Anchoring on Grand Bahamas Banks

[pete33458]

Hi all: would like to sail to the Berrys from Bimini, but I am normally single handed, and 90nm is a bit of a long stretch under anything but ideal conditions (when do those happen?). Are there any known places to anchor on that route? Obviously, there is no real protection from wind so conditions would have to be right, I just more concerned about the bottom and especially not destroying it. thanks, pete

[Capt.Alex]

I have done it in the past several times. It is a magical thing to do on a very calm clear night. I usually head about a mile or 2 south of the rhumb line between north rock and NW channel light and anchor in 15-20' of water. It's mostly sand with a few scattered coral heads. Plenty of clear sand patches to drop the hook in. No worries about damaging coral etc. Make sure to leave some lights on, as there is small inter island commercial traffic through the area day and night. Sleep well, as there is nothing to drag into . If it's rough I would probably opt to continue on to Chub Cay, you won't get any sleep if you do stop.

[brantleychuck]

It is magical, As always when sailing, weather, weather, weather. The Berrys are awsome. Have fun

[AnchorageGuy]

pete, you can drop the anchor anywhere but do keep in mind, it can become, very, very, very uncomfortable if the weather turns. Also be sure and head a mile or two OFF the courselines to anchor and put up lots and lots of lights at night. The supply boats, mail boats and fishing boats run all night at full speed and they're mostly on autopilot. Chuck

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Capt.Alex

I have done it in the past several times. It is a magical thing to do on a very calm clear night. I usually head about a mile or 2 south of the rhumb line between north rock and NW channel light and anchor in 15-20' of water. It's mostly sand with a few scattered coral heads. Plenty of clear sand patches to drop the hook in. No worries about damaging coral etc. Make sure to leave some lights on, as there is small inter island commercial traffic through the area day and night. Sleep well, as there is nothing to drag into . If it's rough I would probably opt to continue on to Chub Cay, you won't get any sleep if you do stop.

I anchored once, had a decent breeze blowing, but the fetch wasnt far from the direction of the wind. The 2 ft chop was a bit uncomfortable but OK. Sand bottom, the good news is you can sleep well.. heck if you drag some... so what!

[Amapola]

It's been our experience that 99% of the time we rock and roll when anchored on the bank. Even though it's a long day, we usually keep going until we reach a decent anchorage. We usually travel at 6-7 kt in our trawler.

[westsailwill]

If it's calm, it's awesome, but with any wind you'll be Rockin' & Rollin'.

[skipmac]

I anchored on the banks one night when it was a bit choppy. Got so bad during the night I was tossed out of the bunk onto the sole. Decided to stay there.

Also, even anchored a mile off the channel the wake from a passing power boat can rock you pretty well.

[nautical62]

I've done it a few times. I try to get off the rum line by a couple miles to reduce the chance of other boat traffic.

It's not just the sea state that influences boat roll, but how the sea state and tide interact.