We spent multiple nights relaxing off the grid at Great Guana and Man-O-War Cays but decided to head into Marsh Harbour as some weather was coming in. The wind was expected to gust into the high 20 knots and switch from the South/SouthEast to a NorthWest/North wind. We also were told that Marsh Harbour was the place to go to replenish our groceries and visit an ATM since its the only place in the Abacos with a bank or ATM. We reserved a spot at the Harbour View Marina and sailed ~5.5 nm to our slip.
The town of Marsh Harbour is located on the Great Abaco Island and is the home for the majority of services for the Abaco Islands. With most structures being impacted by Hurricane Dorian in 2019, we were impressed with the resilience of the locals and their drive to get their economy and infrastructure going again. With that being said, we were immediately excited by the new and spotless showers/bathrooms and laundry facilities at the marina and to explore the town.
We arrived into town on St. Patrick’s day and found ourselves at Snappas Bar & Grill for good burgers and green beer. We continued helping the local economy by visiting Colors Bahamian for dinner, the Salty Island gift shop and the adequately stocked, National Marine. The 0.8 miles to Maxwell’s Supermarket is definitely worth the walk or bike ride. We took time before and after the front moving through to go for a walk and a longer run though the local neighborhoods and it was devastation from Dorian was still very present and loomed over the area. Fortunately, they seem to still have a good sense of humor with some funny signage around town.
Luckily, we were able to do some provisioning for the boat, soak up some air conditioning and let someone else make us food but with another cold front coming through in a few days, it was time to move on to Hope Town. Skål!
