Explore: Marsh Harbour (Great Abaco Island)
General Info
Marsh Harbour, described as the “Hub of Abaco”, offers most of the services a yacht might need, with a good choice of marinas, boat storage, hotels, restaurants and provisioning. Haul-out facilities are available.
The entire island of Great Abaco also offers interesting exploration by vehicle, from Crown Haven in the north to Hole-in-the-Wall in the south. The famous Abaco Parrot can be found in the Abaco National Park near the south end of the island.
Position 26° 32’52″N, 077° 04’10″W (harbour entrance)
Clearance
Review main Bahamas Clearance information.
Fly Q-Flag and alert Customs via Marina or VHF. Officials are reported to be very friendly.
Customs and Immigration will come to the marina docks to clear you in.
Last updated: February 2017.
Docking
Be sure to take the correct channel into the harbour and not the commercial dock. A total of eight new channel marks are planned to replace the poles now marking the Marsh Harbour commercial entry channel.
If entering at night, note that often navigation lights do not work.
Getting into Marsh Harbour is easy, but you will not see the actual anchorage until you’re close, because it is hidden behind the corner on the southern side of the channel. Anchoring is possible anywhere inside the harbour in sand and mud (good holding) but be sure to stay out of the channel. It’s a short dinghy ride to the dinghy dock on the south side of the harbour, for garbage and a short walk to the shops.
Be sure to lock your dinghy and outboard when ashore as there have been several cases of theft here.
There are several marinas useful for cruising sailors.
Last updated: November 2017.
Yacht Clubs
Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club has facilities available for cruisers. www. RMHYC.com
