[Shane – below is my lastest submission for the monthly article I write for the South Florida edition of All At Sea]
Would you believe just 10 miles south of all the boating activity that happens in the Hub of Abacos, a triangle formed by Marsh Harbour, Hope Town, and Man O War Cay, there is a totally different world? Little Harbour sits at the southern end of the Sea of Abacos and is about as removed from the outside world as you can get. For some reason, very few boats will take the 1-2 hour sail south, so you can get away from the hustle and bustle of Marsh Harbour (albeit still slower paced than a big city).
This tiny little bay offers all around protection, a good spot to sail jump off from the Abacos, and lots of nature, which is probably the reason Randolph Johnston first settled here with his family in the 1950’s. Once here he built a modern bronze foundry and continued his popular career as a sculpture. In addition to the foundry, Randolph built a gallery featuring his work along with other local artists including his son’s Pete and grandson’s Greg.
Pete obviously continued in the family business, but also ventured into the bar and restaurant career when he opened the ever-popular Pete’s Pub. This totally chill establishment features a bar built out of the remains of a local fishing boat and is decorated with a wide collection of stuff including a stop light and eight-foot anchor.
Other nearby activities include exploring the small limestone cave the Johnston family first called home when they set down roots in the bay. There are also beaches both in the bay and on the Atlantic side of the peninsula and the reefs are well worth snorkeling when the seas are calm enough. Take your dinghy around the Bight Of Old Robinson to do some gunkholing and if you are looking to stretch your legs you can take a short walk to the lighthouse ruins or a much longer walk to the settlement of Cherokee.
Little Harbour is the type of place you come to visit for a night and find yourself torn away when you leave a week later. If you do venture down to Little Harbour make sure you work with the tides as the buoyed channel is only about three feet deep at low tide. Once inside you will find moorings you can pick up for $15 a night, which I recommend because there is very little room to anchor and have adequate scope and swing room. If your vessel can not pass through the channel, or you feel you must anchor, you can try on the west side of Tom Curry point, which forms the western part of the channel. The only problem is you can get surge from the nearby cut to the Atlantic Ocean and you have a mile of fetch if the wind is from the west to northeast.
