The northern island chain is called the Abacos and it has been described as the “Florida” of the Bahamas (because it is very American in many ways, plus it’s easy to get here from Florida and lots of boaters never leave this part of the Bahamas). Put it this way…I had Starbucks coffee in Marsh Harbour (very exciting!!).
We left Spanish Wells after a few days of rather high winds. Our crossing (about 50knots) was very interesting – little wind and big ocean swell. The captain had a rough time and had to take many motion sickness pills. We also had to motor the entire way – not much fun. But when we arrived, we found a nice anchorage beside Lynyard Cay that was very calm and pleasant. We visited a little place called Little Harbour – not much there but it was pretty and it gave us a chance to walk around.
Much like the Exumas, the distances between the Abacos islands is very small so changing anchorages only takes a few hours. We decided to jump from Lynyard all the way to Marsh Harbour! We had an excellent day of sailing to get up the chain! The wind was a good strength and we had to do a lot of trimming of the sails because it was not a straight course. Lots of swallow water that needs to be bypassed on this route.
Marsh Harbour is an interesting town that really does feel very American – it has sidewalks, parking lots and a grocery store called Maxwells that is like a small Walmart. When we arrived at the Marsh Harbour anchorage, it was packed (a cold front with north winds was heading our way so everyone was trying to anchor in a protected area) and we had to anchor very close to other boats. It was “George Town” anchoring rules!!
Definitely the highlight of Marsh Harbour has been finding this excellent coffee shop called Calypso Coffee House. They serve Starbucks coffee and have great wifi!! We’ve also enjoyed Maxwells and they have a CIBC so no extra transaction fees for using another bank’s ATM. We’ve walked around a bit and have enjoyed seeing this town.
It’s hard to believe we only have about 2 more weeks left in the Bahamas. We’ll probably be leaving Marsh Harbour in the morning (Sat., April 6), making our way north. Our last island stop will be Great Sale Cay. After that it’s a roughly 30 hour crossing to Cape Canaveral and then another 3 or 4 days up to coast to Reynold’s Park Yacht Centre. Yippy!
Crimson Kathryn and her crew 