Bakers Bay Golf & Ocean Club

New photographs, taken only a few days ago, reveal the extent of devastation by Bakers Bay Club. As early as 2005, my travel photography blog was predicting that the footprint of the Bakers Bay development would be massive. Although the photos below, taken only a few days ago, show a globally important marine area completely transformed by a megadevelopment, you should know that the construction process at Bakers Bay is still in its early phases. Only a handful of the buildings are complete. When Bakers Bay is complete, the only natural area remaining will be the Joe's Creek area, most clearly visible in the 3rd image, lower right.

Compare these photos to the promises of the EIA, which stated, "The 'open space' in the development will help residents appreciate the natural vegetations communities now present on the islands. The diverse coastal coppice and wetlands will be incorporated into the development and golf course design to preserve the unique landforms of the property. This landscaping will rely heavily on native plants and seed stock, with an aggressive program to protect and re-locate the slow-growing native trees. The developers seek to achieve a uniquely Bahamian project.

This image reveals just how close the marina is to the coral reef. You can see reef structures in this image.

I just received this image of Great Guana Cay taken at 24,000 feet. It is the best image yet explaining the unbelievable hubris of Discovery Land Company and the University of Miami scientists who, in their EIA for the development, wrote, "The Developers believe that good environmental stewardship will add value to the community, as well as protect property from storm damage and erosion. The Project is compatible with the
pattern of development of second homes and vacation homes throughout the cays and mainland of Abaco."

For those of you who are not that familiar with Great Guana Cay's development issue, let me explain a few things. The orientation of this image is not exactly north to south. You can visit my Guana Cay map to compare.

In the upper edge of this photo is the Atlantic Ocean. Hugging the Atlantic side of the ocean is the Guana Cay coral reef, which is part of the Abaco Barrier Reef. The swollen end of the island is where you can see a golf course and home lots being constructed. This area is where the Guana Cay coral reef is its most magnificent, and may be the best or second best reef - in terms of sheer diversity, coral sizes and overall reef size, that exists in the Abacos.

The rest of the denuded areas are the rest of Bakers Bay Club; more home lots and the marina itself. This marina was dug from porous limestone. Pollutants from the marina will have a quick path to the reef.

The sedimentation, nutrient, pollutant and silting issues being created by this development are very clear by the scope and size of land removal occuring at a fast pace. It is in the interest of global conservation and the preservation of reef ecosystems to have construction at Bakers Bay halted as soon as possible. Today is Day 2 in the Privy Council court. Godspeed, reef defenders.

Vanity Fair writer Punch Hutton erred in a November 2008 Vanity Fair article when he did a write-up touting the Bakers Bay Golf megadevelopment. He erroneously called Guana Cay's reef the third largest in the world. This was not a typo. The idea that the Abaco barrier reef is the world's third largest is a colloquial misbelief that gets passed around among tourists in the Northern Bahamas. How did this misnomer get passed on to Punch Hutton? Probably from the marketing material that was sent to him by the Bakers Bay Club. The marketing folks at the Bakers Bay Club are notorious for passing on fibs and mistruths to editors in an effort to make their golf megadevelopment sound better. I have also written to Southern Boating (see article here) and Links Magazine (see article here) correcting errors that were likely directly passed on from marketing material to press.

Why are travel sections of magazines so prone to errors?

Why do consumers of travel journalism let travel writers get away with so much? In an age when so many developing country issues and so many environmental issues are directly tied to tourism, travel writers need to be held to a higher standard.

I am grateful to Vanity Fair for not only printing my letter to the editor, but for doing such a great job in fact-checking my own letter. The letters department graciously allowed me to prove all my claims by citing and allowing experts to explain my claims. But Vanity Fair left out the most important part - the fact that writer Punch Hutton made such a large editorial error. That's fine with me - letters' sections notoriously need to edit letters down in size. So I'll make the correction here:

Punch Hutton falsely claimed that Bakers Bay Golf & Ocean Club sits on the third largest reef in the world. This is far from the truth. Here are some that are much bigger: The Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia is the largest in the world. The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest in the world. The New Caledonia Barrier Reef is almost a thousand miles long. And the Andros Barrier Reef, in the Southern Bahamas, is considered the third largest reef in the world.

That doesn't take away from the Abaco barrier reef. It is quite large, and of extreme importance to the future of West Indies marine conservation. It is also stunningly beautiful. This reef's apex of diversity is off the edge of the tiny island of Great Guana Cay. Specifically, just off the shore from the Bakers Bay Golf & Ocean Club golf course.

Oh, you want to read my letter to the editor? Pick up January 2009 Vanity Fair.