Abaco sailing - an unique experience
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. 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. 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. 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.
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Abaco Vacations site
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