Hogsty Reef

Hogsty Reef is a uninhabited coral atoll located in the southern Bahamas. It is located between Great Inagua (to the South) and Acklins Island (to the North).

Hogsty is a bit of an oddity in the Atlantic basin. It is a 5×3 mile coral atoll rising up from 6,000 ft deep surrounding waters. Atolls are presumed to form from extinct volcanoes – in a process whereby the volcano creates the sea mount which rises from the ocean depths, then subsides leaving a coral atoll. There are just a handful of these geological formations in the Atlantic, whereas there are hundreds in the Pacific. Hogsty is uninhabited and hardly anyone ever visits. There are just two tiny islands – hardly larger than sandbars – not enough to offer any real lee anchorage. The islands are small enough to walk/circumnavigate in 5-10 minutes. They do offer good shelling. Most charts and guides call out an anchorage in the lee of NW Cay. It is also possible to anchor at the head of the lagoon. The lagoon is mostly 20-30 ft deep with scattered coral heads. Good light is needed to navigate it. Once at the head of the lagoon, there is a large field of 10 ft sand to anchor in. The charts indicate areas of the reef dry at low water, which suggests good protection from surge at low tide, but as of 2009, little of the reef actually dries.