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Norman's Pond Cay, Lee Stocking Island, Exuma Cays, Bahamas

The chart and following text are from The Exuma Guide by Stephen J. Pavlidis

Norman’s Pond Cay

Norman’s Pond Cay (Chart EX-31), is approximately 2¼ miles long and almost ¾ mile wide.  On its southern end is a large 48-acre salt pond just south of a 50’ high hill.  A poorly constructed canal once connected this pond to the sea.  A dinghy can enter the pond but only at or near high tide due to the canal wall that blocks the way at low water.  There is said to be good bonefishing in this pond.  Ashore you will find the ruins of buildings from the salt pond days including a 6’ deep turtle kraal and some pasture walls.  The rocky shoreline on the eastern side of Norman’s Pond Cay is excellent for beach combing with all manner of flotsam and jetsam washing ashore through Adderly Cut.  The western shore is almost all beaches with some very rocky sections.
 

Navigational Information
If approaching from the Pimblicos, pass between the northern end of Norman’s Pond Cay and Guana Cay.  Watch out for the small reef that is almost awash at high water off the northeastern tip of Norman’s Pond Cay.  Here you will also find (as of this writing), a large light and weather station placed here by the Caribbean Marine Research Center (CRMC) on Lee Stocking Island.  The CMRC is not certain how long the weather station/light will be in place so use caution as you approach the northern tip of Normans Pond Cay.  It is also possible that the CMRC may place another light in the vicinity of Norman’s Pond Cay or Lee Stocking Island so keep your eyes open when traversing these waters. 

It is possible to anchor off the NW tip of Norman’s Pond Cay.  If approaching from Adderly Cut, pass between Leaf Cay and Norman’s Pond Cay, round the northern tip of Norman’s, and enter the anchorage.  A deep-water channel (Charts EX-34, 35, & 36) leads from this anchorage to Clove Cay Cut and the cut between Brigantine Cay and New Cay.

Some cruisers choose to anchor off the southern tip of Norman’s Pond Cay.  To enter this anchorage simply follow the eastern shore of the cay around until you find the spot where you want to drop your hook in 5’-7’ at low water.

What You Will Find Ashore
If you anchor off the northwestern tip of Norman’s Pond Cay in prevailing winds.  There is a fantastic submarine cave just inside the entrance to this anchorage.  Look for the opening in the rocks just below the hill with the large dildo cactus on it.  The entrance will look like a small green pool just a few feet in from the rocky shoreline.  This is a magnificent network of caves and a must for tank divers.  The cave drops in three steps with large cathedral ceilings at a 45º angle down to about 120’.  At that depth a diver can still see the light of the opening and the cave branches out into other caves while one opening drops straight down.  One diver who was familiar with the cave said it went well over 250’ down while locals say it is bottomless.  At one time, a scientist from the Caribbean Marine Research Center on Lee Stocking Island used the cave to play a practical joke on some visiting researchers.  He planted a plastic human skeleton deep in the cave and invited his victims to dive the cave with him.  That was probably a very memorable dive.  A colony of small green iguanas inhabit the island and are often seen around the mouth of this cave.

North of Norman’s Pond Cay lies Guana Cay with a nice beach on its western side.  There is a colony of rock iguanas on the cay so do not bring your dog ashore or feed the iguanas; they are protected by the Bahamian government.  There are the remains of an old pasture wall on the cay.  To the east of Guana Cay lies Dildo Cay, so named because of an abundance of dildo cactus that grows there.  All around the rocks that lie to the east of Norman’s Pond Cay, between Bock Cay to the north and Adderly Cay to the south, are scattered heads, rocks, and ledges making for excellent snorkeling.
 

Adderly Cay and Adderly Cut

Adderly Cut - ¼ nm ENE of:
23° 47.45’ N, 76° 06.30’ W

Adderly Cay (Chart EX-31), is approximately ¼ mile long and half as wide.  It is the site of Adderly Beacon, the navigational landmark for Adderly Cut.  About 200’ from its south end, Adderly Beacon sits 20’ above high water.  The beacon shaft sits on a base that is 5’ square and 5’ high.  It is topped by a concrete cap 3” thick.  The shaft of the beacon is circular and approximately 20’ tall with a 5’ diameter at its base. 
 

Navigational Information
A waypoint at 23º 47.45’ N, 76º 06.30’ W, will place you ¼ mile northeast of the cut.  The entrance to the cut is wide, deep, and very straightforward.  As you enter the cut you may see some small buoys placed here and there in the waters between Lee Stocking Island, Adderly Cay, Leaf Cay, and Norman’s Pond Cay.  These are not to be confused with navigational aids.  They are markers for some of the ongoing research being conducted at the Caribbean Marine Research Center on Lee Stocking Island.

What You Will Find Ashore
On the cay itself you will find little more than some sea grape trees.  There are some heads and rocks just off the southwestern tip of Adderly Cay that are worth investigating by dinghy.
 

Lee Stocking Island
 

Lee Stocking Island (Chart EX-31) is approximately 4 miles long and the southern section, sometimes called Williams Cay, was once a separate cay but the cut between the two has filled in over the years.  There is a well-protected anchorage that makes a good stop on the way to George Town or just to ride out a front.  

Navigational Information
Enter from Exuma Sound using Adderly Cut and swing close around the western tip of Lee Stocking Island.  Heading in towards the anchorage area you may or may not see a large white buoy that says “No Wake” on it.  If it is there, pass it to port as there are some shallow rocks between the buoy and shore, then angle in towards the dock slightly until you enter the deeper water of the anchorage.  This anchorage is a good refuge in the event of a frontal passage but it is wide open to strong winds from south-southeast through south to southwest.  As of this writing the Caribbean Marine Research Center has a few moorings that are free, but the moorings are not maintained and their future is in doubt.  When you arrive here call the center on VHF ch. 16, either Bahama Hunter or Caribbean Marine Research Center, and ask for the status of the moorings if they are still there.

If you pass through the anchorage and head south along the western shore of Lee Stocking Island, avoiding the shallow sandbank that lies on its western shore, you will soon come to Williams Bay, another good anchorage in 6’ at low water but also open to south and southwest winds.  Just north of Williams Bay is a small curving beach.  With its palm tree lined shore and backdrop of a steep rocky hill covered with dense jungle-like vegetation it may remind you of a South Pacific island.  If you proceed further south along the shore of Lee Stocking Island you can pass south of Windsock Cay and head towards Children’s Bay Cay and Rat Cay.  To the south of Lee Stocking Island you will see two rocks called Tug and Barge because they resemble a small tug pulling a barge.

What You Will Find Ashore
Lee Stocking Island is the home of the Caribbean Marine Research Center.  The CMRC is a one of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Undersea Research Centers (NURC).  The center is affiliated with Florida State University, the University of South Carolina, Oregon State University, the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, and the United States Geological Survey.  The CMRC offers scientists a complete marine field laboratory with easy access to pristine marine environments including coral reefs, shoals, mangrove swamps, sea grass beds, deep hardgrounds, and carbonate mud beds.

The principal projects being conducted at the CMRC are the study of the habitat, lifestyles, feeding patterns, and growth cycles of the Queen Conch, Nassau Grouper, the Red Tilapia, and the Spiny Lobster.  Saltwater aquaculture studies being done at the CMRC are designed to enhance stocks of these important food sources.  Because so much research on this work is being done in the waters surrounding the Lee Stocking Island area, the researchers at Lee Stocking Island respectfully request visitors not to spearfish, line fish, or take any conch, corals, or shells anywhere in the vicinity of Lee Stocking Island from Bock Cay south to Rat Cay.  This is little to ask in view of the good it will bring in the long term.  The average cruiser may think that taking one grouper for dinner won’t matter but they are quite wrong.  One grouper can have a dramatic effect on the studies in the area.  If you insist on taking fish in the area, wait; take a tour of the Center first.  If you witness the marvelous work that they are doing you may think twice about fishing in the area and disturbing their ongoing research projects.  Anyone wishing to tour the facilities can call the CMRC, Bahama Hunter, on VHF ch.16 and ask about a tour.  The CMRC requests that groups of boats join together for tours for obvious reasons and please not go ashore without permission.  The staff will be more than happy to show you the facilities if you ask. A popular attraction with the kids is the 2-man submarine, the Gamma Neckton.  Able to cruise for seven hours at depths up to 1000’ on one charge of its 24-volt system, this tiny submersible is in almost daily use charting the waters and giving scientists a first hand look at the local marine life.  Sorry, the CMRC cannot take the kids for a ride.

A very interesting feature at the CMRC is the tidal gauge.  This is simply a shaft leading down to water level which is fed inland a short distance by an underwater tunnel.  By means of a gauge and chart recorder, the scientists at the CMRC are able to accurately measure true Atlantic Ocean tides and contribute important data to the Permanent Service on Mean Sea Level.  Underwater caves surveyed by the scientists in the area provide more than 125,000 years of geological history showing natural changes in sea level during prehistoric times.  One interesting discovery that they have made is that extreme tides, though not all extreme tides, may forewarn of impending natural disasters.  Four hours before the devastating 1989 earthquake in San Francisco, the chart recorder measured an all time record high tide of 8” above the highest spring high tide ever recorded in this area.  Scientists are hoping that one day they will be able to identify and predict certain disasters and possibly avert bigger catastrophes by using this tidal information.

The CMRC also monitors seawater temperature, which can confirm a global warming trend.  The center also measures harmful UV-B radiation and its effects on DNA, the basic genetic material found in cells.  The DNA is placed in quartz tubes and deployed in the ocean where the device absorbs UV-B radiation from all angles in the same way as marine organisms.  Experiments conducted near this lab have discovered that the amount of UV-B radiation striking organisms at the ocean surface is up to twice as high as predicted under conventional theories.

The CMRC is also actively involved in taking core samples for recording geological records and ancient climatic cycles.  In 1987, corals throughout the Caribbean lost their bright colors and turned bone white, signaling severe stress on the fragile coral reefs.  The CMRC was part of a National Science Foundation rapid response team mobilized at that time to study the coral bleaching throughout the Caribbean.

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