CHANGES IN THE BAHAMAS
Goodbye Crab Cay By Ron Butler
Anchored at Crab Cay — Today an idyllic spot. Tomorrow? y good friend, Colin Ward, wrote a song of the same name, Goodbye Crab Cay. It seems an appropriate title if not symbol for what’s going on in much of the Bahamas these days. I’ve often said that the Bahamas are the way things were in the states just 50 years ago, and much of that I mean in a good way. The stores are smaller, the people friendlier, the water is cleaner and the politics saner—if not hilarious. Compared to the pace of life in the states these days, the Bahamas are just plain laid back. For example, in the Bahamas, the pork and chicken you buy at the Exuma Markets grocery store still has the skin and bones! The comparison seems to fit. Fifty years ago in the United States, old-timers would lament the passing of natural wilderness waterfront areas as swamps were drained, land was filled and marinas sprung up on backwaters and man-made canals. But money talks and the marinas got developed anyway. Today, we in Florida (and many other areas), lament the passing of these same marinas as they are being bought up and redeveloped into waterfront condos and dockominiums, limiting boaters’ access to parking facilities. Oh, well. That’s how it is—progress, that is. The Bahamas are on the same curve. They’re just a few decades behind us (US?) in terms of marina development. Boaters in 2050 or 2060 will likely be moaning about the rate at which Bahamian marinas are being converted to condos. Heck, some are being developed with that in mind from the start. Crab Cay is a case in point. When we first visited the Bahamas, Crab Cay was basically a wilderness. Yes, it had been the site of a plantation owned by the Walker family back in the 19th century, but it had long been in ruins before we ever visited there. Trails crisscross the island that cruising sailors would often explore over the years. And that’s not to mention the underwater caves and blue holes. For those of you not familiar with Crab Cay, the island lies in the southern end of Elizabeth Harbor, a mile south of George Town—as the seagull flies, more or less. It’s shaped
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like a large crab—hence, its name—with lots of little bays and small coves in the spaces between peninsular crab legs that protrude into the harbor. It is also home to the nearly famous Red Shanks Yacht and Tennis Club. For years, knowledgeable sailors have dropped hook in the many coves around the island, and some of these coves offer near storm-proof protection from all directions. Of course, the water is shallow in places, and you need to know the secrets to find your way into the deep-water anchorages. Most of these holes offer water 7- to 15-feet deep with deep sand bottoms. They’re ideal for spending the winter or holing up from cold-front passages, but you need to find your way past sand bars that have at most 5 ? feet over them at high tide. There’s also a short cut to George Town from the Red Shanks anchorages (as they are known) on the south side of Crab Cay. Crab Cay has been separated from the mainland by a narrow and deep cut at the tip of the western “claw.” The new luxury development is in the process of building a bridge over this cut that will still allow dinghy traffic to pass, although larger craft will no longer be able to make it through there. This past winter the pass was actually closed to all traffic at times due to construction activity. Many Bahamian boats as well as cruisers that have been in the habit of using this cut will find it inconvenient at the least when the bridge prevents their crossing. When the wind blows hard out of the west as it does in a frontal passage, this was the route of choice to get into town. Even sailboats (usually catamarans) have accessed the most protected holes and coves by navigating this small cut. But—alas, no more. I mention the Red Shanks Yacht & Tennis Club out of respect for this venerable institution. At least once every winter, some powerboater comes on the radio hailing the Red Shanks Yacht Club and provokes a flutter of giggles as someone will usually respond with some smart-ass pretense. I guess you have to have been there to appreciate it, www.southwindsmagazine.com