Long Island is said to be one of the most scenic islands in the Bahamas. I’m not sure what it takes to get that claim given how gorgeous all the islands are, but I’ve set my expectations high. Perhaps, the island’s bigger claim to fame, though, is Dean’s Blue Hole. It was thought to be the world’s deepest blue hole until just a few years ago when a deeper one was discovered in China.
That beach
After conversing with another young couple at the Chat ‘N Chill in Georgetown, we decide to follow their recommendation of checking out Calabash Bay along Cape Santa Maria on the northern tip of Long Island. They indicated that there is some nice reef in the area, which is what we are ever in search of. We really didn’t find that much reef to speak of (unfortunately), but what we did find is an absolutely gorgeous white sand beach (two actually!) and a cute resort. I am somewhat familiar with the resort since it was the location where my favorite cruising blog, Laho Wind, got engaged a few years ago during their time sailing the Caribbean. It almost feels familiar – funny how that can happen.
We’re the only boat in the bay and we pick a spot to anchor where we think we’ll be best protected from the strong northeast winds that are forecasted. Then we launch the dinghy and take Monster over to enjoy the nice beach. As we are walking along one side of the beach, we notice a starfish in the sand. I’m pretty excited because we haven’t found any starfish (that we can keep) yet. Upon picking it up, though, we realize that it is still alive – barely moving its tiny “feet.” We gently place it back in the water and continue on our walk – only to find several more starfish up in the sand that are still alive. Taking note of this and other clues, we conclude that we are at low tide and these starfish must be stranded up on the beach until the tide returns. Not really sure if they are able to survive long enough out of the water until the tide rises again, we go ahead and place them just inside the water’s edge.
In addition to all the living starfish, we also find two starfish that aren’t so lucky. They aren’t the classic dried-white, brittle starfish that you would expect – they still have some color to them as if they recently perished. On one hand, this is pretty sad – on the other hand, I’m still excited to finally have a starfish for our collection. This also makes us think that we did the right thing moving all the living starfish back into the shallow water, as these two obviously didn’t survive on their own outside the water. As we head back to the dinghy with our two starfish, we spot something large and red in the shallow water. Yep, another starfish – but this one is HUGE (and so pretty)! We snap a quick picture from above the water and continue on our way.
Tangent: We read that a way to preserve starfish is to let them soak in rubbing alcohol for a day or two and then dry out completely in the sun. We follow these steps but the starfish don’t seem to be losing color in the sun as expected. I remember once as a child that we used bleach to lighten (and kill any lingering smell) of starfish we found on the beach. Matt and I decide to try using bleach again time. It seems to work almost immediately – we’re very pleased. Two hours later we go to remove the starfish and they are gone. Literally disintegrated in the bleach. I’m so disappointed, but lesson learned. Dilute the bleach with water and only use for a few minutes.
Pizza with a view
According to Active Captain reviews, the restaurant at the resort has free conch fritters during happy hour. Conch fritters are a staple in the Bahamas – think of large hush puppies that have a bit of conch mixed in. They always come with a tasty dipping sauce as well, so even I have learned to like them. After spending an afternoon of failed snorkeling attempts, we clean up and head in to the restaurant around 5 pm to try out the happy hour. We each get the drink of the day – which is okay and some pretty tasty conch fritters. Upon checking out the menu, we see one of the restaurant’s staples is pizza. Between the pizza and the ridiculous view from our table, we’re swayed to stay for dinner.
Unfortunately, the bugs are starting to eat us for their dinner. Matt makes a quick trip back to our boat to grab us some bug spray which we apply liberally (several times). Even Monster seems to be getting annoyed with all the no-see-ums. For those of you that don’t have no-see-ums (like the Midwest), they are basically tiny flying, biting gnats that leave bumps that itch as bad as mosquito bites. We try to keep our focus on the gorgeous view and how lucky we are to be experiencing a place like this and less on the bugs. Another couple decides to brave the bugs and join us with their drinks outside. We chat like old friends, each inquiring about how the other ended up in this remote paradise. As expected, almost everyone at the resort learns about it by word of mouth. As for us – well, we’re on a boat and in front of the resort is a well-protected anchorage.
When the pizza finally comes out, we are not disappointed! It’s the best pizza we’ve had in the Bahamas. It also comes along with a breathtaking sunset.
Finally an eagle ray
I absolutely love eagle rays. My first encounter with them was diving in Cozumel several years ago. They are just so majestic in their appearance and especially movement. They look similar to a sting ray, but with more triangular “wings,” a much longer tail, and a large almost mammal-like head. Eagle rays are really gorgeous and their rounded head makes them feel more approachable, more relatable. Anyways – we haven’t seen a single eagle ray since cruising the Bahamas. It’s unreal. FINALLY the drought is broken, though, and we spot an eagle ray inside the shallow waters of the anchorage. We cautiously follow it around in the dinghy for a bit and manage to capture some good GoPro footage.
After a while, Matt hops in the water with a mask and snorkel so that he can try to get a better look at it. The eagle ray doesn’t seem to really mind us, but it also doesn’t want to let us get too close. We use that to our advantage, and I slowly coral the eagle ray towards Matt using the dinghy. I know, I know – not very nice of us. It works though and Matt is able to get an up close this amazing creature. We think of switching places, but decide to leave the poor thing alone and just enjoy him from above the surface at a distance back on our boat.
Columbus monument
At the northern tip of Long Island is a monument, commemorating where Columbus landed his ship on Long Island. Given that the waves are not too crazy, we decide to take a dinghy ride around the tip of the island to view the monument. We are able to land the dinghy on a small beach nearby (possibly the beach Columbus landed at!) and then hike up a short, but ridiculously steep trail, to where the monument is located. The views from the hill are gorgeous, but the experience feels a little underwhelming. There is just a stone – well monument; nothing else. Not sure what more I expected, though. We took in the views and snapped a few photos. As we were getting ready to leave, we ran into our new friends, Jason and Jennifer, from the night before again. Great minds think alike!
It’s a very long island
After spending two nights at Calabash Bay, we decide it’s time to move south along Long Island to our originally planned destination of Thompson Bay/Salt Pond. This area offers another protected anchorage with a lot more conveniences of being in town. There is a grocery store, marine parts store, and several restaurants within walking distance of the dinghy dock. There is also a car rental nearby, which is what we really came for. We want a car to be able to visit Dean’s Blue Hole. Technically, we should be able to get there by boat (and dinghy), but it’s on the other side of the island. Not only is the other side open to the trade winds, but it’s also a long ways away. No surprise – Long Island is actually really long, and we don’t want to have to travel around the entire thing at our dashing speed of 7 knots.
We wake up in the morning, amongst some storms, and find a (mostly) dry window to head into town to pick up our car from Seaside Rentals. It’s quite a different experience than in the US. For starters, only cash is accepted – not credit cards. We pay our $65 cash for the day rental, sign a very unofficial looking form, and are on our way. The car seems to be in great shape despite having over 120K miles on it. In the Bahamas, they drive on the left side of the road. This is a bit strange (of course), but oddly seems less strange since the steering wheel in our car is on the opposite side as well.
We drive, mostly aimlessly, down the main highway of the island – yet another “Queen’s Highway.” We notice a couple things: 1) the island has a lot of property for sale, and 2) the island is really quite long. Somewhere along the way, we see a sign indicating that we have passed over the Tropic of Cancer. This is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. The Tropic of Cancer’s position is not fixed, but is actually constantly changing due to a slight wobble in the Earth’s longitudinal alignment relative to its orbit around the Sun (or so Wikipedia tells me). It is currently moving south at approximately 15 meters per year. I’m guessing the folks on Long Island don’t move the sign several meters each year, so it’s likely not in the exact spot anymore – but close enough. We snap an obligatory photo – Matt is really into getting pictures of signs.
Tangent: The Tropic of Cancer also happens to be the boundary for our insurance policy. Often times when getting marine insurance, the underwriter will require you to have the boat north of the Florida/Georgia line during hurricane season – approximately July 1 – November 1. Our policy had this provision as well, but in order to enjoy some more time in the Bahamas (during July) and to be able to have work done on the boat in Florida during the fall, we paid extra and our boundary was moved to the Tropic of Cancer. So technically, we could hang out in the Exumas or Abacos all hurricane season. Of course, we have no plans to actually do that.
Clarence Town is the capital of Long Island and also near Dean’s Blue hole. We head in that direction, wanting to check out the blue hole, then grab some lunch in Clarence Town before returning to the blue hole to actually swim. Upon our initial visit to the blue hole, we are surprised at how unmarked and un-kept the road is (off the main highway) to get there. Too bad we weren’t driving an off-road jeep instead of our little Toyota. Upon walking out onto the beach towards the blue hole, we once again spot our friends, Jason and Jennifer. We are really following the same schedule here! After a short chat, we continue along our way in search of lunch.
Clarence Town is not as large as we are expecting – for being the capital. There is one marina, which we take a peek at in case we decide to visit next season. There seem to only be a couple restaurants in the area, so we pick one with outdoor seating (for Monster) and give it a try. The food was actually pretty good and we had a great view! Too bad our lunch guests were several wasps.
Sufficiently stuffed, we make a detour to the popular church with twin towers nearby. I read that you can climb up one of the towers to get nice views, but the church doors are closed when we arrive. It’s also not very tall, so I’m not sure how much of a vantage point you would really gain. We snap another photo, a little unsure what all the fuss is about around the church, and continue on to Dean’s Blue Hole.
Dean’s Blue Hole
It is the second deepest blue hole in the world at over 660 feet. It is especially famous among the free-diving community as the Vertical Blue (annual international free-diving competition) is held here. Because of this, there is a permanently affixed platform in the middle of the blue hole with ropes going down to the bottom. These ropes have dashes on them marking each meter of depth as you descend. This is also the location that world champion free-diver, William Trubridge, gives lessons on free-diving. We learn that there is actually a class taking place the next day.
We put on our snorkel gear and Monster’s life jacket to swim out into the middle of the blue hole. Given that Monster barks if we swim too far away from her, we decide to have her hang out on the platform in the middle. It’s pretty darn cool that our dog is standing on a platform above 600+ feet of water where world-class free divers compete. She hangs out there while we kick around a bit and take turns diving down the line. I’m not very good at holding my breath and find the whole blue hole thing to be pretty freaky, so I only do one real dive down – making it around 30 feet. Matt does several, with his best being 60 feet!
After tiring ourselves out at the blue hole, we head back to return our rental car. First, though, we make a quick grocery run where we find a couple boxes of a very specific toothpick Matt’s dad has been looking to find for the past several years. Between my breakfast burritos in Nassau and these toothpicks in Long Island, we’re beginning to think we should be combing every store for all the things discontinued and no longer available in the US. Overall, our visit to Long Island has been a success.
