Not quite at the end of Great Abaco, but in a spot that feels like the edge of the world, sits Little Harbour. With a challenging, shallow entrance and one bar/restaurant, many cruisers avoid it, but I consider this place not to be missed.
We wanted to make sure we entered on a rising tide, so we made a morning hop from Friefly to Lynyard Cay to stage for the half hour or so run for the mid-day tide. Island Dream was already there, and Vindaloo radioed us on their way out, so we knew there were moorings available and that we had depth in the channel when we left. We were about 2 hours off high, and we saw some shallow spots right at the inner end of the channel but had no issues. Even on a relatively calm day, though, ocean rollers crash against the cliffs at the entrance and create lumpy, confused sea states.
Later that afternoon, we saw the consequences of not paying attention and leaving the channel on a falling tide. An incoming sailor was busy looking for a mooring and missed the channel completely. They managed to run aground beam to the sea, and with the tide dropping, it didn’t look good despite everyone from the mooring field hopping in their dinghies to try to help. Fortunately a couple bigger power boats came by and got them off.
Pete’s Pub is a quirky, open-air restaurant and bar where locals and cruisers mingle. We met fellow cruisers and locals alike, and spent most of our evenings there with Lori and Paul.
There’s a blue hole just outside Little Harbor, so we went in search for it with Lori and Paul. It wasn’t all that impressive, but it was still a cool find, and we saw tons of sea turtles, rays and huge starfish along the way. After, we headed over to Island Dream for a drink before celebrating Lori’s birthday at Pete’s. Another afternoon, we headed over to a little beach where we watched sea turtles swim by and explored some caves.
I love lighthouses and ruins, so combine the two and I’m a kid in a candy store. We walked up to explore the ruins of the Little Harbour Lighthouse. Built in 1889, the manned light eventually fell into disrepair. It was replaced first with a solar light which was destroyed by Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and then by a steel structure which was destroyed by Sandy in 2012. Since then, the light has been completely abandoned.
In front of the light, a small “goat path” winds down to an overlook on the upper edge of a sea cave where the open Atlantic pounds against the marl shore. It’s amazing to experience the full force of the ocean, and I could have spent hours watching the waves crash against the cliffs. I shot hundreds of photos, and selecting just a few was a near impossibility. So that the photos in this post weren’t ALL wave shots, I put together a few favorites in this quick clip instead.
Adjacent to Pete’s Pub is the Johnston Art Foundry. Founded by late artist Randolph W. Johnston, and run by his son, Pete, the foundry still uses the lost wax technique to create beautiful bronze sculptures (explained on their site). We didn’t get to tour the foundry, but we visited the gallery, and the pieces they create are amazing. Unfortunately none of them were in my budget, but if anyone’s looking for a gift idea…. 😉
The only problem with Little Harbor is that the cell service is terrible. That’s fine on a weekend, and I’m happy for the chance to unplug, but it was a problem when we tried to work on Monday. I think it’s because the harbor is surrounded by cliffs, so the signal doesn’t carry particularly well. At least we know for next time that this is a weekend-only stop.
