Crossing to the Abacos

3/6- We had been checking the weather daily and determined that the best day for crossing to the Abacos would be either Monday or Tuesday. The winds were predicted to be around 8-10 mph on Monday with waves around 5 feet and on Tuesday winds around 10-14 but with smaller waves around 4 feet. At first we thought Tuesday might be the better day, but after having been here a few months we have learned that a good weather window has a way of collapsing quickly, so we opted to leave on Monday. With that decision made, we also decided to leave the marina on Sunday (3/6) and move the boat to Royal Island. This provided us with an easier departure point for the Abacos and allowed us to leave early in the morning instead of waiting for better sun to pick our way through the reefs if we left from Spanish Wells.

We checked out of the marina and were on our way to Royal Island around 11:00. It was a short hour run to Royal Island which has a beautiful harbor that provides protection in almost any weather. We spent the afternoon kayaking (Linda) and fishing from the dinghy (Gerry). We had a quick happy hour on Second Star where we planned our travels for the next few days and decided on a departure of 7:00 a.m. On our way back to the boat, we were hailed by a couple on S/V Lucky Touch. They asked if we could give them a lift over to S/V Naked Angel. Seems this boat had announced on the VHF that they had caught a large tuna and were offering fish to anyone that wanted it. We happily obliged and motored over to Naked Angel where we also picked up a package of fish for us.

After a quick dinner it was off to bed so we could have an early morning departure. We had 60 miles to travel to reach the Abacos.

3/7 – We raised anchor and were on our way by 7:00. The anchorage was empty except for 2 sailboat as everyone else had departed around 6:00 a.m. After passing through the cut between Royal and Egg Islands, Gerry put out 2 fishing lines. He got one bite, but lost it while bringing it in. Michael and Jana were more fortunate. They caught 3 Mahi Mahi, but let the smallest one go. Actually, Jana was the one that landed both fish.

The ride proved to be okay. We had 6 foot rollers, with the occasional 8-10 footers, but they were spaced around 9 seconds, so the ride was pretty comfortable. There was a short period when a squall moved through and we had stronger winds but it didn’t last for long.

Entering Little Harbor Bar proved to be the most entertaining part of the trip. There are several reefs around the entrance and large breakers roll through hitting the shoreline. Within a few minutes we were safely inside and anchored off the shoreline of Lynyard Cay by 3:30 p.m.

We had happy hour on board Second Star along with Peter and ThaiLyn on Pelican Rose and Brian and Kelly on Naked Angel. Michael and Jana provided us all with packages of fresh Mahi Mahi. All in all, a nice day and we were glad to be safely in the Abacos.

Sunrise at the marina - Spanish Wells

Entering Royal Island anchorage

Inside the harbor at Royal Island

Shoreline

Michael and Jana out kayaking

Bird along the shore -- we weren't sure what it was, but in looking
through Jana's bird book found out it was a mature night heron
(the same as we photographed in Emerald Bay)