In the 1940’s Arthur Vining Davis (who ran Alcoa and later Arvida) acquired about 20,000 acres in south Eleuthera to develop resorts. He built the Rock Sound Club (Lynnie and I stayed there….world class fabulous…..now defunct). He built a home on Winding Bay for his secretary, which later became the Winding Bay Club (also fabulous, now defunct).
Before it converted into the Club the secretary had a problem for her boss. To the south of Winding Bay is the magnificent Half Sound (itself subject of future blogs). She loved to boat. The problem was that to get from Winding Bay over to Half Sound she had to go outside Winding Bay and navigate the reefs to get into Half Sound. Well Davis solved the problem by blasting through the Rock and creating The Cut, which allowed her to boat right from Winding Bay into Half Sound. Great boss or greater secretary?
Well, years later people who travelled to South Eleuthera (including us, when the kids were little) would enjoy the Cut. Floating in and out with the Tides, diving in and out and boating through just as the secretary did years earlier. The fishermen loved it, as did the community.
Well, over time, the Cut filled in with sand and Hurricane Floyd in ‘97 really closed it up. All who remembered the Cut missed it terribly. We built our home in ‘92. The Homeowners debated dredging it open but some panicked over the cost and others over whether it was feasible from and engineering point of view. A home was built near the Cut and we all thought that the issue was dead and the Cut a memory.
Well, guess what, folks? New people bought that home near the Cut and have had different mindset. They have engineered and executed a reopening!!!! It’s fabulous and a dream come true. Everyone who comes to Eleuthera should spend a day enjoying Winding Bay and boating or kayaking through the Cut to Half Sound. Miracles do happen!
I can’t wait to give Miss A her first trip through the Cut with Mom and Dad!
