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Sailing the Abacos Chain – Discover 9 Amazing Anchorages and Cruising

We thoroughly enjoyed our time sailing through the Bahamas from Bimini to the Berry Islands, and then Northern Eleuthera. Next on our itinerary is sailing the Abacos Chain. We arrive from the south and sail our way through the Abacos chain from southeast to north west. Continue reading to learn about all the anchorages and marinas we stopped at, and the fun things we did on each island.

Northern Eleuthera to Lynyard Cay

We left Meeks Patch in Northern Eleuthera on March 26, 2023 and had a great sail 59 nautical miles north, entering the Sea of Abacos on the southern end at Little Harbour. The weather was perfect and we were able to sail the Atlantic Ocean for most of this passage, and saw a ton of flying fish! The cut through Little Harbour is narrow, with breakers on either side, so we timed our arrival for slack time to reduce the impact of currents.

Pelagia sailing in the Atlantic Ocean with the forward sail out. It's deep blue waters on a sunny day.

We anchored at Lynyard Cay for the night at a beautiful beach and enjoyed sundowners with our cruising friends. Lynyard Cay provided us protection from the easterly winds.

Lynyard Cay Anchorage

  • Latitude: 26° 21’ 29.01”N, Longitude: 76° 59’ 10.18”W
  • Holding: Good holding in sand and grass
  • Wind Protection: Protected from the northeast through southeast
  • Depth: 12-16 feet
  • Pet Friendly: Yes, beautiful beaches
  • Groceries: No
  • Restaurants: Pete’s Pub is located approximately 2 nm away that you can dinghy to

Lynyard Cay to Hope Town

We stayed at Lynyard Cay for one night, and the next morning sailed north 19 nautical miles past Tahiti Beach to Hope Town on Elbow Cay.

We timed our entrance into Hope Town Harbour within an hour of high tide, as we draw 5.5 feet and would likely hit bottom coming in or out of the channel during low tide.

Finding a mooring ball in the harbor was an experience! The mooring balls are marked with jugs (different colors for different businesses who own the mooring balls). However, mooring balls are also marked with jugs for people who are using them, but away from their mooring at the time. Luckily, when we arrived, a local in the mooring field pointed out an open ball for us and our friends had an eye on one as well.

As we were attaching to the ball, I quickly noticed how close we were to the ball behind us. We were so close, we had to tie up our dinghy along side of Pelagia, instead of behind her, to prevent it from touching the boat behind us.

From all the mooring fields we have stayed in, this is by far the closest we have been to the boats next to us.

We spent an entire week in Hope Town, as you get a discount on the mooring balls for staying for a full week. We paid $150 for the week for the mooring ball. If we rented it by the night, the cost was $30/night.

We had a great time in Hope Town, from going to the beach, shopping the local shops, and playing Bingo at a bar! Read more about our adventures and fun times we had in the Top 10 Things to do in Hope Town.

Hope Town Mooring Field – Hope Town Inn & Marina Mooring Ball

  • Latitude: 26° 32’20.96”N, Longitude: 76° 57’ 36.14”W
  • Cost: $150/week or $30/night
  • Holding: Ball held well, with very little room between boats
  • Wind Protection: Protected from all directions
  • Depth: 8-14 feet
  • Water: For purchase only. You could purchase air purified potable water by the gallon for drinking or possibly purchase RO water from a marina if available. It is highly discouraged to use your water maker in the harbor as the water quality is not great. There are no pump out facilities in the Bahamas that we found, and it is possible that people could be pumping their boats’ holding tanks in the harbor. I do not recommend this as this is against regulations.
  • Pump Out: No pump out. You must leave your ball and go outside the harbor (3 miles away from land) to pump out
  • Laundry: Yes, our ball belonged to Hope Town Inn & Marina, so we could use their laundry facilities. The cost is $7 for the washer and $7 for the dryer. The most expensive laundry we have come across in the Bahamas.
  • Bathroom/Showers: Yes, however, Hope Town Inn & Marina charges $7 for use of the shower.
  • Pet Friendly: Yes
  • Groceries: Yes, Vernon’s grocery store is located near the dinghy dock at Cap’n Jacks and has a limited supply of fresh and frozen foods and other shelved goods.
  • Restaurants: Yes, several very good restaurants!

Hope Town to Man-O-War Cay

After Hope Town, we sailed a short 6 miles northwest to Man-O-War Cay. This island is very residential and considered a “dry island” as they do not sell alcohol in stores. I believe they may now sell alcohol in restaurants; however, we did not eat here so I cannot confirm this.

We stayed at an anchorage near “the narrows,” which is a very narrow strip of land with a relaxing calm beach on the Sea of Abacos on one side, and a rocky coastline on the Atlantic Ocean side. You can stand on the road on this narrow strip and see both at the same time. It is a beautiful spot to visit.

While at this anchorage, we spent time paddle boarding, cleaning the bottom of the boat (thank you Scott!) snorkeling, and relaxing on the beach. We also took the dinghy to the “downtown” area and checked out Albury’s Sail Shop, who makes several totes and items out of recycled canvas.

Photo of Scott in the dinghy headed to the beach on Man-O-War Cay with Pelagia anchored behind him. It's a partly sunny day and the water is clear.
Phot of Scott on the stern of the boat with his gear to snorkel under the boat to clean it. He has a "hooka" system that allows him to breath air under water in his hand. It's a sunny day, and the water looks like a swimming pool!
I'm standing on the narrow strip of land between the Sea of Abacos and the Atlantic Ocean taking a selfie. The Atlantic Ocean is behind me along with the rocky shoreline. It is a sunny day.
Photo of a sign on Man-O-War Cay remembering Hurricane Dorian and all the crews who helped them rebuild. There is a post with multiple wooden planks on it that state the hometown or state where all of the workers were from.
The narrow strip of land on Man-O-War Cay with the beach on the Sea of Abacos on the left side and the Atlantic Ocean on the right side.
The Beach on Man-O-War Cay with dinghies in the water and at least 6 sailboats anchored off the shore. It's a sunny day.

Man-O-War “The Narrows” Anchorage

  • Latitude: 26° 36’24.32”N, Longitude: 77° 01’ 03.83”W
  • Holding: Poor holding. Concrete and storm debris from Hurricane Dorian on the bottom. There are a few sandy/grassy spots that will hold you but they are hard to find.
  • Wind Protection: Protected from the north through southeast
  • Depth: 6 feet
  • Pet Friendly: Yes, beautiful beaches
  • Groceries: Yes, Man-O-War Grocery has a good selection of foods.
  • Restaurants: Yes

Man-O-War Cay to Marsh Harbour

We left Man-O-War Cay to make our way 6 nautical miles southwest across the Sea of Abacos to Marsh Harbor. We have friends flying into Marsh Harbour from Utah in early April to join us for a fun week of sailing the Abacos Chain. Therefore, we docked at Harbour View Marina for easy access for them to get to the boat.

Little did we know that we had one day of sailing, in which we sailed over to Man-O-War Cay for some snorkeling and beach time, before a long and windy cold front came in that sat over the Abacos the entire week of their vacation.

Since we didn’t want to sail in 30+ knot winds, we rented a car and checked out Great Abaco Island. One day we drove down to Pete’s Pub and Gallery, and explored the ruins of Little Harbour Lighthouse nearby. The next day we drove to Little Abaco Island and Fox Town.

Scott and his friend in the cockpit of Pelagia. We are sailing from Marsh Harbour to Man-O-War Cay and the boat is heeled over.
Scott in the foreground and our friends in the background. We hiked to the lighthouse ruins and are walking on a rocky  cliff shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean.
Photo of the ocean and green foliage through a window (no glass) inside the ruins of the lighthouse at Little Harbour.
A wood sign in the shape of a man on the side of the road to Pete's Pub. The wood man is holding a sign that says "Slow Down Mon. Dis Ain't Da Mainland" the man has bright green shorts with planes on them and a bright yellow shirt painted on with several objects painted on.

It was sad to see the island still in recovery mode from Hurricane Dorian, as the island was still full of knocked down trees. On a positive note, the power lines have all been replaced, and there was strong cell phone service across the entire island.

Harbour View Marina

  • Latitude: 26° 32’ 48.38”N, Longitude: 77° 03’ 13.50”W
  • Cost: $2.25/foot/day
  • Slips: Fixed docks
  • Power: $0.75/kwh
  • Water: $3/day with a $20 minimum charge. The water was RO water, however, it tested around 800-900 ppm for TDS. (My preference is to drink water less than 500 ppm).
  • Laundry: Yes – $5 washing machine / $5 dryer. Clean laundry room with good machines.
  • Bathrooms/Showers: Yes – they just renovated the marina after Hurricane Dorian. They are the single rooms with toilet and showers in one. They are the nicest bathroom/showers we have come across in the Bahamas (and US so far).
  • Pet Friendly: Yes – beware of neighborhood dogs on the loose
  • Groceries: Yes – walking distance to Maxwell’s which is the largest grocery store in the Abacos.
  • Restaurants: Yes – walking distance to Colors (my personal favorite), Snappas, and Wally’s

Marsh Harbour to Treasure Cay

After a week of cold weather in April, and lots of wind and rain, our friends’ flight got canceled due to weather. So, they got another sailing adventure with us as we sailed 16 nautical miles up the island to Treasure Cay, where we met another couple of friends. Good news is they are all of Scott’s high school friends who know each other, so it turned out to be a fun, great reunion.

Our friends in Treasure Cay rented a house large enough for Scott and me, Mangaux, and our Utah friends that we stayed in while we anchored Pelagia right out in front of the house! It was nice to get some free laundry done while hanging out with our friends!

Photo of Scott, me and our two friends from Ohio in our dinghy in Treasure Cay. In the background is the house they rented for the weekend.

While in Treasure Cay we enjoyed the beautiful crescent beach and restaurant at the Bahama Beach Club with our friends.

Treasure Cay Anchorage

  • Latitude: 26° 40’ 11.31”N, Longitude: 77° 17’ 02.75”W
  • Holding: Good holding in sand and grass
  • Wind Protection: Protected from all directions
  • Depth: 6-9 feet
  • Pet Friendly: Yes, beautiful beaches
  • Groceries: No
  • Restaurants: Yes

Treasure Cay to Marsh Harbour

After our friends all flew back home, we sailed back down to Marsh Harbor, anchoring in the harbor, so we could stock up on groceries at Maxwell’s. We quickly learned when we got to the Bahamas how expense groceries are over here, as all the food needs to be imported. Maxwell’s has the most economical prices in all of the Abacos and the largest variety. We found everything we needed to stock up on here.

While in the Bahamas, I created a spreadsheet of all the food I bought, where I bought it and the cost. You can find that spreadsheet in the article about Provisioning for the Bahamas.

Scott walking alongside the road in Marsh Harbour. He is pulling a black wagon full of groceries. He is wearing a bright yellow shirt, turned around smiliing at the camera.

Marsh Harbour Anchorage

  • Latitude: 26° 32’ 49.53”N, Longitude: 77° 03’ 22.76”W
  • Holding: Good holding in sand and grass. Held well as an afternoon shower with gusty winds passed over us.
  • Wind Protection: Protected from all wind directions
  • Depth: 6-8 feet
  • Pet Friendly: Yes
  • Groceries: Yes – walking distance to Maxwell’s which is the largest grocery store in the Abacos.
  • Restaurants: Yes – walking distance to Colors (my personal favorite), Snappas, and Wally’s

Marsh Harbour to Great Guana Cay

Photo of me and Scott at Nipper's bar with the Atlantic Ocean in the background on a sunny day.
Photo of me and mango on some rocks on the beach. Taken at the beach in front of Nippers. Clue blue waves are crashing behind us on a sunny day.

With our friends gone, and all stocked up on groceries, it was time to continue our adventure sailing the Abacos chain. Next stop is Great Guana Cay, where we anchored in Fishers Bay.

There are two popular restaurants on Great Guana Cay, and of course we checked them both out. Grabbers is located on Fishers Bay where we anchored. They have great pizza, drinks and fun entertainment on the beach.

After checking out Grabbers, we walked across the island to Nippers, which is located on the Atlantic Ocean with spectacular views and Atlantic Ocean beaches. Great food and entertainment here as well.

We hung out here for a couple of days, enjoying the beautiful anchorage and paddle boarding around with the numerous sea turtles in the bay.

Fishers Bay Anchorage

  • Latitude: 26° 40’ 01.23”N, Longitude: 77° 07’ 20.90”W
  • Holding: Good holding in sand and grass
  • Wind Protection: Protected from north through southeast
  • Depth: 8-10 feet
  • Pet Friendly: Yes
  • Groceries: Yes – One small market with a few select items. We did find homemade beef patties here that were delicious!
  • Restaurants: Yes – Grabbers and Nippers are the two most popular spots

Great Guana Cay to Powell Cay

Since arriving in the Abacos, we have been very excited to get further north and explore the more remote islands. Due to a break in the weather, but with more windy weather on the horizon, we decided to head to Powell Cay next, before we backtrack to a more protected hidey hole.

Before we can get to Powell Cay, we must first cross the infamous Whale Cut. Whale Cay is one of the islands in the Abacos Chain. It is too shallow for us to sail on the inside of Whale Cay in the Sea of Abaco, so we must cross Whale Cut on the outside of the island. Whale Cut is the Atlantic side of Whale Cay where there is the deeper water in the Atlantic Ocean. Due to the deeper water and nearby islands, this area can get larger swells and can be difficult to transit through in anything other than calm waters.

We arrived at Powell Cay with no issues. We enjoyed the next couple of days taking in small hikes, enjoying the peace and quiet, watching the white-tailed tropicbirds (aka longtails), and meeting other cruisers on the beach.

Photo of several cruisers (at least 7 of us in the photo) on the beach having sundowners at sunset.
Photo of the beautiful sunset through pine branches taken from Powell Cay the same night as the picture next to it. The sun is orange and the sky and clouds are pink and purple.

Powell Cay Anchorage

  • Latitude: 26° 54’ 10.32”N, Longitude: 77° 29’ 04.71”W
  • Holding: Good holding in sand and grass
  • Wind Protection: Protected from north through southeast
  • Depth: 8-10 feet
  • Pet Friendly: Yes
  • Groceries: No
  • Restaurants: No

Powell Cay to Manjack Cay

The next remote island we wanted to explore was Manjack Cay. It’s located between Powell Cay and Green Turtle Cay, and right next to Crab Cay, that we explored as well.

Photo from NEBO showing our sailing route from Powell Cay to Manjack Cay. It states that our average speed was 3.2 knots, distance was 10.3 NM and duration was 3 hours and 10 minutes.

The eleven nautical mile sail from Powell Cay to Manjack was a lot of fun. It was light winds, but I got good practice in handling the lines by myself as we tacked back and forth. Something I like to practice for when we are in less-than-ideal conditions and Scott is focused on driving the boat.

We really enjoyed our time at Manjack Cay! We met several sailors and friends-of-friends there that we hung out with.

We hiked an art walk trail that displays a collection from local artists and cruisers alike along a trail from one beach to another. And we also hiked a longer trail through the middle of Manjack Cay that took us across the island to an amazing beach on the Atlantic side.

Another day, we paddle boarded through the mangroves between Powell Cay and Crab Cay. We were the only ones back there and saw A TON of sea turtles swimming along while we paddled.

While we didn’t see the infamous tiger shark in the area, Scott did enjoy snorkeling around the cays.

Photo of the start of the art trail. There is a blue painted sign with yellow lettering hanging in a tree at the edge of the beach.
Photo of the mangroves and shallow water path through the mangroves. This is where we saw a lot of turtles!
Photo of our dog Mangaux on the power sand laying on the beach on the Atlantic side. His tongue is sticking out and he is licking his nose. The waves are crashing behind him and it is clear blue skies.

Manjack Cay / Crab Cay Anchorage

  • Latitude: 26° 49’ 06.51”N, Longitude: 77° 22’ 00.47”W
  • Holding: Good holding in sand and grass
  • Wind Protection: Protected from easterlies from north through south
  • Depth: 5 – 9 feet
  • Pet Friendly: Yes
  • Groceries: No
  • Restaurants: No

Manjack Cay to Green Turtle Cay

There was a weather system coming in with some strong northerly winds, so we left Manjack and headed five nautical miles to Green Turtle Cay.

We weren’t sure if we could get into Black Sound with our depth of 5.5 feet, so we got a slip at Bluff House Marina in White Sound. White sound is located on the northern end of Green Turtle; however, the main town of New Plymouth is located on the south end of the island near Black Sound.

Photo taken driving down a road on Green Turtle Cay. Tall stone walls line both sides of the narrow asphalt road. Shrubs /trees line the top of the stone walls and blue skies are peaking between the trees.

After discussions with some fellow sailors who also draw 5.5 feet and were in Black Sound, we found out we could have gotten into Black Sound at high tide with our depth. Regardless, we enjoyed Bluff House Marina, and had a lot of fun by renting a golf cart to explore the island while waiting for the strong winds to pass.

Photo of Scott, me and our crew member Liz taking a selfie on the beach at Green Turtle Cay. Blue skies and water are behind us.

During our time at Green Turtle Cay, we took on a crew member who joined us for the rest of our time in the Bahamas and back to the United States. We truly enjoyed having her onboard! There is a great story of why she joined us on Pelagia that would love to share with you over some sundowners!

While in Green Turtle, we found some new favorite spots. We loved Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar where we tried the original Goombay Smash, chilling at the beach at the Tranquil Turtle Beach Bar, and having breakfast at the Liquor Store!

After our fun in the sun, it is time to start heading back to the United States. Since we have a crew member on board, and since there was a lot of confusion around whether we needed to clear out before heading back to the USA, we checked with the Customs office at Green Turtle Resort. You can read more here about Clearing out of the Bahamas.

Bluff House Marina

  • Latitude: 26° 46’ 40.28”N, 77° 20’ 15.43”W
  • Cost: $2.25/foot/day
  • Slips: Fixed docks
  • Power: $0.85/kwh
  • Water: $.35/gallon RO water
  • Laundry: $5 washing machine / $5 dryer. Clean laundry room with good machines.
  • Bathroom/Showers: Yes – Single rooms with toilets and showers. However, there is no AC so it was very hot and humid while taking showers.
  • Pet Friendly: Yes
  • Groceries: Yes – Sid’s Food Store has a good selection of foods and freshies
  • Restaurants: Yes – several!

Green Turtle Cay to Great Sale Cay

A good staging point for sailing back to the United States is Great Sale Cay. We sailed 52 nautical miles to Great Sale and anchored on the east side of the island due to the westerly winds. We had to anchor a little over a nautical mile away from shore due to the depths on this side of the island. There are better anchorages on the west side of the island, but due to the winds we couldn’t anchor there.

Our plan was to sail from Great Sale Cay to Charleston, SC, however, when we left Great Sale Cay, the winds clocked up out of the north, contrary to the forecast. Crossing the Gulf Stream with a north wind is a BAD idea, as the strong current north and winds coming out of the north conflict with each other and cause rough seas.

Great Sale Cay Anchorage

  • Latitude: 26° 25’ 14.14”N, Longitude: 78° 11’ 18.55”W
  • Holding: good holding in sand and grass
  • Wind Protection: Protected from the west and north
  • Depth: 7-8 feet
  • Pet Friendly: Yes
  • Groceries: No
  • Restaurants: No

Great Sale Cay to Little Grand Cay

Due to the change in the weather, we diverted to Little Grand Cay to the north of us, along with some other cruisers who were headed in the same direction as us.

We are always keeping an eye on the weather. The weather looked good for a crossing the next day, but didn’t look like it would hold out long enough for us to make it up to Charleston, SC. Therefore, we sailed 149 nautical miles overnight and arrived in Port Canaveral, FL the next morning.  

Little Grand Cay Anchorage

  • Latitude: 27° 12’ 55.47”N, Longitude: 78° 19’ 34.63”W
  • Holding: good holding in sand and grass
  • Depth: 7 feet
  • Wind Protection: Protected from the north
  • Pet Friendly: Yes
  • Groceries: No
  • Restaurants: Yes – visit Rosie’s!
Photo of our crew member Liz steering the boat standing behind the helm. She is driving us in the channel into Port Canaveral.
Photo of our crew member Liz trimming the sails using the winch in the cockpit. Clear blue waters are behind her.

Sailing the Abacos Chain Conclusion

We had the most wonderful time sailing the Abacos chain for 6 weeks from late March to early May. We encountered repeated northerly wind systems, even this late into the year, but found safe places to hunker down each time. We met so many cruisers that we look forward to running into again next season.

During our time in the Abacos, we sailed 417.8 nautical miles, spent $1,707.62 on marinas and mooring balls. We also spent $115 on power and $20 on water while at the marinas. We were not able to run our water maker at these marinas, so we purchased some water. I was not comfortable drinking this water, but we did use it for dishes and showers, and flushing our heads.

While we did spend quite a bit of money on marinas, we did find a lot of fun free things to do in the Bahamas to balance out our spending. You can read more about what we got into through the link above.

As we are nearing the hurricane season, we will next be heading north up the east coast of the United States. Stay tuned for our next articles where we will cover our travels along the east coast and along the Intracoastal waterway (ICW).  

Live your dream,

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