We were told not to miss Double Breasted Cay, North of Abaco. Most people stop at Mangrove Cay, which is halfway from West End to the islands North of Abacos, but the anchorage is not good in a Southerly (which was the direction of the wind). Later we learned that this is also where boats drag anchor because it’s 6-8ft of sand on top of what’s akin to concrete. A Bruce anchor is the only anchor that will hold here, because it can catch a lip in the concrete like bottom.
The entrance to Sandy Cay, the anchorage just to the East of Double Breasted Cay is tricky. We were coming in at a 1.4ft tide over mean low water. We draw 4ft, and the shallowest mean low water on the chart was 4ft.
We never knew we would care so much about a two foot tide, which is what they are here in the Bahamas. With these shallow waters, a foot is priceless.
There were three sailboats and a Grand Banks at anchor at Sandy Cay. And it was gorgeous.
We anchored in 6-8ft of water. The clarity of the water was unreal. We could see the fish, rays, and reef sharks swimming by. We jumped in for a snorkel and to the sandbar behind us. This truly was heaven on earth.
A couple days later we talked with a couple from Minnesota that have cruised all over the Caribbean. They said Double Breasted Cay was probably one of the top beautiful anchorages out of all the islands. But it can be tricky getting in and out.
We thoroughly enjoyed our first night at anchor, and could not believe the beauty we had stumbled across!