Easy times at Frazer Hogg Cay Lindsay McRory April 26, 1996 Frazer Hogg Cay is one of those neat places where you just hang out. Frazer's Cay Club is an old concrete house converted into a small restaurant, bar, and boater's lounge. The combined seating capacity is about 12. Prices are very fair and the atmosphere is great. Every once in a while a hurricane imposes a forced overhaul of the building and sometimes a change in management. A lot of cruisers do not visit the Berry Islands. They are a little out of track for those heading north or south. There are a few slips, but most people prefer to pick up one of the mooring buoys in front of the club or drop an anchor. The holding isn't great, a foot of sand over hard sand and rock. The anchorage is exposed to winds from the north, east, and south. The currents run through at 1.5 knots. Anchoring in the Bahamas has been challenging. It's not very often you find a place with 360-degree protection, most of the time the leeward side of the island or cay provides the best protection. Sometimes the windward side will have relatively calm seas, but the leeward side will have a surge. It's not as easy to pick a good spot as one would assume. A few basic rules make it easier to get a good sleep at night: 1) Take your time. Observe the bottom carefully before you drop the hook. 2) Use good anchoring technique. First let the wind and current set you, then give a few thrusts of reverse to set the anchor. Try to find a patch a pure sand to drop rather than sand and grass. Observe the contour of the bottom, try to get the anchor to pull into a mound or a bump. 3) Use two anchors most of the time. 4) Snorkel both anchors. The waters are warm and clear. The sand is not always that deep. The anchor may feel set, but may not be sitting properly. A change in wind or current direction will knock it out. 5) Be prepared to reset the anchor a few times before you get a good dig. This is the cruising we enjoy--miles of uninhabited beaches and great scenery. At night the stars are unbelievable. There really is a Milky Way. It's nice being self-sufficient. The water makers have been working great. And we have enough food for another month. We knew it couldn't last for long. Our entire refrigeration system finally died, forcing us to leave Frazer Hogg Cay sooner than expected. The fridge compressor died a slow grueling death, complete with lots of noise, overheating, and thrashing. The whole system is toast. As we head off to Nassau, Denise and I keep repeating, "We don't want another Titusville, we don't want another Titusville ..."