Abaco Bahamas February 2025

Total Miles Traveled 6062 since departing Green Turtle Bay, KY

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We have been extremely fortunate to have had great weather since arriving in the Abaco’s in December.  One of the boaters that has been cruising here for the last 18 years said this has been the best winter weather that he can remember.  We have taken advantage of the many anchorages, harbors, and places to visit since our arrival.

Anchored at Tilloo Cay

We departed our marina on February 2^nd and traveled 17 miles on the Sea of Abaco to Little Harbor, home of Pete’s Pub.  We just love this little harbor, the pub, food, museum, and visiting the beach.  We walked around the island and were amazed at the many bronze sculptures created by Peter Johnston, founder and owner of Pete’s Pub & Gallery.

Our friends Chris, Christine, Bob and Carol in a heated game of badminton.

The channel leading into Little Harbor is too shallow for our boat draft so after waiting for a rising tide on February 3^rd, we traveled only 3 miles to an anchorage at Lynyard Cay.  This is a great anchorage with a sandy beach and easy access to the ocean side of the island.  Moni likes to search for sea glass along the beach, and beaches along the Atlantic Ocean are the best place to look.

We weighed anchor on February 4^th and traveled about 5 miles to another anchorage at Snake Cay.  We dropped the dinghy and cruised a few miles through the mangroves and saw several stingrays, turtles, conch, and a shark.  I wasn't fast enough to get a pic of the stingrays and shark. 

We returned to the boat and cruised about 4 miles to another anchorage at Tilloo Cay for a few days.  This anchorage provides good protection from the wind and has dinghy access to some of our favorite places to visit: Lubbers Landing, Tahiti Beach, Firefly bar and grill, Abaco Inn, and Sea Spray Marina.

 Wood fired pizza oven a Lubbers Landing.

Abaco Inn with a view of the Atlantic

The Thirsty Cuda at Tahiti Beach, a convenient floating bar and grill that cruises down from Hopetown. 

If you're familiar with the cartoon Far Side, this was the former home of Gary Larson, renowned for his syndicated The Far Side comic panels that featured the tower shaped structure on the left.

Sitting at the Firefly grill overlooking the Sea of Abaco

We were able to capture a rocket launch from Florida while anchored, with our friends Chris and Christine on s/v Simpatico.  If you look close you can see the rocket booster heading back to its rendezvous location while the Starlink package is delivered to orbit.

On February 9^th we cruised 7 miles back to our marina for a couple of days, then on the 11^th cruised 7 miles to the Hopetown Inn and Marina.  The annual songwriter’s festival was in full swing, bringing in talented musicians and songwriters with performances scheduled throughout Hopetown and surrounding Elbow Cay.

We returned to our marina at the Abaco Beach Resort on February 14^th after having a great time at the festival, and to prepare for a few upcoming activities the club had scheduled.  We attended the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club annual general meeting followed by the club’s Black & Gold Masquerade party.  The masquerade party was a new experience for us, but we had a great time with our new friends, Moni made our masks with items we had on the boat, pretty cool.

 RMHYC Bridge

A Junkanoo group entertained us on the dance floor.

The RMHYC Pickleball Open ' 25

We're not players, but it was fun watching members compete for bragging rights.

And an awesome trophy for the winning team!

Our good cruising friends Kevin and Jill (m/v Chasing 80) had a room at the hotel and visited us for a few days in paradise.  We spent a few days here at Marsh Harbor, then rented a golf cart at Hopetown and spent the day exploring Elbow Cay.  We had a great visit and will see them again as we pass through Fort Myers on our way back to Kentucky.

We will start looking for a weather window to cross back to Florida during early March.

Abaco Bahamas January 25

Total Miles Traveled 6009 since departing Green Turtle Bay, KY

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 Happy Birthday Moni!

After a great New Years Eve celebration at the Abaco Beach Resort (ABR), we departed our marina on January 1^st and traveled 25 miles to an anchorage at Treasure Cay.  We stayed at the marina in 2017, but it was destroyed by Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and has yet to be rebuilt.  Hurricane Dorian was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Bahamas, with winds peaking at 185 mph, it destroyed most of the Abaco’s with at least 70,000 people left homeless and 84 known fatalities.

 Only the pool survived the hurricane

We dropped the dinghy and explored area mangroves and saw several turtles and stingrays.  As with other cays we have visited, the rebuilding is still ongoing with several businesses and homes restored.  The white sand beach at Treasure Cay is what we remember the most from our last visit here.  The sand reminded us of powdered sugar.

On January 3^rd we traveled 25 miles, anchoring at Water Cay for a few hours, before returning to the Abaco Beach Resort Marina.

While at the marina, we were able to see a Starlink Rocket pass by the Bahamas one night.

We departed ABR marina on January 12^th and traveled 16 miles to Lynyard Cay for another yacht club cookout.  Finding enough firewood to last several hours was a challenge so a couple of us took our dinghies to a neighboring beach to get a few loads of firewood. 

On January 13^th, we weighed anchor and traveled 3 miles to Little Harbor, the location of Pete’s Pub and tied to a mooring ball.  We departed early to catch a high tide as the entrance channel does not have enough water depth for our boat. 

 Full moon as we weighed anchor

The late Randolph Johnston settled in Little Harbor, Abaco in 1952 with his wife and three sons.  An artist and professor, he created the first and only Art Foundry in the Bahamas producing bronze sculptures using the ancient technique of the Lost Wax Process.  When Randolph passed away in 1992, his son Peter, also a talented artist, took over the foundry to continue the legacy of his father in addition to his famous Pete’s Pub.  www.petespub.com/

Best Mate in Little Harbor

Atlantic Ocean side of Little Harbor

After a few days exploring the island, on the 17^th we traveled 18 miles back to our slip at Abaco Beach Resort Marina.  We were just in time to attend the First Annual Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club Annual Bucket Golf “Royal Abaco Open” practice event.  Bucket Golf is a yard game for all ages whether you’re a seasoned golfer or a beginner.  Every hole is a par 3, hitting any part of the bucket completes the hole, chipping the ball inside the bucket deducts one stroke from your score on that hole.  https://www.bucketgolfgame.com/

After returning to the marina from several days on the water, I gave our boat a good washdown.  The dinghy was also a mess from salt spray and from hauling firewood for our weenie roast.  We keep our water shoes in the dinghy to protect our feet from sand burs or coral when exploring the beaches and wading.  While cleaning out the dinghy, I squirted the hose inside my shoes to clean out the salt and sand, I didn’t expect what came of my shoe fighting mad!

I had no idea there were scorpions in the Bahamas.  It must have fell out of the firewood I hauled and hid somewhere in the dinghy.  After removing my shoes, it found a good home.

The club also had the 3rd Annual Cook-Off.  Soup was the theme this year so everyone brought their favorite soup to be judged by all attendees.

We departed ABR Marina January 26^th and traveled 14 miles to an anchorage at Fishers Bay located on Great Guana Cay.  There are two very popular bar and grills located on the cay, Grabbers and Nippers.  Although both were heavily damaged by hurricane Dorian, they have been newly renovated and refurbished making this a great stop for entertainment and sunsets.

We weighed anchor on January 27^th and traveled 14 miles to Hope Town located on Elbow Cay, and tied to a mooring ball in the harbor.  One of the main attractions of Hope Town is the candy-striped lighthouse, built in 1863, and still uses a wind-up brass mechanism to send a beam of light which can be seen for up to 20 miles.  The Elbow Reef Lighthouse is one of only three manual lighthouses left in the world.  Yes, one of us climbed the 101 steps to the top.

Walking through the streets of Hope Town

After leaving the lighthouse, and before boarding our dinghy, we saw this huge shark swimming past our dock.

On January 29^th we departed Hope Town and traveled 4 miles to an anchorage at Tahiti Beach, located at the southern tip of Elbow Cay.  This is an awesome anchorage near a secluded beach only accessible by foot, bike or boat. 

 Anchored in 10 feet of water and no problem seeing our anchor chain laying on the seabed.

Traditional blowing the conch at sunset, click link Conch

We weighed anchor on January 30^th and traveled 6 miles back to our slip at ABR, just in time for docktails at the tent, and final instructions about the Royal Abaco Open held the next day on the 31^st.

Game Day!

Notice the blue tarps---water hazzard.

And the final instructions 

A fun day, and of the 6 holes the best score was 14, not bad playing with a wiffle ball in 15 mph winds.