The SeaLight Water Taxi Returns to Eleuthera, and a Bahamian Pronunciation Guide

Nassau to Royal Island – 37 nautical miles sailed

By 6am the anchor was up and we were motoring out of Nassau harbour. Our destination was again the Spanish Wells area (starting to feel like a water taxi) as a convenient first jump on the way to the Abacos. Unfortunately we had to deal with a 15 knot wind almost directly in our face, which we knew from the wind forecasts, but wanted to get ahead of high winds that were due to land later in the day and last throughout Tuesday. Then Wednesday we could do the remaining 50 miles or so to southern Abaco if the winds cooperated, which was uncertain, but at least we’d be nearly halfway there.

The wind was in the 15 knot range, sometime edging closer to 20 with the gusts, and the waves were larger than expected, some looked to be up to 5 to 6 feet. But the period of the waves was thankfully long which kept the pounding less frequent than expected, but still unpleasant.

We arrived at 1:30 and dropped the hook in the well protected anchorage of Royal Island. We were happy to find that Kate and Ben from Waddington were here, but we agreed to meet up Tuesday so we could spend the rest of the day doing a few administrative things, writing, and chilling out.

Since not much interesting happened, I’ll instead write about the pronunciation of Bahamian words. Tourists seem to have a hard time getting the pronunciation of Bahamian ‘tings right, just like I did when I first moved here so many years ago, and I’ve also noticed some cruisers that have been here many times, still getting words wrong. So, if you are planning on traveling to the Bahamas, here’s a quick guide to help you sound less like a tourist.

Kalik is their most popular national beer, but it is not called “Kay-lick” or “Ka-leek”. It is pronounced “Klik” or “Kuh-lik” if you say it slowly. A nice rhyme to remember it is “If you don’t know which beer to pick, make it a Kalik.” If you just can’t remember it, then order a Sands beer instead – can’t get that one wrong.

Nassau is not a space agency. So don’t call it NASA. The city is pronounced “Nas-awh”. Remember it with “You’ll be in awe with Nassau.” Or “I met an outlaw with a chainsaw in Nassau.”

Some Bahamians do live unconventional lives and many are writers, artist, and musicians. But you cannot refer to all of them as “Bohemians”. They are called “Bah-hay-mee-un”. I don’t know what rhymes with Bahamian so you’ll just to remember it.

Conch is a tricky one. It’s nearly impossible for visitors to drop that pesky “ch” at the end and replace with a “k”. Probably because of that Lord of the Flies movie where they blow into the “kon-sh” shell. But here in Bahamas, you just have to call it a “Konk”. Yes it sounds funny, but that’s what it is. Try not to get bonked by a conch.

A small island here is referred to as a Cay. But it is pronounced like “Key”. Shroud Cay, Farmers Cay, Two Breasted Cay – there are lots of them so best to remember how to say it.

Here are two bonus words, which you probably don’t want to pronounce like a local, but they are fun to listen for. Church is “choich” and you don’t ask for something, you “axe” for it.

Have phun!