The Outer Cays

Hope Town

Founded in 1785 by Wyannie Malone and her three strapping sons, formerly of South Carolina, this settlement slept through the industrial revolution and for about 150 years remained as a quiet fishing village and ship-building center until the 1950s, when all of Abaco began to awaken. But while many of Hope Town's island neighbors enjoyed similar protection with harbours, Hope Town had a couple of distinct advantages. Its harbour was large and totally protected, and it was distinguished by a magical lighthouse built by the British in the 1860s. Ironically, the famous candy-striped lighthouse, which stands today as Hope Town's iconic symbol, was vigorously opposed by the ship salvaging residents at the time of its construction.

The beautiful harbour and stunning beaches soon attracted tourism to the entire island, known as Elbow Cay, and today the narrow harbour entrance welcomes hundreds of boats every day. The Hope Town Harbour Lodge, founded in the 1950s but totally renovated, is the only "hotel" in town, but there are hundreds of rental houses spread across the cay, most of them owned by part time foreign residents. Construction is the second largest "industry" here after tourism as new houses sprout up all over the island. World War II style landing craft serve as shallow-draft freight boats from Marsh Harbour, hauling everything from refrigerators and Christmas trees to golf carts and lawn fertilizer.

Lubbers Quarters

Lying just west of Elbow Cay is the enigmatically-named island of Lubber's Quarters. The 350-acre, boot-shaped island is totally within the confines of the Sea of Abaco, the four-to-five-mile wide sound which separates most of the outer cays from mainland Abaco. Lubber's is lush, with a rugged terrain, lots of vegetation, verdant mangroves and a rich profusion of indigenous trees and plants.

It is also rapidly growing as a residential haven, even though it has no settlement and virtually no commercial business save one waterfront restaurant, Cracker P's, famous for its fresh grilled fish and full moon parties. The advent of electricity and even telephones has spurred new home building in recent years, and today there are more than 60 houses on Lubbers, mainly on the south end of the island in and around the development known as the Abaco Ocean Club, which occupies about 20 percent of the island with 161 residential lots. The rest of the approximately three-mile-long and one-half-mile-wide atoll is divided into large, privately-owned sea-to-sea lots.

Man-O-War Cay

More than any other island in the Abacos, Man-O-War has retained the strongest ties with boat building, boat transportation and boat maintenance and repair. The Albury family, which founded this cay as loyalists, once built remarkably large sailing schooners here. After the airport opened in Marsh Harbour in the 1950s, the family founded Albury's Ferry Service, which still provides numerous daily trips between Marsh Harbour, Hope Town, Man-O-War, Great Guana Cay and the private island of Scotland Cay.

Workmanship here, whether it's in the building of fiberglass runabouts or the maintenance of large yachts, is recognized as superior by every cognizant boater in the Bahamas and South Florida. The island is quiet, with little commercial development. The beaches are long and deserted. And Miss Lola's cinnamon buns are to die for.

Homes are spread across the narrow island, as well as a thin spit of land guarding the harbour known as Dickies Cay, but Man-O-War has escaped major development. A few shops, a couple of grocery stores, a hardware store and a smattering of marinas and boatyards constitute Man-O-War's business - along with a couple of bakeries run by locals like Miss Lola.

Great Guana Cay

For a long time, because of its size and potential, they called this seven-mile-long island "the sleeping giant." Today the giant has awakened as new businesses in the settlement of Guana Harbour, along with the sale of many residential lots and home construction, have spurred the local economy. Strangely, it was not hotels and tourism that created interest and subsequently awakened the giant, but a beach bar. Hordes began arriving for Sunday pig roasts at Nippers Beach Bar and Grill soon after it opened overlooking Guana's spectacular beach, and there's been no discernible let-up. Responding to new demand and some threatened competition, Albury's Ferry inaugurated service several times daily from Marsh Harbour, as opposed to once a week on Fridays.

Orchid Bay, a marina and beachfront community south of the settlement, features many subdivided hillside lots, but home construction is still in its infancy. Most new homes have been built just north of the settlement on individual lots, and all of Guana's contractors are backed up with business waiting. Still, the biggest news on the once-sleeping giant is the sudden awakening of the big island's northern end at Baker's Bay. Here, on 550 acres of remote and wild sea-to-sea property, Discovery Land Company plans hundreds of new homes, a golf course and large marina over the next decade.

Green Turtle Cay

The village of New Plymouth, established by early loyalists, sits on a spit of land which partially surrounds a somewhat shallow harbour. It's a storybook place where hard-working generations have tried their hand at everything from shipping pineapples and turtles to shark fishing and lobstering. The latter remains as a viable enterprise, but most of the island's 600 or so permanent residents are today involved in tourism and construction. The cay has two resorts, the Green Turtle Club and Bluff House, both on White Sound opposite the village, and there are probably 150 houses and cottages for rent. Green Turtle has some of the best beaches and liveliest annual events, such as Junkanoo on New Year's Day, and the Island Roots Festival each May, which celebrates Green Turtle's historical connection with Key West, Florida.

Schooner captains once dismantled their houses in New Plymouth and reassembled them in that once isolated but wealthy city in Florida, and there are many similarities between homes in both places today. One developer here is planning a waterfront community called Leeward Yacht Club, which will feature homes fashioned after early Key West designs. But other foreign investors are also busy buying up property and building new homes with their own individual touch.