2008 REED’s East Coast Edition - Pilot Notes
Bahamas
Isles Across the Stream
REED’s RECOMMENDS: With all those islands to explore–there
are 700 of them, not to mention another 2,000 cays–and many of
t
them uninhabited, you’re spoiled for choice in the Bahamas. Since
ilo
P
the inhabited cays are well covered by cruising guides, REED’s rec-
ommends some quiet time in the lesser-known and uninhabited op-
tions. Powell Cay (26°54.0N 77°28.9W), NE of Little Abaco, comes
immediately to mind. There’s decent holding on a grassy bottom in
6ft of water just off the cay’s W side, where you are protected from
winds N through SE. If the wind goes W or S, it’s only 4nm to Coo-
ahamas
per’s Town. If you are coming from Spanish Cay to the NW, give a B
wide berth to the sandbars located S of Spanish Cay. Approaching
from the S, be aware of the sandbank extending SW of the cay’s
southern arm. For your careful navigation you will be rewarded
with one of prettiest anchorages in all of the Bahamas and an island
with a 40-foot “mountain” from which you can look out past the reef
to the NE.
Another little gem is Double Breasted Cays, located some 20nm
due N of Grand Bahama Island at 27° 11.5N, 78°17.0W. The anchor-
ages this set of cays offer are best appreciated after you’ve had some
time to polish your eyeball navigation skills. Note the strong tidal
current that can run in the passages to the NW of Double Breasted
Rocks and SE of Double Breasted Cay, which are best navigated at
slack water.
On either side of the rocky chain of islands that runs NW-SE
through the middle of the cays are good anchorages, with approach
depths as shallow as 5ft. The anchorage at the SE end of this chain
of rocks and SW of the SE end of Double Breasted Cay is a cozy an-
chorage in 6ft of water that will keep you out anything but E winds.
The anchorages at Double Breasted Cay can often have a current
running through them, depending on the wind, and it might be a
good place to try your skills at the Bahamian Moor, setting two an-
chors so you will always be downstream from the current.
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