My Dad, a land-locked mountain-loving Coloradan, has had a life long love affair with sailboats. He had a small sailboat at home that he loved to race around little mountain lakes, but his true love was to bareboat in the British Virgin Islands or the Bahamas, and he shared this experience with my mom often and my sisters and I when we were teens. Looking back I realize what a fortunate experience it was to see it all in this special way, and in such a pristine, unspoiled, uncrowded state starting in the 1980s.

One year, while scuba diving in the Abacos, Dad met a special 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, as teens, young marrieds, 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 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 the Cottages and the Open House and all of their precious contents were lost - they no longer exist. Dave passed away in 2021,

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 beautiful and special home that they built themselves, from nothing but a raw and beautiful paradise, for over sixty years.

Impressively and thankfully, Dave’s Son Jeff and wife Jenny have returned to Parrot Cay and have spent the last three years rebuilding their home, the docks, the boat basin and the Office, and they still run the business today! They hope to someday rebuild rental cottages. www.islandmarine.com. Thanks to Jeff & Jenny’s love and devotion, Phoebe also still lives on Parrot Cay, 65 staggering years later.

The photos here are mostly from trips there in 2012 and 2013 and are precious to me. I highly recommend Dave’s published 2011 memoir called “Below Another Sky - A Bahama Memoir” His writing voice is like sitting in his Open House and listening to his stories. I honestly hope someone discovers his story and writes a screenplay of his unique life.

This collection of photos also includes some old images of bareboating in the BVIs, and a few other visits to the Caribbean including Columbus Isle to Dive, Derek’s visit to Puerto Rico with lifelong friends and Evan’s unusual opportunity to see Havana, Cuba. We have also enjoyed Jamaica, The Dominican Republic, and Nevis. The Caribbean is graceful, varied and rich in culture. Exploring these special island nations never ever gets old. It is a precious place and we hope it can stay strong and tenderly preserved for future generations.