Sedimentological and petrographic study of Holocene deposits in the Eastern Bahamas shows that sedimentation occured episodically during this period of continually rising sea-level. The Holocene stratigraphic record exposed on the islands of San Salvador, Lee Stocking and Cat consists of two distinctive units separated by a paleosol: (1) 5000 year-old oolitic eolianites deposited when sea-level was lower than today, and (2) 3000 to 500 year-old bioclastic paleo-beaches and dunes that are congruent with the present stand of sea-level. A five-stage model that reconciles intermittent sedimentation pattern with continous sea-level rise is presented. Pre-Holocene topography and changes in the rate of the transgression seem to regulate local hydrodynamic conditions, which is turn control onset and offset of sedimentary processes. This Holocene example of episodic sedimentation during an uninterrupted transgression should be considered when studying ancient discontinuities that are systematically interpreted in terms of relative sea-level fall.