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americad · 22-01-2014, 16:31

On my way from Palm Beach to Exumas we would like to spend a few days in the Berry's & clear customs while there. I was thinking of working my way down from the northern end to southern Berry's. Any suggestions of safe & secure anchorages & marinas. I've heard about great Harbour cay marina at northern end & the Berry island club @ southern end. I think the chubb cay marina is extremely expensive so we will probably skip it. Are these marinas decent?

Vasco · 22-01-2014, 16:40

You can clear in at Bullock Harbour. Don't know much about marinas. There's one in Bullock Harbour and another in Chubb. The Berry Island Club is at Frazers Hog Cay, sometimes open, sometimes not. They have moorings but I prefer my own ground tackle to untested moorings. If you're going to the Exumas you're going backwards if you enter at Bullocks and got to Frazers Hog.

americad · 22-01-2014, 17:01

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any anchorage suggestions?

Capt RonB · 22-01-2014, 17:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by americad

On my way from Palm Beach to Exumas we would like to spend a few days in the Berry's & clear customs while there. I was thinking of working my way down from the northern end to southern Berry's. Any suggestions of safe & secure anchorages & marinas. I've heard about great Harbour cay marina at northern end & the Berry island club @ southern end. I think the chubb cay marina is extremely expensive so we will probably skip it. Are these marinas decent?

Nice little quiet marina on the Western side of Great Harbor Cay. Very well hidden entrance channel sort of a hole in the wall. You can walk from the marina to nice beach opposite Hawks Nest Cay on the eastern shore. We used to leave Lake Worth and clear in at Freeport, inside Bell Channel at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club. Then one day over to Great Harbor. It used to be reasonable.

From there we liked to anchor inside Hoffman's Cay. With our catamaran we could get in between White Cay and Devils Cay but the deep water goes right through to the banks. We also liked Little Harbor. There used to be a mom & pop restaurant in there that you called on the vhf to order dinner.

From either Hoffmans or Little Harbor you're an easy days sail to Nassau.

**capngeo** · 22-01-2014, 17:19

BUG SPRAY

Vasco · 22-01-2014, 17:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt RonB

Nice little quiet marina on the Western side of Great Harbor Cay. Very well hidden entrance channel sort of a hole in the wall. You can walk from the marina to nice beach opposite Hawks Nest Cay on the eastern shore. We used to leave Lake Worth and clear in at Freeport, inside Bell Channel at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club. Then one day over to Great Harbor. It used to be reasonable.

I think this is Bullocks Harbour.

ShaktiGurl · 22-01-2014, 17:36

We've been to Bullocks a few times, once picking up family who flew in. It is a nice place to stay with friendly people. If there is no wind, it can get buggy. There are lots of nice anchorages around the Berries. We have stayed on both sides of Stirrup cay, then further south around Market Fish Cay to Hoffman/Devils Cay on the inside. Beautiful area.

AnchorageGuy · 22-01-2014, 18:56

The marina at Great Harbor is Great Harbor Cay Marina. Great Harbor is a Port of Entry. There is space to anchor in the inner harbor but the marina is worth a visit. Be careful filling your water tanks at the docks. When we were there the tap water was salt water. Other great spots are Little Stirrup, Slaughter Harbor, Panton Cove, Lignumvitae Cay, Great Harbor East Side, Ambergris, Soldier Cay, Hoffman's Cay, White Cay and Fowl Cay, Devil's Cay and a bunch more. We recently covered all of them for our anchorage book. We list about 25 easily accessible anchorages for the Berry's. This is a beautiful area that is often bypassed by most cruisers. Chuck

BandB · 22-01-2014, 19:34

Great Harbor Cay and Chub Cay are the two places to clear. Great Harbour is at the Northern end of the Berry Islands and Chub is at the Southern end.

Dulcesuenos · 22-01-2014, 20:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnchorageGuy

The marina at Great Harbor is Great Harbor Cay Marina. Great Harbor is a Port of Entry. There is space to anchor in the inner harbor but the marina is worth a visit. Be careful filling your water tanks at the docks. When we were there the tap water was salt water. Other great spots are Little Stirrup, Slaughter Harbor, Panton Cove, Lignumvitae Cay, Great Harbor East Side, Ambergris, Soldier Cay, Hoffman's Cay, White Cay and Fowl Cay, Devil's Cay and a bunch more. We recently covered all of them for our anchorage book. We list about 25 easily accessible anchorages for the Berry's. This is a beautiful area that is often bypassed by most cruisers. Chuck

There are two water sources at the marina the free water is slightlyn salty brackish ok for maybe wash downs etc the good ro water they keep under lock on each faucet we found itnfine but pricey the pool nasty the restaraunt gross the powernfluctuated twice and died but not before wiping out power panels oin two cruisers there. We left amdnanchorednoutnbelow the cliff where that bar restaraunt cooliemaes is great holding and pretty well protected inthink it was nw of the main great harborn entrance . I do recommend rent a car and see shark river anbd swim across toi tghe other cays ijt was awesome

AnchorageGuy · 23-01-2014, 05:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

There are two water sources at the marina the free water is slightlyn salty brackish ok for maybe wash downs etc the good ro water they keep under lock on each faucet we found itnfine but pricey the pool nasty the restaraunt gross the powernfluctuated twice and died but not before wiping out power panels oin two cruisers there. We left amdnanchorednoutnbelow the cliff where that bar restaraunt cooliemaes is great holding and pretty well protected inthink it was nw of the main great harborn entrance . I do recommend rent a car and see shark river anbd swim across toi tghe other cays ijt was awesome

I do understand that there is two water sources. But when we were there, the RO water source was contaminated with salt water, so be sure and check first before filling tanks. We didn't have any problems with the power but outages and surges are pretty common almost anywhere in the Bahamas. Chuck

skipperr100 · 23-01-2014, 10:12

I stopped at market fish cay. it was so nice I spent two nights there.

AnchorageGuy · 23-01-2014, 10:22

I posted this on another thread, boaters might want to be aware of this change in policy at Great Harbor...

Interesting that we are discussing Great Harbor. At the time we were there, we had a discussion with the Harbormaster about anchoring in the inner harbor. After he contacted the developer, who owns the basin, we were told that anchoring would be OK as long as the channel was not blocked and no one complained. It seemed at the time that anchoring was being restricted to try and force any visitors into the marina as opposed to anchoring out. I wonder where I have heard that scenario before. A few moments ago, I received the following email from the Marina Manager...

First Name: Hans
Last Name: Febles
Email: hans@greatharbourcay.com
I am the manager for Great Harbour Cay Marina and would like to share some information regarding anchorages in Great Harbour Cay. There is NO anchorage allowed inside the man-made cut as your publication suggests unless you draft less than 2.5 feet and stay well clear of the man-made channel. The channel in and out of the marina is used by large vessels and various tour operators from the cruise ship islands. We get numerous complaints about boats anchoring in the channel area and must report to the police who are less than kind when asking those boaters to leave the basin. Please remove the anchorages you have posted inside the cut and encourage your readers to use the anchorages outside the cut near the settlement of Bullocks Harbour.

Do not hesitate to contact me should you have additional questions at 1-242-367-8005.

And here is my reply to him...

Hans, we had this discussion with YOU while we were there and it was you that gave us the information after you talked with the developer that anchoring was OK as long as it was not in the channel and no one complained. We specifically told you that we were publishing a book on the area. This policy is explained in our publication. If the policy has changed we will be sure and let boaters know via our publication, website and many other boater’s resources that Great Harbor is unfriendly to anchored boats and that they are not welcome unless they use your marina. It is unfortunate that you gave us different information when we stayed at the marina and specifically discussed this with you. I’m sure this will affect the number of boats that might be planning to visit Great Harbor. We will most certainly change our book and get the word out quickly. Especially since no other harbor in the Bahamas places these kinds of restriction on visitors. Chuck Baier

This makes options to anchor in strong westerly winds few. Feel free to email Hans and let him know your feeling on this policy. Don't get me wrong, we love the Bahamas. We also warn everyone that things can and do change often in the islands. Chuck