Tag: Destinations

Bahamian Hideouts

The Secret (and Not So Secret) Spots

The Bahamas has an abundance of hidden coves, undisturbed beaches, and little gems not on the typical tourist map.

By Chris Casswell, Southern Boating May 2020

I had just checked out on a boat for a Bahamas bareboat charter and was leaning against the counter chatting with a young man about things to see and do when I noticed that the office’s secretary kept giving him the stink eye. I didn’t know why until the rest of my crew came in and we went over to look at some brochures. I heard her hiss to him, “Don’t be givin’ away all of our secrets, mon…he a mainlander.”

So, I thought, there are secrets that Bahamians keep to themselves, tourism be damned. Well, I’m here to share some of those secrets.

Great Inagua

On this island, the farthest from Nassau and seemingly frozen in time, don’t miss the flamingos, which hang out on the salt flats created by Morton’s Salt in the ’30s. Yes, the “When it rains, it pours” folks have a major salt harvest here. Having been nursed for seven decades by the National Audubon Society (starting from a herd of just 100 birds), West Indian flamingoes now outnumber humans on the island 80-to-1 with some 80,000 in residence. Don’t stop there. Inagua is also known for Bahamas parrots and Inagua hummingbirds as well as wild donkeys, goats, and boar.

Beachside/Roadside Conch Bars

You’ll find these on every island and lining many of the beaches. Usually just pieces of driftwood thrown together, they offer superb conch menus and ice-cold local beers. Try the conch salads (the one shown is from Joe’s Conch Shack near Bailey Town on Bimini), jerk chicken, and fish offerings.

Dean’s Blue Hole

If Earth was a bowling ball, the blue holes would be where you put your fingers. There are blue holes worldwide, but only one is deeper than Dean’s Blue Hole and drops down to an astounding 663 feet, which is far below what the human body can tolerate. Nevertheless, this is where free divers come to test their skill, competing to see who can dive the deepest (and live) on a single lungful of air. The current record is 331 feet. Yikes! Dean’s Blue Hole is located off a sandy beach just up the coast from Clarence Town on Long Island. The Flying Fish Marina is in Clarence Town and is a designated port of entry. deansbluehole.org; flyingfishmarina.com

Swimming Pigs

Most everyone has heard about the swimming pigs, but I’m always surprised by experienced skippers who’ve never been to Pig Beach on Big Major Cay in the Exumas. Maybe they just hate bacon. The pigs come right up to the boat expecting to be fed, so do bring food, and be sure to keep your fingers out of the way. There’s good anchorage offshore.

Blue Lagoon Island

Also known as Salt Cay, this private island has a tourism side that makes it popular with tour boats, especially later in the day. Not so much a secret, the island has a hidden lagoon, coral reefs, exotic birds, and a beach shared with sea lions, sea turtles, and dolphin encounters. bahamasbluelagoon.com

Queen’s Baths and Glass Window Bridge

Take a taxi to get the best vantage point where two bodies of water meet: the clear, blue Atlantic and the turquoise Caribbean. What is spectacular is the distinct separation between this pair directly under the Glass Window Bridge along Queen’s Highway on Eleuthera. Originally painted by Winslow Homer in 1885, the natural bridge was washed away by hurricanes.

The Queen’s Baths is just south of the Glass Window Bridge and dotted with sun-warmed hot pools. Take reef walkers because there are urchins, and it can be slippery. Skip it at high tide when the baths refill. discover-eleuthera-bahamas.com

Nurse Sharks of Compass Cay

These bottom-feeding creatures make a squealing, high-pitched sound if you’re near them underwater. Don’t worry, you can mingle with them without thinking about Jaws. A private island in the Outer Exumas, it’s reachable by tender (a long haul) from Staniel Cay, so the pleasant Compass Cay Marina is a better choice. compasscaymarina.com

Bimini Road

Could this be the original Atlantis, the legendary city that sank off the earth 11,000 years ago? Evenly spaced stones stretch a half mile and look like…what? A road to a missing city? Part of a wall? Sadly, they have no tool marks, and carbon dating suggests they were made by geological forces and erosion, but it’s still fun to visit and imagine. Located about five miles off North Bimini in 18 feet of water, it’s a bit of a voyage in a tender and probably more enjoyable to take one of the snorkeling tours from a Bimini marina.

The Musician

Just off Rudder Cut Cay in the Exumas, a life-sized sculpture of a mermaid lounges against the bench of a baby grand piano. Placed by magician David Copperfield, who owns 11 islands, it was sunk as a quirky surprise for his guests. Snorkelers who can hold their breath can swim down and pose on the bench as if playing a tune. It’s about 12-15 feet down from the surface. The islands are private, but the beaches to the high-tide mark are public, and there is good anchorage nearby. Ask locals for directions: It’s just off a small sea cave at the northern end of the beach.

Pelican Beach on Great Exuma

Better known as Tropic of Cancer Beach because it intersects with the Tropic of Cancer latitude line, Pelican Beach has glorious golden sand and a small hut nearby with a painted line marking the latitude on its floor. Located in the Moore Hill establishment, there is good anchorage offshore. Be sure to sign your name in the hut alongside other boaters.

Cat Island

Truly one of the “secret” Bahamian islands, Cat Island is south of Eleuthera and far enough off the usual routes that many skip it. Its Mount Alvernia, at 206 feet, is the highest point in the Bahamas. A 10-minute hike takes you to the Hermitage, built by reclusive priest-architect Father Jerome in the ’30s for fabulous views, especially at sunset. Cat Island preserves an old-island way of life for its 1,800 residents, with Obeah religion and ripsaw (rake and scrape) music still going strong. The boyhood home of actor Sidney Poitier, the 48-mile island has no resorts, no cruise ships, and The Marina at Hawk’s Nest Resort (hawks-nest.com) is the smart place to stay. If you’re into eerie, check out the Griffin Bat Cave, once used as hurricane shelter for locals and now home to thousands of bats. You can hear and see them as they wake at sunset to leave.

Harbour Island

Called “Briland” by insiders, Harbour Island is a popular stop for yachties, but they often never leave the pleasures of Valentines Marina (valentinesresort.com) or Romora Bay Marina (romorabay.com), so they miss the bakeries in Dunmore Town. They don’t know about pineapple tarts or the incredible Bahamian bread from Henry Sands, whose bread earned him an invitation to Princess Di’s wedding. Too late for breakfast? Have lunch at Sip Sip (Bahamian for “gossip”). You’ll be sorry if you overlook the lobster quesadillas and wash them down with spicy margaritas on the patio. sipsiprestaurant.com

The Dolphin House Museum

Built of recycled materials by Bimini author and historian Ashley Saunders, the museum in Alice Town on Bimini has been called “A Poem in Stone.” It’s well worth the donation of eight bucks to wander through the amazing images and artistry that are impossible to explain. An easy walk from Bimini Big Game Club or Bimini Blue Water Marina. dolphin-house-museum.business.site

Straw Market

Well known in some circles, the Straw Market in Nassau is hokey, touristy, and great fun that is too often overlooked. Practice your haggling skills to get hats, bags, jewelry, and souvenirs. Go either early in the morning before the tourists, or late in the day when the sellers are making their best deals.

Atlantis on Pleasure Island

Sure it’s big and touristy, but there’s so much you’ll miss. Tuck into the Atlantis Marina, which rivals Monaco for quality, and you get access to what has been called “Vegas By the Sea.” Things you’ll probably miss is Aquaventure, its 141-acre water park; the Baths swimming pool, with waterfalls and caves; and the Dig, where you can snorkel in an aquarium. You may not know there are two areas with waterslides: Mayan Temple and Power Tower. atlantisbahamas.com

There are areas of the Bahamas too often overlooked by visiting skippers, and, yes, I do know about that great reef for snorkeling, but I’m not sharing. Even us mainlanders have our secrets.

Two Sailors, One Leopard 43 Powercat

A couple of diehard sailors cross to the dark side only to discover that it’s not so dark after all.

In a way, it was a double conversion. Not only were we blow-boaters on a stinkpot, but one with two hulls at that. It was going to take some getting used to, all this space and speed and simplicity. Welcoming the chance to review a 2016 model power catamaran, we chartered a Moorings 433—a Leopard 43 with three cabins. We picked up our boat at The Moorings charter base in Tortola, quite possibly the busiest in the world. Our brand-new owner’s version was named Rubis (French for ruby), and she was already hinting at her gemlike qualities.

Eager to head into the Sir Francis Drake Channel, we put the twin Yanmar 220-hp diesels to work and topped out at 20 knots. (The Moorings keeps the engines on their charter fleet governed down to 80 percent.) We settled into a cruising speed of 14 knots that still left us with more than half of our original fuel level at the end of the charter. Besides the fuel-sipping engines, part of this catamaran’s efficiency comes from the stepped hulls. They are narrow at the waterline for better hydrodynamics but flare out with a hard chine to create interior volume for the cabins. Unlike monohulls, cats aren’t dragging a heavy keel through the water and can operate with smaller engines. We found our diesel engines under the aft bunks and noticed they were surprisingly quiet and vibration-free.

That first night we experienced one of the greatest benefits of a cat: no rolling at anchor. A cat may wobble in a rough bay but it won’t roll, so flopper-stoppers, gyroscopes, stabilizing fins, and sleepless nights are a distant memory.

The next morning, Rubis schooled us on her many on-deck benefits. Her bow was wide and the hard deck (no trampoline) spanned her entire beam. Picking up a mooring was easy; I could move quickly from side-to-side and brace my hips on the stainless steel railing. I then reached down to work the lines on the cleats with both hands. Once done on the foredeck, I stepped through the full-sized forward door into the salon starting what was going to be our normal traffic pattern around the boat. While open, the door blasted air through the interior and cooled it down much faster than any port or hatch ever could.

Catamarans offer extensive exterior spaces, and people congregate mostly in the cockpit. But the flybridge became our favorite spot when driving, sunning, dining, or watching sunsets. Here, a galley module had a Kenyon electric grill and sink. An option on the Leopard 43 is to add a refrigerator or an icemaker, so the party never has to leave the flybridge. All the way forward was a double sunpad suspended over the forward cockpit. With a railing all around, it was a comfortable and safe place to lounge even when under way.

To starboard was the helm that included a double bench seat and an angled dash with two Raymarine MFDs. The autopilot was mounted behind the wheel and the Fusion stereo head was to the side. A better layout of electronics would have helped the driver and her companion to have easier access to all equipment, including the VHF.

It was best to leave the wheel centered and untouched during slow speed maneuvers like docking and anchoring. Just a light touch, usually with one engine at a time, made Rubis dance; no side thrusters or pod drives were needed. With four-bladed props set 20 feet apart, the boat was ultra responsive and absolutely the easiest I’ve ever driven.

Rubis was so much fun to handle that when we picked up a mooring, we argued as to who got to drive. Often we dropped a mooring right after picking it up in favor of one a few feet over in case the breeze was better. We dropped three times in front of Saba Rock at the Bitter End Yacht Club just because we could.

This 43-foot catamaran felt more like a 52-foot monohull. To maximize the spacious feel, Leopard has flipped the salon layout, with the dinette facing forward and up against the cockpit settee. Open the door and windows between the two to create one large living room. The L-shaped galley in the starboard corner faces forward, and I liked looking ahead when cooking under way. To port was a small navigation desk that we used primarily to store cruising guides. It was also the place for charging phones and cameras since there were four USB ports on the bulkhead.

The master stateroom took up the entire starboard hull. A queen-sized bed aft and a large head forward were separated by a vanity, a chest of drawers and two enormous lockers. I could live aboard this boat without having to give away too many clothes. Two cabins in the port hull shared a head and stall shower. (Something that needed a bit of re-thinking were the head light switches that were not in the heads but rather in the corridors outside.)

Boats are sets of tradeoffs, but I found few things to complain about on the Moorings 433. Being nitpicky, however, I would liked to have had a larger electric winch for the dinghy davit that kept tripping the breaker. The windlass, too, was undersized and tended to spin out. Finally, the boarding ladder on the port transom had a challenging angle and little in the way of handholds on top. But that’s the extent of the complaint list, which is much shorter than just about every other boat I’ve seen.

The B.V.I. are permeated with sailing charter boats. However, power cats are quickly gaining ground. The distances are short and the destinations are plentiful so it’s the perfect place for a powerboat and an even better one for a cat. There was very little wind on our first two days of the trip, and we flew past the sailboats on our way to two and three fun anchorages in a day. We sped to the Baths for an early morning swim, then we SUPed around Sandy Cay near Jost Van Dyke followed by snorkeling at the Indians near Norman Island. We finished up with Painkillers at the Last Resort in Trellis Bay. Did we need to circumnavigate Tortola in a day? No, but we easily could have. One day we even went back for more Painkillers—the best I’ve ever tasted.

The builder, Robertson and Caine, expects to build 30 of these Leopard models per year in South Africa. Some will go to The Moorings since they offer power charters in a dozen locations from the Caribbean to Europe to the Seychelles.

Coming from a world of monohull sailboats, we felt a little guilty about how much we enjoyed our power cat and wondered how we could ever go back to half a boat. This was just too easy, too speedy and way too comfortable. We allowed ourselves to voice the reality. Our boat test was really a try-before-you-buy experiment that succeeded. There, we said it. We’re out in the open now and have fully embraced the dark side, a side with plenty of power and two hulls. Though we fought it for years, we are, in every sense of the word, converts.

—By Zuzana Prochazka, Southern Boating Magazine March 2017

SPECIFICATIONS
LOA: 42′ 8″
Beam: 22′ 1″
Draft: 3′ 1″
Displacement (light): 25,794 lbs.
Fuel/Water: 264/212 U.S. gals.
MSRP (base): $525,000 (as tested)

CONTACT
The Moorings
(888) 952-8420
moorings.com 

Exploring the Enchanted Isles of Galápagos

Experience the untouched wonder of the Galápagos, an adventure you’ll not soon forget.

Straddling the equator off the coast of Ecuador is an enchanted archipelago with some of the strangest wildlife on the planet. Roughly half the size of Hawaii but with barely enough residents to fill Yankee Stadium, the Galápagos Islands are a biological laboratory. Here, amid the cactus-covered landscape, wildlife evolved in nearly total isolation. There are blood-sucking finches, tree-climbing sea lions, underwater iguanas, and tortoises that hatched more than a century ago. Because of its unique wildlife and remoteness, the archipelago has become a mecca for cruisers wanting to experience Charles Darwin’s “Enchanted Isles.”

Since most of the archipelago is within a national park—and the surrounding waters are part of a marine sanctuary—the laws controlling mooring sites and island visits are extremely rigid. The best and easiest way to voyage through the Galápagos is not by private yacht but aboard one of the licensed expedition ships that offer voyages from a few days to a few weeks.

The Bishop of Panama, Fray Tomas de Berlanga, accidentally discovered the Galápagos in March 1535 when strong currents pulled his ship 600 miles off the mainland traveling from Panama to Peru. The cleric was stranded for three weeks, and his faith was shaken at his first glimpse of the bleak basalt mountains prickled in towering cactus forests. He wrote, “It seems as though at some time God had showered stones and the earth is like slag, worthless.”

It was, however, Charles Darwin who brought fame to the Galápagos. Although the naturalist voyaged through the islands in 1835 aboard the HMS Beagle—he only visited 4 of the 19 islands—it wasn’t until 1859 and the publication of his work On the Origin of Species that the islands became known to the outside world. But it would be another century before intrepid tourists ventured there when in 1969, the first cruise carrying just 58 passengers voyaged through the islands. Today, tourism generates a half-billion dollars per year, with nearly a quarter-million visitors exploring the islands annually.

Most tourists fly first to Quito, Ecuador, and spend a night or two exploring this Andean capital. From there, flights hop to the port city of Guayaquil and then to Baltra International Airport in the Galápagos. From the airport it’s a quick transfer by taxi and boat over to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, the hub of tourism.

The town, the largest in the Galápagos, is lorded over by a giant, paint-chipped, albatross statue. The cobbled main street is lined with dive shops and souvenir stores. Visitors can explore the nearby Charles Darwin Research Station and see the successful tortoise captive breeding program, with opportunities to wander through enclosures that hold adult tortoises. More adventurous travelers can sign up for tours into the surrounding highlands, winding through eucalyptus forests and past banana plantations and coffee farms. There, among some of the last forest stands, guides can lead you to the last wild tortoises. The reptiles weigh as much as 500 pounds, are the size of coffee tables and spend much of their time grazing among the tall grasses in forest glades. Darwin and his crew brought 48 of them on board but, unfortunately, not for scientific study. He described them as such: “The breast plate with the flesh attached to it is very good, and the young tortoises make excellent soup.”

Abercrombie & Kent is one of the best cruising operators exploring the Galápagos. From Santa Cruz, their luxurious M/V Eclipse makes regular voyages among the islands. With only 24 cabins (all with sea views), this sleek 210-foot ship feels more like a private yacht; your shore parties are also smaller at 12 people per guide versus the standard 16.

Most voyages start with a wet landing on nearby Las Bachas Beach, where you might get lucky and see some Caribbean flamingos in the lagoon or nesting green sea turtles on the beach (November to February). Bring a pair of water shoes or sturdy hiking sandals for the wet landings and dry, lightweight hiking boots for the island hikes.

Another favorite stop is Puerto Egas on Santiago Island. Here, guides lead you on a hike along an old salt-mining road to the Fur Seal Grottos, beautiful tide pools and caves where penguins sleep and play. Ask to see “Darwin’s Toilet,” a cool lava tube that fills and empties with the swirling tides. Later that afternoon, the ship sails to Bartolomé Island for a hot, hour-long hike up the 300-plus stairs to the summit for beautiful views of Pinnacle Rock and Sullivan Bay. Afterward, take the ship’s zodiac out to the snorkeling grounds, where you’ll spot harmless whitetip reef sharks and Galápagos penguins. Bring bug spray to ward off the pesky horseflies on the beach.

Rare land iguanas are the draw when the ship circles back to Santa Cruz Island to explore the cactus forests of Cerro Dragon (Dragon Hill). Wear a yellow shirt or hat. (Land iguanas feed on yellow cactus flowers and will scamper over to you for great photos.) Then it’s off to the blood-red beaches of Rabida Island to photograph sea lions.

Another favorite landing is at Tagus Cove on Isabela Island (Darwin was here), where you can hike through the palo-santo forests up the rugged slopes of a cinder cone to photograph the views and see some of the famous finches and mockingbirds. There’s also wonderful kayaking in the cove and a chance to snorkel with penguins again, or traverse a mangrove swamp by panga at Elizabeth Bay.

Few tourist boats make it to Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island, so count yourself lucky if your ship’s itinerary includes dropping anchor here at the only approved mooring spot at the island; you’re about to see a slice of “the real Galápagos.” A mere million years old, Fernandina is the newest and westernmost of the Galápagos Islands and also the most volcanically active. Its misty caldera rises more than a mile above the surrounding lowlands and erupts spectacularly about once every 10 years. Fernandina is a glimpse of the Galápagos as they were long ago when life first found them. There are no introduced species on this remote volcanic island. Out on the shimmering black surface, only a scattering of lava cactus—a pioneer species—cling to the cracks and crevices. Red-throated lava lizards scamper across sometimes drawing the attention of the islands’ most dominant land predators, Galápagos hawks, often seen perched on palo santo trees. The lava field you’ll walk over is cabled and sinewy, frozen in long, ropy braids. It’s so sharp that it tears the soles off tennis shoes and can cheese-grate your knees if you trip, so wear boots and long pants for the hike.

An afternoon sail to nearby Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island offers a fantastic few hours of snorkeling with inquisitive sea lion pups and sea turtles. Sea lions want to play, so don’t just sit there. Spin, blow bubbles, make noise under water, and don’t be surprised if they tug on your dive fins and mouth your snorkel.

Gardner Bay on Española Island is one of the longest white-sand beaches in the Galápagos, and you’ll have complete freedom to explore it without a guide (but not into the desert beyond). Leave your boots but bring your hiking sandals, swimsuit, towel, and snorkel gear, and spend the morning swimming in this stunning bay with frisky sea lions. The next stop to nearby Punta Suárez includes hiking the 2.5-mile trail through colonies of blue-footed and Nazca boobies. Near the high sea cliffs, you should pass some of the 12,000 breeding pairs of waved albatross. From April to December the babies are learning to fly, an amazing and amusing sight.

On your last night, you’ll pack your bags for an early departure, followed by one last zodiac ride through the mangrove swamps of Black Turtle Cove and a stop at the ship’s store for souvenirs. Choose something that brings to mind your epic adventure to this land that time forgot, but you surely will not.

EXPEDITIONS:

Abercrombie & Kent; abercrombiekent.com
AdventureSmith Explorations; adventuresmithexplorations.com
Lindblad Expeditions; expeditions.com  

Words and photos by Jad Davenport, Southern Boating Magazine December 2016

Florida’s Last Frontier: Chokoloskee

In Chokoloskee, Florida, fishing reigns supreme against a backdrop of local flavor.

On the southwestern coast of Florida, a small community amidst the mangroves preserves the final remnants of the Old Florida lifestyle. In Chokoloskee, and its neighbor, Everglades City, seven miles to the north, there’s no pretense. There is, however, a legacy left by early pioneers, whose descendants now populate the area. There are also ghosts—if you know where to look.

The locals have been here for generations. They’ll eye you steadily from their seats as you launch your boat at the marina, and maybe even ask where you’re from. “We’re Florida folk, here to do some fishing,” is a fine response. But don’t ask about the town’s drug smuggling bust in 1983. Mention that, and the locals might reply that people can easily get lost out in the mangroves. And out in the mangroves is really what it’s all about.

Chokoloskee borders the western edge of Everglades National Park, and with it the Ten Thousand Islands. The name is well deserved. With over 2,000 square miles of identical-looking mangrove islands and channels, oyster bars, bays, and shallow waters, it’s easy to get lost. When you’re out on the boat each turn in the channel looks the same. The blue-green water reflects both the mangrove islands and the sky, creating natural fractals as far as the eye can see. Even when you think you might be in the clear, shallow flats and treacherous ridges silently wait.

Like a Local

You need a guide. A local, someone who knows the twists and bends in the channels. Someone who knows when markers have been flipped. Someone like Brian Sanders, who runs fishing charters in Chokoloskee over 250 days a year. He knows where the fish will be biting, when the tide will turn and, most important, the way back inland. For decades, the wilder side of Collier County has drawn sportsmen and outlaws alike. The area’s isolation was, perhaps, the biggest draw for the latter, but it has also fostered the perfect atmosphere for a fishing experience unlike any other on this remote edge of the Everglades.

There aren’t many places on earth that can rival the beauty and complexity of the Ten Thousand Islands. A diversity of animal and marine life comes from a shared ecosystem as freshwater and saltwater combine. A quick offshore run reveals everything from dozens of bird species and smaller fish to large alligators soaking in the sun and dolphins breaking through the waves. The beaches sometimes offer glimpses of deer, wild pigs, and even bears.

To the northwest of Chokoloskee lie thousands of mangrove islands that dot the murky waters and echo postcard-perfect scenes. They also confuse and confound the uninitiated. To the south, tidal rivers flow through the backcountry. You can fish scoured holes, river mouths and oyster bars here. The rivers and flats form habitats that support and nurture the species anglers are after. Both artificial fishermen and live baiters will have luck fishing the rivers. Sight fishing is also an option in the clear headwaters of the river, even with the slight tint due to the tannic acid of the mangroves.

Fish Heaven

The rivers to the north of Chokoloskee include Pumpkin, Ferguson, Wood, Little Wood, and others. Here, you’ll find that the small mangrove islands and feeder creeks form a safe refuge for fish, including the area’s local population of smaller tarpon. Each northern river dumps into large bays, while the surrounding mangrove islands form channels of flowing tidal waters. With depths of scour holes reaching some 20 feet deep, the largest of the snook, tarpon and goliath groupers move into areas in the warmer months. The cooler months bring large black drum, Spanish mackerel and cobia.

The southern rivers—Chatham, Lopez, Lostman’s, Broad—are big enough to hold redfish, tarpon, and snook. There are more fishing spots than you could explore in a day, or perhaps even a lifetime. And oftentimes, a trip through the backcountry will see a catch of over a dozen different species of fish. Head a bit offshore to find the numerous natural and artificial formations that attract fish like cobia, kingfish, snapper, and even permit.

Smallwoods, Tall Tales

While there’s plenty of space for fishing in the Ten Thousand Islands, there’s a lot of history and character packed into the 137 acres of Chokoloskee. The story begins with Ted Smallwood’s General Store at the turn of the 20th century. Ted Smallwood built his store on the edge of Chokoloskee Bay in 1906, and it soon became the central meeting place for all of the town’s happenings—drawing gossip, gambling and trade. It also drew some of the more unsavory figures in the area.

There are skeletons in the closets of the town, even if they don’t make much noise. One such skeleton is that of Edgar J. Watson, who was rumored to have been an outlaw that once ran with Jesse James. Watson settled on a plantation at Chatham Bend and was a frequent visitor at Smallwood’s store. Once his hired workers began disappearing one by one, however, the town grew suspicious. The townsfolk later confronted Watson at Smallwood’s in an event that led to Watson’s demise. Local rumor says the ghost of Watson lives around the store to this day.

Smallwood’s is no longer a general store. Instead, it’s now one of the most unique museums in Florida. Open the wooden doors, walk inside and be transported back to the 1920s. Within the walls, you’ll find rocking chairs, wagon wheels, old glassware, and even quirkier artifacts. Ever since Ted’s family reopened the store as a museum, it’s stood as a time-weathered monument to the unique history of the Ten Thousand Islands.

Personal History

There’s history here in Chokoloskee and a colorful past with tales of mystery and intrigue. There’s fishing and a peaceful solitude that’s hard to find elsewhere. But there’s also the present moment while you’re out in the bay. One of my favorite parts of Chokoloskee is its ability to make an impression. It changes you in small ways for the better. It fosters a sense of community and togetherness that’s hard to find in other parts of the country. Events like the annual Seafood Festival in Everglades City, for example, delight locals and guests alike with its bounty of fresh seafood and craft booths. Finally, it creates memories that will keep you coming back, time and time again.

Yet, while Chokoloskee has the ability to create memorable experiences, it also teaches some tough life lessons. Rabbit Key, the site where the notorious Edgar J. Watson is buried, is also the place where I lost my first redfish when I was five years old. Back then, I didn’t really understand fish mortality, and I pressured my father to dip the redfish back in the channel so it could breathe. A quick flip of the tail and it got away. I remember feeling slightly relieved. My father was arguably less so. But this means that now, years later, I have one more excuse to head through the channels past the sweeping mangrove islands out toward Rabbit for some redfish redemption—with a guide, of course. It is always, already, a place I like to be.

—CRUISER RESOURCES—

Marinas:
Chokoloskee Island Park Marina
1150 Hamilton Lane
(239) 695-2414
chokoloskee.com

Parkway Motel & Marina
1180 Chokoloskee Drive
(239) 695-3261
parkwaymotelandmarina.net

FISHING GUIDE:
Captain Brian Sanders
(954) 802-0868
sandersoutdoorguide.com

By Susanna Botkin, Southern Boating Magazine November 2016

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