Many small islands of the Bahamas are privately owned, and this is especially true in the Exumas. How could the rich and famous pass up the opportunity to own their own island in paradise for $5 million and up? One of those islands is Musha Cay owned by the magician David Copperfield. Musha Cay is ultra-exclusive, but you can rent it if you want……it will ONLY cost you $300K a week.
All joking aside, Mr Copperfield did a really cool thing back in 2011. He commissioned an artist to sculpt a statue of a mermaid looking at a grand piano. He then sank the sculpture in about 13-15 feet of water off of Rudder Cay, which is just south of Musha Cay, and had a contest to see who could find it. Since then it has become a go to site for snorkeling among cruisers, charters, and day boats alike.
The piano sits in the first real cove from the southern end of Rudder Cay at coordinates N 23 52.15 by W 76 14.15. The site can suffer from some strong currents, as many places in the Bahamas do, so low tide is the best time to go. The piano is a full size replica of a grand piano and the mermaid sits on the ground with her arm on the bench mesmerized by each and every snorkeler who ventures down to sit at the piano and play for her.
There are two other places I love while at Rudder Cay. The first is the cave at the north end of the next bay up. The cave is very easy to spot since it is big enough boats can drive into it. In fact, many day boats love to do just that with their guest. So, you will see them throughout the day poking their bow into the cave, looking around, and backing out. It can be quite entertaining in and of itself.
The other thing I find myself doing for hours when I am here is walking the sand flat between Musha and Rudder Cay. The water here is between waist and ankle deep and some spots even dry out at low tide. The best part is this entire area is covered in sand dollars and you can fill the coffers with a huge collection in a short amount of time. There are so many you will be throwing some back in the quest for the perfect one.
All of this plus there are at least three good anchorages off of three different beaches, but none of these are suitable when a northerner comes through, so watch yourself. Right in the middle of the island there is a salt pond with six feet of depth and a cut into it. It is private, but I bet it provided great protection.
Rudder Cay is just one of over a hundred cays and rocks in the Exumas, but you can spend a day or three here and stay entertained the whole time before you move a mile down the road and explore the next island. Such is life in the Exumas!
Visit www.svGuidingLight.com to read more from Captain Shane about the Bahamas, Caribbean, life aboard, world traveling, and more. You might also want to check out his travel video series. Photo credit for the mermaid and piano photo goes to Mermaid-Pirate McGee (on Facebook and Instagram).
