Big Sand Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands 21deg 11’.90N – 71deg 15’.09W as at 23.03.20


9nm south of Salt Cay, an uninhabited island with extensive reefs to the north and outlying rocks (Three Mary’s) to the south. It is a designated nature reserve and landing is prohibited; but not enforced. The anchorage is on the west side (as marked on the charts) in azure blue water. A tranquil stop in most conditions and well worth the effort.
1. Anchorage. As marked on the charts, off a limestone buff in 3-5m of water over clear sand with good holding. There is a large power boat washed up just to the north of the anchorage and I suspect it will not be cleared for some time.
2. Ashore. Beach landing is straight forward but the beaches are steep, and the waves do run on a long way! Sadly, there is quite a lot of plastic on the beaches and beware of nasty, sharp prickles on the grass – they are vicious and stick to anything!
a. Not too much bird life but Ospreys do inhabit the island and turtles do lay eggs here. Officially, one should not land.
b. Lovely sandy beaches with opportunities to dive or snorkel all around the islands and we did see one-person surfing on a localised wave near the anchorage.
c. Beware of nasty small thorny bits on the grass which stick to everything – and are sharp!