Lochabarbeque: A sweet spot on Long Island

The center of Long Island has a small settlement called Clarence Town, named after someone by the name of Clarence, evidently, nobody seems to know. The official record says that 350 people live in Clarence Town, but it seems more like about 100 to me. This is where the mail boat arrives, and that alone makes it a popular spot. There is a marina here, but we like to anchor; the view is better, the breeze is better, and it is free, definitely better! There are a couple of really cool churches in Clarence Town, sitting proudly atop a hill, overlooking the water and the sinners below. Better not go fishing on Sunday morning, everyone in town will spot you out there! Just around the corner is a place called Lochabar. It sounds like a Scottish Lake, but it is actually a large saltwater bay, just south of the Clarence Town harbor, and it is a beautiful place. Our friends here on the island, are caretakers of sorts, for a place called Lochabar Lodge. Talk about location, this place rocks. There is room to anchor your sailboat, or powerboat, right in the bay, just one hundred feet from the lodge. The lodge itself, has three 'apartments', two downstairs and the main lodge upstairs. It is a bit rustic, this is not a Sandals resort, but it is absolutely private, totally pristine, and undeniably Bahamas original. The bay is only thirty feet deep, and shallow enough to snorkel around the edge, or just cool off for a bit in the the blue water.

We took advantage of this awesome location, and totally killed it with the best meal ever possible on this planet, don't even think of trying to do better than this because you will end up failing big time, and the shame might just be too much, causing permanent psychological damage, or even worse. It started with a long walk, swim, and tour of some of the bay, and it was, of course, perfect weather. Steady breeze, sunny skies, and 84 degrees is about perfect any way you add it up. Then, we cooked up a charcoal grill feast. Ribeye steaks, Lobster on the grill, and fresh Swordfish steaks on the grill too! Add to this, homemade bread, homemade macaroni and cheese, Secret Recipe Bahamian coleslaw, homemade potato salad and crab rice. Crab rice is a a brown rice that is prepared with local crab, all handmade from land crab caught in the yard. These crabs are fattened up on coconut, rice and corn, and then into the pot they go, too bad for them, good for us! This all was washed down with ice cold Kalik beers and there you go, the best meal ever on Earth. No need for dessert, because that would mean you would have to save room... Uh-Uh. Well, this was an eleven, not a ten, and if you ever saw the movie "This is Spinal Tap" you would understand. If not, it's a pretty funny movie.

This baby Conch was returned to the water, maybe a future conch salad or a cracked conch wanna-be. The area was really cool, and an unbelievable location, totally private and secluded, but only a five minute drive from the busy metropolis called Clarence Town. The lodge is available for rent, daily, weekly, whatever-ly. Drop me a line, and I will hook you up, you won't regret it! Check out this quick video of a group of fish, here in Lochabar. They are seeking refuge in what is left of a fish pen! Think of the irony here, all fish ever wanted to do was to get out of this pen! These guys are trying to stay in the thing!