is the prettiest in the world are just a few reasons the Exuma islands are some of the most popular cruising and charter grounds in The Bahamas. But their charms are not limited to guest enjoyment — if you ever find yourself waylaid here with a down day, these islands hold plentiful curiosities and diversions for crew.
Caribbean Journal
The Caribbean’s Coolest Hotels for 2016 This is on an island away from an island, the beautiful little island called Staniel Cay. And if you’re staying here, there’s nowhere better than the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, a bungalow hotel that’s the essence of the Exumas.
Caribbean Journal
Where to Travel in 2015: The Must-Visit Places in the Caribbean DON’T JUST visit the Caribbean this year. Experience it. Go outside of your comfort zone and find something new. That’s the advice of our Where to Travel list for 2015, featuring some of our favorite places in the Caribbean: some are a bit off the beaten path, some a bit new, some a bit different. Some are more untouched, others are undiscovered parts of more established destinations. All are just begging to be explored. Here is our Where to Travel list for 2015.
ABC News
Yachties Welcome! Best Private Marina Hotels by Lena Katz Originally built as a marina and yacht club, Staniel Cay became a hotel after evolving to service yachties. At the Yacht Club, your boat slip is a mere 15-second walk from the restaurant/bar.
Worth Magazine
The Best Destinations for Private Airplanes April-May 2014 by John Kounis Flying or chartering a private aircraft can bring you to otherwise inaccessible escapes, from private tropical islands to rugged wilderness ranches. The following seven North American destinations may be hard to reach, but they’re well worth the trip.
Beat Of The Music
The video for artist Brett Eldredge’s single, Beat of the Music, was filmed at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club where Brett first received inspiration to write the song. It was released in January 2014 as the third single from his debut album, Bring You Back.
The Staniel Cay Yacht Club and surrounding Exuma islands are featured in the music video for Timber, a song by the rapper American Way
Pigs In Paradise by Hillary Richard Sept. 2013 I sailed around a rocky corner of Big Major Cay and watched with anticipation. The sun-bleached rocks blended in with the white-sand beach. An overgrowth of deep-green palm trees and shrubbery was the only thing breaking up the beautiful blues of the Caribbean Sea and sky. Where were they?
1,000 Places to See Before You Die
The Exumas and Staniel Cay, Bahamas — Page 1063 The Staniel Cay Yacht Club is a perfect home base for access to the Exumas Land and Sea Park and other attractions, like Thunderball (a beautiful marine cave excellent for snorkeling and named for the 1965 James Bond movie shot there), and friendly swimming pigs (they paddle out to greet boaters who often bring them food).
Caribbean Travel & Life
Staniel Cay and the Out Islands, Bahamas — Written by: Dave Herndon — December 2010 In the shallow waters of the Bahamas’ Out Islands, local culture runs deep. The Out Islands are also known as the Family Islands, and I’m going in search of the family secrets.
Travel & Leisure
Exploring Out Islands, Bahamas — June 2010 On this low-key island chain, T+L uncovers stylish hotels and guesthouses, the best places to eat conch, an almost-forgotten dialect, and a warm welcome that’s hard to come by anywhere else.
USA Today
Seven affordable, under-the-radar beach destinations — January 2009 Most of the action on Staniel Cay centers around the friendly Staniel Cay Yacht Club, where yachters and landlubbers alike stay, dine, and congregate. Here you can rent 13- and 17-foot boats (from $95 per half day) which will allow you to cruise 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.
National Post
An imbiber’s guide to the Bahamas — November 2008 I don’t know if it’s the laid-back decor of the clubhouse at the heart of this unpretentious resort, the down-to-earth staff or the mix of patrons (folks who stay in the brightly painted cottages, boaters who dock at the marina and locals from the tiny village nearby), but there is something about it that makes you want to park yourself on a barstool and never leave. It might be that owner David Hocher, whose family bought the place when he was just a kid, knows that nothing grand or contrived – other than the great food, service and drink – is required to ensure people fall in love with his little corner of the universe.
Vanity Fair
Fanfair ~ Bahamas Bliss — November 2008 Daydreaming about swimming and snorkeling in one of the world’s largest barrier reefs? What about catching fish for dinner, shopping at high-end boutiques for embroidered caftans, curling up on a chaise and watching a favorite old movie in a private outdoor theater, or playing golf on an Ernie Els – designed golf course amid bougainvillea blooms and fresh salt air? If so, the Bahamian archipelago, which is made up of 700 tiny islands, is for you.
Outside Traveler
The Bahamas’ Out Islands offer a warm welcome and a quick island fix — Written by: Michael Roberts — Special Edition ~ Winter 2006 Staniel Cay, which sits in the central stretch of the Bahamas’ sparsely populated Exuma island chain, is less than two miles long and home to some 80 permanent residents. Thanks to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, its also an ideal getaway for adventure travelers with only a long weekend to spare. Less than two hours after boarding your flight in Florida, you’ll be an honorary islander.
Bahamas & Caribbean Pilot’s Guide
On the Cover — 2006 Staniel Cay has been a favorite destination of pilots and boaters for years, and for very good reasons. Ideally located in the middle of the gorgeous Exuma island chain, there are many small islands to fly and boat, and clear, turquoise waters for great fishing, diving, and snorkeling. The Staniel Cay Yacht Club has been catering to pilots as well as boaters for years, and they’re good at it. There are a variety of comfortable accommodations and a lively bar and restaurant. They have rental boats so you can snorkel Thunderball Grotto, and an underwater cave with thousands of fish – you shouldn’t miss it.
Southern Boating
Sunfish Nationals ~ Staniel Cay Hosts Event for First Time in Exumas — Written by: Julie Charles — November 2005 For the first time ever, the Bahamas Sunfish National Championship set sail in the Exuma Islands September 10-11, drawing a record number of sailors to race in the picturesque waters of Staniel Cay. For an area already steeped in the sailing tradition of Bahamian sloop racing, the Sunfish regatta adds valuable experience in one-design racing for local sailors to hone their competitive edge.
Miami Herald Travel
Swine Stroke ~ In Bahamas, pigs don’t fly ~ but they do swim — Written by: Jane Wooldridge — Fall 2005 For almost 50 years, Staniel Cay Yacht Club in the Bahamas has been a fave forget-the-shoes boaters’ haven. Thanks to direct flights from Fort Lauderdale, it’s not just for sailors anymore. The club now has a small pool and a few bright cottages, delightful one- and two-room spaces facing the sea.
Nassau Guardian
Staniel Cay Regatta – A Sailing Success Staniel Cay, Exuma – Less than an hour by small plane from Nassau but a million miles from the traffic jams, cruise ships and noise of the capital. For many Bahamians, the Yuletide season was a time to get back to the islands and back in touch with what makes them beautiful – the sea and the people.
General Aviation News
Staniel Cay: A little piece of paradise for pilots in the Bahamas — Written by: James Wynbrandt — June 30, 2003 Any pilot who knows the Bahamas will tell you the most spectacular flight in the islands is the one down the Exuma chain. A string of islands 90-miles long starting 35 nautical miles southeast of Nassau, an overflight of the Exumas affords a view of hundreds of mostly uninhabited paradises (365 islands according to the official count) swirled in translucent shades of turquoise, each inciting dreams of becoming a castaway.
Outside Traveler
The Ins and Outboards of the Exumas — 2003 Annual A peripatetic island escape begins at quiet Staniel Cay in the center of the Exuma chain. Book one of the Staniel Cay Yacht Club’s snug pastel cottages – each comes with a 13-foot Boston Whaler power boat – in advance. Then spend a week day-tripping your way around these narrow, close-together islands, some barely the size of a major league pitching mound, others large enough to support a fishing village, a beach resort, and a couple open-air bars serving conch fritters and Kalik beer. Don’t worry about your sketchy navigational skills – these are nearly idiot proof cruising waters. You need only your eyes to figure out how to get to your next anchorage.
Yachting
Yin & Yang — August 2002 A 1200 mile heavy-weather cruise reveals the good and the bad of cruising on a power catamaran. The day was filled mostly with fishing, reading, good tunes and napping on the expansive deck. She sliced quietly through the water at 16 knots, and we remained in relaxation mode all the way to Staniel Cay. For this type of cruising, the cat was tough to beat
Yachting
Story and photography by George Sass, Jr. — August 2001 Technicolor Dream. If you cruise the Bahamas looking for a laid-back respite, Staniel Cay is it. Some of the best (and worst) cruising advice flows from fellow cruisers. The conversation usually starts with what a rarity good service is, then covers a few good sea stories and, finally, some favorite cruising destinations. This is how I found out about Staniel Cay.