Abaco, Bahamas in May

[sailorboy1]

One thing about the Abacos is that is busy. I write this as I roll back and forth at anchor caused by all the power boats and ferries running around making wakes that are rolling me from a mile away at 8am.

[phorvati]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Since I home port in Jax and am currently sitting here in Marsh Harbor Abaco I can say based on 4 trips:



Unless you are a power boat it is unlikely this is going to work out the way it is in your mind unless you are willing to wait and wait and wait for that perfect weather window.

If you have a strong northerly, you can use it to sail south inside the stream. Down past st. Augustine, cape canevral and get as far south as the northerly will push you, then when it dies, you cross. Northerlies should come once a week. And maybe more often. If you have prevailing or no wind, you motorsail across the stream, and by then, you may have a northerly to push you onto white sand ridge.

[MicHughV]

I've ridden a nor-easterly down the coast of Florida several times, and it's an exhilarating ride.

Timing is everything though, as just getting out to sea can be a rough time. Though an outgoing tide would make most sense for a departure, be mindful that an incoming wind (nor-easter) against an outgoing tide at most any inlet will build substantially close and steep waves and plowing thru' that will require a steady hand on the helm and your boat will pitch and and down like you've never experienced before and will come to a complete stop on occasion.

Some inlets like St. Augustine can be a veritable washing machine at these times and even inlets with jetties will be very rough.

As you will likely be under power, fuel will slosh around in your tanks like crazy. Make sure your filters are clean and have a full tank to reduce sloshing. I usually have my main up, sheeted tight to help keep the boat steady.

Ideally, it's better to wait for slack tide or even an incoming tide to settle down the seas a bit.

One more tip, the tide tables might tell you that low tide or slack tide is at a given time, but the river current at most inlets will still be going out, sometimes for a period of an hour or more. So time your departure accordingly.

But once you are out and have started to point south, it's an exhilarating ride. You will be a hull speed most all of the time, even surfing down the bigger waves.

My tactic is to go offshore for a few miles to get to deeper water, which tends to be smoother, but once past CC, it's time to head inshore to avoid the GS.

These nor-easters don't usually last very long....2-3 days maybe, but it may take the GS a day or two to die down, so heading directly east from WPB is not always the best idea, and may require you to anchor and wait for a day or so.

I tried crossing in February one time, and it was one nor-easter after another, and I ended up spending quite a bit of time in WPB as I simply could not get across. Several boats tried to get across and they'd come limping back in during the night, etc, with torn sails and so on.

May, however, should be a good month for a crossing. Not to say you won't get any northers during May, but the likelihood is less.

Happy cruising !!

[dcslider]

There are a lot of good suggestions here and I won’t repeat advice already given. I sail out of St Augustine in a similar sized vessel and have made the trip many times. You will enjoy the Abacos a lot.

Crossing the first time can be a challenge, especially if you aren’t accustomed to evaluating weather and the sea state. Would highly recommend you hire Chris Parker to help you plan your crossing. The website is https://www.mwxc.com/

[R Hutcheson]

Not knowing your draft or mast height, makes it a little harder to assist. But assuming both are ICW friendly, I would take the ICW down to Lake Worth, cross beginning early in the morning (before first light), with plans to enter the bank at either Barracuda Shoal (shallow draft) or Memory Rock, depending on draft and navigational ability. I would plan to anchor exposed on the bank the first night, unless weather makes it unwise in which case I would consider anchoring in the lee of West End, assuming sufficient ground tackle. Holding there is poor. The following day, depending on boat speed, I would leave early for Great Sale, or Spanish Cay, and clear in at Spanish.

Good luck.

[steamgoat]

Aqua map is your friend, based on explorer charts. If winds favorable ,leave WPB at dawn, onto banks by memory rock late afternoon ( sun behind you) overnight at Mangrove (ok to approach after dark) Next day to Grand to clear in, anchor outside and dingy in,the harbor is a bit sketchy! Then you are free to roam the northern islands ,not too busy as too far for charters from marsh harbor.
If starting from further south, clear at West End ( anchor out as marina expensive) then use Indian rock channel ( have done it both ways) and again you have plenty of not busy places to go. Enjoy, we went to do hurricane clear up assistance at Green Turtle,then got locked down there !

[tisho]

We were just stuck in Spanish Cay for 4 days and they are beautiful people there. Horrible winds , but they did everything they could to please the boaters stuck.

[PineyWoodsPete]

First crossing for Louise and me was in May '79 on our trailerable Ericson 25 K/CB, from WPB, in the company of two other boats - "Sneaky Neaky", a Hunter 25 IIRC, whose skipper said "I've crossed many times - just follw me!", and another 1st timer "Wind Blown", a Cape Dory 35 out of Charleston. We left about 7PM for a morning arrival at West End.

About half-way SN's skipper radioed that he had made a terrible mistake in the
course, and we should re-set it 30 deg. northward. Now I had done my vector solution homework assuming a boat speed of 5kts W, and a N GS set of 4kts for the 60nm crossing, which we agreed on for our initial course, and I radioed back that we were sticking to the original, as did Wind Blown. With a little help from the RDF we made West End at around 9AM, sun behind us.

A week or so later at a bar in Man O' War Cay, in walks the SN crew and a very apologic skipper, saying they missed the Bank completely, and backtracked W out of the Stream to enter on its NE side at Walkers. Drinks on the Skipper!

[Amapola]

I agree with MicHughV. I would head down to West Palm Beach, Lake Worth and head over from there. If you cross from Jacksonville, you'll be going against the Gulf Stream. Also, I wouldn't cross when the wind is out of the North (NE, NW, or N).

[MicHughV]

We should start a new thread here...

"1,001 things that can go wrong on a B'mas cruise"

I remember one trip, I got to Great Sale only to find a large 50 something feet, cabin cruiser hard aground, partially on shore inside the southern bay, where the wind had blown him.

There were about 12 sailboats anchored there and another trawler as well. The trawler took a line from the bow, and we had the anchor out as well, led to the electric winch on the bow. I was on the winch (trust me to get the easy job). The other 20 or so sailors were on the outside. We waited for high tide and started to rock that boat back and forth. I had that anchor line so tight, I thought it was going to explode. The other trawler was using his engines and his tow line was equally taut.

We rocked and rolled for about an hour, but it was no go. Then the guy on trawler radio'd us and said, I've got another 100 rpm then I'm maxed out, but take no responsibility if something breaks". The owner of cabin cruiser boat radio'd back "do it"

Son of a gun, if that 100 rpm didn't break the suction of the mud and the boat moved a few inches. Encouraged, we rocked and rolled some more, and inch by inch, were able to move that boat back in the water.

The owner was so grateful he hosted a party on his boat that evening. I think we drank every last ounce of booze he had on there.

Have several tales like that.

That's the beauty of the Abaco's. Other sailors rallying around someone in need.

[cr180]

[QUOTE=OldManMirage;3767412]I just want to say this has been a great Thread for me. Many thanks to all who participated.

It has really helped me "flesh out" somewhat of a game plan for my first run at the Bahamas, which I truly hope and plan to be the 2024 season. I know that things will change as I go through it but at least I have some idea of the what, where and when.

I will also say that downloading Navionics onto a Chromebook and really looking at the all the places is huge help. If you are thinking about it I highly recommend this action - or mapping software of your choice - and starting to look at the different areas.

Anyway, thanks again for all help and for CF community in general. And special thanks to Chris Mac who took time out from his cruising to send me multiple messages.
[/QUOTE

Agree great thread and great info. We’ve been to the Abacos many times and still love going there. But the first time ….. is truly magical. Echo what others have said: have a plan but be flexible. Would strongly recommend do the Abacos first, then the Exumas. The Abacos are easier to get to, are more protected, and still offer a wow factor. But the Land And Sea Park at Worderick Wells in the central Exumas is enchanting; so worth the effort to go at least that far South. But maybe not until the second or third trip. We prefer approaching the Exumas from the Abacos by way of Eleuthera. Leave from Little Harbor.

With regard to approaching the Abacos, agree with others about waiting for weather and leaving from Lake Worth Inlet (West Palm). Can head due East and let the Gulf Stream current take you to Memory Rock or White Sand Ridge. On the banks in about 10 hours. Have not attempted the ocean passage from North Florida to the east side of the Abacos. Learned the hard way that we are not Bluewater sailers.

[mshozda]

I want to thank everyone for contributing to this thread. Your comments have certainly helped firm up my plans and boost my confidence.

About three weeks from departure. We’ll see how it goes.

[chris mac]

Originally Posted by mshozda

I want to thank everyone for contributing to this thread. Your comments have certainly helped firm up my plans and boost my confidence.



About three weeks from departure. We’ll see how it goes.

You may see us moving the opposite direction. If you do, call us out for a sundowner. Sv purrfect.
We are crossing from eluthera to abacos next week, aiming for saint augustine around mid may

[mshozda]

Originally Posted by chris mac

You may see us moving the opposite direction. If you do, call us out for a sundowner. Sv purrfect.
We are crossing from eluthera to abacos next week, aiming for saint augustine around mid may

I’m targeting a 9 May departure from JAX. Route depends on the weather. Saint Augustine is my first stop if I have to wait for a window.

[cardude]

I’ve not been to GTC since Dorian wrecked my boat. Have there been any changes to the charts since then due to the hurricane? Is GTC built back pretty much?

Can you not check in “downtown” anymore or is the customs office no longer operational there?