Knot a Fantasea

Of the two 2023 Catspaces in the fleet, Knot a Fantasea is the one with four cabins: two doubles in each hull, a private head for every cabin and berths for eight. She shares her build year and her weekly rates with Gabrielle Marie, which trades a cabin for an owner's suite, so the choice between them comes down to headcount. If you are bringing seven or eight people, she is the one to look at. With six, it depends on whether you would rather have a fourth cabin or a master suite.

Like every Catspace, she is laid out for living in the open air. The big glass door at the back swings up overhead and opens the saloon straight onto the cockpit, and the galley is on the main deck rather than down in a hull, a few steps from the cockpit. At the bow, Bali has built a solid deck in place of the usual netting: a flat spot to stretch out at anchor, or to sit with the children and watch for rays and turtles in the shallows below.

She is rigged with a full-batten mainsail and a self-tacking jib. The jib crosses over on its own track each time you tack, so nobody has to release one sheet and winch in the other, which makes a real difference when only one or two people aboard are doing the sailing. Two 30 hp Yanmar diesels take over in calms and in the marina. She carries 106 US gallons of fuel and 185 of fresh water, and the watermaker keeps the tank topped up between stops.

With a full boat, the comfort list matters. Abaco Sail's equipment list for her includes air conditioning for sailing days and nights at anchor alike, an onboard generator, snorkel gear, a stand-up paddleboard, Bluetooth audio in the saloon and cockpit, a chartplotter, autopilot and VHF, a cockpit grill and a freshwater shower on deck. Her draft is 3.6 feet, so she can work her way into the shallow, sandy anchorages that make the Sea of Abaco such relaxed cruising for a mixed group.

With eight aboard, we would build the week around time ashore. Great Guana Cay's long Atlantic beach and lunch at Nippers make an easy first outing. When the morning Cruisers' Net on VHF 68 points to a settled day for the Whale Cay Passage, cross north to Green Turtle Cay for the old settlement of New Plymouth and a Goombay Smash at Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar. Heading back south, No Name Cay and its pigs make a quick stop the younger crew will not let you skip.

We book her as Abaco Sail's agent, and her 2026/27 weekly rates match Gabrielle Marie's: from $4,565 (August 1–18) to $13,695 (December 24 – January 6), per boat, plus the mandatory Comfort Pack at $1,000 for the first week and $600 for each additional week. VAT at 10% is built into those figures, and a 4% cruising tax is added. The refundable security deposit is $1,500, and Abaco Sail offers discounts of up to 15% for repeat guests, bookings made six or more months ahead, and charters of two weeks or longer.