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Great Sale Cay - Northwest Harbor

Location: Little Bahama Bank
Lat / Lon: N 26° 58.326' / W 078° 13.259'
Depth: 6'-10'
Tide: 2.0'-2.5'
Description:
In one of the quirks of Bahamian place names, North West Harbour is actually on the southwest corner of Great Sale Cay. The anchorage is an elongated area that lies between a point on the south end of Great Sale and a long skinny bar of rock extending an additional 2.5 nm to the south. At the north end of the anchorage there is protection from all directions except south and in the south end of the anchorage there is exposure from south through west. In prevailing easterly winds anchoring anywhere in the lee of the long rocky bar will provide a decent night’s sleep but if a cold front is expected then the strategy is to go as far north as draft permits for the best protection.

4.20

(5)

4.20 out of 5 stars

Holding:

5.00

Excellent, Sand

Wind Protection:

3.80

Open and Exposed Southwest Through South

Current Flow:

3.60

Wake Protection:

4.00

Open and Exposed Southwest Through South

Scenic Beauty:

4.20

Ease of Shopping:

1.00

Shore Access:

2.75

Pet Friendly:

3.33

Beach nearby

Cell Service:

2.00

No Coverage

WiFi:

1.00

Review for Great Sale Cay - Northwest Harbor

Reviewed by: Tom Allison on Oct 24, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 45'
Draft: 5.0'

Overall Rating:

4

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

3

Current Flow:

5

Wake Protection:

3

Scenic Beauty:

5

Shore Access:

2

Cell Service:

1

We are currently anchored in Northwest Harbor waiting out three days of strong NE winds. Great Sale Cay is flat, and our anemometer is showing steady winds at 20 knots. In the lee of the cay waves are under one foot. The anchor is holding firm.

We made the very easy approach using charts, and never had water under seven feet deep. Although we are the only boat here, there is ample room for countless more.

Access to the shore can be made inside the bay at a couple of small pebble beaches but be careful as there are plenty of rocks. We found and used the "rock" pier mentioned on our charts. At best it's a marginal shore access. Again, be careful of the rocks. The trail to the ruins is very overgrown and we gave up after about 300 yards. We did find them from the beach on the west shore of the cay.

Despite the wind, this will be a great place to spend a couple of days.

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Review for Great Sale Cay - Northwest Harbor

Reviewed by: Pat & Kathy, Puffin, on May 29, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 33'
Draft: 4.5'

Overall Rating:

4

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

4

Current Flow:

1

Wake Protection:

4

Scenic Beauty:

3

Ease of Shopping:

1

Shore Access:

3

Pet Friendly:

3

Cell Service:

2

WiFi:

1

Good Holding in 8 - 10 feet and a nice stop between West End and the rest of the Abacos. Room for plenty of boats. We did not go ashore but west beach looks nice.

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Review for Great Sale Cay - Northwest Harbor

Reviewed by: Graeme Walker, Confirmed Aquaholic, on Mar 24, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 54'
Draft: 4.0'

Overall Rating:

4

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

4

Current Flow:

3

Wake Protection:

5

Scenic Beauty:

4

Ease of Shopping:

1

Shore Access:

3

Pet Friendly:

3

We anchored very far up into this bight, almost at the top, north of the plane crash, and there was great holding. Wind was 10 mph ESE and there was decent protection. Interestingly there was NE wind on the West side of the Cay so we decided not to anchor there as it would have been too rolly. Scenic in is own way, i.e. barren, no shopping.

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Review for Great Sale Cay - Northwest Harbor

Reviewed by: Capt Don, FREGATA, on Jun 24, 2018
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 40'
Draft: 6.5'

Overall Rating:

5

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

4

Current Flow:

5

Wake Protection:

5

Scenic Beauty:

5

Ease of Shopping:

1

Shore Access:

3

Pet Friendly:

4

Cell Service:

3

WiFi:

1

Great anchorage for everything but south winds. If they are forecasted, just move around to the NW side for a beach and protection. Huge anchorage, always plenty of room. Great holding. This is the typical las/first stop when arriving/leaving Bahamas. Uninhabited. Sharp iron coral shoreline, so be sure to wear footwear if going ashore. Nice beach on NW side of island.

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Review for Great Sale Cay - Northwest Harbor

Reviewed by: Lucy Wilcox, Independence, on Apr 6, 2018
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 38'
Draft: 4.0'

Overall Rating:

4

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

4

Current Flow:

4

Wake Protection:

3

Scenic Beauty:

4

Good holding in sand and grass, 4-7 feet mean low water. Good protection from north and east. No protection from southwest-west. For forecast westerlies, you may want to try the east side of the island.

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