Sampson Cay is a hidden jewel which many miss being so close to very popular Big Major (swimming pigs) anchorage. We stopped in here as we are not crazy about the very busy Big Major and didnt want to go into Stanial yet.
The anchorage is surprizingly well protected with hardly any current. You anchor of the West/outside dock of the Sampson Cay Resort in about 9' of water in good holding sand. Great swimming right off the boat.
The small resort has a store, marina, condos, and a small restaurant. The staff is super friendly, but the owner is a bit excentric so the availability of fuel and access to showers/laundry depends on how busy the marina ($3.50/ft) is and the mood of the owner. While we were there we had no problem with showers, laundry, store or restaurant. Fuel, in particular gas, was in short supply so that was unavailable to us. Water always was at the normal 0.50/gal.
Behind the resort was a large tidal flat with the eastern half of Sampson on the other side. Dingying over there at mid tide we found a short trail and found an amazing stretch of beach, rocky to the north, sandy to the south, just perfect for beachcoming. Found an Urchin nursary with litterly hunderds of small to very large urchins. Back at the dingy we found a depression/bowl of about 2m of water that was about 10m across forming a natural hot tub. The high salinity and hot temp meant you could float and soak with no effort, quite the feeling.
A few trails along the western arm of the Cay were nice for early am walks with Maggie. Had to keep a tight leash with the free range chickens walking around. The other interesting aspect were all the nurse sharks which cruised around the docks and over by some of the small snorkel sites. Burry and Jason snorkeled with then on one of our visits and was quite the experiance. Initial encounter makes you suck in a bit of air!
Sampson Cay is a gorgeous place for a few days, definately recommend it be added on a cruisers place to stop list.