Seasonal· Little Bahama Bank / Far North Abaco· Bahamas — North

Winter cold fronts: choosing a far-north anchorage

26° 59.0′ N · 78° 12.9′ W · approximate

From November to April, cold fronts sweep through every week or so: the wind backs south and south-west ahead of the front, then clocks hard into the west, north-west and north behind it. Few far-north anchorages protect from all of these, so cruisers hop between known lees.

AbacosNassau & the Berry Islands

Practical

Pinned at Great Sale Cay, the hub of most front-dodging decisions. Matched to wind direction, all from ActiveCaptain reports: S-SW pre-frontal: Little Sale Cay (north side, held in 35 mph S-SW, 2018), Pensacola North, Hawksbill NE, Cave Cay North, Fox Town near-town anchorage. W-NW (frontal passage): Tom Johnson Harbour on the east side of Great Sale (calm while the west side rolled, 2015), Cave and Cashs Cays, Cooper's Town anchorage. N-NE (post-frontal): Great Sale Northwest Harbour, Allans-Pensacola, Little Grand Cay, Southwest Grand Cay, Strangers Cay. E-SE trades: Great Sale west side, Crab Cay East, Spanish Cay anchorage, Fox Town outer, Wells Bay. Avoid: Grand Cay harbor (poor holding, current) and Crab Cay East in north-west winds (risk of being embayed). Dragging is common at Allans-Pensacola and Crab Cay West in 30+ knots, so set deep and dive on your anchor. In 2017 a boat at Great Sale saw estimated 45-50 knots for two days in a May front.

Best for

Picking the right lee before each front arrives

Season

Nov–Apr, fronts roughly weekly

Nearby