Ruins Cove

         We’ve been in Ruins Cove for almost a week now, long enough for me to contemplate the visible ruins of a cement plant that was briefly operational and a marina that never was built.   The Bahamian cays are littered with many projects that were begun and then abandoned.  It seemed to me that naming this cove after them was unusual.  Similarly, the sunken sailboat marked by a buoy that we’ve explored several times is also too new and not that unusual to earn this area a name. 

The wreck is covered with growth and has been stripped of nearly everything usable - including the teak handrails that Dan and Joe salvaged the last time we were here.  What remains is a winch that stubbornly won’t be budged, an anchor so wrapped in its own chain that it not liftable without a crane, and what appears to be either a large canvas bag or covering bunched up in one of the cockpit holes.  Fish have made this boat their haven.  When you swim around it, you can see them hovering over the galley stove and moving from one compartment to another.  There are three very large Atlantic Spade fish that live underneath as well.  

I did some sleuthing about Ruins Cove on the internet today and found another blog with pictures of the actual ruins up in the dense woodsy hills.  Back in the late 1700s a loyalist named Sir William Walker built a small plantation here on Crab Cay, trying to capitalize on the thriving cotton trade.  The remains of several stone walls, pillars, and at least one fireplace stands as testament to one man’s conception of living in paradise.  Centuries later there was an aborted attempt by Sedona Resorts to build a resort marina and gated community, accessible via a private stone bridge from the main island; the bridge still stands and pilings and cement building blocks decorate the waterfront, but the homes and marina were never built.  It appears the cement plant was built to help build this resort.  When the project was abandoned in 2009, the cement plant was no longer needed.  

We did not even think to go ashore to look for really old ruins.  It’s on our list for the next time we are here.  Tomorrow (Sat Feb 25) we have our weather window for heading down to the Ragged Islands.  

part of the Walker plantation - photo from Russ & Lori of s/v Ortolan