“Anchors up at 5PM!” That was our plan to leave the Berry Islands on a Wednesday afternoon bound for Marsh Harbour. The trip would take overnight and most of the next day and this window was the best of the worst we had to choose from. It was either too much wind or not enough. Collectively, with Good Trade making the trip with us, we chose the lighter weather window and committed to motoring the whole way. And that is what we did, except for 2 hours overnight where we made 3 knots with a full main and jib. It wasn’t an eventful passage, just a drizzly, dreary and boring one. We arrived into Marsh Harbour around 3ish on Thursday with enough time to make a meal and relax.

The Abacos are a whole different Bahamian experience than most. Definitely different than the barren Berry Islands that we had just come from. There is so much development. Honestly, it reminds me quite a lot of Florida. But we were ready for this indeed! I had a long, long grocery list and lots of laundry to do. Time to start the acclimatization period. Fortunately, on Friday, the bad weather cleared and we were able to complete all of our errands. Cue clouds, wind, rain and lightning! And keep them hovering overhead for days, days on end!

We managed to have a clear-ish day to sail over to Man-O-War and explore that lovely little settlement for the afternoon. That evening we checked the weather and 40 knot squalls (which became Alberto) were predicted for the next few days so back to Marsh Harbour we went. Albeit, reluctantly because two years ago when we were in the Abacos, Marsh Harbour was about all we saw. This year we really wanted to explore the other islands.

The best thing about the rain was the continuous fresh water rinse Anastasia enjoyed. Over the winter months it doesn’t rain much in the other islands so we were quick to start collecting and filling our water tanks. In jest, I call the system for collecting water: “My Watermaker/Air Conditioner.” The system entails a small tarp stretched over the forward hatch with two 4-gallon buckets strategically placed to catch the runoff. The forward hatch is now able to remain open, which is great when it gets super hot and rainy.

We did make it to Green Turtle but not ashore much to explore the island. Once in that area of the Abacos it seems that everyone gets itchy to cross back to the US. We were no different and every opportunity online we checked weather.

Collectively, this year the Abacos were a bust, but there were definitely bright spots that will stick in our memory. The wet weather had us aboard much more than we preferred. But I guess fate was leaving some things unexplored for the future.