"Crow's Nest"
is our rental vacation
home in
Little Harbour
Crow's Nest became our
call sign because of the 6-person lookout that is firmly secured to the
peak of our roof. From there, you can oversee the
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Little Harbour Crow's nest Accommodations
What to do Getting there Rates What if...?
Little Harbour is in
the northeastern
In some ways, it
might as well be a few light years away.
Historically, Little Harbour has
always been a perfect harbor of refuge. It is about a quarter of a mile in diameter,
and strategically located just inside the ocean inlet. Yachts of all sizes,
shapes, descriptions and nationalities use it as a landfall or point of
departure. It is locally believed that, eventually, everyone passes
through Little Harbour. The harbour shorefront is encircled by mostly American
and Canadian owned second homes. On the East side of the harbour you'll find
the home of Johnston Studios and their bronze sculpture foundry. The late
Randolph Johnston was one of the first settlers in Little Harbour when he
sailed his family down in the 1950's to concentrate on his art. He, along with
his talented family became renown in many parts of the world. His son Pete has
followed, not quite precisely, in his parent's footsteps and now is
internationally known primarily for his marine sculpting and cast gold jewelry.
Near the foundry you will also find Pete's
Crow's Nest is sited on
a 2-acre cross section of "Tom Curry's Point" which forms the
western arm of Little Harbour. Our point
ends as a limestone cliff that is a nesting preserve for a colony of beautiful
White Tailed Tropicbirds.
On the
At Crow's Nest, your electricity comes from the sun, your water comes from the sky and your food comes from the sea (provided you are a lucky fisherman, of course, otherwise it will come from the grocery stores in Marsh Harbour or Cherokee and lunches, Fish Feasts and Pig Roasts at Pete's Pub).
When
we began to build ,
in the 70's, there were no wells, power lines, telephone lines or roads. The only access was by water and all building
materials had to be sailed down on the deck of our sailboat. Nowadays it's
relatively easy to get to Crow's Nest as you can drive directly from the
Our self-contained
photovoltaic power system includes an inverter to provide 120 volt household
power for any reasonable needs. It is a powerful enough system that we used it
to supply 90% of the energy used to construct Crow's Nest. Please keep in mind
that excessive and indiscriminate use of lights, appliances and especially hair
dryers might 
eventually
overtax the battery bank, especially during overcast weather. Common sense will
insure plenty of renewable solar generated power.
Crow's
Nest is a very carefully crafted timber frame home built from old
growth Douglas Fir and Red Cedar. The gracefully curved
knee braces prompted one construction site visitor to inquire as to the
denomination of the church that we apparently were building. In these photos
taken during building, we have placed the traditional branch at the peak. Our extra care seems to have paid off as
CrowsNest has, so far, shrugged off hurricane wind speeds of up to 185 MPH as
measured by the US Navy when the eye of Hurricane Floyd made landfall at Little
Harbour in 1999. Except for about 6 feet of missing rain gutter and some loss
of gray weathering on our cedar shingles, we were pleasantly surprised to find
Crow's Nest was not bothered by the power of that storm. Our missing dock and
Crow's Nest was designed to accommodate 4 to 6 guests quite comfortably. There are 4 levels to explore. The ground floor houses utility rooms, a garage and workshop and a 20,000 gallon water tank. The primary floor is one floor up and has a wrap around deck, screened porch, kitchen/dinning/living area, shared bathroom and a master bedroom with its own half bath. The upper floor has a second bedroom, an open sleeping loft on the other side of the atrium and a porch that leads to the "top floor" which is, of course, the CrowsNest.
For sleeping, there is a queen sized bed in both the master bedroom and in the open sleeping loft. The second enclosed bedroom on the upper floor contains two twin size beds.
CrowsNest is a non-smoking property
Small secluded
beaches like this are easy to find if you walk a little farther past the
main beaches.
Snorkeling is worth learning at any age. The clear water and nearby reefs are treasures awaiting your exploration. Perhaps you too will find a few cannons or old anchors encrusted in the coral as we have.
Collecting Fresh Seafood for Dinner is one of our 
favorite
ways to spend some time. You can catch fish right off our dock. Unfortunately
the dolphin (Mahi Mahi) shown here were not caught right off our dock, but we
occasionally see 50 lb. Grouper swim by there. You can also try to catch
lobsters living in our breakwater. There are several good coral reefs for
snorkeling within swimming distance of our dock. You could look
for conch in the Bight, go spearfishing off the ocean beaches or hitch a ride
on someone's boat out to the deeper water for some more serious diving and fishing.
It would be a shame to come all the way to the
The anglers here to the
right said that their week in Little Harbour was the best vacation they have
ever had!
If you are an experienced boater, a great way to
visit is to rent a boat in
Walking explorers
could rest at
If you still have energy left there is
still much more to see and do.
Hole in the Wall is
named for the natural bridge shown in this photo and is about 30 miles away at
the South East tip of Abaco. The drive will take you through a national wild
parrot preserve. The parrots tend to fly around and are easier to find closer
to dawn and dusk. The trip rewards you with a beautiful lighthouse and some
fascinating rock formations.
It makes for an adventurous side trip and provides an outstanding picnic spot. You will however, have to bring your own picnic, as you won't find any stores along the way or even at the lighthouse. (Nope, not even a gift shop). Now that the lighthouse is automated, you might not even find any people either, just some whales off shore.
And if you are still not tired...
Our neighbor's tennis court is just a hard serve away from CrowsNest and if you let the owner beat you...he might let you use it
If you are looking for bright city lights, you should have already hit the back button on your browser, cause they ain't here babe. Which is precisely why Little Harbour can show you a nightly view of the stars like you may never have ever seen before (among many other things).
Getting there is
easier than ever
Just find your way to
- Have the same cab bring you down to Little Harbor and Crow's Nest. The less than one-hour ride will cost dearly at about $80, but it is the easiest way. However that will leave you with no further transportation other than your feet. While that seems to be just fine for most people, only you can make that call. You might want to also arrange for a pick up at the end of your stay.
- Have your driver bring you
to your prearranged rental car and drive down yourself. Once you have
loaded up with groceries in Marsh Harbour, head south on the main road
towards Cherokee, back past the airport rotary, for no more than 10 miles
until you see the tiny little sign to Cherokee on your left. By the
way, it is kind of really important to drive on the left (British) side of
the road in the
- Have the taxi driver bring
you to your prearranged rental boat and cruise the 13 miles down Abaco
Sound. The route is relatively protected by the outer islands but it is
completely unmarked and you will need good light and some experience to
"read" the water. It also could be challenging in windy weather.
A word of caution is needed here.
Navigational aids are extremely rare, or non-existent in the
If you do feel qualified to bring a rental boat down, then cast off and follow your "Bahamas Guide" and chart to Little Harbour. We have the first dock on the right as you begin to enter the harbor. Be careful off loading if there is any surge and be extraordinarily careful to securely set an anchor to hold you off the dock before leaving your boat for any length of time.
$1,450.
for the first week of your stay
$1,100.
For additional consecutive weeks
No pets and no smoking please
The
Fine Print
A non-refundable $200 reservation fee will
secure your reserved time period. Sixty days prior to your arrival an
additional $800 security deposit is required along with the full rental amount.
All financial arrangements must be taken care of in full, in the
There
are no public laundry facilities in Little Harbour and local housekeeping help
is not absolutely dependable. To insure your satisfaction we require that you
bring your own linens (queen and single sheets and pillowcases) and towels.
There are dependable Laundromats in both Cherokee and
We are sure that you, and anyone that might follow you, would enjoy being welcomed by a clean home. If, because of lack of time, or successful adaptation of "Bahamas Time", you are unable to clean up before leaving, we will have to arrange for extra services and deduct that cost from your security deposit. Please understand that our remote location, lack of telephones, high cost of living and fluctuating local population makes anything (even light housekeeping) very difficult to reliably provide. Repairs and replacements are even more challenging and expensive. Please enjoy our home but treat it with the same respect and care that you would bestow upon your own home.
Sometimes plans do
change, whether we like it or not.
We will make sure that our home will be ready for you when you arrive. In return, we expect you to guarantee that you, or another guest, will pay for your reserved time. If your plans do change, and you are unable to keep your reservation then you will forfeit your reservation deposit. We will, however, refund your security deposit and rental fee if you give us less than 60 days notice and we are able to successfully rebook CrowsNest for your reserved time period.
You may e-mail us at Crow's Nest@oceansights.com
or
You may call us (
(207) 236-9886
Or write to us at:
Oceansights c/o Sandefur
2 Pleasant
If Bahamian waters
are a little too warm for you, look at Sprucy, our harborfront rental on
Some members of the Little Harbour Fish Police, in clever undercover disguises,
returning from a routine patrol on Sea Fox.
last
revision