Anchorage· Great Stirrup Cay· Bahamas — North
Slaughter Harbour Anchorage (Great Stirrup / Little Stirrup)
25° 49.2′ N · 77° 55.7′ W
A big half-mile-square pool between Royal Caribbean's and Norwegian's islands: easy to enter, 12-18 ft deep, and dead calm once the last ferry leaves. It is the classic first or last night in the Berries on the run to or from Abaco.
Practical
ActiveCaptain position. Enter by splitting the distance between the large rock to port and the sand spit to starboard; 13 ft minimum (ActiveCaptain navigation note). Most of the harbour is 12-18 ft with patches of sea grass; one 52 ft boat needed a second try to set (July 2021 review). Protected from east and west, less so from the south. Both shores are cruise-line private islands; a small beach around the corner on Great Stirrup is the only landing mentioned, and it is busy on ship days. 18 ActiveCaptain reviews average 3.3 of 5. Good cell signal from the BTC tower nearby. No services.
Best for
Overnight staging for Abaco or after rounding the Stirrups
Season
Year-round in E-W winds; avoid in strong southerlies
Nearby
- Little Stirrup Cay (Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay)0.3 NM away
- Great Stirrup Cay Lighthouse1.5 NM away
- Snake Cay Anchorage (Great Stirrup)1.5 NM away
- Goat Cay Anchorage (Great Harbour)1.6 NM away
- Great Stirrup Cay (Norwegian Cruise Line private island)1.7 NM away
- Great Stirrup Cay South Anchorage (Great Harbour Cay - North)2.1 NM away
- Sunken Barge (Great Harbour Cay approach)2.4 NM away
- Mangrove Pass Around Cistern Cay2.9 NM away