Abaco, Bahamas: Cruising Notes

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Cruising Notes: Abaco, Bahamas

Contributed by Hugh Devlin

These cruising notes are not necessarily a duplication of the available cruising guides, but rather offers opinions and suggestions. For a suggested itinerary, go to the cruising log.

Introduction

Anyone should try the Abaco. They probably are what the Virgins Islands might have been a couple of decades ago, in terms of seclusion. If you are fond of uncrowded anchorages, or if you like having an entire island to yourselves for a night, the Abaco are it. The people are very, honest, friendly and helpful, with none of the harshness sometimes found elsewhere in the Caribbean. If you can take advantage of good deals on airfare to Florida, you can get your party to the Abaco relatively inexpensively. You can fly into Marsh Harbor or Treasure Cay from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, or West Palm Beach.

Material and Must-Reads

These notes assume some familiarity with the two most popular cruising guides for the area. Both are available in annual editions:

  • Cruising Guide to the Abaco, by Steve Dodge, White Sound Press. The Moorings® provides this one. Otherwise it's about $10. Includes aerial photographs of the most popular harbors. Good GPS waypoints. Phone directory.

  • Yachtsman's Guide to the Bahamas, edited by Meredith Helleberg Fields, Tropic Isle Publishers, North Miami, FL. Spiral bound. Good section of about 100 pages on the Abaco.

Cruising Grounds

The Abaco are the northern-most islands of the Bahamas. The cruising grounds offered to most a charter customer out of Marsh Harbor is the Sea of Abaco. The Sea of Abaco is roughly defined as the rather shallow waters between the islands of Little Abaco and Great Abaco (together referred to as the "mainland"), and a string of smaller islands to the east and north, including such islands as Elbow Cay, Great Guana Cay, Green Turtle Cay, etc. The smaller, outer islands break the surge of the North Atlantic.
Therefore, there's a rough analogy between the Sea of Abaco and the Francis Drake Channel in the BVI's, except that the Sea of Abaco is: Shallower, less choppy, sandy.

The Drake Channel, of course, has the reputation for being the "ideal" cruising ground for first-time charterers. The Sea of Abaco has many of the same characteristics:

  • Well-defined bounds
  • Relatively calm waters
  • Easy visual navigation
  • Relatively few hazards
  • Many attractions
  • Easy anchorages

Depths - Running Aground

Depths within the Sea of Abaco range from 0 to 30 feet. You can easily sail entire days with no more than 20 feet under your keel. The closest thing to this situation is probably Biscayne Bay, inside the Florida Keys. For the most part, the big coral heads and rocks are on the outside (Atlantic side) of the outer islands, although there are exceptions. The Sea of Abaco is for the most part lined with a thick layer of soft sand. Moorings® asks charter customers to stay inside the Sea of Abaco, except for Whale Cay Passage (see below).

It is said that everyone eventually goes aground in the Abaco. When you do, by all means try to time it properly so it happens on a rising tide. If so, it is usually not a concern, unless maybe you are blocking a harbor entrance. You will go aground on soft sand, unless you go out of your way, as some charter customers have, to ground out on coral or rocks. If the tide is rising, and you are not too badly dug in, the best thing to do is usually to remain calm, get a drink, go for a swim, and wait. The tide swing is between 2 to 3 feet, usually around 3 feet. Among the places where you can run aground:

  • In the shallow area southwest of No Name Cay, southeast of Green Turtle Cay
  • Just outside of the harbor entrance to Hope Town, with a pleasant view of the famous candy-striped light house
    *Entrance to Hope Town Harbor
  • Entrance to Treasure Cay
  • Entering Marsh Harbor and not paying attention and veering to the south of the channel toward Big Cay
  • Anchoring off of New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay too close to the shore
  • Our keel touched an old engine block sunk off of Delia's Cay (off Great Guana Cay)
  • East of Point Set Rock

Passages where tide help is nice. The above-mentioned experiences have taught us to take tide help when we can get it. Here are some harbor entrances and channels we try to hit on a rising tide:

  • Hope Town
  • Treasure Cay
  • Lubber's Channel
  • Little Harbor

If you draw more than 5ft, tide help is more of a necessity than a nicety.

Weather

The weather in the Abaco is somewhat similar to Florida's East Coast, a tad warmer, a tad breezier, a tad dryer. The Abaco weather has more in common with the southeastern United States than the Caribbean. In the winter, it can get really cool in the evening. After a few hot sunny days you will welcome partly cloudy skies. It may rain briefly every day around mid-day, then clear up just as quickly. Winds can be stiff in a storm, so if you are sailing into a squall, be ready to douse sails, if necessary.

A must: the Cruiser's Net on Channel 68 at 0815. Silbert Mills of Admiral's Yacht Haven announces the weather, followed by news bulletins, message relays, and a swap meet. Channel 16 is used extensively by the locals as an alternative to telephones.

Sailing is good in the fall: September and October. The crowds are down, and many tourist-oriented businesses close, but if you want to get away to primitive anchorages, it's ideal.

Cellular Phones

The Abaco have very good cell phone coverage (not for AT&T though). Simply enable roaming on your phone. You have to make an effort to get out of cell-phone coverage within the proscribed cruising ground. A tall hill in the Abaco is a few dozen feet. You might have trouble at anchor in Hope Town Harbor, since the nearest antennas, at Marsh Harbor, may be blocked by the hill with the lighthouse.

Meeting Up

Two airports serve the area: Marsh Harbor and Treasure Cay. Possible pick-up/drop-off points on the mainland, reachable by cab, include Marsh Harbor, Treasure Cay, Coopers Town, and Little Harbor. Other possible pick-up/drop-off points, on the out islands, are reachable by inexpensive, regularly scheduled high-speed ferries, including Hope Town, Great Guana Cay, Man-o-War Cay, and Green Turtle Cay.

A sailboat can't dock there, but there is a small ferry dock minutes from Treasure Cay airport, on Great Abaco Island, directly across from New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay. There's a taxi stand. Taxis can be hailed on channel 6 or 16... So have your guests give you a call when they get in, and tell them where to go. Drop them off almost anywhere. Transportation is comprehensive and cheap so often you don't have to cater your sail plan to the guests.

Provisioning

In Marsh Harbor:
1. Sawyer's Soft Drinks (soda, bottled drinking water, juices)
2. Golden Harvest (groceries; fresh food)
3. Solomon Brother's (bulk items)
4. A & K Liquor (necessities; good selection of wines)
5. Long's Landing Seafoods (grill a fresh fish your first night out)
Sawyer's and A & K will deliver to the dock. The Golden Harvest and Solomon's do not, but you can save a cab fare by hauling groceries using your dinghy via the nearby public dock.

Hope Town also has good stores, in particular, Vernon Malone's grocery and bakery. New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay, and Guana Cay Settlement also have some stores. If you are cruising up north, Cooper's Town has block ice and a few small stores with sundries, but approaching the pier at the Shell station can be tricky in a breeze.

The Bahamian dollar is pegged to the US dollar. Prices are higher than stateside, of course, but cheaper than the Caribbean. In particular, beer is pretty expensive. Many wines and some liquor are a good buys. Bahamian fresh-squeezed orange juice is expensive but delicious.

Fine Dining

  • Inn at Spanish Cay (Spanish Cay) Dinner is served on a wonderful veranda on stilts on the Atlantic side. Magnificent sunset views. Breakfast is served on the Sea of Abaco side.
  • Mango's (Marsh Harbor)
  • Abaco Inn (Elbow Cay). They will pick you up from Hope Town harbor if you radio for reservations.
  • Club Soleil (Hope Town)
  • New Plymouth Inn (Green Turtle Cay)

Night-Life

The Abaco are not Miami South Beach. However, some bars and restaurants do occasionally rock'n roll, particularly on week-end nights, and Thursday nights during the tourist season:

  • The Gully Rooster club at the top of the hill in New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay
  • Steak night at the Jib Room in Marsh Harbor
  • Rusty Pelican bar in Treasure Cay
  • Green Turtle Club in White Sound on Green Turtle Cay

The local band is the Gully Roosters. Their home base is the club of the same name in New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay. Ask around among the locals to see where they are playing (if they still are at this writing). It's sure to be a great time. Sport fishing is a much bigger industry in the Abaco than sailing, and the intensity of the party scene seems to track the fish running. When one of these spots gets cooking, it can be a really special evening, where sailors, power boaters, fishermen, locals, and resort guests, young and old, mix and match.

Most Requested Anchorages

Your guests, under the influence of travel brochures, are sure to request:

  • Hope Town (candy-striped lighthouse)
  • Green Turtle Cay (pastel-painted houses)
  • Treasure Cay (endless miles of beach)

By all means visit them, but eventually you will find yourself trying to get away from it all...

Favorite Anchorages

  • Baker's Bay on Great Guana for first and/or last night out
  • Moraine Cay (which we affectionately refer to as "Moron Cay")
  • Powell Cay
  • Between Manjack Cay and Crab Cay
  • Allans-Pensacola Cay

Favorite Beaches

  • Treasure Cay
  • Hope Town
  • Guana Cay near settlement (go to Nippers, a fun place to party)
  • Elbow Cay near Abaco Inn
  • About a quarter mile walk east from New Plymouth, a small, shallow, protected bay near the east end of Green Turtle Cay, great for kids.

Most of the best beaches are on the Atlantic side of the outer islands, with Treasure Cay being a notable exception.

Pool Tables

  • Harbor's Edge in Hope Town
  • Sapodilly's in Marsh Harbor

Freshwater Pools

  • Conch Inn (Marsh Harbor)
  • Club Soleil (Hope Town)
  • Hope Town Harbor Lodge

Bird-spotting

  • Spoil banks at Baker's Bay: terns, gulls, plovers
  • Manjack Cay/Crab Cay: pelicans, herons
  • Green Turtle Cay: mockingbirds, bananaquits, egrets
  • Powell Cay: tropic birds
  • Everywhere: magnificent frigatebirds

The Collins Guide to the Birds of New Providence and the Bahamas Islands, P. G. C. Brudenell-Bruce, Stephen Green Press, distributed by Viking Penguin is available in gift shops in Marsh Harbor, and supplements the ever indispensable Field Guide to the Birds, Roger Tory Peterson.

Scuba Diving

Literally millions of acres of reef lie just outside the outer islands of the Abaco. It's been described as the largest reef outside the Great Barrier. You could dive a new spot every day for the rest of your life and just be getting started. Moderate depths, lots of coral, lots of fish, lots of color.

You can get organized dive trips with Dive Abaco, right at Conch Inn in Marsh Harbor. You can also dive off the beach, off the stern, and off the dinghy. Hope Town and Green Turtle Cay also have dive shops. If you rent tanks, make sure they have current inspection stamps on them, or the dive shops may refuse to fill their competitor's tanks, and you may find you are unable to get a fill "on the road."

Favorite Things To Do (not in particular order)

  • Spend a day swimming at Treasure Cay.
  • Snorkel off of Hope Town's beach.
  • Steak night (Sundays) at the Jib Room of the Marsh Harbor Marina.
  • Climb Hope Town lighthouse, enjoy view, chat with lighthouse keeper.
  • Visit Wyannie Malone Historical Museum in Hope Town.
  • New Years at New Plymouth: Junk-a-noo in the afternoon, fireworks at night. (Anchor out of range of shore-based bottle rockets).
  • Give the ground tackle a rest, pick up a mooring ball in Hope Town Harbor or Treasure Cay.
  • Visit the Memorial Sculpture Garden in New Plymouth.
  • Visit the Albert Lowe Museum in New Plymouth.
  • Happy Hour at Hope Town Harbor Lodge.
  • Contemplate Whale Cay Passage while viewing memorabilia in the Rusty Pelican.

Hazards

  • Man-o-War Cay is dry (no provisioning for booze!)
  • Third round of Goomby Smashes at Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar
  • Rounding Whale Cay

The Sea of Abaco is divided into a northern and southern section, by a shoal area between Treasure Cay and Whale Cay. These shallows require all but the craziest catamaran sailors to sail on the outside (Atlantic side) of Whale Cay for a couple-few miles. The northern passage, Whale Cay Channel, is shallow, crossed by a sand bar extending between Whale Cay and Channel Rock. This sand bar is swept broadsides by the surge from the Atlantic. The hazardous thing about this passage is that you don't want to be directly over that sand bar when a deep trough comes through, so keep an eye on the wave heights. In going north/west from the Moorings® base at Marsh Harbor to Green Turtle Cay and beyond, as you come back in from the outside, you can watch as your depth sounder drops from 3 digits to maybe around 10 feet, and then deepens again to the high teens. You're in. If the seas are moderate to high, it can be a bit nerve-racking. The advice in the cruising guides is good. The GPS waypoints in Dodge's cruising guide work well. Read the cruising guides, listen up at your chart briefing, and use your head, and it's nothing to worry about.