x-no-archive:yes "Cheshire" wrote:

We are planning a trip of 4 to 6 weeks, beginning in January. I would like
to go through the Abacos first at a leisurely pace and then head down to the
northern Exumas. What is the best route from Marsh or Little Harbor to the
Exumas? The cruising guide suggests that the southern tip of Abaco is a poor
anchorage and also that Eleuthera is a difficult place to navigate, making
me think that I will have to go to Nassau. However, that seems like a long
run.

Any ideas? We are on a two engine trawler and make about 9-10 knots.

I don't know what your air draft is - can you get under the bridges in
the Lucayan waterway? If so you could go back across the Little
Bahama Banks, through the waterway. From the south side of Grand
Bahama it is an easy trip to the Berry Islands, and then from Chub or
Frazier's Hog Cay it is another easy day trip to Nassau.

I have done Chub to Lucaya, Bimini to Lucaya, Bimini to Chub/Frazier's
Hog Cay, and Frazier's Hog/Bird to Nassau and Coral Harbor (Nassau)
to Chub. Chub to Lucaya took us 15 hours (going west of the Berry
Islands), and Bimini to Frazier's Hog took us 2 days+, but we are a
one engine sailboat that makes about 5 knots unless we are sailing in
a good brisk wind.

grandma Rosalie