Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas

March 23 to March 30

 

Our stay in Marsh Harbour started out very hot and humid with temperatures in the low 80’s. The marina has a pool and we took advantage of it. We met up with a few old friends we had travelled with before and made some new ones who are in the process of doing the Loop. On Fri. the 27^th there was a big storm that came thru. The winds were clocked around 40 mph with gusts higher. Boy were we glad to be tied to a dock. A sailboat dragged anchor in the bay near us and was pushed up against some pilings. The wind blew all night and the next day.

Walk way from road to Conch Inn Marina.

 

 

One of our daily walks took us to a castle which was built in 1940 by Dr. Evans Cottman. Dr. Cottman was a doctor from the US and traveled all thru the Abacos by sailboat treating the Bahamians.

 

Flowers along the road.

 

On another walk we went to the other side of the Island to another marina and resort. WOW talk about the lifestyle on the other side of the “tracks”. Dockage at this marina costs $3.25 per foot a night (we have a 45’ boat - you do the math), plus they charge for electric and water.

Abaco Beach Resort

(gulf cart parking)

The pool is just a little bit different then the one at our marina.

 

The parts came in for the generator and everything is working great (thanks to our personal mechanic Randy). We are moving north today to Bakers Bay for the night, the Whale Channel tomorrow and if the weather holds hold we will be crossing to the States on Thurs. or Fri.

 

 

Marsh Harbour to Marsh Harbour

March 15 to March 23

We left Marsh Harbour and travelled to several anchorages and stopped at 2 towns, (Treasure Cay & Hope Town).

Turtle Cay (one of our anchorages)

 

Treasure Cay is very American with lots of condos and villas to rent, 1 grocery store and a couple of little gift shops. There is a well protected harbor to anchor in and a beautiful sandy beach.

 

Hope Town is larger and still has a lot of Bahamian charm left. It also has a very well protected harbor, with one of the few remaining lighthouses that still uses oil to light it. There are 2 grocery stores and lots of restaurants and gift shops.

From lighthouse looking over harbor and Atlantic.

From lighthouse looking over Sea of Abaco and Priorities.

(That's what most of the anchorages look like.)

 

 Most of the houses in Hope Town look like this.

 

 

Now we are back in Marsh Harbour this time at a dock instead of on anchor. The solenoid burned out on our generator (it was replaced only 3 months ago) so we need to order another one. It was a good time to come into this harbor because the winds were predicted to increase for the next 2 days any way. While we wait for the part it will give us a chance to check out more of the town and we will also have internet so it’s great catching up with the outside world.

 

Great Harbor Cay, Berrys to Marsh Harbour, Abacos

March 6 to March 14

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean was nice and uneventful with 2 foot swells and took us 10 hours. About an hour from our anchorage the waves got shorter and choppier. Right as we came in to Lynyard Cay to anchor we got a strong rain storm that lasted about 20 min. than the sun came out and has been out everyday since.

 

Atlantic Ocean at sunrise.

Check out the depths on the GPS. At several points we were in water over 9,000 ft.

 

 Great Abaco Island.

Ocean view from anchorage.

Sea of Abaco side of anchorage.

On our second day at this anchorage 2 boats came in that we had travelled with before, so along with them and 2 other sailboats that were also anchored here we had a pot luck dinner on the beach.
 

This is called a Bahamian parking lot.

 

 Hermit crab races.

There is harbor near us called Little Harbour which consists of an assortment of homes, a marina, and 1 restaurant called Pete’s Pub. We took the dinghies over one day for lunch. The food is expensive but good and the rum punch is even better.

 

Little Harbour.

We stayed at this anchorage 4 days and spent our time walking the beaches, snorkeling, and diving for lobster.

Next we moved on to Marsh Harbour.  This town is huge compared to what we have seen. They even have 1 traffic light and the grocery store looks like the ones back in the States. We took an Island ferry to Guana Cay for one afternoon to a place called Nippers for lunch and a concert with the Barefoot Band. The music was an island/Buffet style.
 

Nippers restaurant.

 

 

Great Harbor Cay, Bahamas (Berry's)

Feb. 28 to March 5

Our months stay at Great Harbor marina is coming to a close. Tomorrow we are moving north to the Abacos where we will be travelling thru that string of Islands for the month of March. During our stay here we have walked numerous beaches (found some very nice treasures), cruised around in the dinghy, met up with some old friends and made many more new ones, and even took up yoga.

Great Harbor marina.

Pool and bar/restaurant. (part of the marina)

Some of the shells we found.

Top left 2 conch shells, bottom 2 horse conchs, and 1 star fish.

(put my flip flop there to show the size) 

(side note: 1 conch, 1 horse conch, and the star fish were dead when we found them, the meat from the other 2 shells was eaten and some used for fish bait)