Marsh Harbour
round-trip.
Sail the Bahamas with a 7-day Abacos catamaran charter. Discover Great Guana Cay, Green Turtle Cay, Hope Town, Man-O-War Cay and Tahiti Beach on this perfect sailing route.
Day-by-day route
Click any pin on the map or any day in the Route summary below to see the daily stop, narrative, and photos.
Marsh Harbour → Hope Town
Short 3 nm downwind drift from Marsh Harbour to Hope Town in steady SE trades. Pick up a harbour-master mooring before 16:00 — anchoring is illegal in the protected basin and the buoy field fills fast. The candy-striped lighthouse and a settle-in walk on the Atlantic-side beach are the first afternoon.
Distance
6 NM
Sailing
~1.2h at 5 kn
Route at a glance
Best season
December – mid-May (peak Mar – early May)
Duration
7 days · Sat – Sat
Departure
Marsh Harbour
Sailing area
Bahamas
Route summary
Click any day to jump back to the map and see its photos, narrative, and mooring tip.
Day-by-day journey
Named anchorages, restaurants, and route notes for every leg of the week — written by sailors who’ve actually run this passage.
Marsh Harbour → Hope Town
Pick up your catamaran at Marsh Harbour Boat Yard or Conch Inn Marina by mid-afternoon and start with a relaxed downwind half-hour to Hope Town Harbour, the most photographed spot in the Abacos. The candy-striped Hope Town Lighthouse — one of only three manually operated kerosene lighthouses left in the world — is your first photo of the trip. Pick up a mooring inside the protected harbour (free anchoring is illegal here) and dinghy ashore for a settle-in walk along the Atlantic-side beach and dinner at Cap’n Jack’s or Hope Town Inn.
Things to do
Climb the candy-striped Hope Town Lighthouse for sunset
Walk Hope Town settlement and the Atlantic-side beach
Dinner at Cap’n Jack’s or Hope Town Inn
First-night swim in the protected harbour
Mooring tip
Anchoring is prohibited in Hope Town Harbour — moorings only (US$25/night, pay the harbour master in person or by VHF). Pick up a buoy on arrival; the harbour fills by 16:00 in season.
Hope Town → Marsh Harbour
A short morning sail to anchor off Tahiti Beach — a sand spit on the south end of Elbow Cay that uncovers at low tide and looks straight off a postcard. Walk the dry sandbar at low water, swim in chest-deep turquoise water at high tide, then dinghy 200 m across to Cracker P’s on Lubbers Quarters for the standout lunch on this end of the lagoon. Late afternoon, sail back across the Sea of Abaco to Marsh Harbour for re-provisioning at Maxwell’s Supermarket and dinner at Snappa’s on the marina dock.
Things to do
Walk the Tahiti Beach sandbar at low tide
Lunch at Cracker P’s on Lubbers Quarters
Top up provisions at Maxwell’s Supermarket in Marsh Harbour
Dinner at Snappa’s on the Marsh Harbour dock
Mooring tip
Tahiti Beach is anchor-only on sand at 2–4 m — not protected for overnight. Marsh Harbour offers paid moorings at Conch Inn (US$25) or free anchoring on the south end of the harbour at 4 m.
Marsh Harbour → Great Guana Cay
A pleasant beam reach across the Sea of Abaco to anchor in Fisher’s Bay on the south side of Great Guana Cay. Walk over the dune to the Atlantic-side beach and head straight to Nippers Beach Bar & Grill for the legendary Sunday pig roast or a Wednesday-evening pool party — the most-photographed lunch in the Abacos and Atlantic-side waves washing right up to the deck. Walking distance back to the boat for sunset on the Sea of Abaco side.
Things to do
Sunday pig roast (or Wednesday party) at Nippers Beach Bar
Walk the 7-mile Atlantic-side beach
Snorkel the reef off Baker’s Bay
Sunset drinks at Grabbers Bed Bar & Grill in Fisher’s Bay
Mooring tip
Fisher’s Bay has a dozen public moorings (US$20/night, pay at Grabbers) plus good free anchoring on white sand at 3–5 m. Holding is excellent; the bay is well protected from prevailing easterlies.
Great Guana Cay → Green Turtle Cay
The day’s longest leg — including the one open-ocean stretch through Whale Cay Channel. Pick a window where the swell is under 4 ft and the wind is 15 knots or less, ideally a 10:00–14:00 slack tide. Once through, a quiet beam reach into White Sound on Green Turtle Cay. Pick up a mooring at the Green Turtle Club and dinghy or walk into New Plymouth — the historic Loyalist village, the oldest settlement on the cay, with brightly painted clapboard houses straight out of New England.
Things to do
Walk the historic Loyalist village of New Plymouth
Visit the Albert Lowe Museum and Memorial Sculpture Garden
Sample a Goombay Smash at Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar (the original)
Snorkel the reef off Manjack Cay’s east shore
Mooring tip
Whale Cay Channel only opens in fair weather — listen to the morning Cruisers Net (VHF 68 at 08:15) for the daily "Whale status." White Sound moorings (US$25) at Green Turtle Club; outer Black Sound has good free anchoring at 3 m sand.
Green Turtle Cay → Green Turtle Cay
A morning hop to anchor off Manjack Cay for the best snorkelling on this end of the lagoon — the reef on the east side hosts turtles, eagle rays, and reliable nurse-shark encounters within 200 m of the beach. Continue 2 nm north to Powell Cay for an empty-beach lunch on a cay that frequently has zero other boats, then back south to Green Turtle for the night. Dinner ashore at the Green Turtle Club or Sundowners.
Things to do
Snorkel the Manjack reef for turtles and rays
Empty-beach lunch on Powell Cay
Dinner at the Green Turtle Club waterfront
Sunset at the Bluff House overlook
Mooring tip
Manjack and Powell Cay are anchor-only on white sand at 3 m — protected from easterlies but exposed to north swell in winter cold-front conditions. Return south to Green Turtle Cay for the night if a front is forecast.
Green Turtle Cay → Man-O-War Cay
A reverse passage through Whale Cay Channel — same forecast rules as Day 4 — then downwind to Man-O-War Cay. The cay is dry (no alcohol sold ashore) and quiet, but the boat-building heritage, the harbour at sunset, and the tiny Albury’s Sail Shop (sail-cloth bags handmade since the 1960s) are the trip’s most peaceful evening. Self-catered dinner aboard recommended; provisioning at Man-O-War Pavilion Grocery.
Things to do
Visit Albury’s Sail Shop on the harbour
Walk the cay’s narrow main street between the harbours
Snorkel the wreck of the USS Adirondack off the south reef
Self-catered sunset dinner aboard in the protected harbour
Mooring tip
Man-O-War Marina moorings (US$30/night) book ahead by VHF 16. Eastern Harbour has good anchoring at 4 m sand. Note: Man-O-War is a "dry" community — no alcohol sold ashore, BYO from Marsh Harbour.
Man-O-War Cay → Marsh Harbour
A short final morning back to base — 6 nm downwind across the Sea of Abaco. Charter operators typically require return by 16:00 Friday or noon Saturday. Top up fuel and water at the Marsh Harbour fuel dock, then walk into town for a final lunch at Wally’s or a sundowner at the Jib Room before hand-back inspection.
Things to do
Top up fuel and water at the Marsh Harbour fuel dock
Final lunch at Wally’s or Snappa’s
Sundowner at the Jib Room overlooking the harbour
Hand-back inspection with the charter operator
Mooring tip
Confirm your specific contract clause for return time — most operators want the boat alongside by 16:00 Friday for end-cleaning. Don’t cut it fine; the Whale Cay return passage adds time pressure if you stayed north.
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