Great Harbour Cay: Difference between revisions

The island was substantially damaged by [[Hurricane Andrew]] in 1992 but has fully recovered since. The Hurricane made landfall twice while moving through the Bahamas, crossing Eleuthera with 160  mph (260  km/h) winds and passing through the Berry Islands with sustained winds of 150  mph (240  km/h).

 

Great Harbour Cay underwent a period in intense and successful development in the late 1960s when famous persons such as Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks, Brigitte Bardot, {{Citation needed|date=May 2007}},The Rat Pack vacationed there along with Telly Savalas who had his own landing pad (Kojak) for his helicopter, F. Lee Bailey frequented with his helicopter & spent early morning at the beach hut enjoying a cup of coffee, Francis Shields was rumored to live on the island though never seen even after development slowed and then stopped in the late 1970s. Attempts were made in the late 1970s into the early 1980s to revitalize Great Harbour Cay; but these were overshadowed by drug and weapons traffic in 1983, resident 79-85 source (Book: Drugs, Law Enforcement And Foreign Policy - Report by the Committee on Foreign Relations, US Senate), and the island has been quiet since. The recently elected Bahamian government has made an effort to revive the tourism industry, especially on the outer islands, and great progress and interest has been rekindled in the smaller islands.

Combined with the 9-hole golf course designed by Joe Lee and constructed by [[Jack Nicklaus#Off-the-course career|Golf Force]], the full-service marina, and other island attractions of fishing and diving, the island looks set for a surge in development.

Sugar Beach Hotel, a frequent haunt of the rich and famous, is now deserted. In the late 1970s, the Sugar Beach Hotel was operational as an entertainment facility for cruise ships. Dinghies would bring passengers ashore to listen to a band and dance.{{fact|date=February 2019}}

 

Access from Great Harbour Cay to Bullocks Harbour was over a manual crank bridge: Bullocks Harbour & Great Harbour are separated by an ocean inlet and tall cliffs. In the late 1970s, there was one building that served as a health facility, post office, and operator-assisted telephone. Across the street, there was an old home converted into a schoolhouse. There was one grocery store with live chickens and two bars known as the Chicken Coop & The Grave Yard. Resident 79-85 source