Musha & Rudder Cays, Exumas

Note: These a Privately Owned Cays

Musha and Rudder Cut Cays are two of several private cays in this area owned by world famous magician David Copperfield.

Musha Cay is operated as an exclusive resort where the entire cay is for an individual or a small group of guests for a fixed price. There is a private helipad at the SW corner of the cay.

Rudder Cut Cay is uninhabited and provides the private airstrip for guests at Musha Cay. The airstrip is at the NW tip of the cay. David Copperfield is the present owner.

Updated: 2 March 2017

Explorer Chart: EX-22, EX-23
Airstrip
  • There is a private airstrip at the NW tip of Rudder Cut Cay for use by Musha Cay and guests.
Air Service
  • There is no air service other that for Musha Cay and guests.
Anchorage
  • There is good holding in sand along the channel on the W side of Musha Cay.
  • Caution: do not anchor near the Ro-Ro ship pier and helipad at the SW corner of the cay as large supply ships make calls at all hours.
  • Courtesy: respect the privacy of Musha Cay guests; do not anchor too close to beaches.
Area Information / Tourism
Art Gallery
Bakery
Bank & ATM

Beverage Store
Bike Rental
Boat Rental
Book Exchange
BTC / Batelco Office
Calendar
Car Rental
Cell Phone Service
Churches

Cruisers Net
Coffee Shop
Customs & Immigration
Dinghy Landing

  • There are no dinghy landings on the private cays and they are posted with no trespassing signs.
  • Bahamian low allows access to all beaches up to the mean high tide mark.
Ecology / Environment
Emergency

Fishing
Ferry
Fresh Fish
Fuel

Golf Cart / Scooter Rental
Government / Administrator
Groceries & Produce

Hardware & Lumber
History
  • Musha Cay was developed as a private island home. The main house is clearly evident on the rise in the center of the island.
  • David Copperfield bought Musha cay and several surrounding islands and has made improvements to transform it into an exclusive prix fixe resort.
  • Rudder Cut Cay was once owned by an insurance entrepreneur in Florida who lost the island to the Florida Insurance Commission when the company failed. A large house crowned a hill on the S end of the cay. There remains a large dredged boat basin with an inlet on the center of the cay on the W side. All the structures, docks, support buildings, houses were in ruins as of 2016. Visitors on land are discouraged and there are occasionally guard dogs that roam the island.
Ice
Ice Cream
Internet & WiFi
Laundry
Library
Local Artists & Writers

Lodging
Mailboat

Marina & Dockage
  • See Cave Cay for information about Cave Cay Marina facilities and services.
Marine Supplies & Parts
Marine Services & Repairs
Medical / Clinic / Pharmacy
Moorings

  • There are no moorings available.
Navigation
  • Cave Cay Cut lies to the N of Musha Cay. It is a deep and fairly wide cut. SV Onward has traversed it many times without incident and prefers this cut to Galliot Cut nearby to the N because it seems to have less turbulence due to a deeper rock sill.
  • Rudder Cut is located at the S end of Rudder Cut Cay. It is a good cut; but not as good as Cave Cay Cut
  • There is a shallow channel that runs along the W side of Musha and Rudder Cut Cays.
  • The N end of the channel is clearly evident along the W side of mush Cay when moving S from Cave Cay Cut.
  • Just to the S of Musha Cay, the channel becomes shallow and narrow.
  • SV Onward with a 6.2' Draft has transited this channel at mid-tide or better.
  • Waypoints for channel along the W side of Musha and Rudder Cut Cays:
23º 53.45' N; 76º 15.91' W; > 7' @ MLW
23º 53.27' N; 76º 15.77' W; > 7' @ MLW
23º 53.09' N; 76º 15.67' W; ~7.2' @ MLW
23º 52.99' N; 76º 15.58' W; ~6.6' @ MLW
23º 52.90' N; 76º 15.41' W; ~7.2'@ MLW
23º 52.79' N; 76º 15.22' W; ~5.2' @ MLW
23º 52.64' N; 76º 15.03' W; ~4.8' @ MLW
23º 52.48' N; 76º 14.85' W; > 7' @ MLW
23º 52.12' N; 76º 14.18' W; > 7' @ MLW
23º 51.95' N; 76º 13.87' W; > 7' @ MLW
  • Note: Navigation data and related experiences are provided for guidance and information purposes only. They are not certified as being error free. Navigation decisions are the responsibility of each captain and should be based on the appropriate navigation charts for the area and supplemented by local knowledge.
Packages & Shipping
Personal Services
Police
Post Office / Mail
Propane

Pumpout
Resort

  • Musha Cay is an exclusive resort.
Restaurant & Bar
Restrooms

Retail Therapy - Shopping
Snorkeling & Scuba Diving
Taxi
Tides

  • The Navionics tide station at Stevenson provides relevant tide data.
Things to See & Do
  • David Copperfield installed an underwater sculpture off the SW coast of Rudder Cut Cay to amuse his resort guests. The undewater stainless steel sculpture consist of a mermaid lying in attentive rapture on the seafloor near the bench of a baby grand piano with open lid. Currents are quite strong in the area making it a challenge to see the sculpture in the crystal clear water.

Musha Cay Mermaid

Trash

  • There is no provision for trash disposal. Take it with you.
Veterinarian
VHF Protocol
  • Standard Bahamas VHF Protocol: Ch-16 is for marine emergencies, safety, and hailing. It is also used by local Bahamian shore facilities for hailing. Communication traffic must be shifted to another channel.
Volunteer Opportunities
Waste Oil

Water
Weather