Hi Veneziano - I'll give this a try. I did my first
charter in the Virgins in 1980 and subsequently have been there numerous times on additional charters and in my own
boat. I have cruised the
Bahamas two full
winter seasons on my own boat, including spending about two months in the Abacos in the spring of 2013. I never chartered in the Abacos.
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Originally Posted by Veneziano
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1) Easy navigation (Abacos seems more challenging due to water depht?)
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As in the rest of the
Bahamas, the Abacos has areas where you can get into some really skinny water and there's more of a tidal range than in the Virgins. But IMHO this isn't a big deal as far as easy nav is concerned. The Sea of Abaco is well charted and shallow spots easily seen.
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2) Possibility to use mooring balls at least 4 nights out of 7
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Now here's a difference. Not as many as in the BVI, but there are some. The entire Hopetown harbor is covered with moorings and when we were there there were very few available (although we had no interest in using any). The only moorings we used in the Abacos were in Little Harbor, at the south end of the Sea. Unlike the BVI, all the Abacos moorings are managed by a local entity at that specific location, it seemed to me. Some of them didn;t look very healthy - but that's the case in the BVI as well, although I think the BVI balls are generally in better shape.
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3) Bars/restaurants onshore (not just eating onboard) we want to see some form of life. We’re not party people, just like the drink in the evening and having something to do (we don’t want to feel stuck in the boat)
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You'll find plenty in the Abacos.
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4) Itinerary that can be changed ad-hoc (with flexibility to have people disembark/embark)
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Shouldn't be a problem depending on what you mean. You might have to elaborate a bit here.
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5) Warm water! (we’re all southern Europeans and don’t tolerate cold!)
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Not a problem in Oct/Nov.
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6) Some people but not too many people (not sure how BVIs are in November,
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The BVIs are much less crowded in Nov vs the deep
winter months. Oct even less so, but it's still very much storm season and this is a crap shoot. Same can be said for the Bahamas, of course. I cannot comment on the crowds in the Abacos in this time frame.
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7) 2 adults are sailors, everyone else has never sailed before (but they have been on boats).
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No difference, really. Depending on the cold front cycles, the winds in the Abacos will be more variable than the Virgins that time of year notwithstanding any storms.
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8) Minimise chances of people freaking out due to strong winds, seas etc
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See above. Seas are not an issue whatsoever in the Sea of Abacos assuming you don't go out into the ocean. To do so means you have to negotiate one of the numerous cuts which can be very hazardous in the wrong conditions. The charter company may not let you do this anyway. To get to Green Turtle Cay, which is a popular spot, you have to go out and then back in through "The Whale" which can be easy or "don't even think of trying this".
The
weather is a crap shoot in either location, but if I had to choose one over the other (Bahamas vs Virgins) in Oct/Nov, I think I'd choose the Virgins. By November the winter cold fronts off the North American continent are getting cranked up and the Abacos usually get the brunt of all of them. You might get lucky, but the Abacos are no place to be by mid Dec through Feb, IMHO.
You'll have a good time in either place. Personally, I'll recommend the Virgins. If your guests/family have never been to either, the Virgins are more drammatic geographically. The Bahamas have their own kind of beauty and the Bahamians are delightful people. Away from the big population centers, crime in the Bahamas is practically non-existent, but you might get hugged to death....
2 Hulls Dave