Sail Abaco Islands.

The Sea of Abaco is a shallow strip of protected water roughly 20 miles long, held between the low mainland of Great Abaco and a chain of barrier cays. Depths run 2–4m over white sand. The Atlantic swell breaks on the reef outside and arrives inside as almost nothing.

Hops are short. Most legs are 6–12nm, so you sail in the morning and swim by lunch. Harbours sit close enough that a bad forecast costs you an afternoon rather than a week.

The settlements are old and small — clapboard houses on stilts, yards that still build wooden dinghies, roads wide enough for a golf cart and not much else. Hurricane Dorian tore through here and the rebuild is still visible: new roofs, thin treelines, docks missing planks. Locals will tell you that themselves before you ask.

Marsh Harbour is the hub. Boat Harbour Marina sits on the south side of town, ten minutes from the supermarket and the airport, and it is where most weeks begin and end.

Hope Town on Elbow Cay is 6nm across. Moorings only inside the harbour, no anchoring, and the entrance carries about 1.5m at low water — check your draft before you commit. The candy-striped lighthouse still burns kerosene and you can climb it.

Man-O-War Cay is a boatbuilding island and a dry one: no alcohol sold ashore. Great Guana Cay has a long Atlantic beach on its ocean side and easy anchoring at Fisher's Bay. South, Little Harbour has a bronze foundry, a beach bar, and a bar across the entrance carrying near 1.1m at low water, so go in on a rising tide. Sandy Cay reef nearby is the best snorkel in the Sea of Abaco.

North of the Whale, Green Turtle Cay gives you New Plymouth, Black Sound and White Sound — shallow entrances, quiet water — and Treasure Cay has a beach worth the detour.

East to south-east trades, usually 10–20kt. November to May is the sailing season and February to April is the settled end of it.

From December to March, cold fronts come through every five to ten days. The wind backs south-west, then clocks hard through north-west and north at 20–30kt for a day or so before settling into the north-east. That matters here because few harbours shelter from every direction. You do not sit out a front — you move for it, and the passage plan follows the wind clock.

January and February nights can drop to around 15°C. Bring a fleece; people are always surprised.

Hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November, with the peak from August to October. Boats sail from here all year, but summer means heat, afternoon thunderstorms and watching the tropical forecast daily.

The fleet at Marsh Harbour is bareboat, and it sails all year rather than seasonally.

Catamarans dominate for a reason: draft. A cat drawing 1.1–1.2m gets into Hope Town, Little Harbour and Black Sound on most states of tide. A monohull drawing 1.8–2m is limited at low water and you will plan around the tide table more than you expect. If you want the shallow corners, take the cat.

Crewed yachts do not sail from this base. If you want a skipper aboard for the week, message us on WhatsApp before you book — it is arranged case by case and depends on the week, not guaranteed.

Ranges below are indicative for a week, bareboat, before extras. Peak is Christmas, New Year and February to April.

38–45ft monohull: €3,500–7,000

45–50ft monohull: €5,500–10,000

40–45ft catamaran: €7,000–14,000

46–52ft catamaran: €11,000–22,000

On top: end cleaning, Bahamian VAT on the charter fee, and the cruising permit, which the base handles. Mooring balls run about €25–35 a night in Hope Town and White Sound. Marina berths are charged by the foot. Fuel is a small line — you motor little here.

Provisioning is the number people underestimate. Almost everything is imported, so budget €40–70 per person per day for the boat, and expect restaurant mains ashore around €25–40. Security deposit or damage waiver: price on request, as it varies by boat.

Day 1 — Briefing at Boat Harbour Marina, provision in Marsh Harbour, then 6nm across to Hope Town. Pick up a mooring, climb the lighthouse before it closes.

Day 2 — Down inside Elbow Cay to Tahiti Beach for lunch, out through Tilloo Cut, then 12nm to Little Harbour. Time the bar for rising water.

Day 3 — Snorkel Sandy Cay reef, then back north to anchor off Tilloo or Lynyard Cay. Empty water, no lights ashore.

Day 4 — Man-O-War Cay for the sail loft and the boatyards, then 8nm to Fisher's Bay on Great Guana. Walk over to the ocean beach.

Day 5 — The Whale Cay Passage, in settled conditions and good light, then into White Sound on Green Turtle Cay.

Day 6 — New Plymouth in the morning, Treasure Cay beach in the afternoon, back through the Whale before the sea builds.

Day 7 — Easy 10nm reach to Marsh Harbour, fuel, hand back.

The Whale is the one piece to respect. It is a short outside leg into the Atlantic to get round a shoal bar, and when swell meets an outgoing tide it breaks — locals call it a rage. Wait a day if it is running. Nobody minds.

Fly to Marsh Harbour (MHH). Direct hops from Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Miami and Nassau are short and frequent. From Europe you will almost always overnight in Florida on the way out — build that into the plan rather than fighting it.

Treasure Cay (TCB) also works and is around 30 minutes by road from Marsh Harbour.

Immigration and customs happen at the airport. US dollars are accepted everywhere at parity with the Bahamian dollar. Ferries connect Marsh Harbour to the main cays, which is useful if flights slip and you need to meet the boat.

Right for families, first-time bareboat charterers and anyone who wants short passages, warm shallow water and a harbour every few miles. Right for snorkelling, less right for diving that needs depth.

Less right for distance sailors — the water is protected and the legs are brief, which is the point, but you will not get an ocean passage out of it. And if you charter between December and March, come willing to change plan when a front arrives.

Questions on boats, dates or draft: WhatsApp is the fastest way to reach us.