Anchorage· Great Sale Cay· Bahamas — North
Great Sale Cay Anchorage
26° 59.0′ N · 78° 12.9′ W
The classic halfway stop across the Little Bahama Bank: a long, uninhabited, horseshoe-shaped cay whose western harbor gives a big, easy anchorage between West End and the Abacos. Many boats treat it as a parking lot, but it rewards a day of kayaking among turtles, rays and nurse sharks.
Practical
ActiveCaptain position for the main west-side anchorage (Northwest Harbour). Approach from the south-west. Protection from north and east; open to the south-west and west, where it gets bumpy. Good holding in sand with some silt and turtle grass; the north-west corner is softer (one trawler dragged there when the wind went NE, 2019), and holding is better farther south. Tuck in as close as depth allows (9 ft close to shore). Busy: 5-20+ boats a night in spring. Ashore: a dinghy landing on the west side of the inner harbor leads to a marked trail to an old army base; beaches are nice but wear shoes (glass). Mangroves for kayaking; turtles, rays, nurse sharks and barracuda; fair snorkeling on the rocky shore. Only intermittent 2-bar BTC 4G. Great Sale to St Lucie Inlet is about 102 nm and to Green Turtle Cay about 55 nm (2014 report). In a frontal west to north-west wind, move to the east side (Tom Johnson Harbour) or Little Sale. Pre-Dorian reports (2012-2019).
Best for
Overnight stop crossing the Little Bahama Bank
Season
Nov–Jun; poor in SW–W winds
Nearby
- Winter cold fronts: choosing a far-north anchorageRight here
- Great Sale Cay (West Side) Anchorage1.7 NM away
- Tom Johnson Harbour (Great Sale Cay East)2.3 NM away
- Great Sale Cay North-East Anchorage (open)3.9 NM away
- Little Sale Cay4.5 NM away
- Strangers Cay South Anchorage10.3 NM away
- Strangers Cay Anchorage10.4 NM away
- Carters Cays Anchorage (Old Yankee Cay)11.8 NM away