admin After a too-long stay in Bimini we headed east across the Great Bahama Bank to The Berries and Great Harbour Cay. The best part of this trip was anchoring in the middle of the Bahama Bank. In only 12 feet of water there was no land in sight. We experienced the most amazing sunset we’ve ever seen.
What We Learned
The Great Bahama Bank
Between Bimini and The Berry Islands is a large area known as The Great Bahama Bank. It is a huge area that is unusually shallow considering it’s an open ocean. The depth in this area is between 10 and 20 feet in most places. We sailed toward The Berries and as dark approached we just stopped and anchored in about 12 feet of water. It is a very strange experience to be out there in open water with no land in sight and at anchor. It was one time I didn’t worry about the anchor dragging. If it did it could drag for miles and we’d still be OK. We did set an anchor alarm though just in case.
Breathtaking Sunset
I know, we’ve all seen a million sunsets. They’re beautiful but not so unusual. On this evening it was an absolutely spectacular sunset like none I’ve ever seen. When the sun first set it was beautiful and I took a few shots with the iPhone. A few minutes later Silva said, “look at it now” and it had totally changed. It kept getting more and more intense every few minutes until it finally looked like the sky and sea were on fire. There is no photoshop color enhancement in any of these photos. The next morning the sunrise was quite amazing also.
Highlights of The Berry Islands
The Blue Hole at Hoffman’s Cay
There are several blue holes in The Bahamas. We had never seen one before so this was a real treat. The anchorage was rough due to some high winds. We also had to look at two masts sticking out of the water where a Ketch had recently dragged anchor, came up against the rocks and sunk. It doesn’t make you feel to confident looking at that.
Chub Cay
We enjoyed a combination of anchoring, mooring balls, and marinas on this trip. After a few difficult nights at anchor we were usually ready for a marina, some air conditioning and regular showers. Chub Cay was so much more than we expected. We really felt like rich folks and this luxury resort. With the right timing you can reserve a slip at a discounted rate. It was also great to run into some cruisers we had met earlier on our journey.
