Abaco Islands

The Abaco Islands form the northernmost chain of the Bahamas, stretching roughly 200 km from Walker's Cay in the north to Hole-in-the-Wall lighthouse at the southern tip of Great Abaco. The chain divides into two elements: the Great Abaco mainland to the west, and the long arc of offshore cays — Green Turtle, Manjack, Treasure, Great Guana, Man-O-War, Hope Town's Elbow Cay, Tilloo, and Lubbers Quarters — that shelter the Sea of Abaco from the Atlantic. The Sea of Abaco, enclosed between these two elements, is the defining feature: a shallow, protected cruising ground of turquoise water, scattered shoals, and tidal flats that has made the Abacos the acknowledged sailing capital of the Bahamas and one of the most celebrated cruising grounds in the western hemisphere. The tidal regime is mixed semidiurnal, with a mean range of roughly 0.6 to 1.0 m — larger than the microtidal Caribbean regime further south and east, reflecting the Bahamas' position in the Atlantic where tidal energy is stronger. Two unequal highs and two unequal lows each day; the difference between high and low is noticeable enough that boat skippers planning bar crossings, shore anglers timing their flat sessions, and families watching the beach width all work from a tide table. Bonefishing on the tidal flats between Snake Cay, Great Guana, and the back-harbour flats north of Green Turtle Cay is world-class; the fish move onto the flats on the flooding tide and retreat to deeper channels on the ebb. The Bahamian Department of Meteorology references NOAA for tidal data; predictions on TideTurtle for the Abacos come from Open-Meteo Marine gridded model, typically accurate to within plus or minus 45 minutes on timing and 0.2 to 0.3 metres on height.