Elbow Cay 1136001 188339246 2008-02-01T07:59:07Z Jason Quinn 48734 /* External links */ fixed the link I added... should have tested '''Elbow Cay''' is a six-mile long [[cay]] in the [[Abaco Islands|Abaco]] Islands of the [[Bahamas]]. Originally populated by British loyalists fleeing the newly independent [[United States of America]] in 1785, it has survived on fishing, boat building, and salvage. Its main village of [[Hope Town]] surrounds a protected harbor with a noted red and white striped 120ft (36m) lighthouse built in 1863. [[Image:Hopetown-lighthouse.jpg|250px|right|Hopetown Lighthouse]] ==Geography== Elbow Cay is located about 4 miles East of [[Marsh Harbour]] on [[Great Abaco Island]]. Most visitors fly into Marsh Harbour and take the ferry to either Hope Town at the Northern end of Elbow Cay or White Sound, a mid-island harbour and settlement developed in 1960. At the Southern end of the island is Tahiti Beach near Doros Cove. The [[Atlantic Ocean]] runs along the entire Eastern coast of Elbow Cay while the South Abaco Sound is on the Western Coast. Elbow Cay is between [[Man-O-War Cay]] to the North and [[Tiloo Cay]] to the South. [[Lubbers Quarters Cay]] is West of the Southern End of Elbow Cay. ==History== Although visited by [[Lucayan]] Indians earlier, the first known permanent residents arrived in 1785 in what was known as Great Harbour. Wyannie Malone, originally from [[Charleston, South Carolina]] and other British Loyalists left the [[United States]] for the nearest British territory in the Bahamas. Elbow Cay and the Abacos were very isolated until the [[Marsh Harbour Airport]] was built in 1959. Before that, the residents survived by fishing, limited trading, and salvage of ships wrecked on Elbow Reef. Since then, contact with the outside world has brought in additional residents and tourism. Hopetown originally served as the administrative centre of the Abacos, until it switched over to Marsh Harbour in the 1960's<ref name="abacojournal">[http://www.abacojournal.com/Story.html History of the Abacos]</ref> ==Today== Hopetown is the largest settlement which contains several grocery stores including [[Vernons Grocery]] run by a descendent of Wyannie Malone<ref name="happy">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2002/01/21/ethope.xml "Happy to be Elbowed Out of the Way", James Owen, Telegraph.co.uk, January 21, 2002]</ref>, rental properties and restaurants. The [[Hopetown Harbour Lodge]] is the largest hotel on the island at the south part of Hopetown. Cars and golf carts can drive up to, but not through Hopetown. Further south, there are more residences and rental properties spread out along the roads to the narrow part of the island near White Sound. The [[Abaco Inn]] and [[Seaspray, Elbow Cay|Seaspray]] properties offer rooms and restaurants. At the Southern end of the island is Tahiti Beach with a beautiful sand beach and nearby snorkelling in Tiloo Cut, the inlet separating Elbow Cay from Tiloo Cay. There is telephone service, but most residents depend on the VHF radios to communicate.<ref name="quietperch">[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06E2DA1E31F931A15757C0A9679C8B63&sec=travel&spon=&pagewanted=1 "Quiet Perch in a Scattering of Islands", Amy Harmon, New York Times, April 22, 2001]</ref> ==Hurricane Floyd== Elbow Cay suffered significant damage in 1999 from [[Hurricane Floyd]]. It nearly cut a new inlet near White Sound. The road remains damaged to this day. ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.hopetownmuseum.com/ Hope Town Museum] {{geolinks-US-hoodscale|26.526817|-76.968120}} *[http://www.hopetownlodge.com/ Hopetown Harbour Lodge] [[Category:Landforms of the Bahamas]]