VHF Channels in the Exumas: Exuma Park, Emergencies and Marina Calls

A VHF radio is the tool for reaching the park office and for calling for help while you are on the water in the Exuma Cays. Two channels cover the park: 09 for the office and 16 for emergencies¹. Program both before you leave the dock.

The channels at a glance

Channel	Use	Who answers
VHF 09	Park office, reporting poaching	“Exuma Park”1
VHF 16	Emergencies, monitored 24 hours a day	Bahamas Defence Force1
VHF 16	Marina contact	Staniel Cay Yacht Club2

Treat anything beyond them as local knowledge to confirm on the water.

Calling the park office on 09

Call “Exuma Park” on channel 09¹. The office keeps set hours: 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am to noon on Sunday¹. Plan your calls inside those hours.

The office sits on a remote small island, so contacting it can sometimes be challenging¹. If your first call goes unanswered, wait and try again rather than assuming the radio is faulty. Keep the call short: give your boat name and your question.

The office is the right call for questions about the park. For how mooring balls are picked up and paid for, read how moorings work in Exuma Park. The park takes no reservations, so a radio call does not hold a ball either⁴.

Warderick Wells moorings: call on 09

Moorings within Warderick Wells, including the Warderick Wells North, Emerald Rock and Pirates Lair mooring fields, require boaters to call in advance on VHF channel 09 to request a mooring⁴. All mooring fields outside Warderick Wells operate on a first-come, first-served basis⁴. In those fields you do not request a ball: pick up a free one and pay afterward, because visitors must secure a mooring before making a payment⁴.

Paddlers and campers

If you are kayaking, a handheld VHF radio is highly recommended for safety³. Campers must notify park headquarters at least two weeks before the planned camping date, and the notice should go by telephone, fax or e-mail rather than by radio³.

Emergencies on channel 16

Channel 16 is monitored 24 hours a day for emergencies¹. Contact the Defence Force on VHF 16¹. For anything involving danger to life, call there first and explain the situation before you try any other number.

Give your boat name, your position and the nature of the problem, in that order, and speak slowly. Three Defence Force officers are stationed at park headquarters to assist park staff with enforcement matters¹. Wardens and Defence Force officers stationed at Warderick Wells maintain constant patrols and surveillance of the park, and Defence Force vessels frequently overnight at park headquarters¹.

Reporting poaching and suspicious activity

The park is a no-take zone: no fishing, conching, shelling or lobstering, and nothing living or dead may be removed³. There are fines and confiscation of vessels for poaching violations³.

To report suspicious activity, call “Exuma Park” on channel 09¹.

The no-take zone guide lists exactly what is banned, so you know what to report and what to avoid yourself.

Marina and dock calls

Staniel Cay Yacht Club’s marina is on VHF channel 16². Because 16 is also the emergency channel, keep any call there brief and ask which working channel to switch to. For the local cruisers’ net, ask the dockmaster or a neighboring boat which channel it uses.

Speed rule inside mooring fields

Radio and boat handling go together in a crowded field. The park rule is plain:

All vessels, including dinghies and jet skis, must operate at idle speed in any mooring field or anchorage³.

That covers the dinghy run to the beach as well as the mother ship. Jet skis must also stay at least 300 yards off any moored or anchored vessel³. On Shroud Cay, the north tidal creek is a strict idle speed, no-wake zone, and motorized vessels may not enter the other tidal creeks there³. For where you may and may not drop the hook, see the anchoring rules page.

Before you go

Check that your handheld or fixed set has channels 09 and 16 programmed¹, and charge the handheld as a backup. Clearing in is a separate step from the radio: the cruising permit cost guide covers the paperwork, and the boating hub links to every planning page for the cays.