Water Cay, an Ecotourist and Bonefishing Destination.  Thanks to Jeff Morasco for the narrative and pictures.

I recently was invited to spend a day fishing at a new bonefish lodge in the Bahamas at Water Cay. I would like to describe this area, as it is relatively unusual. Water Cay is on the north side of Grand Bahama Island, and is only accessible by boat.

I only allowed a day, but in retrospect, spending the night would have made sense. It is about an hours drive from downtown Freeport to the launching ramp. It is east along the Grand Bahama highway, then north on a pitted non-paved road with most of the time of the trip on the latter. From there it is about a 15-minute boat ride to Water Cay. As you approach you can see the lodge with a large dock and a smaller dock farther east.

There was no electricity until the spring of 2002, so most of the lodge was built by hand or with electricity from generators. The dock was built the same way, as were all of the houses. There are only twelve families living on the island. The population swells to maybe 100 on the weekend when people come back from working in Freeport or wherever.

There are no beaches, no casinos, no straw market, no movies, no crowds, no cars, and no stores. I'm not sure about TV. It is called Water Cay because fresh water is easily available from wells, which are mostly hand dug, of course. It used to be an agricultural center and is much different than Grand Bahama in that the soil is rich and thick. There are large numbers of plants and birds of all types, some native and some planted either by humans or birds.

The lodge is the dream of Iram Lewis who planned, built, and is the manager. He is a native of Water Cay, an architect and an Olympic class runner. Needless to say, he is an extremely intelligent and motivated individual, and it was his invitation that made my visit possible because the lodge hadn't officially opened. I asked him about costs and the prices hadn't even been set.

I spent about an hour fishing with Ishmael who has guided for the Riding Point lodge and often took people to Water Cay for a day of fishing. We stopped back to the lodge for lunch and a quick tour of the facilities from Iram. Lunch was classic island food: peas and rice, fish, and chicken with fruit for desert. They have a well stocked bar. I went fishing for another couple hours in the afternoon. We spotted several bones in the 5 or 6 pound range and I caught two of their smaller cousins on a very high tide with `over' flooded flats. I think I saw 4 turtles in those few hours of fishing including a Hawksbill.

There are six rooms with baths at the lodge. They appear modern and well constructed. Each has an air conditioner. The dining room is all there is for entertainment. It is the only bar and the only restaurant. There are only a couple of appropriate flats boats presently available but there will have to be more when they get into full operation. (3 more are on order and are probably there by now.)

In addition to fishing Iram tells me that he wants to attract EcoTourists and that he presently has people touring out to Water Cay for nature walks. He plans on providing guides for tours and bird watching for non-bone fishermen. There are dive and snorkel areas on adjacent cays for anyone so inclined.

I later contacted Kayak Nature Tours and took the kayak trip to Water Cay with Ricky, a very well informed and attentive guide. Although I was told that it was a two-hour kayak experience I didn't realize that meant two hours in each direction! Needless to say my old bones were pretty tired by the time we got back. With my wife steering the boat in a less than straight line, we made less than good time. Somehow we and our marriage have survived. We had two other couples with us; all had the same complaints and we all are glad we did it.  Would we recommend it? It is not for everyone. You must be in good shape and willing to work at it, but it was doable for us and we really enjoyed the nature hike and lunch.

Unfortunately with a one-hour bus ride, two-hour kayak, and one-hour lunch there is only one hour for Ricky to describe the vegetation growing before you have to turn around and head back. There is enough there, that you couldn't see it all in a day. If you are a bird watcher, you might want to stay a week and after you are with Ricky for an hour, he will have you wanting to become a bird watcher.