Little Whale Cay
| Little Whale Cay | |
|---|---|
| Private Island | |
  Little Whale Cay Lt. Whale | |
| Coordinates: 25°26′54″N 077°45′36″W / 25.44833°N 77.76000°WCoordinates: 25°26′54″N 077°45′36″W / 25.44833°N 77.76000°W | |
| Country | The Bahamas |
| Island chain | Berry Islands |
| Government | |
| • Type | Privately owned |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.15 sq mi (0.4 km2) |
| Population | |
| • Total | up to 25 |
| Website | |
Little Whale Cay is a small private island. Little Whale Cay is located 140 miles (230 km) southeast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the Berry Islands chain of the Bahamas.
History
Little Whale Cay was developed in the 1930s as a private island residence by Wallace Groves,[1] a US businessman with a strong interest in the Bahamas. He sold the island in 1985 to the current owner, Peter Austin, a British Millionaire with connections with the Saudi royal family. Residents and employees during Groves' ownership report that he ran the island in police-state fashion.[2]
The 93-acre (380,000 m2) island is now commercially hired to paying guests.[3]
Facilities
The island is served by the Lt. Whale Cay Airport (ICAO: MYBX) and by a small harbour. Travel to the island is easiest from Nassau or Ft. Lauderdale (mainland USA) either direct to the Cay (in the case of Nassau flights) or via the local customs office on Chubb Cay (In the case of Miami flights). The island has three houses for guests to hire; Little Whale, Peacock and Flamingo. Guests can use facilities including a sea-view infinity pool, fitness centre, tennis court, harbour and boats for fishing, cruising or water sports. The establishment has 8 full-time staff, 2 full-time managers, 2 full-time engineers for the maintenance of the generators and boats, 3 full-time gardeners. When guests are present on the Cay these are supplemented with maids, chef, stewardess and masseuse bringing the staff to 13. In the past scuba instructors have also been made available for guests.[4]
Wildlife
Manatees and green turtles are sometimes present in the waters surrounding the Cay. Birds found at Little Whale Cay include flamingos, Bahamian duck and Bahama woodstar humming birds and domestic peacocks. The origin of many of the birds present on the Cay can be traced back to Wallace Groves' bird collection. In the past many of the houses in the small "downtown" area were bird houses.