Pink Sunsets & Top Line Fisherman's Dream Home at Idyllic Old Bahama Bay

Are you drawn to the sea, yet still want the utmost comfort and amenities when you’re docked in home port? This 6,216 square foot oceanfront home with 100 feet of dockage and easy access to the abundantly clear waters of the northern Bahamas reels in all your dreams. In the exclusive community of Old Bahama Bay, this 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath relaxed estate encompasses all the top features: easy entertaining with spacious deck and large poolside patio bar with outdoor grilling kitchen, a bright indoor modern kitchen with granite countertops, deluxe appliances, wine refrigerator, ice maker, walk-in closets, Great Room, office/library, crew quarters, and polished wooden floors and high ceilings throughout the two-story all-concrete block weather-strong walls. Overlooking the blue bliss of Grand Bahama Island ’s West End, this fully-landscaped gem is conveniently located near Old Bahama Bay’s full-service marina, and holds some of the best waterfront sunset views around—as well as first-light ocean views from its thoughtfully-detailed master suite. A true catch.

To see more photos and info on Listing 5853, click here, or contact Coldwell Banker/James Sarles Realty at 242-351-9081, #9 Regent Centre, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island.

Grand Bahama's Art Nucleus Launches New Series of Art Talks: Introduction to Inspiration with Artist Susan Moir Mackay

by Paula Boyd Farrington

ART NUCLEUS—a new community-minded creative studio gathering place in Grand Bahama—begins a series of ARTiculate TALKS this Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 8 p.m. at L’Utopia, located at Les Fountains on East Sunrise Highway in Grand Bahama.

Introduction to Inspiration: One Degree to Brilliance is the theme of the first talk and will be presented by contemporary artist Susan Moir Mackay—a BA (Hons) graduate of the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland—who will speak about what it takes to follow the creative process from brainstorming to finished project, with an open discussion of ways to foster and enhance personal creativity and artistic vision.

The public is invited, with no charge to ART NUCLEUS community members, and a small $5 donation requested from non-members, which will be used to support ongoing art events, projects, sculptures, and this new open welcoming space for Grand Bahama artists to practice their art, and interact with other artists.

For more information on ART NUCLEUS, their events and membership options, click here.

STOMP your feet, Grand Bahama—Here Comes The Street Beats Group Show

The Street Beats Group from New York City will be drumming and dancing on Grand Bahama one night only, Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 8 p.m. at The Regency Theatre

The Grand Bahama Performing Arts Society will introduce Grand Bahama to a team of vibrant professional young performers—The Street Beats Group—whose high energy shows of urban movement, percussion, hip hop, break dancing, drumming on everyday objects (such as five gallon plastic buckets, household brooms, trash cans, and even computer keyboards), are reminiscent of the popular off-Broadway show, STOMP.

Dazzling audiences with their unique beats and rhythms, The Street Beats Group will perform one-show only on Saturday night, October 1st at 8 p.m., and will also be conducting two student workshops on the morning of Saturday, October 1st at 10 a.m.

"The Street Beats Group's interactive workshops are great for beginners and advanced students. The fundamentals we teach will inspire and give a great new perspective on how you can make music by being creative with everyday objects," explained Zoilo Ruiz, the president of The Street Beats Group.

Individuals wishing to participate in either of the workshops are asked to call Gloria McGlone, a G.B.P.A.S committee member, at 242-373-2887 for workshop details. Special discounts are available for workshop and concert combos.

"Street Beats" promises to be an energetic and colourful finale to the Grand Bahama Performing Arts Society's third season and could not be possible without the continued support of Grand Bahama Performing Arts Society members and sponsors, who extend special thanks to Thayer's Natural Remedies, Pelican Bay Hotel, American Airlines /American Eagle, The Bahamas Weekly, and Keen i Media for their sponsorship.

For a small island, Grand Bahama is lucky to have big-time talent visiting our beautiful little part of the world. To get your tickets before they sell out, or for other information about The Grand Bahama Performing Arts Society, click here.

Dive In Bar & Grill at UNEXSO Makes A Splash With Great New Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner Menu

UNEXSO's Dive In Bar & Grill just introduced a fresh new menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner fare at their bright poolside cafe overlooking the Underwater Explorer Society's dive docks and Dolphin Experience® excursions to Sanctuary Bay. Casual contemporary salads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, seafood, appetizers, and daily specials are hits with the lunch and dinner crowd. And the island is always excited to find a fast and friendly new waterfront place for breakfast—and one with a kids' menu and Happy Hour nibbles available too. If you want to check it out, there's a copy of the full menu available here, or check their FB page for news. Congrats to new Head Chef, Shanin Weber, on a refreshing new menu, and to everyone who raises the level of delicious dining selections and service here on the island. 

Out of The Blue: A September 11th Anniversary Tribute

by Paula Boyd Farrington (via Paula's Paradise blog)

I wrote this poem in the weeks following the tragedy of September 11th. My heart wanted to wrap everyone in the healing waters here in The Bahamas—the starfish I saw was such a stark contrast to the horrific devastation, such a reminder of how amazing life can be when we’re not terrorizing one other. The poem originally appeared in Grand Bahama Island Magazine—a welcome digest my husband and I published for many years. I post it here with prayers and remembrance on this 10th anniversary of September 11th, and blessings of natural wonder and grace and hope.

Out of The Blue

The waters of The Bahamas

shine so clear and blue

reflecting a kind of peace

that is eternal and renewed

Catching sight of a simple starfish

resting of the sand beneath the waves

there’s wonder and a sense God put it there

as a natural tribute, just for you

For everyone who lost their lives

and those who labor still

to heal and defend

the freedoms we all hold very dear

Where do we go for comfort

to find the strength within

to fight the good fight without fear

to find the peace again?

We lift our eyes up heavenward

and then look here on earth

for reminders of a paradise unlost

where hope can be rebirthed

… and under the liquid surface

of waters that sparkle true blue

we gaze upon a simple starfish

and find the courage to love and live anew.

— Paula Boyd Farrington

Island Bliss: Five Glimpses Into The Good Life on Grand Bahama Island

celebrating simple island moments and pausing to notice and give thanks for our abundance of tropical wonders and natural life ...

© Photo by Christine Matthäi

© Photo by Christine Matthäi

© Photo by Christine Matthäi


© Photo by Paula Boyd Farrington

© Photo by Christine Matthäi

Gratitude After The Hurricane

God's Pool before the storm (c) Photo Christine Matthäi

by Grand Bahama author Marina Gottlieb Sarles  (8.28.2011)

Hurricane Irene has come and gone. I am happy to report that we sustained little damage here on Grand Bahama. Our cottage in Abaco was also unscathed even though the winds pounded that island. So, I am sitting in deep gratitude this Sunday morning, drinking my home-brewed coffee frothed with warm organic milk - a delicious luxury that comes with the gift of electricity. After two days of unbearable heat (90 degrees inside the house), the air around me is finally cool thanks to a fabulous, functioning air-conditioner. I feel blessed, really I do.

As Irene swept her way across the Bahamas and I listened to all the reports of approaching doom, my thoughts ran to my parents and grandparents, to the characters in my novel The Last Daughter of Prussia and what they must have felt during World War 2. At least with a hurricane you know it's coming and when it has thrashed you about, it will leave. Furthermore, however disastrous it may be, a hurricane is still an act of nature and it has a good reason for being – namely to clear the earth of excess heat. But war lasts for years and bombs can fall at any time. Moreover, war is created by the minds of men who consciously and systematically plan the decimation of whole groups of people, cities, countries.

I thought about evacuation. In hurricanes people often have to leave their homes, make choices as to what they'll take with them. Valuables. Documents. Photographs. What a process - this choosing of most cherished objects, this deciding on the order of value – a revelation I think in letting go and also knowing what is really needed and revered. I wondered what my grandparents took with them when they evacuated their home in East Prussia. I know of a few things because I have them : a piece of amber, a small bronze fish sculpted by my grandmother, a photograph of their home. However, their reason for leaving was not brought on by a natural storm. Instead, they faced the thundering guns of the invading Russian Army.

As Irene stirred up the air around me I felt like she was also stirring up humanity's consciousness, her winds trying to break the bonds of ignorant thinking, the dangerous idea that we are all separate – beliefs that ultimately cause wars.


With everyone from the southern Bahamas along the eastern coast of the United States worried about their well-being, I wondered if perhaps we could simply care – just for a moment – about each other.  I thought if we could all do that even for a minute or an hour, what a clean-swept, shiny, energized world this would be.

On a Grand Bahama Island windswept beach ... Marina & James Sarles (c) Photo Christine Matthäi

Marina Gottlieb Sarles is the author of Sand In My Shoes: A Collection of Island Stories, and a soon-to-be-released new novel, The Last Daughter of Prussia, which she blogs about here. Marina is married to James Sarles, President of Coldwell Banker/James Sarles Realty in Grand Bahama—the beautiful island where they make their home, together with their son, Nikolai.