Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club is a premier yacht club in the Abacos and A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR! If you cruise to Abacos and Marsh Harbour area, you should consider joining this great group of like minded cruisers.

Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club Open Letter

Who would think that anything could push Hurricane Dorian and its destruction of Abaco out of our collective minds, but something did.  As we watched the Abacos struggle to gain a foothold on the devastation caused by Dorian yet another catastrophe, Covid 19, hit not only our Bahamian friends but the entire world.  In an instant, the focus switched from assisting Abaco in their recovery to assisting the world in the prevention and recovery of a pandemic.  Covid 19 greatly affected the boating community, especially those already in the Bahamas.  There were many uncertainties and questions of safety.  One of the benefits of belonging to an organization such as RMHYC is the help and support the members provide to each other. 

Overnight the major NGOs recalled their personnel.  Contractors from the US and other countries returned home to take care of their own families. The Bahamas closed their borders to all.  The recovery came to an abrupt halt. But all is not lost.  Significant headway was being made before the restrictions caused by Covid 19.  Supplies had been shipped in to help rebuild and headway was being made.  

There was momentum.  As we know, the Bahamians are STRONG!  They have rallied against the odds and have kept that momentum going. Good news has continued to come from Abaco. 

Several RMHYC members were in Eleuthera when the borders closed and inter-island travel was banned.  Those boats were quarantined for several weeks as the pandemic ramped up.  Once travel restrictions lifted, they headed back to the US on a route through Abaco and stopped at Abaco Beach Resort, the home base for RMHYC.  Two Club boats spent several nights at the resort and reported that Abaco Beach Resort is making great strides and will be ready for us in November!

A few days ago, I had a conference call with the owners and general manager of Abaco Beach Resort and Boat Harbor Marina.  We discussed the upcoming season and what we can expect.  The short answer is the resort will be fully open for our return in the fall. Much of the work is already done.The docks will all be new and have new utilities.  Docks 1 & 2 are 100% complete with all utilities.  

Docks 3, 4, 5, 6 are in various stages of construction but will be completed in 2 months. The pool is open and looking good.  The new laundry room is open with brand new machines. The pool bar and outdoor restaurant is open now.  The new main restaurant will be located up at the hotel and is still under construction. The new function tent is up and waiting for the return of the Commodore’s Ball.  

Take a look at the RMHYC Facebook page for some very encouraging pictures and information.  The only thing missing is “you”!

 We all know it will be very different than before.  Marsh Harbor is still nowhere near recovered though things are happening daily. Heavy equipment has been working to clean up Dove Plaza and the pictures are encouraging.  Recently, the Bahamian government extended a program of VAT tax relief on building materials going to Abaco until June 2021.  It will be a slow process for sure but in my opinion, quite exciting to experience.  Kind of like a Phoenix rising from the ashes.

I am hoping that because of the Bahamian “gap year” most of us have experienced, we can get more RMHYC members in Abaco than ever before!  I for one have been Jones’n for the Abacos and I am really looking forward to being back there next season. 

Scott Coles
Commodore

Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club