Walker's Cay

Geography

Walker's Cay lies 53 miles to the northeast of West End, Grand Bahama and 105 miles northeast of Jupiter, Florida, in the northern Bahamas. Its surface is only about 100 acres. The island sits on the edge of the Little Bahama Bank, the bank containing shallow, blue-colored water, averaging about 10 feet in depth. However, on the north side of Walker's Cay, the water drops off sharply into deep blue ocean depths. The closest island is Grand Cay.

History

A lack of natural fresh water kept the island uninhabited.

Walker's Cay was named after Thomas Walker, a British judge sent to the island to deal with piracy in the early 1700s.

After his death in 1721, the island remained uninhabited for over two hundred years.

Development as sport fishing location

In 1935, Buzz Shonnard, a businessman from Palm Beach, Florida, leased the land from the Bahamian government and built a small hotel, attracting anglers and tourists to the island. A 75-slip marina was built, and an airstrip, Walker's Cay Airport, with a 2500 foot runway suitable for light aircraft.

Shonnard's 99-year lease began an era in which Walker's Cay was a well-known sport fishing location. One of Walker's Cay's seasonal residents was American businessman Robert Abplanalp, the inventor of the modern-day aerosol valve for spray cans. Abplanalp bought the lease on the island in 1968 and continued to develop it as a sport fishing destination, not neglecting to pay attention to the conservation of marine life; he began encouraging tag-and-release fishing in the early 1970s. Walker's Cay was particularly known as a location for billfishing, with huge Atlantic blue marlin caught in the area; angling for bonefish was also popular there.

During World War II, Walker's Cay was used by the U.S. Navy as an advanced base for maritime patrol seaplanes from Scouting Squadron 39. The seaplane tender USS Christiana was based there to support the aircraft.

Various celebrities became regular visitors of Walker's Cay, including U.S. President Richard Nixon, actress Jane Fonda, singer Roger Daltrey and athletes like Davey Johnson and Roger Staubach.

The Walker's Cay marine area was declared a national park, Walker's Cay National Park, in 2002.

Destruction in 2004 hurricanes

Abplanalp died in 2003, and the following year the island's fortunes were dealt a further blow, when two severe hurricanes, Frances and Jeanne, destroyed the hotel and severely damaged the marina.

Redevelopment

In April 2018, Walker's Cay was sold to Texas businessman and philanthropist Carl Allen, who announced redevelopment efforts. By spring 2019, Allen was engaged in talks with Bahamian authorities on permitting plans. The island hosted sportfishing tournaments annually starting in 2021.

References

References

1. (18 April 2023). "Close To 50 Sportfishing Boats Set To Compete For Big Prize Money At The 2023 Walker’s Cay Blue Marlin Invitational". Forbes.
2. (29 May 2019). "Walker’s Cay on the Rebound". Marlin Mag.
3. (July 26, 1992). "There's nothing to do on the island of Walker's Cay but fish, dive and relax". The Baltimore Sun.
4. (June 5, 1992). "It Begins With A Cay". Sun Sentinel.
5. J. Linton Rigg, ''Bahama Islands: A Boatman's Guide to the Land and Water'' ([[Charles Scribner's Sons]], 1973.
6. Sam White, [https://www.marlinmag.com/walkers-cay-bahamas-marlin-fishing/ Walker's Cay on the Rebound: An update on this northern Bahamas hot spot], ''Marlin'' (May 28, 2019).
7. "VS-39 - War History". U.S. Navy.
8. "COMSCORON 39 - War Diary, 6/1-30/43". U.S. Navy.
9. (June 2002). "Walkers Cay marine park". Currents: Newsletter of the Bahamas National Trust.
10. (20 Aug 2014). "US Billionaire In Walker’S Cay Talks". Ellington.
11. Fusco, Mark. (20 Nov 2014). "Bahamas Hopes To Sell Walker’s Cay To U.S. Billionaire". Cruz Bay Publishing.
12. "Walker’s Cay: An Island Reborn". Garden&Gun.
13. (22 May 2018). "Walker's Cay sold, earmarked for development". The Nassau Guardian.