Many people feel that this bay gives the best shelter in the whole of the Marlborough Sounds. The bay is surrounded by bush with high hills to the north; this seems to contribute to the bay’s placidness, without resulting in the gusts and wind acceleration that occurs in many bays.
Holding is poor from the north-west to the centre of the bay. In bad conditions the most sheltered part is to the north-eastern side. There are some mussel rafts in the bay, but there is ample room for anchorage on the northern side of these rafts.
On the western side of the bay a stream comes out and gives good fresh water. There is room on the foreshore for camping near the stream and further eastwards.
The depth of water over most of the bay is no more than four meters. This makes anchoring extremely easy but let out plenty of scope to compensate for the indifferent holding. The bay is open only to SW winds and should not be used in strong winds from this direction.
The bay to the west of Chance Bay has two small coves that are suitable for anchorage with stern lines in W to NE conditions by boats up to 12 meters in length. The main part of the bay (Central Nydia Bay) however acts as a wind funnel and is unsatisfactory.
