Bahamas Archives - Richard M. Langworth

Long Island — Eleuthera Long Riders, 2009: John Birtzen, Cecil McCardy Jr., Arrington McCardy, Richard Langworth

Clicking Into High: Arrington McCardy 1947-2011

5 September 2023

Self-trained, he had unorthodox techniques. On a steep hill, the standard tactic is to shift up two cogs and stand up, adding your body weight to the downstroke, using your arms to wiggle the bike from side to side to help the upstroke. We never saw Arrington stand. Instead he would hunker down in the saddle and simply power his way over the hill. And he always left us in the dust. I was hoping to watch this technique in the White Mountains when he and Hazel were to visit us in New Hampshire.

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Long Island, Bahamas by Bicycle: A Trip to Remember

5 August 2023

Lying 100 miles southeast of Eleuthera, Long Island is 80 miles long and has roughly the same area. But it is flatter and relatively empty. There are only twelve people per square mile compared to Eleuthera's year-round seventy. The inhabitants are welcoming, but a team of cyclists tackling their 73-mile-long Queen’s Highway is not something they see every day.

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Escape from Paradise: One Couple’s Experience, Bahamas, March 2020

25 July 2020

Eleuthera, Bahamas, March 20th

Friends said, “If you expect to leave The Bahamas, do it now.” We thought it best. (I failed at retirement and needed my library in New Hampshire in my work for Hillsdale College in Michigan.) Accordingly, we changed our flights to Nassau and Boston from our usual April departure to March 25th.

Jet Blue was in chaos. In my first online chat session they said the change would cost $472. It’s always a good idea to disconnect and try another chat link. The second time it was “no charge”! We always use “Even More Space” (premium economy, early boarding), and those seats were wide open.…

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Recognizing Cuba

18 December 2014

“I was, I think, the first in this House to suggest, in November 1949, recognition of the Chinese Communists….I thought that it would be a good thing to have diplomatic representation. But if you recognise anyone it does not necessarily mean that you like him. We all, for instance, recognise the Rt Hon Gentleman, the Member for Ebbw Vale.”* —Winston S. Churchill, 1 July 1952.

On President Obama’s December 17th announcement restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba, a colleague writes: “Finally we’ll have access to truly great healthcare.”

Funny. Actually top tier Cuban healthcare is mainly for party members. There is a tiered system.…

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Exuma: Jewels in the Sea (2)

8 February 2013

Continued from Part 1…

Once reached, the gemstone islets of Exuma invite you to meander at a deliberate pace in placid, gin-clear waters. There were sailboats and cruising lots galore along the islets, and you can see why. Sailing from one to another, dropping anchor by whim or fancy, is an experience that will wash the world away.

Every islet is different and has its own attractions. At Warderick Wells Cay is the Exuma Cays National Land and Sea Park—a good first stop after crossing over from Eleuthera. A marine fishery and native plant preserve, it occupies 176 acres.…

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Bahamas Fishing Haul, Spanish Wells

30 March 2011

My friend Bruno Underwood called March 18th to ask if we were up to fish—his only opportunity to take us out since he’s working round the clock. We have been enjoying fishing charters with Bruno for five years. On March 19th he and his dad, Baron, met us at Gene’s Bay, north Eleuthera, at 9 and off we went to their favorite spots, plotted by GPS. We were in from 12 to 25 feet with 25 lb.-test spinning tackle and cut bait (goggle-eyes).

For the first half hour, only nibbles; Baron said these were yellowtail stealing our bait, but ”they’ll soon be full and will move on for the big boys.”…

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Long Island Revisited, 2010: Much Yet to See

15 February 2010

Long Island is a visual delight, so back we came in 2010. Overall we logged 125 miles, slowing down from last year's pace, with more time to take in the sights. Still we didn’t do all we wanted to do, like exploring the causeway and outer banks road on the eastern side.

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Eleuthera Byways: The Queen’s Baths

3 March 2009

PoOn the Queen’s Highway a few miles north of Gregory Town, about 300 yards before the Glass Window bridge, pull off the road across from a sandy track leading up the hill toward the Atlantic on your right. You can’t miss it: the Ministry of Tourism has recently erected a marker. You’ve arrived at the Queen’s Baths.

Walk up toward the Atlantic as the bush thins out and the sand takes over. Soon the sand thins and you’re walking on bare coral. Watch your step to avoid the uneven surface and pockmarked holes. As you approach the ocean, work your way to the left (north), keeping Harbour Island on the horizon ahead of you.…

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Eleuthera Byways: Edwin’s Fishlake

3 March 2009

First published in The Eleutheran, September 2008; Edwin’s Turtle Lake Marine Preserve, with a fine new dock and the bottle shack restored in December 2014.

Edwin’s of old

Three miles south of Governor’s Harbour, on the right side at the S-bends as the road plunges toward Palmetto Point, is a large saltwater lake. Passersby who stop to investigate will find the remains of a curious shed built of mortar and beer bottles, the amber, green and clear glass sorted by colour, bottoms facing out. A few yards away, obscured by bush and weathered by the years, was a wooden sign whose words were just legible:

Edwin’s Fishing Lake

Established March 10th 1954

The First Fishlake of the Bahamas

Over 20,000 fish of 32 varieties have

been placed in this lake.…

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