Long Island

Long Island runs a hundred and thirty kilometres north to south, crossed near its middle by the Tropic of Cancer, and it has the most varied landscape of any Bahamian island: high limestone bluffs and Atlantic cliffs on the east side, shallow banks and quiet coves on the west, caves inland and salt flats at the south end. Dean's Blue Hole near Clarence Town drops over two hundred metres away from a shallow beach lagoon - the third deepest blue hole known, after Taam Ja' in Mexico and the Dragon Hole in the South China Sea - and it hosts the world's leading free-diving competition. Clarence Town has two churches built by the same priest-architect, one Catholic and one Anglican, on facing hills.

History

Some writers, among them Samuel Eliot Morison, identify Long Island with Fernandina, the third island Columbus visited in 1492, called Yuma by the Lucayans, while others place Fernandina elsewhere; ceremonial seats called duhos show that the Lucayans lived here, probably in the island's caves. After the Lucayans were taken as slaves to Hispaniola and Cuba there was no large settlement until the Simms family came in 1720, Loyalists from New England and New Jersey started cattle and sheep farms after the American Revolution, and settlers from the Carolinas set up cotton plantations in the 1790s, which mostly collapsed before the abolition of slavery in 1834 and survive as overgrown ruins (Wikipedia, Long Island, Bahamas).

The landscape

• Dean's Blue Hole - over two hundred metres deep, a few metres from shore.
• The Clarence Town churches - twin-towered rivals on facing hills.
• Columbus Point - the cliffs and monument at the northern tip.
• Cape Santa Maria - a long pale beach on the northwest shore.

When to go

December to May is the dry season. The free-diving competition at Dean's Blue Hole is usually in spring. Summer is hot with the hurricane season from June to November. Flights connect through Nassau and are limited, so plan around the schedule.

Things to know

There is very little infrastructure: a handful of small hotels, few restaurants, and shops with limited stock. A hire car is essential and fuel stations are far apart. Dean's Blue Hole has no facilities, no lifeguard and drops from waist-deep to two hundred metres within a few strides, which is genuinely dangerous for casual swimmers. Flights are infrequent and cancellations strand people.

Nearby

Conception Island is offshore; Exuma is a short flight northwest.

Key facts