Baffin Bay less than deep near the coast, where the sea bottom is covered with gravel, crushed stone and sand. In the center, there is a deep pit called the Baffin Basin, reaching (see ), which is mostly covered in silt. Currents form a cyclonic circulation. On the eastern periphery, in summer, the West Greenland Current transports water from the Atlantic Ocean to the North. In its western part, the Baffin Island Current brings the Arctic waters to the south. The climate is Arctic with frequent storms, especially in winter. Average January temperatures are in the south and on the north. In
Bay to Bay yacht race head along the Great Sandy Strait to the finish near Fig Tree Creek (before 1600hrs) just south of the overnight stopover at Garry's Anchorage a destination they need to reach before dark. During the night, yachts are either beached or anchored up individually or rafted together in the Anchorage. The second days race starts usually at 0730hrs north west of Dream Island with competitors heading north up the Great Sandy Strait, past Boonlye Point around the red lateral buoy S24 across towards the South White Cliffs on Fraser Island, past the entrance to the Mary River, past the Kingfisher Bay