Marsh Harbour

5/11-12/2021

After departing our anchorage at Great Guana Cay we moved to a marina in Marsh Harbour.  This town is the third largest in the Bahamas with about 6000 people.  It was especially hard hit in Hurricane Dorian with the harbor and much of the old downtown wrecked and still not rebuilt.  We are at a reconstructed marina/resort outside of the town proper.  As we approached the marina we saw a boatyard full of damaged and abandoned boats a little south of the town.  I suspect most of these are boats destroyed beyond repair, and which are in disposal by the insurance companies.

After the hurricane there was extensive looting in Marsh Harbour, much of it by illegal immigrant Haitians.  The Haitians were crowded into a section of the town call The Mud, and that was made untenable by flooding and hurricane damage.  They have since mostly moved out of the town to an area near Treasure Cay airport.  Native Bahamians don’t like to talk about it much, but they will occasionally express their displeasure with the problem and government inaction.  It is a problem similar to what we face in the US.

The harbor in town is still in a shambles.  There is extensive debris, and while some rebuilding has begun it is behind most of the other islands.  At one time there were some decent marinas and restaurants in the downtown area, but these are not back in service yet.  I didn’t take any photos since we went through town only briefly on our way to the supermarket and phone company store.

Maxwell’s Supermarket was surprisingly well stocked and was humming with activity.  There were lots of fresh foods and lots of shoppers.  On our way back to the marina the taxi driver told us the mail boat had come in that morning, so everyone was in the store taking advantage of the new shipment.  The mail boat comes about once a week from Nassau with supplies and fuel for the town and surrounding islands.

Our marina is hosting a small billfish tournament while we are here.  Billfish that are targeted include marlin, sailfish and other species such as dolphin.  The boats have to release the billfish, but they can keep the other species.  They video everything for fishing shows on television, and even have a helicopter flying around as part of the tournament.  One of the boats is pictured below heading out to fish in the morning.

Another boat that was participating in the tournament is also pictured below.  They were having some mechanical issue the day prior to the start of the tournament, and were late leaving the dock on the first day.  Later that morning I heard them calling a marina on Great Guana Cay trying to come in to get something fixed.  I imagine the pressure on the captain and crew was incredible.

After two days we will move out to anchor again.