A BAHAMIAN HOME ON A 5- ACRE ISLAND

One year, while scuba diving in the Abacos, My Dad met a dive guide named Dave Gale, who invited him to see “his private island” which was a 5-acre island near the beautiful and gracious little settlement of Hope Town on the tip of Elbow Cay in the Abacos. Meeting Dave, learning about his life, and experiencing his special home, gave us many profoundly special experiences in the Caribbean for which we are so grateful.

It was fortunate to know Dave and his remarkable story: In the 1950s Dave took his bride Phoebe from their upstate New York home to Florida and on to the Bahamas for their honeymoon. He was also a boat lover, who was chasing his dream south. On that first trip, he turned to Phoebe, and told her he didn’t want to go back. And so, they never did. Instead, they created a life of their own choosing there in the Abacos. They worked a variety of jobs, sleeping in “snore boxes” and making their way by living off the land, until ultimately they bought their little 5-acre island, off the tip of Elbow Cay, called Parrot Cay, from the Queen of England in 1957. Dave was the son of an accomplished Architect, and over time he used his inherited skills to improve his “snore box” into a clever, lovely, strong, well built home designed to withstand hurricanes. There they raised two sons and started a boat rental business named Island Marine in 1961. It is still in operation by his son Jeff, today. Over the years they built three more homes including their incredible and beloved “Open House” where they settled for many decades. It was adorned with art, much of it by Dave’s mother, including a sculpture of him called, “David Gazes Seaward.”

Once the Open House was built they began renting the two cottages, and guiding scuba divers, for added income. In discovering these cottages for rent, my dad discovered a real treasure. Along with the cottage, the reasonable rental of a cottage included the use of an Island Marine boat to tour the area, find snorkeling spots, buy fish from the local fisherman, and enjoy the sunsets after a home cooked meal. A real off the grid vacation that provided a taste of life like the locals lived.

I always felt so fortunate to get a glimpse of the Gale’s special life there and we returned many times, perhaps six times or so, as teens, young adults, with our kids…I loved walking the well cared for tropical paths from one cottage to another, often visiting the Gales to share a birthday cake or a story from the day.

One of the last times we were there our second son was the age of their grandson Joey, (11) also being raised there as their son Jeff returned after college in Florida to help run the business. Our sons pitched a tent, raced hermit crabs, raced his little sailboats, and we listened to him play his grandfather’s piano. He learned by watching YouTube videos in the Open House a few hundred yards from his own family cottage. Joey left for College in the fall of 2019.

Just after he left, on September 1, 2019 - Hurricane Dorian, a category V storm unlike anything they had ever experienced before, viciously ripped through the Abacos and destroyed Parrot Cay, which had beautifully withstood hurricanes for decades prior. Fortunately Dave and Phoebe were able to escape to Nassau, but Dave passed away in 2021, and The Cottages and the Open House and all of their precious contents were lost - they no longer exist.

It still devastates me to think of the loss the Gales suffered in the twilight of their life. But I am comforted that they were able to so successfully thrive in this staggeringly beautiful and special home they built themselves from nothing but a raw and beautiful paradise, for over sixty years.