air currents volume 12 issue 1

AIR CURRENTSAIR CURRENTS

UNPLUG & UNWINDUNPLUG & UNWINDON CAT ISLANDON CAT ISLAND

THE GENTLER SIDE THE GENTLER SIDE OF FLORIDAOF FLORIDA

Green Cay WetlandsGreen Cay Wetlands

ART PART TWOART PART TWOFishartista Kim RodyFishartista Kim Rody

SHIFT HAPPENSSHIFT HAPPENSBook Excerpt From The ShifterBook Excerpt From The Shifter

YOUR COMPLEMENTARY GUIDE TO FLORIDA AND THE BAHAMAS

T h e O f f i c i a l I n - F l i g h t M a g a z i n e o f G u l f s t r e a m I n t e r n a t i o n a l A i r l i n e sT h e O f f i c i a l I n - F l i g h t M a g a z i n e o f G u l f s t r e a m I n t e r n a t i o n a l A i r l i n e s

A Community A Community With Feeling With Feeling

Upscale & Upscale & DownsizedDownsized

Michael Owen - International Football Player

Freeport: Port Lucaya MarketplaceNassau: Rawson Square, Bay Street - 240 Bay Street - Atlantis, Beach Tower - Marina Village at Atlantis

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What’s InsideVolume 12 | Issue 1 | 2011

FEATURES

16 Wish List Shopping worth taking a vacation

for, with fine jewelry from Tiffany, Cartier, Bvlgari & more.

48 Downsized & Upscale Schooner Bay, Abaco: best of

vintage village life comes alive

52 Kim Rody: Act 2 From insurance exec to artist

extraordinaire capturing the Bahamian seascape.

54 Coral Sands’ Four Cottages Offer Dream Homes Away From Home.

Coral Sands Resort on Harbour Island.

On the Cover: Bahamian Parrot by Anthony Hepburn

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8 Welcome Aboard 12 Flybys 22 Island Hopping 38 Florida Fanfare 61 Customs Information 62 Route Map

BAHAMAS BOUND 26 Cat Island: Unplugged and

Lovin’ It Sleeping beauty of the island

nation.

FLORIDA FUN43 Green Cay Wetlands 100 acres of a gentler Florida.

BOOK BAG46 Shift Into Summer Reading An excerpt from Janice Hardy’s

fantasy adventure, The Shifter

DINING56 Chef Dean James Max

Dazzles at 3030 Ocean With his 20/20 vision of fresh

food.

6 | Volume 12 Issue 1 www.aircurrentsmagazine.com

Dear Valued Customer,

Many of you who fly on Gulfstream know us for our frequent

flights to The Bahamas, but what you might not know about is the unique relationship we share with the island nation. Under our Continental Connection service, we operate more flights to more destinations in The Bahamas than any other U.S. airline. We provide service to eight international airports in the Islands of The Bahamas including Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bimini, Andros, Marsh Harbour and Treasure Cay, Abaco, Governor’s Harbour and North Eleuthera, and Exuma. And there are great things happening!

The Bahama Islands are bursting with world-class resorts, intimate and romantic boutique hotels, adventure, eco-venture and fishing lodges, each designed with its own character and flair to entertain, amuse and pamper, and most of all, acquaint you with a the most beautiful beaches and waters in the world. Please take some time to read about some of my favorites in this issue, including the very laid-back world of Cat Island.

New properties have opened and more are on the way. Sandals Emerald Bay, Exuma opened in 2010 with butlers for every suite, and a location on one of The Bahamas’ most scenic islands. Nearby Grand Isle Resort & Spa, the most luxurious of Exuma properties, is under new management and continuing to earn the highest accolades. Internationally renowned marine scientist, conservationist and artist, Guy Harvey of Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts, reopened the famed Bimini Big Game Club to rave reviews. In Eleuthera, dining is all the rage with the concentration of internationally respected fine chefs in Harbour Island and the fun resorts of Cape Eleuthera and The Cove on the mainland. In Abaco, the Ritz-managed Abaco Club on Winding Bay is a world of luxury unto itself. And throughout Andros and other isles, quaint inns or smart fishing lodges make visiting feel like coming home.

So as you plan your summer vacation or consider what to do next winter, take a fresh look at the Family Islands of The Bahamas, and most important of all, call us. You can use your Sunpac for a flexible vacation with no change fees. No other airline to The Bahamas can offer that or the convenience of eight islands for your pleasure. We’re committed to these islands where we truly believe “It’s better in The Bahamas” and it’s best in the Family Islands.

Sincerely,

Dave HackettChief Executive OfficerGulfstream International Airlines

P.S. For a complete listing of available resorts, inns and locations in The Bahamas, please visit the following websites: Out Islands: www.myoutislands.com; Grand Bahama: www.Bahamas.com.

Welcome Aboard


The Offi cial In-Flight Magazine of Gulfstream International Airlines

PUBLISHERKENT JIMISON

PUBLICATION DIRECTORWENDY CLEMENTS

EDITORDIANE PHILLIPS

CREATIVE DIRECTORJANICE HARDY

EDITORIAL STAFFALEXAVIA DORSETT

CRAIG ELDONCLAY SAUNDERS

ADVERTISING SALESKENT JIMISON

TRAVEL MEDIA INTERNATIONAL(954) 346-0712

ADVERTISING SALES FOR FLORIDA & GRAND BAHAMAADVERTISING OPTIONS, INC.

(561) [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSCRAIG ELDON • MARGIE KAYE

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSANTHONY HEPBURN

LINDA HUBER • THE TRAVEL GUYS

TRAVEL MEDIA INTERNATIONAL 10001 VESTAL PLACE

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AIR CURRENTS© 2011 is published quarterly for the approximately 1,000,000 passengers who travel annually on Gulfstream International Air-lines. Copyright 2011 by Travel Media Interna-tional. All rights reserved. Repro duction in part or in whole is prohibited. All opinions expressed in AIR CURRENTS are solely those of the con-tributors. While every reasonable care has been taken, neither AIR CURRENTS nor its agents ac-cept liability for loss or damage to photographs and material submitted to this magazine. Infor-mation contained in these pages is subject to change without notice. Volume 12, Issue 1, 2011. Subscriptions available for $16.00 per year. Please send check or money order to: Travel Media In-ternational, 10001 Vestal Place, Coral Springs, FL 33071, Attn: Subscriptions.

Nya has a secret she must never share. A gift she must never use. A world she must never question. And a sister whose life depends on her doing all three.

THE SHIFTER by Janice HardyBOOK ONE OF THE HEALING WARS

And look for BLUE FIRE, BOOK TWO OF THE HEALING WARS

Published by Balzer & BrayAn Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

Sold at bookstores everywhere, or online at:www.barnesandnoble.com • www.borders.com

www.target.com • www.harpercollinschildrens.comwww.amazon.com • www.indiebound.org

www.JaniceHardy.com


242.302.2800

Spr ing Is Here ...

The Perfect Segway: We’ve Found It The newest excursion in town turns out to be on two-

legs. Nope, not your two legs, but the two legged battery operated device given each participant during The Bahamas Segway & Beach Experience. Rated TripAdvisor’s #1 attraction in Nassau, the three hour experience begins with a scenic ride to a 200-acre privately owned property in the southwestern part of the island at which time participants are given lessons on how to operate their mobile Segway devices in addition to a safety course. A guided tour follows with participant zipping through salt lakes and canals, mangroves and pine forests with information being piped on the sights of fl ora and fauna. The expedition culminates with participants ending on at a picturesque sandy beach where they’re free to collect shells or wade in the shallow azure waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Perfect for children and adults. Bahamas Segway & Beach Experience offers three daily tours. Monday 8:30am, 11am and 1:30pm, Tuesday – Friday; 9:30am, 12:00pm and 2:30pm. To book your Segway tour, call (242) 376.9016 or (242) 467.8764 or visit www.bahamassegwaytours.com.

Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun at Belle & Maxwell’s

An adorable restaurant tucked away at the south end of West Palm Beach has developed such a fan base that it had to double its size, double its hours and for those who love Belle & Maxwell’s, that means double the pleasure.

Everything about Belle & Maxwell’s is a shout-out that this is anything but chain store fare, starting with the name. The restaurant was named after the former owners’ cats, Belle & Maxwell. When a striking woman named Michelle Taylor took it over a few years ago, she left the name, but brought with her the energy of a lively and healthy kitchen. She met a tiny tucked away treatery with an even tinier garden —a hideaway with a half dozen tables for cappuccino, teas, a few pastries and one heck of a great roast beef sandwich. The original fl air is still there. Knick-knacks hang from the ceiling. European plates dot shelves. New and old books and magazines are everywhere. There are gifts and greeting cards and antique postcards. The garden is larger, the bar is inviting. Deliberately mismatched tables, chairs and table settings add to the charm. But now the menu has expanded. Belle & Maxwell’s still serves a mean roast beef au jus on French bread, but Michelle and her team also whip up a slew of salads from pear and Gorgonzola to a warm spinach salad with roasted potato. Lunches like French Brie, apple and walnut sandwich and dinner like fi let mignon. From cheese platters for starters to angel hair pasta to an array of desserts (chocolate croissant bread pudding to die for), Belle & Maxwell’s café is off the beaten path but well worth beating a path to. Open for lunch and dinner Monday - Saturday. 3700 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach. (561) 832-4449.


On Your Mind? On Your Shirt.

For years Despair, Inc. has been making us laugh with demotivational posters, calendars, and other knickknacks. Now, they have T-shirts to say what’s on our minds. Even if our minds are pretty snarky at times.

www.despair.com.

Male Bag It takes a real man to carry a bag. No one knows that better than the

men who are at the forefront of fashion, boldly sporting the hot, new over-the-shoulder leather look of the MALE BAG. Created by the late Harl Taylor, a Bahamian who studied in Paris under Givenchy and Karl Lagerfeld and worked in the House of Rochas before returning to the islands, the design was just recently uncovered among the drawings he left behind. By the time of his death in 2008, Taylor had created more than 30 styles of the Harl Taylor BAG and replicas are drawing high prices even today with more stores carrying and more celebrities craving the distinctive Harl Taylor line of clothing, carvings and bags. Taylor’s genius lay in a combination of clean lines and the materials that made them come to life, a marriage of straw and sisal plait with luxurious silk lining in a casual bag or a tee-shirt adorned with rich beading, mother of pearl, sea shells or gemstones.

Now, his legacy lives on with the MALE BAG and with a scholarship program. The fi rst award recipient, Theodore Elyett Sealy, will attend Taylor’s alma mater, Parson’s The New School of Design summer program in New York City. And it’s a pretty good bet he’ll be carrying a MALE BAG. For the rest of those males who know they are real men or the women who want to reward them, the MALE BAG is available at www.harltaylorbag.com or www.harltaylorbag.com/malebag.html.

Hands Off My LunchTired of coworkers stealing your

lunch? Perhaps it’s time to make your sandwich a little less appealing to the casual refrigerator snooper.

Think Geek’s new Organ Transport Lunch Cooler is big enough to hold a typical frozen meal, plus a couple of sodas or snacks.

So save your lunch from getting pinched by a coworker too cheap or lazy to get his own lunch. Do so in a way that looks cool and is guaranteed to turn heads and get people talking! www.thinkgeek.com.


1: Bvlgari. Bvlgari Boutique, Crystal Court at Atlantis, (242) 363-5824. John Bull, 284 Bay Street, Nassau (242) 302-2800.

2: Coin of the Realm, Nassau, Charlotte and Bay Streets. (242) 322-4862.3: John Bull, 284 Bay Street, Nassau, (242) 302-2800; Crystal Court at Atlantis, Paradise Island,

Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, Fisherman’s Village, Bimini Bay Resort & Marina. 3: The Perfume Shop. Nassau, (242) 322-2375. 4: Elle is 284 Bay Street, (242) 302-2800.5: Colombian Emeralds International, Celebrating Life’s Most Memorable Moments. Port Lucaya

Marketplace. Grand Bahama International Airport. Rawson Square, Bay Street. 240 Bay Street. Atlantis, Beach Tower. Atlantis, Royal Towers. Marina Village at Atlantis. 1-800-6-NO-DUTY or www.ColombianEmeralds.com.

6: Dooney & Bourke. 284 Bay Street, Nassau, (242) 302-2800; Marina Village, (242) 363-1156. 7: Cartier. Cartier Boutique, 284 Bay Street, Nassau, (242) 302-2872; Crystal Court at Atlantis,

(242) 363-5808.8: Movado. John Bull, 284 Bay Street, Nassau, (242) 302-2800; Crystal Court at Atlantis, Paradise

Island, Marina Village, Mall at Marathon, Harbour Bay, Palmdale, Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, Emerald Bay, Exuma, Port Lucaya Marketplace, Freeport Grand Bahama.

9: Coach. 303 Bay Street, Nassau, (242) 326-0557. 10: Chanel. John Bull, 284 Bay Street, Nassau, (242) 302-2800; Crystal Court at Atlantis, Paradise

Island, Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, Fisherman’s Village, Bimini Bay Resort & Marina.

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Great gifts and souvenirs too good not to take home


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1: Pandora. John Bull, 284 Bay Street (242) 302-2800; Mall at Marathon; Harbour Bay; Marina Village; Marsh Harbour, Abaco; Harbour Island, Eleuthera and Emerald Bay, Exuma.

2: Bvlgari. Bvlgari Boutique, Crystal Court at Atlantis, (242) 363-5824. John Bull, 284 Bay Street, Nassau (242) 302-2800.

3: Rebecca Jewellery: John Bull, Mall at Marathon (242) 393-4406, Palmdale and Harbour Bay. 4: Cartier. Cartier Boutique, 284 Bay Street, Nassau, (242) 302-2872; Crystal Court at Atlantis,

(242) 363-5808. 5: Chanel. John Bull, 284 Bay Street, Nassau, (242) 302-2800; Crystal Court at Atlantis, Paradise Island,

Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, Fisherman’s Village, Bimini Bay Resort & Marina. 6: Marc Jacobs: 284 Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas (242) 302-2800 , Crystal Court at Atlantis,

Paradise Island, Marina Village, Mall at Marathon, Harbour Bay, Palmdale, Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, Emerald Bay, Exuma, Port Lucaya Marketplace, Freeport Grand Bahama.

7: Tag Heuer. John Bull, 284 Bay Street, Nassau, (242) 302-2800; Marina Village, Crystal Court at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Harbour Island, Port Lucaya Marketplace, Freeport Grand Bahama.

8: David Yurman Boutique. Bay Street (242) 302-2878; Crystal Court at Atlantis; Marina Village; Paradise Island; Marsh Harbour, Abaco; Harbour Island; Bimini Bay, Bimini; Port Lucaya Marketplace, Freeport, Grand Bahama. (242) 302-2878.

9: Ray Ban: 284 Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas, (242) 302-2800; Marina Village, Crystal Court at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Harbour Island, Port Lucaya Marketplace, Freeport Grand Bahama.

10: Graycliff. West Hill Street across from Government House, Nassau. (242) 302-9150.11: Alex Fragga. 284 Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas, (242) 302-2800; Marina Village, Crystal Court at

Atlantis, Paradise Island, Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Harbour Island, Port Lucaya Marketplace, Freeport Grand Bahama.

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Bahamas Bound

Island HoppingYour guide to The Islands of The Bahamas

Just 50 miles east of South Florida’s coast lie over 700 tropical islands and cays that combine the seascapes of the Caribbean with the untouched quality of

the South Pacific. Flamingos walk the shallows in search of shrimp while just beyond, along the sun-drenched pink-and-white sand beaches, iguanas feast on hibiscus flowers. In The Bahamas, “fast paced” is confined to wave runners and roulette wheels. Here, world-class resorts offer accommodations for families, business travelers, and couples in search of seclusion.

The Abacos The famous red and white candy-striped lighthouse still serves as a beacon

to all the sailing, fishing and yachting enthusiasts who come to play in the tranquil waters of the Abacos. The 130-mile stretch of bays, beaches, secluded inlets, pine forests, lagoons and pastel New England-style villages welcomes visitors who seek first-class diversions. The Albert Lowe Museum, located on Green Turtle Cay, highlights the area’s unique culture, from its shipbuilding traditions to its local artists. This quiet island escape entices those seeking unspoiled beaches and an extremely laid-back atmosphere.

AndrosAndros is the largest island in The Bahamas and the fifth-largest in the

Caribbean, attracting divers and fishing enthusiasts, as well as casual sightseers. Mostly flat, its 2,300 square miles is one of the biggest unexplored tracts of land in the Western Hemisphere. It consists of pine forests, thick impenetrable bush, mangrove marsh and palm-lined beaches along the east coast, riddled with lakes and creeks, and most of the local residents live along the eastern shore. The Andros Barrier Reef, the world’s third-largest and healthiest barrier reef lies off the coast, and divers come from all over the world to explore it. The reef plunges 6,000 feet to a narrow drop-off known as the Tongue of the Ocean. The island also offers a vast array of Blue Holes for the experienced diver. These underwater cave systems are found both inland and in the ocean, and though no one has even gone in one and out the other, it is believed that they do connect. Bonefishing here is among the best on earth, and Andros is also known for its world-class marlin and bluefin tuna fishing.

BiminiBimini is made up of three major islands—North, South and East Bimini—

each rich with history and natural resources. Most of the islands’ population, about 1,600 residents, live in Bailey Town in North Bimini, while the main tourist center is in Alice Town, also on North Bimini. Most of the hotels, restaurants and fishing operations can also be found here.

It’s believed that this tiny island was once part of the road system of the Lost Continent of Atlantis. But today it’s the fishing that makes Bimini world renowned.

Left: Blue holes in Long Island. Top: Beaches in Exuma. Middle: Taking a stroll in Bimini. Bottom: Nipper’s in Abaco.


Cat IslandNamed after the pirate Arthur

Catt, Cat Island is the sixth largest island in The Bahamas, located near the Tropic of Cancer. With temperatures in the high 60s during the short winters, rising to the mid-80s in summer, and pristine virgin beaches, Cat Island is one of the most beautiful islands in The Bahamas. Local historians claim that Cat Island residents were the first to see Columbus. The great explorer himself was believed by some to have been welcomed here by the Arawaks.

Beautiful beaches offer an array of water sports. Boating and diving

are among the main reasons to go to Cat Island, and diving lessons are available for novices.

Eleuthera Eleuthera is one of the longest

islands in The Bahamas, 110 miles from top to bottom. This intimate isle of rolling hills and lush green forests beckons visitors with the subdued charm of yesteryear. Quaint colonial villages echo the history of the island’s pilgrim settlers who arrived over 300 years ago and named the land Eleuthera, “freedom” in Greek. Vacationers indulge in that same carefree spirit

as they roam miles of pink sand beaches that lead to lush plantations where exotic fruits from pineapples to mangos grow in abundance. The mile-long Cave at Hatchet Bay invokes the Earth’s past with spectacular stalagmite and stalactite formations that glitter by torchlight.

Harbour IslandBest known for its soft sand pink-

tinged beaches, Harbour Island is a tiny, celebrity-studded island. Only three miles long by one mile wide at its broadest point, it boasts more restaurants, tony inns and examples of charming doll-house like architecture per square foot than any other island in The Bahamas. Most people traverse the isle by golf cart and whether you are stopping by the famed Arthur’s Bakery for a baguette or Pink Sands, Rock House or The Landing for a meal, you’ll find visitors and locals friendly and welcoming on this island steeped in tradition and proud of its cottage-like feel.

The ExumasThis 100-mile-long string of 365

islands and cays—most of them uninhabited—is the yachting mecca of The Bahamas. These waters, some of the prettiest in The Bahamas, are also ideal for fishing (bonefishing especially).

The Exumas stretch from Beacon Cay in the north to Sandy Cay in the south. The Exuma National Land and Sea Park, protected by The Bahamas National Trust, encompasses much of the coastline. The park is accessible only by boat and is one of the major natural wonders and sightseeing destinations, with an abundance of undersea life, reefs, blue holes, and shipwrecks. Portions of the James Bond thriller Thunderball were filmed at Staniel Cay. Not far from George Town, the largest settlement on Great Exuma, is the rapidly growing Emerald Bay area with the luxurious 5-star condotels at Grand Isle Resort & Spa and the famous Greg Norman Golf Course.

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Bahamas Bound

Grand Bahama Island A favorite port of Old World

pirates and modern day rumrunners, Grand Bahama remains largely untouched since its swashbuckling days. Those seeking adventure can explore uncharted primitive forests, scuba dive through prehistoric underwater caverns, or swim side by side with dolphins. Freeport/ Lucaya offers posh resorts with service designed to pamper, splendid oceanview suites, and nightlife from casinos to musical revues. This tropical metropolis appeals to the sports minded with championship golf, renowned tennis facilities and deep-sea fishing. Discover vibrant island history where remnants of the Arawaks, the native Bahamians, depict the ancient culture that invented the definitive tool for the skilled beach bum: the hammock.

Nassau Captains of all walks of life have

long welcomed the sight of the

sheltered harbor in Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas. Parliament Square in downtown Nassau displays the island’s colonial history with the Old World pageantry of the Supreme Court and the traditionally dressed police force. Visitors roam through the straw market filled with handwoven baskets before heading to scores of designer boutiques that house fine jewelry, watches, leather and perfumes. Hit the white sand

beaches for the ultimate in water sports and relaxation. The club scene comes alive with lively cabaret shows and upscale casinos where visitors revel—and gamble—into the night. From steel drum bands to cab drivers, the inherent charm of the locals makes a stay in Nassau truly a pleasure.

Paradise Island Aptly named, this island

treasure attracts the world’s most recognizable people for world-class yachting and casino action, Bahamian style. Stately hotels line the sugary sand beaches and pristine reefs adorn the shallow coastal waters. Though the jet-setters call this port the Monte Carlo of the New World, the island’s West End retains the flavor of its colonial past with white picket fences, exotic flowering plants and breezy front porches. Visitors can slip into the island mentality without leaving luxury behind.

Enjoying a day on Grand Bahama Island.


ust 55 miles off the coast of South

Florida lies Grand Bahama Island. A unique

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There are places that stick in your memory like peanut butter, all yummy and comforting. Cat Island is like that. The 48-mile-long boot-shaped isle

in the central Bahamas earns its title of the sleeping beauty of the island nation every day the sun rises over the dozens of its tucked away coves and un-trod beaches. Twenty years after my first visit, ten years after my second, even after my third, I leave this intriguing island in the sun longing for more. There is always something new to uncover, discover and love about the place that wears its signature as home to the highest elevation in The Bahamas—Mount Alvernia at 206 feet known as the Bahamian Alps—with intense pride. Here is an island that has it all—the celebrated elevation, a history steeped in drama (was it the original landing place of Christopher Columbus?), breathtaking panoramic views, blue-green waters with amazing shallow reefs, excellent bone-fishing and kayaking, miles-long stretches of baby powder fine sand beaches, tiny inns that feel like home and the most naturally and blessedly untrained genuinely hospitable people you could hope to meet.

The litany of what Cat Island has is equally matched by the benefits of what it doesn’t. One hundred fifty square miles of no traffic, so no traffic lights. Unless you count a child stealing ripe hog plum, no crime. No locks on doors. No fast food restaurants, blinking signs, sirens, daily papers, big box stores or mass market resorts. Nothing that moves at any speed you can’t stop by flagging it down. Total population, 1,700, give or take a newborn. Until Bank

Cat Island: Unplugged And Lovin’ It Sleeping beauty of the island nation

By Diane Phillips

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of The Bahamas opened a branch two years ago, Cat Island did not have a bank. Residents rotated, every few weeks one person carrying everyone’s pay to Nassau, 125 miles away to cash their checks or make deposits, pay utilities bills and return bearing receipts and big boxes of KFC from the big city. As far as ‘resorts’ go, even using the term on this island begets a smile. There’s the Greenwood Inn at Port Howe, especially popular with Europeans, with 16 rooms and eight miles of beach, Shanna’s Cove with a beach post cards were created for, Hawk’s Nest with accommodations to accompany its 28-slip marina. All 10 hotels in Cat Island combined have fewer than 150 rooms. Fernandez Bay Village, the best-known, has expanded to 15 rooms and cottages from the 10 it had in the early 1990s when I first stayed there, and longed to return before I left. Rooms still do not have clocks or radios or internet or TV. Dining is still on the beach by tiki torches and candlelight,

The HermitageOne of the most recognized structures in The Bahamas, The

Hermitage is an architectural wonder as much for how it was constructed as for its design. The imposing sprawling stone buildings that rise 206 feet above sea level atop the highest peak in The Bahamas, Mt. Alvernia, were designed and built by hand by a reclusive priest who occupied the personal monastery until his death in 1956, interspersing kneeling and praying in the tiny chapel for one with a miniature pew or sleeping on a narrow slab of plank and hard stone. The image of starkness outlined against a broad sky must have appealed to the spiritual side of its creator, a man born in England as John Cyril Hawes who studied architecture prior to joining the priesthood. In his mounting pursuit of deeper spiritualism accompanied by an increasing eccentricity, Hawes moved to The Bahamas, converted to Catholicism and took the name Father Jerome. It was under that name that he left his mark on the architecture of the country. His distinctive schools and churches in Nassau, Exuma, Long Island and Cat Island are among each of the island’s most remarkable structures. By the time he built the crowning glory that would become his personal spiritual sanctuary, Father Jerome had so embraced the sacrifi cial life that he shunned wheelbarrows, tools and any other mechanical advantage, preferring the back-breaking labor of hauling the heavy stones up steps he carved from the mountain. The solitary work that included stations of the crucifi xion satisfi ed a need in his soul as the man who would later be recognized as a genius withdrew more and more. The Hermitage pays homage to a hermit whose lasting contributions included the Little Hermitage in Nassau, St. Augustine’s College, two churches in Long Island and Cat Island’s distinctive treasure. There is no admission charge. In fact, there is no one guarding the buildings where visitors have been known to picnic, photograph, videotape and Twitter images of a structure and a way of life that symbolized pleasure in bird song and beauty.

Left: Fernandez Beach. Below: Greenwood Beach Resort & Dive Center, Port Howe. Father Jerome’s St. Francis of Assissi Catholic Church at Old Bight

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conversation and promises of new friends being best friends for life accompany sundowners and later, the night is populated by the sound of a guitar or guests gathering by the bonfire joining in for an old island tune. Owners Tony and Pam Armbrister have agreed to one concession—go-slow internet in the lounge for those who would need to have their laptops surgically removed.

Unlike resorts where rustic means shower before you arrive, Fernandez Bay Village combines tropical with comfortable—a natural, beachside feel, open roof garden baths in the privacy of spacious wood and stone villas with two-story high ceilings, loft spaces, inviting patios overlooking the water.

I’m not alone in my love affair with Cat Island, the place where actor Sidney Poitier grew up and his father farmed tomatoes and where Jimmy Buffett, Jackie Onassis and Oprah Winfrey have managed to lunch without causing so much as

an uplifted eyebrow. When you live among 18th Century ruins of plantations built long before there were barges and tools, an island whose birthright was probably stolen by an accident or act of Parliament in 1926 that changed its name from San Salvador to Cat Island, when you are home to The Hermitage (see sidebar), it’s easy to grasp how deep the roots of history reach and

understand how that history has set you apart from places less cursed and less blessed.

Writer Shonalee King, in a homily to the place where she spent summers as a child with her grandmother, wrote of her return: “Everything looked the same, right down to the old yellow and red and blue rows of plastic seats in the small terminal…In a dozen years since my

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Bahamas Bound


last trip, Cat Island’s slow and steady pace hadn’t picked up a nanosecond. A week could go on for two month and I loved every minute of it.”

In a story for this magazine a few years back, writer Jerry Luciani described a week on Cat Island recording his brave foray into Bahamian gamesmanship, a round of dominoes with a grandmotherly type. “One evening,” he wrote, “we ventured over to Hazel’s Seaside Bar in Smith’s Bay to play dominoes. Hazel Brown is a Bahamian women in her early eighties with dark skin and grey hair, a local legend and killer dominoes player. We pulled up three chairs to the wooden table and sat down across from her. She flashed a grandmother’s smiled and shuffled the tiles. Then with a powerful whack she slammed her domino onto the table with such force that I jumped out of my seat. I never knew dominoes to be a contact sport.” By dint of island luck, Luciani won the game. Hazel graced him with a grin. “She gave me a high-five and handed me a bottle cap, the

reward to winning. I tucked it into my pocket as a treasured souvenir.”

For an unplugged vacation, what greater souvenir is there?

Continental Connection flies to Cat Island from Fort Lauderdale three times a week. Bahamasair is among other airlines flying from Nassau. For more information on places to stay and things to do in Cat Island, go to myoutislands.com, click on Cat Island.

Far left: Old Armbrister Plantation. Left: Hawk’s Nest Resort. Below: Fernandez Bay Resort. Cat Island Surfing.


There:A tourist-metropolis. . .crowded, noisy, with bumper-to-bumper traffic. Avacation machine, in which you count for little. Lost in sheer numbers. Here:Peace, tranquility, unspoiled nature. Lots of space to lose yourself in. Old-fashioned hospitality.The expense? Discover real vacation values: Very reasonable hotelrates. Daily FREE activities. “Sun & Sea”. . .”Diving”. . .”Fishing”. . .”Honeymoon” packages. Bungalow rentals for 1or more weeks.

Our Advice?Looking for Shopping Malls?Hot Night Clubbing? FlashyCasinos? Fast paced watersports? No, we don’t have it.

Or, looking for warm-hearted friendliness, beautiful facilities. . .the oceans, the beaches, water sports at their best. . .in an enchanted island retreat. . .for just a small number of visitors? Then you belong with us.

Call Us.

WHY AN “Out Island”?WWHHYY

Stella Maris Resort Club?Consider:

R E S O R T C L U BLong Island, Southern Bahamas

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800-426-0466 • 954-359-8236Fax 954-359-8238

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Peace and Plenty Resorts offer three small, intimate and relaxing hotels on GreatExuma for your vacationing pleasure. Complete with the amenities of home,

Peace and Plenty Resorts give you a pampered haven you’ll come back to again and again. Spend your days enjoying our beautiful beaches, snorkeling,

PADI scuba, fishing and more. Spend your nights dining at one of our restaurants, sampling the cuisine of local chefs. However you choose to

spend your time, Peace and Plenty Resorts will make it memorable.

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Be at Peace

T A N Y O U R T O E S I N T H E A B A C O S

At the Abaco Inn, everything comes with a view. Our 12 bungalows,8 luxury villas, restaurant, bar, even our freshwater pool

- it just never stops being breathtaking.

...like no other place on earth

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• Boats for rent and guides for hire• Renowned Bahamian-American cuisine• Freight & passenger air service available• Full-service marina - deep water dockage• Friendly, casual atmosphere

• Beautiful secluded beaches• Incredible SCUBA, snorkeling & fishing• Charming waterfront cottages• Unique swimming pigs, nurse sharks & iguanas

SAMMY T’S SAMMY T’S Beach ResortBeach ResortCat Island, BahamasCat Island, Bahamas

Awaken your soul...Awaken your soul...

The peace and quiet, the food, the staff, is what makes Sammy T’s the place you are searching for. Our resort has the feeling of home, and we like to think that we have invited some friends over for a couple of days, just to relax and regenerate themselves.

Cat Island is renowned for its totally tranquil atmosphere, its lush natural vegetation and miles of untouched spectacular beaches, including our private beach nestled within a cove. Sammy T’s offers a varied and en-tertaining schedule of sporting and leisure activities.

The resort features six individual one- and two-bedroom villas. All rooms are equipped with air-con-ditioning, ceiling fans, DVD library along with full bedroom and living room furnishings and a kitchenette with a microwave, refridgerator and coffee maker.

Sammy T’s Beach Resort • Bennett’s Harbour, Cat Island • The Bahamas(242) 354-6009 • Fax: (242) 354-6010 • [email protected] • www.catislandbeachresort.com

Pigeon Cay promises romance and offers the ultimate in privacy, seclusion and breathtaking views. Each of the seven

cottages is equipped with all comforts of home and all are steps from the beach, located along a private 3-mile stretch of

white, powdery sand beach.

Instead of glitz and glamour, there is nature at her fi nest, incredible beaches to walk or run, turquoise waters to swim or snorkel,

hills to climb or bike, caves to dive, or play a round of golf on a Par 6 course.

Pigeon Cay Beach ClubCat Island, Bahamas

Phone/Fax 242-354-5084e-mail: [email protected]

Imagine... youself at

Pigeon Cay!

Unlock Life

WHERE YOUR JOURNEY BEGINS.

Less than 200 miles from Florida’s coast, The Bahamian island of Abaco

is home to the village of Treasure Cay and our laid-back resort of the same

name. More than three miles of sleepy white sand beach anchor a genuine

Caribbean paced experience; reminding guests of a truly relaxed way of life.

Served by multiple daily direct fights, Treasure Cay is home to a highly

regarded 150-slip marina and a 6985 yard classic Dick Wilson golf course.

Guests enjoy the choice of three restaurants/bars, fishing, scuba,

boat rentals and more. Accommodations range from standard rooms

to deluxe rooms to one, two or three bedroom suites offering

full kitchens and a living area with private balcony.

*No surcharges on credit card fuel purchases.

1-800-327-1584 or 1-954-525-7711www.treasurecay.com

Who said rates would be this low? It would have to be when turtles fl y!Searching for discounts on Bahamas Hotels? When Turtles Fly package starts at just $499 per person. That is a $100 per person savings on an already great deal of 3 nights of deluxe accommodations, round trip airfare on Continental Airlines from Fort Lauderdale to Treasure Cay Bahamas (TCB) and all taxes and service charges on both fl ight and room. Based on double occupancy in either a Deluxe Club Room or Waterfront Room. Add on nights at $50-117 per person per night.

The Hottest Deal in The Bahamas.. .When Turtles Fly!

A Perfect Day at Small Hope BayGreat diving and so much more!

Celebrating 50 Years of Perfect Days!With only 21 cottages and all inclusive rates, the Perfect Day is right here ...

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Fresh Creek, Andros, Bahamas(800) 223-6961 • (242) 368-2013/2014

[email protected] All-Inclusive Small Hope Bay Lodge

If it is scuba diving one of the largest and most unexplored barrier reefs in the world, great snorkeling, superb bonefishing, laying in a hammock, exploring nature, more Bahamas diving, having a cold Kalik, strolling on the beach, reading a good book, meeting interesting people, spending time with your family, or by yourself, I think that I have the place for you ... This small Bahamas all-inclusive resort is more than just another Bahamas hotel, we are the most established dive resort in the Caribbean. Our environ-ment is very safe, peaceful, secluded, and a great romantic getaway. Come join us for a new adventure, a true Ba-hamas experience, a family vacation, a relaxing holiday retreat on the beach, or the Caribbean vacation of your dreams.

What is your idea of the perfect island vacation?

Put your feet up, relax and enjoy a book on our lovely pink sand beach. Or you can fi nd food, solace and the beverage of your choice at the Bistro, with a full-service swim-up cocktail bar. Sky Beach Club seamlessly blends modern amenities with the splendor of unmatched natural beauty and excellent service.

Accommodations range from luxurious poolside bungalows to 3200-square foot, four-bedroom, four-bath villas with private pools. Our elegant residences feature an abundance of glass to capitalize on the breathtaking views. Every detail is dedicated to modern luxury, comfort, and total privacy.

For information on Reservations or Real Estate Sales contact us at (800) 605-9869 or visit our web site www.SkyBeachClub.com

SKY’S THE LIMIT

Sky Beach Club Resort Amenities Include:

Amazing views of the Atlantic and the Caribbean. Secluded pink-sand beach. Contemporary dining in the Bistro. Infi nity edge beachfront pool with swim-up cocktail bar. Gated resort community.

Energy effi cient green construction. Concierge Services for island activities, fi shing charters

and pre-arrival pantry stocking. Located 7 minutes south of the Governor’s Harbour airport.

Florida FanfareYour guide to the Sunshine State

Mention Florida and instantly images appear of white-sand beaches, endless expanses of blue sky, sunshine and sparkling turquoise waters,

but Florida offers much more. World-class restaurants, shopping, museums and cultural events fill city streets, while theme parks, nature preserves and historical parks cover more square miles than sunbathers. Here are just a few of the many things to do while visiting Florida.

Fort Lauderdale Often referred to as the “Venice of America,” Fort Lauderdale is world-

renowned as a yachting and sporting destination. Boating enthusiasts enjoy the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, one of the biggest in the world. Water lovers will also delight in water skiing, kite surfing, canoeing and kayaking, while landlubbers will revel in hiking, biking and fishing. Fort Lauderdale’s diverse ecosystems provide a magical world of flora and fauna. Scuba Diving magazine has named Fort Lauderdale one of America’s “Best Dive Destinations” and “Best Overall Value” for diving. For those who enjoy a more leisurely day, Las Olas Boulevard provides boutiques and art galleries, world-class cuisine, sidewalk cafes and jazz houses. Tucked away in the heart of the city is the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District, a delightful assortment of shopping, dining, waterfront parks and major cultural attractions.

Key West Visitors to Key West can pet a shark, tour a cemetery, visit Hemingway’s

former home with a wall dedicated to portraits of his wives and lovers, or experience the riches of a spectacular salvage expedition. The island’s beaches offer ample sunning and water sports opportunities, while beneath the surrounding turquoise waters, historic shipwrecks, a living coral reef and a myriad of marine life beckon underwater exploration. Hardly a weekend goes by without some kind of special event or festival. January brings the Key West Literary Seminar, celebrating the island’s heritage as a writer’s haven. In July, the 10-day Hemingway Days Festival begins with writer’s workshops, costume contests and other activities. In late October, Fantasy Fest features revelry and surprises to the island.

Land lovers can discover the coral reefs without getting their feet wet at the Key West Aquarium, the first tourist attraction in the Keys. And no visit to Key West is complete without viewing a sunset at Mallory Square or atop La Concha Hotel.

Florida Fun

Top: Stunning bridge view in Tampa. Right: Bay Harbor in Miami. Middle: The Southernmost House in Key West. Far right: Fort Lauderdale Beach.


Wander along beautiful Tampa Bay, with shops, restaurants and sights for visitors of all ages.

Miami From parks to animals, shopping

to nightlife, you can be sure to find the right activity to fit your personality and budget. Nature lovers will enjoy Everglades National Park, the third largest national park in the continental United States, with 1.5 million acres of rare and beautiful ecosystems. Miami Metrozoo lets you experience the excitement of the world’s jungles with more than 800 animals in a 290-acre habitat. For late-night fun, head for South Beach and Coconut Grove, where you can dance the night away in a trendy nightclub, sample the fare at a world-class restaurant or shop at the stylish boutiques. Check your calendar because Miami also hosts festivals throughout the year, including Taste of the Grove, a food-lover’s paradise, Coconut Grove Arts Festival, for those who are more artistically inclined, and Calle Ocho, an extravaganza of Cuban music, food and dance.

Orlando The Orlando/Kissimmee/Lake

Buena Vista area is home to some of Florida’s best-known attractions. Walt Disney World theme parks guarantee to bring out the child in us all. Adventurous types will want to check out Universal Studios Florida, where they can “ride” their favorite movies. More thrills can be found at SeaWorld’s newest attraction,

Kraken, a floorless roller coaster that plunges underwater. Downtown Orlando boasts Church Street Station with restaurants, shops and games for the whole family. Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven slows you down and offers stunning botanical gardens and Southern belles in billowing skirts. On the water, the action-packed water ski shows are as thrilling as they are entertaining.

Pensacola

Known as the “City of Five Flags,” Pensacola’s history gives tourists the chance to soak in its varied and colorful past. Historic Pensacola Village offers guided tours of exhibits including furnished period houses, museums, and archaeological sites spanning from the earliest Spanish explorers to the 1920s. The downtown area burgeons with art galleries, theatrical and symphony performances, big-name musical stars, and delightful restaurants and shops ranging from down-home to exquisite. To the west is the Naval Air Station, which boasts the world-renowned National Museum of Naval Aviation and hosts the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show each November. Boasting some of the most pristine white sands in the state, Pensacola’s breathtaking beaches offer the perfect setting for a seaside vacation. Nearby Milton offers opportunities for camping, canoeing, kayaking and tubing along its crystal-clear spring-fed waters.

Tallahassee With its rolling hills, canopied

roads of moss-draped oaks, and Southern charm, Tallahassee defies the stereotypes most people hold when it comes to Florida. With the Gulf 25 miles away and the Georgia border only 14 miles to the north, Tallahassee is strategically located in the foothills of the Appalachians and at the juncture of Florida’s Panhandle and peninsula.

Magnificent plantation houses, the newly restored capital building and the Museum of Florida History reflect the city’s deep-rooted history. Florida State University, home of

“Tuppy's Abaco Parrots” 20” X 16” Acrylic on Linen

In fine gift shops throughout Abaco

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[email protected] ch.16: “Spirit”

“Settled In” 30” X 40” Acrylic on Canvas

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Florida Fun

Cinderella’s castle in the Magic Kingdom.


the Seminoles, is the second largest university in the state. The city is brimming with school spirit, and football season is a colorful and exciting time to visit when there is a game in town. With college students around, a thriving nightlife is far from lacking. But if a leisurely day about town is more your style, you will find every sort of shopping, dining and interesting things to see.

Tampa Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is

335 acres of family adventure, combining world-class animal habitats with heart-stopping rides. The exotic African theme whisks you to another land as easily as the roller coasters whisk you into the air. For something different, try Duck Tours of Tampa Bay, a narrated 80-minute land and sea tour in a genuine WWII amphibious vehicle. Wander along beautiful Tampa Bay, with shops, restaurants and sights for visitors of all ages. Be sure to stop by historic Ybor City, restored to its old-time charm. Watch Cuban cigar makers roll a stogie in Ybor Square, and dance the night away along La Séptima.

West Palm Beach From the magnificently

landscaped seaside mansions of Palm Beach to the rodeo grounds west of the city itself, the West Palm Beach area is a microcosm of Florida. Little surprise there are so

many contrasts. In land mass, Palm Beach County is the largest county east of the Mississippi. Stroll, bike or jog almost the length of the city along tree-lined waterfront Flagler Drive. Enjoy the myriad dining and nightlife options of Clematis Street in the revitalized downtown buzzing with entertainment, art galleries, boutiques and activities. In the countryside, visit a farm, see

fields where sugar cane grows tall and cattle graze, pick fresh corn, strawberries and melons in season, take a safari-like ride on the wild side at Lion Country Safari where animals roam free, check out Dreher Park Zoo, the Norton Gallery of Art or top performances at the stunning Kravis Center within walking distance of CityPlace. There’s never a shortage of things to do in the snazzy city of West Palm Beach and its surprisingly serene outlying areas.

The Goodwood Museum in Tallahassee.


Florida Fun


If you are interested in a walk worthy of pages in the scrap book of your mind, try Green Cay Wetlands in Boynton Beach, Florida. There is nothing

like it in South Florida and maybe nothing like it anywhere in the South. Located on Hagen Ranch Road, just north of Delray Beach and so far west

it is nearly into the Everglades, the county-owned park and nature center, run by two full-time staff and volunteers, offers a panorama of a gentler Florida rarely seen.

Wetlands meander through 100 acres, where cordgrass and Fakahatchee grass sway. Pickerelweed and Spatterdock add splashes of soft purple and white. Hundreds of ducks dart from one wetland to another, barely noticing—or missing—visitors. Coots fly low, indolent and oblivious as usual to any possible threat. An alligator swims lazily in the topic island ponds. Blue sky seems to go on forever. Thick cypress tress dot the shoreline. On a grassy knoll, two rabbits tease each other. A mile and a half of elevated boardwalks crisscross the wetlands.

As you wander, you wonder what makes the air feel so clean, the walk so pure and then you realize. Except for the nature center, there is not a building

Green Cay Wetlands100 acres of the gentler side of Florida

Hundreds of ducks dart from one

wetland to another, barely noticing—or

missing—visitors.


as far as the eye can see, not a vehicle, not a sign (other than on the rail of the boardwalk). This is Florida as it once was before man discovered its beauty and set about making a profit from it. In the 21st Century, this is virgin territory. You are inhaling air so fresh and unpolluted you feel healthier just for being alive in this untouched place.

And the irony is it wasn’t even real until a few years ago.

It was a huge and highly successful green pepper farm.

In 1999, Ted and Trudy Ginsberg who had been farming since the early 1960s and raised their family on the vast acreage on what was then the western outskirts of civilization approached the county about buying the property. The Ginsbergs offered it at far below market value if the county and water utilities company would transform it into a wholly constructed wetlands to serve not only as a recreational outlet but to educate the public on the need for water conservation. As farmers, they knew how great the need to preserve and conserve water was. Only one percent of the world’s water is both accessible and potable, 97% is salt or brackish and two percent is frozen in glaciers. Construction of Green Cay Wetlands began in 2003. The park as it stands today opened in 2005. Among the sights and exhibits are the turtle pond, frog terrarium, alligator hole, wetland diorama and educational murals, emergent marshes and, hammock islands. Entry is free. www.pbcgov.com/parks - search Green Cay Nature Center & Wetlands.

Florida Fun


“Ships are the nearest

things to dreams that

hands have ever made.”

-Robert N. Rose c.1910

The newest Marina on Harbour IslandSlips from 50’ to 150’ | fine and casual dining | infinity pool

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water, cable, telephone, internet & water pump-out service

n 25° 29.550’ | W 76° 38.269’ | vhf channel 16/9

800.688.0425 | [email protected] | www.romorabay.com

Book Bag

Stealing eggs is a lot harder than stealing the whole chicken. With

chickens, you just grab a hen, stuff her in a sack and, make your escape. But for eggs, you have to stick your hand under a sleeping chicken. Chickens don’t like this. They wake all spooked and start pecking holes in your arm, or your face, if it’s close. And they squawk something terrible.

The trick is to wake the chicken first, then go for the eggs. I’m embarrassed

to say how long it took me to figure this out.

“Good morning little hen,” I sang softly. The chicken blinked awake and cocked her head at me. She didn’t get to squawking, just flapped her wings a bit as I lifted her off the nest, and she’d settle down once I tucked her under my arm. I’d overheard that trick from a couple of boys I’d unloaded fish with last week.

A voice came from beside me. “Don’t move.”

Two words I didn’t want to hear with someone else’s chicken under my arm.

I froze. The chicken didn’t. Her scaly feet flailed toward the eggs that should have been my breakfast. I looked up at a cute night guard not much older than me, perhaps sixteen. The night was more humid than usual, but a slight breeze blew his sand-pale hair. A soldier’s cut, but a month or two grown out.

Stay calm, stay alert. As Grannyma used to say, if you’re caught with the cake, you might as well offer them a piece. Not sure how that applied to chickens, though.

“Join me for breakfast when your shift ends?” I asked. Sunrise was two hours away.

He smiled but aimed his rapier at my chest anyway. Was nice to have a handsome boy smile at me in the moonlight, but his was a sad, sorry-only-doing-my-job smile. I’d learned the difference between smiles a lot faster than I’d figured out the egg thing.

“So, Heclar,” he said over his shoulder, “you do have a thief. Guess I was wrong.”

Rancher Heclar strutted into view, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the chicken trying to peck me—ruffled, sharp beaked, and beady eyed. He harrumphed and set his fists against his hips. “I told you crocodiles weren’t getting them.”

“I’m no chicken thief,” I said quickly.“Then what’s that?” The night

guard flicked his rapier tip toward the chicken and smiled again. Friendlier this time, but his deep brown eyes had twitched when he bent his wrist.

“A chicken.” I blew a stray feather off my chin and peered closer. His knuckles were white from too tight a grip on so light a weapon. That had to mean joint pain, maybe even knuckleburn, though he wasn’t old enough for it. The painful joint

Shift Into Summer ReadingAn excerpt from Janice Hardy’s fantasy adventure, The Shifter


infection usually hit older dockworkers. I guess that’s why he had a crummy job guarding chickens instead of aristocrats. My luck hadn’t been that great either.

“Look,” I said, “I wasn’t going to steal her. She was blocking the eggs.”

The night guard nodded like he understood and turned to Heclar. “She’s just hungry. Maybe you could let her go with a warning?”

“Arrest her, you idiot! She’ll get fed in Dorsta.”

Dorsta? I gulped. “Listen, two eggs for breakfast is hardly worth prison—”

“Thieves belong in prison!”I jerked back and my foot squished

into chicken crap. Lots of it. It dripped out from every coop in the row. There had to be at least sixty filthy coops along the lakeside half of the isle alone. “I’ll work off the eggs. What about two eggs for every row of coops I clean?”

“You’ll only steal three.”“Not if he watches me.” I tipped my

head at the night guard. I could handle the smell if I had cute company while I worked. He might even get extra pay out of it, which could earn me some goodwill if we ever bumped into each other in the early-morning moonlight again. “How about one egg per row?”

The night guard pursed his lips and nodded. “Pretty good deal there.”

“Arrest her already!”I heaved the chicken. She squawked,

flapping and scratching in a panic. The night guard yelped and dropped the rapier. I ran like hell.

“Stop! Thief!”Self-righteous ranchers I could

outrun, even on their own property, but the night guard? His hands might be bad, but his feet—and reflexes—worked just fine.

I rounded a stack of broken coops an arm-swipe faster than he did. Without slowing, I dodged left, cutting up a corn-littered row of coops running parallel to Farm-Market Canal. It gained me a few paces but he had the reach on my short legs. No chance of outrunning him on a straightaway.

Swerving right, I yanked an empty market crate off one of the coops. It clattered to the ground between me and the night guard.

“Aah!” A thud and a crack, followed by impressive swearing.

I risked a glance behind. Broken crate pieces lay scattered across the row. The night guard limped a little, but it hadn’t slowed him much. I’d gained only another few paces.

The row split ahead, cutting through the waist-high coops like the canals that crisscrossed Geveg. I veered left toward Farm-Market Bridge, my side throbbing hard. Forget making it off the isle. I wasn’t going to make it off the ranch.

More market crates blocked the row a dozen paces from the bridge. The crates were knee high and a pace wide, with tendrils of loose, twisted wire sticking up like lakeweed. Didn’t Heclar ever clean his property? I cleared the crates a step before the night guard. His fingers raked the back of my shirt and snagged the hem. I stumbled, arms flailing, reaching for anything to stop my fall.

The ground did it for me.I sucked back the breath I’d lost and

inhaled a lungful of dust and feathers. The night guard crashed over the crates a choking gasp later and hit the ground beside me. Dried corn flew out of the crate and speckled the ground.

I hacked up grime while he swore and grabbed his leg. He’d left a pretty good chunk of his shin on one of the crates, and his bent ankle looked sprained for sure, maybe broken. He glanced at me and chuckled wryly. “Just go.”

I dragged myself upright, but didn’t run. He’d lose his job over me, and I’d guess he didn’t have many options left if he was working for a cheap like Heclar. I knelt and grabbed his hands, my thumbs tight against his knuckles, and drew.

For an instant, our hands flared tingly hot from the healing. He gasped, I groaned, then his pain was in my hands. I left the bad leg. It was a good excuse for letting me go, and Saints willing, he’d keep his job. If he didn’t, then at least I’d healed his hands. It was hard enough for native Gevegians to find work these days, and bad hands sure wouldn’t help.

Knuckles aching, I turned away before he realized what I’d done.

It wasn’t the first time I’d healed someone out of pity, but I tried not to do it often. Folks tended to ask questions I didn’t want to answer.

I took a step forward, but something large blocked my escape. Heclar! He swung at my head and I ducked, but not fast enough.

Pain bit into my temple and I thudded back to the ground. Heclar floated in the silver flecks dancing around my eyes, a blue-black pynvium club in his hand.

That cleared me straight. I was lucky he was so cheap he’d only hit me with it instead of flashing it at me. The weapon was too black to be pure pynvium, but blue enough to hold a lot of pain. I didn’t want it flashed in my direction any more than I wanted to go to prison.

He scoffed and pointed the club at me. “Stinking thieves, both of ya.”

I grabbed the night guard’s shin and drew, knitting bone and yanking every hurt, every sting from his ankle. His pain ran down my arm, seared my leg, and chewed around my own ankle. Yep. Definitely broken. My stomach rolled, but there was nothing in it to toss up.

I seized Heclar’s leg with my free hand and pushed. The agony the night guard hadn’t revealed raced up my other side and poured out my tingling fingers into Heclar. I caught myself before I gave him the knuckleburn. That would make his hands clench, and a hard, sudden grip on the pynvium club might be the enchantment’s trigger. Be just my luck to accidentally set it off.

Heclar screamed loud enough to wake the Saints. To be truthful, it was worse than he deserved, but sending me to prison for eggs I hadn’t yet stolen was worse than I deserved too. The Saints are funny that way.

Janice Hardy always wondered about the darker side of healing. For her fantasy trilogy THE HEALING WARS, she tapped into her own dark side to create a world where healing was dangerous, and those with the best intentions often made the worst choices. Her books include THE SHIFTER, and BLUE FIRE. DARKFALL, the final book of the trilogy, is due out October 4, 2011. She lives in Georgia with her husband, three cats and one very nervous freshwater eel. You can visit her online at www.janicehardy.com or chat with her about writing on her blog, The Other Side of the Story.


Confucius once said that ‘Life is really simple, but we insist on making it

complicated.” Confucius would approve a new community in the northern Bahamas that is the epitome of downsized and upscale. Called Schooner Bay, the development honors vintage harborside village principles, de-complicating life as we know it and re-creating the simpler life with warmth that stretches beyond sunny days to the spirit and soul of the place and its residents.

Located on 330 acres in the southern part of the Abacos, Schooner Bay lies some 55 miles north of the busy capital of Nassau and 185 miles east of Palm Beach, Florida. Getting there is easy. A high speed ferry provides twice weekly service from Nassau to Sandy Point. Flights land several times daily at the Marsh Harbour International airport 28 miles away. Abaco’s main town, Marsh Harbour (population 5,700) with restaurants, shopping, busy marinas and a lively social scene, is a half hour’s ride down a well-paved road. Eleven miles in a southeast direction from Marsh Harbour is the world-class Abaco

Club at Winding Bay with its magnificent tropical links golf course, spa, clubhouse and fine amenities. And that is where the similarity between the outside world and Schooner Bay ends, right at the top of the hill where the Schooner Bay Commons has been laid out by Bahamian-born, now world-renowned architect Jackson Burnside. It is there where residents and

guests will leave their cars and enter a world where the less complicated life begins. Transportation is by golf cart, bicycle or foot, one of the subtle differences that encourage conversation and a sense of connecting with others. It is, after all, harder to connect when everyone is burrowed inside slabs of steel barreling along at high

speeds. The longing for peace,

tranquility and a simpler life where people come together in a traditional harbor village atmosphere with individually-owned green grocery and boutique shops, where a neighborhood bank, friendly K-6 school with guest lecturers adding to the curriculum, medical facility, marine services, hardware, a pub, even an

Schooner Bay, Abaco: Best of Vintage Village Life Comes Alive

&DownsizedUpscale

The longing for peace, tranquility and a simpler life

where people come together in a

traditional harbor village atmosphere

By Diane Phillips


artist-in-residence has had broad appeal. But the biggest surprise has been the appeal to those who already call The Bahamas home. “Everything a small town has—plus,” says Abaco real estate broker James Rees who bought in Schooner Bay himself.

It’s more than a development, say its fans, and there are many. They call it a live-work-play lifestyle in a town without traffic where everyone has a view of the water and less is more.

“Schooner Bay is about a better way of life in our country for people who love our country,” says James Malcolm, head of sales and marketing. “Of the 50 or so lots sold in two years, 80% were to people who already call The Bahamas home. We know that is a unique phenomenon and it reaffirms to that us we are on the right track.”

A mile and a half of walking or jogging trails wind their way through natural coppice and along the shore. Beachfront lots hug a crescent harbor. In the center of the harbor, across a narrow 100-foot long bridge, is the island. Every island lot homeowner is entitled to free small boat dockage for life alongside a stone bulkhead running the length of their property. Prices are reasonable with a few lots still available at $120,000, but going fast. One hundred forty lots have been released for sale so far. There will be 600 home sites and 50 business sites when the project is completed. Nearly 24 homes are expected to be ready for occupancy by spring 2012. In the

heart of the settlement is Schooner Passage with shops or small businesses downstairs and loft-style apartments above. In order to preserve the view for all, nothing—including the superstructure of a docked yacht—can be higher than 26 feet off the waterline. In homes and lofts, shuttered windows and verandas figure prominently, taking advantage of island breezes and paying tribute to island architecture. Designs conjure images of tony Harbour Island or historic Hope Town or Green Turtle Cay.

“Even in hard economic times, Harbour Island, Green Turtle Cay and Hope Town

were still quite active economically,” said Malcolm, head of Schooner Bay marketing and sales. “It’s no accident. People visiting love feeling part of a community. The automobile has contributed greatly to the degradation of the harbor village life as we know it.”

Without driveways and garages, there’s more green space. A nine-acre site has initially been set aside for a plant nursery and residents’ vegetable garden. Attention to and preservation of the fragile marine environment is evident

everywhere. While many lots are small, all have either view of the water or are on the water. Median lot size is 4,500 square feet. Larger lots are from 19,000-42,000 square feet.

The island style houses and the less-is-more formula have made Schooner Bay the current real estate success story of The Bahamas.

“Buyers come here and say, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’ve always been

It’s more than a development, say its fans, and there

are many. They call ita live-work-play

lifestyle in a town without traffic where everyone has a view

of the water and less is more.

Jackson Burnside, world-renowned Bahamian architect, designed the Schooner Bay Commons


looking for a place like this but I didn’t know it until I saw it’,” says Malcolm, who grew up in Harbour Island and believes the newly-constructed town offers a way of life he enjoyed as a child. “There was no internet, no TV, no video games. We fished, rode our bikes, built forts and boats. If you could swim, you couldn’t get in trouble. You were outside all day and you came back for lunch and you came home for dinner. It was a fabulous quality of life.” There will, of course, be high speed, TV and telecoms.

Says the first resident, artist Antonius Roberts, “I love it because it is a wonderful opportunity to gather with like-minded people who love the pristine, beautiful Bahamas.” Roberts, whose work is in international collections, said he had long searched other islands for a second home and studio, but fell in love with Schooner Bay the minute he saw how different the plans for it were. “The team that is creating Schooner Bay is considerate of the natural beauty and seeks to preserve that beauty while creating a wonderful community around a harbor.”

No small part of what sets Schooner Bay apart is the creative team and its commitment to preservation and tradition. The idea was the brainchild of developer Orjan Lindroth and his wife, designer, Amanda Lindroth, who left their footprint on the exclusive waterfront community of Old Fort Bay in New Providence. When they decided to turn their attention to Abaco, they set out to take the best of the lessons from harborfront villages and amplify them with

a lifestyle that would attract those who appreciate what the real Bahamas is all about. They enlisted the expertise of DPZ (Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co.). New urbanism took on new meaning when phrases like ‘bicycles with baskets in walkable villages’ entered the conversation along with commonalities they wanted to see. They wanted to ensure that sand dunes would be protected, that

school children would learn the value of sea turtles along with the value of a dollar, that architect Jackson Burnside would incorporate his common sense architecture into the commons area where others from around Abaco would come to experience a taste of the simpler life. “For me, architecture is more than making buildings, it is also making quality of life for the people who live in and enjoy these places,” says Burnside. So specific is the project that a 96-page hardback book was created to describe its features and set forth its governance that includes a five-member board of governors.

“Many people want to simplify their lives,” says Malcolm. “They want to downsize. Even before the recession, but certainly the economic factors of the past two or three year have caused people to stop and ask, ‘Do I really need all this?’” The answer, in Abaco at least, is clear.

New urbanism took on new meaning

when phrases like ‘bicycles with baskets in walkable villages’

entered the conversation


On a recent Wednesday with the sun shining so brightly you

almost needed sunscreen to drive, Kim Rody raced halfway across Florida in her Mini Cooper, packing in the miles. By mid-morning she had zipped to Miami from her Stuart home 90 miles away, picked up art work from the printer, lines up the next job, hopped over to Dania Beach, dropped off five large pieces with a yacht interior designer, sent off work to Atlanta, another 15 pieces to Hope Town, Abaco and was off to the west coast.

Welcome to the world of Kim Rody, artist extraordinaire who is bringing the seascape of The Bahamas to life. This is Act II for Rody, after she left the frenetic pace and daily grind of the business world behind to enter that most creative, and some would say nonplussed world, of art. It only takes a nano-nanosecond to realize that Rody brought the same energy with her to her new life that allowed her to rise so quickly in her former existence.

“I had my own State Farm insurance agency, had staff,” she said. “I was raised to go to school, go to college, make good grades, make a lot of money. I did that and I made a lot of money.”

So much money, in fact, that she was able to indulge her dual healthy hobbies of painting and SCUBA diving.

“I had started taking painting lessons when I was still in high school, but while I loved it, I was always struggling,” Rody said. Landscapes came out stiff, still life too—still. Her insurance agency was in Dallas and she was working with an art instructor there who advised her to work on a series. But a series on what?

Left: ASDI Wind Blows. Acrylic on Linen. 24” X 48” Top: Bling. Acrylic on Canvas. 60” X 48”

Kim Rody: Act 2From Insurance Exec to Artist Extraordinaire Capturing the Bahamian Seascape

By Diane Phillips

www.aircurrentsmagazine.com

Her answer came suddenly and unexpectedly.

“In 1995, I painted a fire goby. I can remember the very day because it appeared on the canvas as if it had painted itself,” she said. The series began to emerge and so did the artist-diver. “It was so natural because there is so much life underwater, so much vitality.” It’s easy to see how Rody identified with marine life, especially the colorful fire goby, petite and packed with energy, darting in and out of reefs, constantly moving, searching, finding.

A certified dive master, Rody began spending her spare time in the water, returning to her native Florida as often as possible, flying to The Bahamas. The reef became her second home. Back in Dallas, she spent endless hours at the aquarium, recording the movement of marine life on sketch pads.

Her work grew in volume and size, but whether reduced to a note card or the size of a mural, like her 7-foot sea turtles, it had the Rody touch—acrylics, splashy yet with great attention to detail, vibrant, full of motion, painted in brilliant colors. Marine impressionism, as if you could see the water passing over the gills and scales of the fish.

By the year 2000, she sold her agency, moved back to Florida and took up painting full time. To say she’s never looked back is an understatement. Commissions came readily, so did awards. “I’ve had great offers and commissions like one with an all-expense paid trip to Italy,” she said. “They got a painting. I got two weeks in a villa in Florence. How great is that?” Not a day goes by that her work is not on exhibit somewhere between Florida and The Bahamas. In 2004, a piece called Sailfish was chosen as the image of the Stuart ArtsFest which draws more than 150 artists from all over. The image appeared on posters, fliers, hats, ties, cups and T-shirts.

Rody calls herself ‘fishartista’, also the name of her website. She says the longer she spends studying fish, the more soul she finds in her subjects.

“I try to capture the personality of each model I paint. Each of these creatures has a life and story of their own. This is the very feeling I want to convey to the viewers of my art;

the soul of the individual sea creature as well as the surrounding peaceful environment where he is lucky enough to live out his entire life. I wish I lived down there.”

Today Rody clicks away with a digital camera instead of drawing on a sketch pad.

“This weekend when I was at Atlantis, I took about 600 photographs,” she said. “They will probably turn into 12 paintings over a period of time.” What she captures on digital gets stored in her visual memory and she mulls it over without pressing herself for time.

Painting takes longer than selling. Her work is snapped up almost faster than she can replenish it in places like Hope Town Harbour Lodge, the Mermaid’s Purse and Java cafe, all in Abaco, and Island Made Gift Shop in Eleuthera or at any of the other dozen or so galleries in South Florida.

Inspiration is never far away. “I go to The Bahamas and people say, ‘Oh, you must have so much fun, it must be so relaxing.’ Hah! I’m busy every second.”

Kim Rody is at a very special place in her life. She paints at night mostly, in the studio off her cottage in Stuart, Florida, choosing the colors of her palette by day, then working almost in total darkness, trusting her way. It’s that feeling process that leads to the sense of motion, she says, the contrast and complementing of colors up against each other.

“I’ve been told, ‘You paint like a man.’ I don’t know what that means but I know that the more I study fish and try to portray them, the more I realize how interrelated they are so more and more of my work is about groups or schools of fish, less of it just one fish.”

Rody has been able to make a success o her one-time hobby.

“I think being in business for 20 years really helped,” she said. “If you do art for a living, it’s a business. You have to know how to watch expenses, overheads, your margins. A lot of artists don’t have that experience. If I walk into a gift shop to sell note cards and they don’t want them, it doesn’t bother me. I used to sell life insurance.”

Few artists can say that—and fewer success stories can say they feel about their jobs how Rody feels about hers:

“I can’t believe my life turned out this way. I feel like I’m on a dreamway, living my dream. Every day is a Saturday for me. I like to paint on Saturdays.”

Abaco Sailfi sh. Acrylic on Canvas. 97” X 47”

Adrift. Acrylic on Canvas. 30” X 40”


As if the world-renowned pink colored sand beach, sun streaked

turquoise water, delectable island fare and laid back luxurious amenities weren’t tempting enough to make you pack your bags for the Coral Sands Resort in Harbour Island, Bahamas, they have recently added four new beachfront one and two bedroom colonial style cottages and another two-bedroom cottage to their inviting selection of accommodations offering just a few more reasons for you to come and stay a while at Coral Sands.

Brimming with attention to detail and indulgent comfort, these beautifully appointed dream cottages are awash in environmentally friendly function and designer décor, making them the ideal destination for an island escape.

A wondrous blending of luxury and tranquility converge for the ultimate in relaxation. One two-bedroom and two one-bedroom cottages are located directly on the ocean front with breath taking ocean views; the other one bedroom model is nestled just 100 feet from the beach with a spectacular ocean view.

The cottages each feature plush memory foam king size beds stylishly dressed in fine Anichini linens, crowned with headboards and surrounded by custom night tables, a desk, and bookshelves beautifully designed to house your belongings, creating a comfortable and homey feeling.

Walnut plank wood floors adorned with area rugs add drama and warmth to each cottage, where every mood is enhanced with custom lighting and

decorative blackout window drapes. Whether enjoying a book perched in the oversized reading chair, watching television on the 32” flat screen television or winding down to music on your iPod, every comfort and convenience is there for the guests to enjoy.

After a day spent basking in the sun, you can wash your cares away in the sensuous free standing bathtub illuminated by soft chandelier lighting or step into the large walk-in shower boasting oversized jet shower heads and

By Margie Kaye

Coral Sands’ Four Cottages Offer Dream Homes Away From Home

From family to celebrity friendly, a steady stream of vacationers, honeymooners, love birds, fishing buddies, and individuals looking to spend quality time away seek out this glorious destination year round.

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a sitting bench for a spa-like experience. A round decorative porthole window invites sunlight, sunsets and star gazing, and adds to the essence of seaside serenity.

If you can’t get enough of nature’s beautiful surroundings, retreat to your spacious outdoor covered terrace with designer lounging furniture and day beds, and all the fresh air you can inhale. The cottage wet bar complete with refrigerator, coffee maker and tea kettle keep your favorite libations and snacks close at hand for enjoying an intimate happy hour day or night.

You can double your pleasure and your living space in the new two bedroom cottage, Sea Oats, the ultimate beach front villa at Coral Sands featuring the same artistry and architecture of the one bedroom cottages. Sea Oats features two elegant master bedrooms, two luxurious bathrooms, kitchenette and dining areas presenting the ideal scenario for families and friends traveling together and maintaining their privacy when desired.

The master Colonial-style bedrooms are cloaked in warmth with walnut plank floors, area rugs and designer furnishings built with shee shan sustainable wood. Elegant French doors stretch nine feet tall welcoming sunlight and awe

inspiring views of the world famous pink sand beach just steps down the path leading from the cottage.

The living/sitting room offers a tranquil setting indoors, as does the spacious outdoor covered terrace. With ceiling fans stirring the intoxicating ocean air and an array of inviting patio furniture grouped atop the Ipe hard wood decking, the living is laid back from sun up until sun down, and then some.

The beauty of this quaint 37-room boutique hotel lies in the understated elegance that transcends the property, set along the notorious pink sand three mile stretch of beach recognized as the most beautiful beach in the Caribbean by the Travel Channel, and consistently voted as one of the top five beaches in the world.

From family to celebrity friendly, a steady stream of vacationers, honeymooners, love birds, fishing buddies, and groups looking to spend quality time away seek out this glorious destination year round. With weather consistently warm, in the ’70s and ’80s, balmy nights and breezy days make for a comfortable stay with a no-brainer light dress code and mindset of “anything goes.”

Staying on the lush grounds at Coral Sands is an all encompassing date with down time, but if the adventurer in you beckons, Coral Sands’ efficient and friendly staff will happily arrange various island excursions including deep sea fishing, scuba diving, bone fishing, and scenic tours by bicycle or golf cart. Whether a picnic on a private island is on your wish list or a historic tour of Dunmore Town is right up your alley, your hosts will make it happen for you.

When night falls and dinner plans call, gourmet dining is what’s on the menu at the resort’s own Terrace Restaurant, considered to be amongst the finest restaurants in the Bahamas, and boasting a new and delectably

varied menu. With culinary creations orchestrated by Executive French Chef Ludovic Jarland, there are tempting selections of surf and turf elegantly plated and sumptuously prepared to your liking. The chef himself often appears tableside to make his personal recommendations for a guaranteed palate pleasing experience. Pan Seared Mahi-Mahi in a Salsa Verde Sauce, Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb, and Caribbean Bouillabaisse overflowing with an assortment of lobster, grouper, shrimp, mussels and clams bathed in a vegetable broth are among the favorites ordered each evening, along with creative spins on the fresh catch of the day.

With all there is to savor at this beautiful island resort, isn’t it time to unpack your bags and stay a while? Paradise awaits at Coral Sands, where the living is easy in your home away from home.

Chapel Street, Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, Bahamas. www.coralsands.com 800-468-2799 or 242-333-2350.

Volume 12 Issue 1 | 55

Chef Dean Max is a South Florida icon, a culinary wizard

with a fresh boyish face, palpable passion and an Energizer pace. His home base is 3030 Ocean in Fort Lauderdale’s Marriott Harbor Beach Hotel where he turns his love of seafood into an art form, creating a different menu each day that’s hard to resist.

Max is a definite product of his environment. He grew up harvesting fresh vegetables and his own jalapeno crop at the age of nine on his family farm in Virginia, and fishing each summer on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. He was in awe of nature’s bounty above and below the earth even then.

Max’s father was a food broker with a large grocery chain; his grandfather was a chef who honed his craft in an upstate New York resort and later as owner of a bed and breakfast in Cape May.

Now in his early 40s, Max is an acclaimed chef with four restaurants under his helm, each renowned in their own right; each revered for the

culinary artistry he brings from the farm to the table.

“My life was set up for me with my family already in the food business,” he said. “But I didn’t want to take the easy way out. A visit to The Culinary Institute of America in New York confirmed my belief that being a chef was my calling, but I knew I needed to jump into the industry feet first to gain vital experience.

I started in Atlanta at a fine dining restaurant at The Ritz Carlton, where I worked with the right people who taught me about European cuisine. Then I moved to San Francisco and developed my own style, call it, ‘A laid back guy

who loves good food cuisine.’ In retrospect I learned my technique from the French and my love of food from my studies in Florence, Italy.”

Max’s first role as an executive chef and restaurant co-owner was at Atlanta’s Mumbo Jumbo followed by Brentwood California’s Woodside, where Max served as executive chef. “I loved it there; every moment. They have the best markets. The chefs and I would get up at 6:00am and surf, then be at the market by 7:00am to buy the produce. The best of all worlds.”

In 1999 Max was courted by Marriott and offered the opportunity to open his own “street restaurant” in South Florida. 3030 Ocean was the address, and the start of big things for Max in a town renowned for fine dining and an oceanfront landscape which entices guests from around the world.

The location was the perfect environment to showcase Max’s passion for seafood, the inspiration behind his first cookbook, A Life By The Sea.

“My goal was to make a restaurant that patrons truly loved. There is a huge following now, nearly ten years later, consisting of sixty percent locals and forty percent hotel guests.

“My approach is personal involvement, where I get to know the local clientele and nurture those relationships by getting involved with the community and charity organizations. I personally host Junior Achievement and Kids in Distress events. In the past nine years we have raised over $150,000 for them.”

Another core value Max exercises is his work with small purveyors; a huge departure for big food establishments. “I work with seven purveyors just for seafood; ten produce people. One farm, Swank in Loxahatchee brings over 100 varieties of produce to us directly. We use what local farmers grow, super fresh ingredients. It’s challenge from an accounting perspective but an important lesson in green living and sustainability. It’s what I grew up doing, what I believe in and what

Dining

Chef Dean James Max Dazzles at 3030 Ocean With his 20/20 vision of fresh food

By Margie Kaye56 | Volume 12 Issue 1 www.aircurrentsmagazine.com

Graycliff. FiveStarLuxuryat itsBest.

West Hill Street, Nassau, In The Bahamas (tel) +1242.322.2796 (toll-free) +1800.476.0446 www.graycliff.com

THE HOME OF RELAXED ELEGANCE

Good taste, great cuisine, superb wines, award-winning cigars and gracious living all come together at Graycliff Hotel and Restaurant,

a beautiful, historic mansion, in the heart of Nassau.

works for me and the quality of food I prepare.”

Max is proud to say that 3030 Ocean is one of the largest grossing restaurants for dinner in all of the Marriott chain. 3030’s success prompted Max’s invitation to open the restaurant Latitude 41 in The Renaissance Hotel in Columbus, Ohio, another Marriott property.

Max is also overseeing all food and beverage at the newly renovated Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada in the Keys, which suffered a fire last January and has reopened with a new main building and a new feel, Max style.

Max personally enjoys dining on a variety of dishes, from the fancy gourmet selections he dazzles his diners with, to basic comfort foods he craves such as cheeseburgers and chicken wings. Oysters and tuna ceviche are up there as well. “There’s so much I like. Clean, well prepared fresh natural food sums it up,” he says.

Max is a master juggler as well, managing to keep four restaurants running smoothly at any given time. Each day of each week is plotted, alternating weekly, allowing him to spend a few days in each restaurant and Sundays at home with his family.

“All of my restaurants now get to enjoy my personal contact. I’m there, all the time, even if it’s just for a few days. When I grow larger I’ll have to pull in people to do it with me; people who know what I want, like Paula DaSilva, who was recently featured on Hell’s Kitchen.”

Though she finished second on the reality series cooking show, in real life she’s first in line with Max who hired her as a cook out of culinary school and groomed her to be Chef de Cuisine at 3030.

“That’s the key. An overall understanding of how a restaurant should run…I plan on growing slowly, doing it the smart way. For now, 3030 Ocean is where I spend most of my time with my farm team. This is where the new chefs and managers of future restaurants train. This is my home spot.”

Dining


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Anthony’s GrillLocated within walking distance of the Paradise Island resorts and next door to Quiznos Subs, Anthony’s has been a staple of the Bahamian visitor diet for years. The popular eatery with its kids-friendly atmosphere is open for breakfast (from 7:30am), lunch and dinner.

Starting at 11:30am and running straight through 11pm, you can order anything from the 8-page spread, including some two dozen choices of appetizers, soups and salads. Among the starter favorites: Anthony’s Super Combo—spinach

dip, chicken strips, Buffalo wings, pork ribs, conch fritters, and the top choice—Anthony’s famous conch salad marinated, chopped, diced and served fresh each time. Main course choices include a hearty, hefty seafood platter, grilled Bahamian lobster tails, herb crusted red snapper, speared grilled shrimp, as well as burgers, pizza and the all-time meat favorite: sweet, tender baby back ribs. Authentic Cuban cigars can be purchased here. No reservations or jackets needed, casual, lively and fun. $$ Full bar with tropical drinks, beer, wine and cocktails. Breakfast 7:30am-11am, lunch 11:30am-4pm, and dinner menu available from 4pm-11pm. Nassau.

Alexandra’s at August MoonFor the ultimate in variety taste the ever-changing menu at Alexandra’s. Choose tasting trios with a continent theme (Land of Dragons—Asian cuisine, Old Bailey—British) for $15 or sample individual plates for $7.50. While the menu may frequently change, the quality and service never do. Open Monday-Saturday. Lunch 11:00am – 3:00pm, dinner from 6:30pm. Call (242) 362-6631 for reservations. Nassau.

GraycliffThe only restaurant of its kind in The Bahamas, Graycliff blends old-world charm with 5-star dining. Located in the main house of a 250-year-old Georgia style mansion, the restaurant’s menu offers the fi nest in traditional Bahamian meals as well as popular

seafood and continental cuisines. Diners can feast on succulent Nassau grouper fi let served on a bed of spinach with French Dijon mustard. The fi let mignon with seasoned

butter is a choice dish for patrons seeking a more familiar meal. Indoor and outdoor dining. Open daily for lunch from 12:30pm-2pm and dinner from 7:30pm. Reservations required. Jackets required. West Hill St. Nassau; (242) 322-2796.

Mangoes At Mangoes you’ll fi nd pieces of the succulent fruit in almost every dish. A bold, but utterly delicious culinary idea. Seating up to 140, owner and Chef Brandon Sheffi eld mixes traditional Bahamian dishes with Continental cooking techniques for a scrumptious dining experience. Open Monday-Saturday, 11:30am-2:30pm, 6:30pm-midnight. Reservations are preferred. Call (242) 367-2366 for more information. Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

Shula’s Steak House Americans love affair with steak is as passionate as ever and with restaurants like Shula’s Steak House, it’s easy to see why. The real score card of Shula’s is the meat, custom center cuts of Certifi ed Angus Beef® steaks handled with a secret aging process make up their award winning SHULA CUTS. Shula’s: check out the location nearest you. www.donshula.com and arrive hungry. Casual dress at all restaurants. Seafood, including dolphin, shrimp, oysters Rockefeller, stone crab, lobster and local fare almost as popular as the steaks, lobster bisque in season. And save room for dessert. You’ll be asked to order your souffl é in advance as each takes about a half hour to prepare, but like everything else worth waiting for, it’s a treat you’ll treasure.

Sloppy Joe’sA Key West institution, Sloppy Joe’s is a dining and social adventure with festive local fare and atmosphere. The famed Sloppy Joe sandwich is a savory mixture of ground beef, tomatoes, onions and celery. Make sure you indulge in a Papa Doubles, a

favorite drink of Ernest Hemingway; it’s a sublime mixture of Bacardi light rum, grapefruit juice, sour

mix, 7UP and local fresh lime. This celebrated hot spot plays live music three times daily and is defi nitely worth a visit. 201 Duval St; (305) 294-5717. Key West.

Tippy’s Restaurant, Beach & BarFor a true taste of the islands with a barefoot lunch and a casual happy hour, check out Tippy’s, a place where “you’ll see shirts and ties at lunch and bikinis or sarongs at dinner.” Patrons from all walks of life rub shoulders over a sumptuous menu fi lled with island spirit. Open seven days a week for lunch (12:30pm-2:30pm) and dinner 6:00pm-10:00pm). Dinner reservations are recommended. (242) 332-3331. Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera.

Air Currents’ Dining Picks

Dining


IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR YOUR ARRIVAL IN THE UNITED STATESINFORMACIÓN IMPORTANTE A SU ARRIVO A LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS

On your arrival at any U.S. airport all passengers, including those in transit to another country, must fill out a customs declaration (blue) form and, if pertinent, an immigration form (green or white). To facilitate compliance with the necessary documentation you will find some brief instructions on this matter below. Many thanks to you for your cooperation.

A su llegada a cualquier aeropuerto de EE.UU., todos los pasajeros, incluidos aquellos que realizan tránsito con destino a otro país, deben rellenar una declaración de aduanas (impreso azul0 y, si procede, un impreso de inmigración (impreso verde o blanco). Para facilitarles conforme a la documentación necesaria, encontrarán en estas páginas unas breves instrucciones al respecto. Muchas gracias por su colaboración.

ATTENTION• Write your country using English• Write male or female• If you are in transit to another country: Write down TRANSIT TO...in address in the U.S.

ATENCIÓN • Escriba su país en INGLËS • Escriba MALE Ö FEMALE • Si está en tránsito a otro país, escriba TRANSIT TO ..en la dirección en EE.UU.


Havana

Key West

Andros

Georgetown

The Exumas

Cat Island

Eleuthera

Governor’s Harbour

North Eleuthera

The Abacos

Marsh Harbour

Treasure CayFreeport

Orlando

Tampa

Tallahassee

Pensacola

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**

**

**

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GrandBahama

West Palm Beach

Fort Lauderdale

Miami

Bimini

AndrosTown

Nassau

OnePass is Continental Airlines’ award-winning frequent fl yer

program. When you enroll, you earn mileage every time you fl y

Continental Connection—mileage good for free travel rewards.

To enroll in OnePass, call (800) 523-FARE or visit the web site at: www.continental.com

*Valid on all Continental Connection fl ights operated by Gulfstream

International Airlines.

As part of our long standing Code-share partnership with

Gulfstream International Airlines, you can earn miles on Continental Connection

fl ights operated by Gulfstream International when booked with a United Airlines code and fl ight number. To enroll in

Mileage Plus call (800) 421-4655 or visit the web site at: www.ual.com.

*Valid on United & Gulfstream International Airlines Code-share fl ights.

OnePass is Continental Airlines’ award-winning frequent fl yer

program. When you enroll, you earn mileage every time you fl y

Copa Airlines, Gulfstream coded fl ights—mileage good for free travel rewards.

To enroll in OnePass, call (800) 523-FARE or visit the web site at: www.continental.com

*Valid on Copa & Gulfstream International Airlines Code-share fl ights.

*** Cuba Route is Charter Service Only: ALL CUBA Charters are subject to U.S. Government approval.

Alliance Partnerships & Frequent Flyer Programs

Route Map

The World’s First All-Butler Resort

All Butler

Global GourmetThe fi ve restaurants that comprise theresort’s notable dining collection offer pairings of International cuisinewith Beringer® varietalscorked exclusively for Sandals.

Sandals Emerald Bay is the world’s fi rst All-Butler Resort, where every guest can enjoy the services of a personal butler who will take care of every want and need. From unpacking your suitcase to animpromptu picnic or dinner onyour balcony, your butler is always on call — en-suite, by the pool or on the beach.

‘‘

‘‘

TRAVEL & LEISURE GOLF MAGAZINE

Caribbean’sBest Golf

Course

Ocean DriveA GREG NORMAN-DESIGNED GOLFER’S PARADISE

The Sandals Emerald Reef Golf Club is a Greg Norman-designed 7,200-yard, par 72, championship golf course that hugs a rocky coastline,with emerald fairways and prevailing trade winds edged by the sea.

B E S T F O R I S L A N D C A S T A W A Y S

ROOMS, SUITES AND VILLAS

APPOINTED TO PERFECTION

An OceanfrontResort

Picture a sprawling island home, where the fi ne furnishings are inspired by the British West Indies, all the technologies arein place for your comfort, andwindows overlook an endless sea of blue. This should give you the sense of what a typical suiteis like at Sandals Emerald Bay. There are 183 rooms, suites and beachfront villas, and all come with the services of a butlertrained to the exacting standards of the Guild of ProfessionalEnglish Butlers.

Your exoticprivate escape

IS WITHIN EASY REACH

Emerald BayGreat Exuma, Bahamas®

Sandals premieres a new level of luxury with the introduction of the world’s fi rst

All-Butler, Oceanfront Resort—Sandals Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas.

This magnifi cent, award-winning resort offers its guests pampered intimacy

amidst the secluded islands of The Exumas. Guests will fi nd oceanview, butler-

serviced rooms, suites and villas fi lled with features to indulge body and spirit.

Afi cionados of world-class pleasure will discover a 29,000 sq. ft. Red Lane® Spa

featuring Dermalogica® products, a pro-grade tennis center and a Greg Norman-

designed golf course.* If you seek out-of-the-ordinary luxury in the Out Islands,

come experience your own exotic, private escape at Sandals Emerald Bay.

Spa services additional. *Green fees additional. Unique Vacations, Inc. is the worldwide representative for Sandals Resorts.

For more information call your Travel Agent or

1-800-SANDALS or 305-284-1300sandals.com

air currents volume 12 issue 1

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