Beaufort NC to Marsh Harbor route advice

[techjunc]

I'm considering making a sailing passage from Beaufort NC to Marsh Harbor in Abacos the first week of March. I would welcome advice concerning weather patterns, route, etc.

James Williams
SV Alizee, Cabo Rico 36

[calicojack]

James - I've made the passage many times from Oriental,NC to The Abacos. I tend to wait in Beaufort or Cape Lookout until a front passes through and I have a good "window" of 4 or 5 days. I usually go straight across the stream and get it out of the way and make a hard right turn onto I believe lontitude 77. I normlly head for Man O'War but last time we went into Spanish Cay. We went in to Spanish just as it was getting dark, I wouldn't advise doing that, it was a little "hairy". After getting the "stream" out of the way it's usually a very nice trip. Calico Jack

[techjunc]

Thanks Calico! That's reassuring. Planning the first week of March and will wait for the weather window.
James

[the 58]

Hey,I'm new to this forum and don't have a great deal of offshore miles,but its a little hard to get a 4-5 day weather window this time of year.I have made this trip a couple of times from Murrells Inlet SC but prefer to stay inside the stream and closer in until about Ft Pierce or W Palm depending on the weather.This keeps from having to commit to a definite route in case of a unexpected front developing.I don't think the time or distance involved are very much varied between the two.It gives you the option to make changes should the need arise.Could be the difference between a pleasant 3 days or not.Enter the bank at the NW corner and overnite at Great Sale.From there its just one day to MH.

[Bill Earl]

So, I'm planning a slightly different route, coming from Palm Beach or perhaps as far south as Ft. Lauderdale. I'm thinking of trying to get all the way to Great Sale for the first anchorage. Can anyone tell me about the anchoring there? My cruising guide says that it is good if the wind is out of the east or north.
Thanks
Bill

[the 58]

I have always entered the bank at West End and used the waypoints in the cruising guide.A must have for the Abbacos.To do this in one day I leave Ft Lauderdale about 10 pm the nite before which puts me at the bank just after sunrise and can make Great Sale by mid afternoon so as to get settled in early.Can be a little busy there depending on the traffic coming and going.

[s/v fais do do]

Great Sale is a wonderful anchorage for the normally prevailing conditions. You can a six foot draft boat in pretty tight. Holding is good. Watch the shoal the extends to the south when continuing east. It is a great post-passage place to spend the night. We generally head from Lake Worth Inlet to a point about 10 miles north of Memory Rock, then straight to Sale Cay. Have fun!

[Bill Earl]

I've been checking the charts and trying to figure out the best routes. It looks like you can squeak through at Indian Rocks (right at the West End) or head farther north. I was looking at a waypoint a little South of Memory Rock and then just about straight East to Great Sale. With prevailing east winds it must be a lot of motoring. I was thinking of clearing in at Green Turtle. Any comments on best places to clear in? It also looks like, if the crossing is rough for some reason, one can always clear in at West End and pay the marina charges for a night at the dock.

I've got Dodge's cruising book and just ordered the Explorer Charts. Any others that are important?

Thanks for the comments,
Bill

[Tingum]

Listen to Calicojack and stay off shore! It is a much longer trip to come down the coast. The weather windows work great if you leave before the frontal passage. That way you start with a reach across the stream and as the wind comes around it turns into a nice sleigh ride down to the bank. There are several good channels to choose from, just make sure you come on the bank from the east before noon. You can clear customs at either Spanish or Green Turtle Cay. Have a safe trip.

[capran]

In my recollection, in March and April you might be able to sail all the way across the bank (if you do decide to take the southern route and enter at Memory Rocks or Indian Cay Channel). i think the winds shift out of the south before the front, and from the North as the front passes. Of course, the only time I did it was back in 86, so maybe I just got lucky. During the summer months in the many crossings since ,it was almost always a motor. Have fun. Wish I was there!

[Toucan Dream]

The anchorage in the SW Bight is a very good spot until the wind turns to the W to S. Sometimes we just head right up to the W side of GS (rather than go into the anchorage) and anchor for the night if the weather is good, then continue on around the N end to GTC the next morning. However, last year was very different. We crossed the first part of April. Our weather report when we got to GS showed several days of very high W winds with rain beginning the next day after arriving. So, we trucked around the N end and down to the E side of GS to wait out the storm and high W winds. We could only get to within about 3/4 mile of GS on the E due to shallow water. The wind blew 25 to 40 for three days from the W. We were uncomfortable, but safe. Had we drug anchor, we would only drift out across the Bank. We had two-foot waves that built up between GS and where we were anchored. There were several boats in the SW Bight anchorage that were very uncomfortable, dragging anchor and were looking at a rock shore behind them, but waited too late to move to the E side. That's the advantage of GS.......you can find protection just about any way da wind blows!! (But you need to plan ahead with the forecasts.)

[Joots]

A friend and I are planning on leaving from Southport in a week or so weather permitting. We are leaving from Southport mostly because its more convenient for me to get a ride there than Beaufort. It also saves us a day which are in short supply. I'm just the crew on his Pacific Seacraft 44. We aren't picking a route until we know the weather. You can reach me at Joseph.oots@rbc.com if you want to consider crossing as buddy boats. Its my friend's boat so he's the boss but I don't think he will object to having another boat nearby for safety. My friend has made the crossing before. I'm a first timer.