WINDWARD POINT - Abaco Journal April 1998

April 1998 Table of Contents - Current Issue of The Abaco Journal - Abaco Bahamas' Home Page

A WINDWARD POINT OF VIEW
by Keats Whitcraft

Emotion versus Science. Man versus Nature. Opposition. Conflict. It is
with us all of our lives. We accept it, each in our own way, occasionally
becoming excited as we take one side or the other, voicing approval,
disapproval, or even trying to "stay fair" and "see the other fellows
point of view". So when an event occurs that truly effects our lives in a
seriously detrimental and upsetting way we grumble to our neighbours
and assume, hope, that the Powers That Be will, at the very least,
look into the matter.

To understand the Event which awoke and angered me you must
go back five or six years and see in your mind's eye a point of land
at the end of a three mile beach. Windward Point meandered out
into the Sea of Abaco, no harsh angles, land and sea easing one
into the other, small reefs and tiny beaches
exposed at low tide, miniature tide pools filled with fish nurseries, ghost
crabs and marine mysteries you'd have to look up in a reference book. Of
course, Nature being what it is, wind and waves periodically scourged the
Point sending casuarinas crashing down onto the shore and creating new
undulating shorelines. And, Nature doing what it does, these collapsed, in
time, changed into exquisite silver-gray driftwood, silhouetted sculptures
against the azures and delicate pastels of a unique place that changed
slightly each year as Nature re-arranged it according to its plan. We
took our children and grandchildren there, picnicked, found treasures,
gazed across the water to Guana Cay and always, always realised how
fortunate we were to have access to this glorious spot. A dream.

Over the years the island coconut telegraph has put forth various rumours,
reports, gossip, and even occasionally "facts". Sandals Resorts is going
to buy the Point they're putting a restaurant there. Not great news
but, oh well, I thought, from an engineering aspect, they'll have to set
the building well back from the shore. Yes, they'll do some landscaping
but, surely they will preserve the integrity, the essence of the site. To
destroy the natural beauty would be to remove the reason for putting a
restaurant there in the first place. Complacency. I'm sure that there
were numerous other reasons flying about to which I was not privy. I am
also sure that nobody really paid much attention. Common sense dictated
that Windward Point was not an economically intelligent place to try to
"develop". Man versus Nature, and Man seldom, if ever, wins in the long
run. To build houses, apartments, anything, there would like waving a red
flag at a bull. Any potential buyer would realise that quickly enough.
Hurricanes consistently hurl large amounts of the sea across the face of
Windward Point. During Hurricane Bertha in 1996, the entire point was
under turbulent water reaching as far inland as the road. So, I thought, the
Point is safe. Real estate entrepreneurs are intelligent aren't they?

Time passes. I hear a snippet of information from what I believe to be a
reliable source. Under Bahamian environmental law one cannot erect a
retaining wall on a point of land without a specific permit. In addition,
the Bahamian government was becoming increasingly stricter regarding
these permits. Good news indeed. And since it wasn't even remotely
possible to attempt to build anything on the Point without the visual
encouragement of a retaining wall, however ineffectual it would obviously
be, I felt considerably reassured. I'd get on my bike and pedal up to the
Point on almost every decent day, fairly confident that the Powers That
Be were protecting the well-being and beauty of Windward Point. And after
all, the Prime Minister himself is from Abaco. He must know how lovely
the Point is. The Point had its own guardian angel.

But this tale does not have a happy ending. There are no winners. Man and
Nature, both lost. There were no legal protectors, no guardian angel. It
seemed that almost overnight the Point was ravaged, a great steel scythe
swept it clean of every growing thing and constricting bands of cement
and wire mesh bound the once gentle shore line. The small struggling
reefs and tidepools died in the overflow of cement dust. Decimated.
Everything was gone.

Were the permits properly applied for? If so, how could the supposedly
protective laws have so disastrously failed to do what they were designed
for? I believe that when the destruction first began, some concerned
people did inquire as to the status of permits and were informed that
yes, the permits had been issued. Were they ever posted, for all to see?
Did we rely solely on being told that all was above board, strictly on
the up and up? There seemed to be an element of speed and furtiveness
that questioned the existence of any permits. Or is it a matter of "who
you know" and how expensive a lawyer one can afford to plead your case?
Did anyone from Nassau in any environmental capacity ever come over to
look at Windward Point? If not, why not?

We as residents of Treasure Cay, Bahamians and tourists alike, have lost.
It would certainly appear that the developer has lost financially as it
does not seem that the naked, vulnerable, "very desirable" lots are in
any great demand at all. A beautiful view counts for very little when the
flooding of your house is a periodic certainty. The sea is already eating
away at the mighty retaining walls. They won't retain much for very long.
Nature has lost, hopefully only temporarily. Waves still thunder and
winds still blow. Caveat emptor.

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