Normans Cay – A Drug Lord's Private Isle May 8, 2006

Normans Cay – A Drug Lord's Private Isle     May 8, 2006

Sailed to Norman’s Cay, eight miles to the south.  Feeling of deja vous here as I flew into the small airstrip in my Cessna 182 Webba a few years ago and spent the night at McDuff’s, a two-cottage resort just off the runway.  I think the small but beautiful resort was named after the dog belonging to the former owners, whose names I forget. They were characters!  Lots of fun to schmooze (and booze) with. He kept a Bonanza in a rusted hangar.  I hear they now have a biz in Belize.

I also anchored my trimaran off the beach here on my ill-fated trip to The Saints.

The jailed drug lord Carlos Lehder owned much of the island back two decades ago. (Google him for videos of the island.) At that time we sailors knew we had to give the island a wide berth as it was rumoured that its beaches were patrolled with men with machine guns.  Probably true!

 As I had done before on the flying trip, we walked about Lehder’s “estate”, exploring its several concrete buildings, docks, and the airstrip.

Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Talked to Stefan, 40, whose grandparents once owned Norman’s Cay.  He was educated in Canada.  Now caretaking MacDuff’s which may open in a month.  Two men bought it.  They and associates hope to buy Lehder's property from the government but Stefan said Lehder was very sharp property-wise  with bizantine property deeding, etc.  While the land has been tied up for 10 years, Stefan believes it will be another 10 before property rightgs are finally settled.  I wonder...

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Today in three dinghies we journeyed north on Norman’s.   With Mike and Brenda of Scarlet and Vernon and Pat of Dancing Dolphin, we left the beach on the west side and went east to cross the “harbor” and then head north on the Exuma Sound side just inside a few barrier islands.  We were searching for the “pond” we knew was inside the island.  We finally found the entrance to it which was very shoal and narrow.  It opened to reveal a beautiful, virtually land-locked lake a mile or two long and a half wide, with depths as  much as 15 feet.  We lunched on a small beach and then returned near the entrance channel.  We stopped 100 yards short to haul the boats onto a sand bar/island which was fast disappearing as the tide came in.  And was it coming in!  We swam and dove like kids in the very warm water that was coming in across sun-warmed flats and rushing through our private channel/jacuzi.  We found two Gemini catamarans and a few power boats on moorings, with a road cut from the island's shore through a high coral ridge to the lake.  One house was visible situated facing the lake, and a couple of roofs of others on the ocean could be seen.

 Steve and Sara McCoy keep their boat up at Highborne but would love to buy property and build here.  Perhaps they are not on a fool's errand and know more than Stefan.