which serves custom-made cocktails just steps from the shoreline. Stroll next door to The Art Shack for Bahamian arts and crafts and souvenir items. Proceeds from the Shack sales support a local school. Located just before St. Bartholomew Anglican Church is another hotspot for dancing and fun,The Back Side Bar.They offer chicken wings, conch fritters and fresh conch salad daily and a fish fry on Tuesday nights. St. Bartholomew Anglican Church was the first place of worship built in The Berry Islands more than 150 years ago. On the church’s western shore is Bishop’s Landing, the stone steps carved out of the landing rocks where visiting bishops disembarked from their boat. Snugged into the east side of Great Harbour is Soul Fly Lodge, a destination catering to fishermen. Wade into the sand flats, lush turtle grass, dense mangroves and backcountry creeks of the area to discover fabulous fishing grounds. It’s illegal to catch the several shark varieties roaming the shallow waters. While on Great Harbour, explore Sugar Beach Caves whose sandy coves, rocky cliffs and sheltered caves resemble those of the best Mediterranean beaches. The Great Harbour Cay Marina has 65 slips nestled inside a serene harbor and accommodates yachts up to 150 feet. One of the most protected marinas in the Bahamas, it’s an excellent hurricane hole.
Snorkeling for starfish
Slaughter Harbour, which lies between the two, and Goad Cay or Snake Cay, which are behind Great Stirrup.
Leg 2: Stirrup Cay area Estimated Mileage: 4 NM The first known settlers to the Bahamas were the Lucayan people, relatives of the Arawaks who populated the Caribbean around 600 A.D. Great Stirrup was a pirate hideout until 1815.This era marks the first documented settlers of Great Stirrup shown on period charts as simply “Stirrup’s Cay.”Many of the structures from this settlement are still standing. Little Stirrup (now known as Coco Cay) and Great Stirrup Cays are now private cruise ship islands and not accessible to boaters. Several good anchorages are located in the area such as
Leg 3: Cistern Cay Estimated Mileage: 2 NM
The abandoned Ghost Island of Cistern Cay was a known drug hub in its heyday and exploring visitors often speculate about the wreckage of a plane symbolizing a dark past in island history. Whether a drug-runner downed by authorities or just a victim of bad weather, the sunken wreck is now a city of coral habitat for creatures of the sea.
27
WINTER 2022
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker