50 MPH Winds in Treasure Cay

The Bahamas have been a magical place, but it’s not all rainbows and sunshine.

Ask any local Bahamian or seasoned cruiser and they will tell you that this 2024 winter cruising season has been marked by some of the worst weather the they have seen for this time of the year.

It’s an el Nino year. The same global weather patterns that helped to keep most hurricanes manageable in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico through the summer and fall of 2023 is also pushing more cold fronts deeper south this winter. These cold fronts are creating high wind events almost every week in the Bahamas.

So, us cruisers have adopted a routine of exploring for 2-5 days and then finding a place to hunker down while the next front passes. While it’s mildly annoying, we generally don’t have much to complain about. Trading 1-2 days of 25-30 MPH winds for 2-5 days of Paradise seems fair enough to me.

But, this week the cold front is different. It’s stronger.

The mild annoyance of 25-30 mph winds is set to be replaced with actually dangerous 50+ mph winds (with gusts higher).

And this system has a rotation to it, meaning that over the course of two or so days, we will get strong winds from literally every direction.

Finding shelter in those conditions is difficult in the northern Bahamas (i.e. the Abacos) because most anchorages only offer protection from one or two of the cardinal directions, not all four. But, we have heard rumors of good holding and all around protection in the remains of the old Treasure Cay mooring field.

So, it’s time to leave our turtle friends and go find out if those rumors are true for ourselves.

The front is coming, and we have to find safety.

Much love,

Kirstin & Andy