Treasure Cay, Abacos Bahamas

Total Miles Traveled 1716

With a light northwest breeze Saturday morning, conditions were favorable to go outside into the Atlantic Ocean to go around Whale Cay.  The Whale Cay area is clearly the most challenging part of the Abacos for cruisers.  Certain weather conditions may make it impossible to traverse the area for several days, though at other times transit can be easily accomplished. 

The difficulties are the result of the fact that a shallow bank extends all the way from Whale Cay to Treasure Cay on the mainland of Great Abaco Island, and the passage across it can be challenging for vessels drawing more than 3 or 4 feet.  To go outside and around Whale Cay makes boaters susceptible to a rage sea condition (breaking waves all the way across) when ocean swells come from the northeast.  This most often occurs during a strong northeaster after the passage of a cold front, but can also be the result of storms hundreds of miles away, which can cause a rage during deceptively sunny and light wind days in Abaco.  All of the weather forecast I track indicated 1 ½ to 3 foot waves on the outside of Whale Cay and once outside about a 2 ½ mile course before turning back into the Sea of Abaco.  It ended up being a little rougher than we prefer but it was a short run.

As we entered back into the Sea of Abaco we could see the bottom in 25 feet of water.  Before reaching Treasure Cay, we anchored in about 15 feet of water close to shore, ate our lunch, and enjoyed the view.  Moni tried her luck at fishing with an artificial shrimp but didn’t have any luck.  After an hour or so we weighed anchor and approached the entrance to Treasure Cay Marina.

The main attraction of Treasure Cay is its beach, rated as one of the top ten in the world.  It extends for about 3 miles in a beautiful semi-circle.  The sand on the beach is so fine it’s like powdered sugar or flour.