Big Treasures in Little Harbour

A quick three hour sail down from Clarence Town on Wednesday found us inside the swell-free protected anchorage of Little Harbour, Long Island.

Guiding “Kaleo” in made for an exciting entry into a peaceful place because the inlet was surrounded on both sides by rolling waves crashing over submerged coral heads.

Little Harbour is a large bay with a few beaches dotting the shoreline and an abandoned fishing boat, sunk up to the deck, holding some untold story. The water is a calm turquoise green and the bay’s proximity to the wide open Atlantic is given away only by the sound of crashing waves just over the low hills.

Matt spent most of the following day cleaning marine growth from the bottom of the boat. A fuzzy green “beard” had grown below the waterline and besides being unsightly, it hinders our sailing performance. By late afternoon the hull was muck-free and we were off to explore a beach just a short hike away on the other side of a hill.

Not more than 20 feet onto the beach and our hands were full of sea glass and the pockets on Matt’s shorts rattled like maracas. Sea glass is broken up pieces of glass from bottles thrown into the ocean that have been washed onto the shore. The constant motion of the waves over the sand smooths and polishes the glass into beautiful, almost jewel-like, treasures.

With the sun setting, we stopped by “MG” to make plans for a dedicated day of beachcombing.

Ted and Mili had just returned from dinghy exploring further down the island with the ultimate find – a message in a bottle. A dark green bottle, corked to protect the letter rolled inside, sparked our curiosity about the story it would reveal . Upon popping out the encrusted cork, Mili read a sweet note from a six-year-old girl named Emily, who in 2007, tossed the bottle over during a family cruise to Bermuda. Written on Norwegian Cruise Line stationery were the following words …

“Hi. My name is Emily and I am 6 years old. I am on vacation with my family on a cruise chip called Norwegian Crown. Today is August 17, 2007 and we are going back home to New York. We were in Bermuda. My sister Abby turned 4 on Monday so we celebrated on the ship. If anyone finds this please write to me at my dads job. I hope whoever gets this letter is doing well. – Emily and Abby”

Rolled within the letter, Emily tucked her dad’s business card with an email and mailing address to respond. We imagine she, now almost 11 years old, will be delighted to hear her note was found with such joy. Mili even plans to mail her original note back to her as a keepsake. And we have plans for casting our own message in a bottle soon.

The next morning, with lunches packed and gear loaded, the four of us set out to hike the beaches. Matt and Ted helped look for sea glass and sea beans interspersed with breaks to haul the gear further and further down the beach. The gals didn’t lift their eyes past the sand line for the next three hours as sparkling piece after sparkling piece filled their “treasure chests.”

After lunch, the guys took siestas against whitewashed cliff walls while the treasure hunt continued. Worn out, but with more sea glass, exotic shells, and sea beans in one trip than collected to date, we all returned to the boats. It was the gals turn for siestas while Matt and Ted went out on their own hunt to spearfish for dinner.

They returned with grouper and snapper, which Mili battered and pan fried to compliment the homemade glutten-free pizzas being made aboard Kaleo. Ted and Mili came to our house for the evening to enjoy dinner and a round of Mexican Train.

Little Harbour has been one of our favorite anchorages so far for its calm waters, rugged beaches and peacefulness. Yet, “Kaleo” must move on so plans were then made to sail for Dollar Harbour in the morning as a staging spot for our sail to the Jumentos.

N 22° 58.58 / W 74° 51.15