Monthly Archives: August 2017

As one might expect of a Bahamian tropical paradise, Blue Island abounds with powdery beaches and romantic coves, mango and banana trees, and miles of trails for hiking and biking. At the heart of this 700-acre idyllthe largest private island in the Bahamasa gleaming white six-bedroom residence rises from a hilltop that reaches 90 feet above the sea.

But Blue Island (formerly known as both Innocence Island and Hog Cay) owes its allure to more than its serenity and size. Blue is the only private island in the Bahamas with its own jet port, said property manager Steve Donovan as our planea Cessna Citationtouched down lightly on the 5,700-foot-long landing strip and taxied to the far end of the runway. The air field is built to accommodate planes up to the size of a business jet.

Perhaps even more appealing is the fact that visitors to Blue, which is located among the many private islands in the exclusive Exumas chain, can clear customs right on the landing strip. Indeed, waiting to welcome us to the Bahamas was a customs and immigration official who stood by a second, smaller plane at the air field. Such a seamless journey is a rarity for a private island. Your trip to other private islands may begin in a Falcon or G2, Donovan said, but to get where youre going you have to transfer to a boat or ferry.

The conveniences of a jet-accommodating air field and customs capabilities put many of the worlds potential private-island owners within easy reach. We are just three hours from New York, five hours from Los Angeles, or eleven hours from Moscow, Donovan said. It makes Blue both the most exclusive and the most accessible private island in the Bahamas.

What sets Blue apart, however, isnt just whats there, but what isnttourists. There is virtually no place you can go that has not been discovered or developed and turned into a mass-market destination, Donovan said. The only place to escape the tourists and paparazzi is a private island, where the ocean becomes a kind of moat.

Thus the appeal of the Exumas for Johnny Depp, David Copperfield, Bernard Arnault, and the Aga Khan. They are all fabulously rich, and they all own lavish hideaways in the Exumas. But no matter how wealthy they are, theres one thing we have today that nobody else has.

To be sure, Depp might be a celebrated movie star, but he cant do with his private island what Donovan and I were doingflying to Blue Island for lunch and returning to Palm Beach in time for afternoon cocktails. It was the kind of experience some might say money cant buy. Except that now it can because Bluebeaches, docks, main house, observation towers, iguanas, air field, and allis for sale for $125 million.

This isnt like real estate anywhere else in the world, Donovan said. You cant compare comps, or even features and acreage, because this isnt like any other place on Earth. Its an event, a moment, an emotion, and bragging rights. Its not just the biggest private island in the Bahamas, its also the most expensive.

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The Only Private Island in the Bahamas Where You Can Land Your Private Jet - Robb Report

Gallery: Big Charger from the Bahamas learning to play football

Keano Roberts remembers as a youth watching NFL games on Sundays with his father, Antonio. They found the game to be fascinating, as many fathers and sons do.

But most of those who love watching American football live in the United States. The Roberts clan discovered the game while living in the Bahamas.

Keano is now a 6-foot-5 1/2, 280-pound sophomore at Chattanooga Christian and is playing on a football team for the first time. He and his Chargers teammates play Howard tonight in what will be Keano's first home game.

Urged on by his family which includes his mother, Nicara, and younger sister, Breanna Keano came to the United States for education opportunities. In addition to CCS, he applied to schools in Arizona and North Carolina.

CCS accepted him through its "homestay" program for international students, which worked out well for Keano because he has a cousin nearby attending Southern Adventist University in Collegedale. It also worked out because CCS began a football program in 2009.

"I've always watched football on TV," said Keano, who is in his second year at CCS but in his first on the football team. "Actually, when I came here I started getting into it. I watched it a lot more closely, just being a student of the game."

Keano played basketball in his native Nassau, and he also dabbled some with throwing the shot put and discus. He played basketball as a freshman on the Chargers' junior varsity, but that was about 40 pounds ago.

Starting with spring practice, he has been a football player. Coach Mark Mariakis has looked at him on both sides of the line and said the offensive side seems to be more his comfort zone.

Keano got a little playing time late in last week's loss at McCallie. However, there are concepts about the game he still must grasp before he can progress to the point of pushing for a starting position.

"It's tough for that big body to stay low," Mariakis said. "You have to understand leverage and how to get into people's hips. But from where he was in May, when he touched a football helmet for the first time, he's come a long way."

All the CCS football players were put through a gut check over the summer when the coaches had some qualified instructors come in and put them through some rigorous Navy SEAL-type testing. That was something Keano said he is proud to have made it through.

"Nobody quit," Keano said. "That was the good thing about it."

He also spent part of his summer back home in Nassau, where his father is dealing with a kidney ailment. He's in need of a transplant and is currently on dialysis and must be tested to see if he can be a transplant recipient.

Keano, who had a 3.37 grade point average in his first year at CCS, said the situation has made him even more focused on academics so he can begin pursuing a professional career. He tries to remain upbeat under the difficult circumstance.

"He's a fun kid," Mariakis said. "He smiles all the time. And with his accent, it's hard to get mad at him."

Keano said he plans to play basketball again at CCS this winter, but he thinks there may soon come a time when he has to choose between that and football. He said being part of a football team, even for this short amount of time, already has taught him more about himself than anything else he was tried.

"This is one of the most encouraging teams I've ever been a part of," Keano said. "They encourage me and have made me better each and every day."

And given his frame, Keano may find that football could eventually lead to the educational opportunity he seeks.

"With three years in the weight room, the kid could be a monster," Mariakis said. "One of the most exciting things we get to see as coaches in this game is when a young kid develops. I know one thing: He's not going to be limited by his stature."

Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.

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Big Charger from the Bahamas learning to play football - Chattanooga Times Free Press

The odds dropped Tuesday that a storm near the Bahamaswill strengthen severely as forecasters continue to see its potential track moving away from a South Carolina landfall.

The storm could skirt the state's coast by the weekend as a weak tropical storm, bringing rain and some gusts, officials said.

National Hurricane Center specialist Eric Blake gave a 30 percent chance the storm would turn into a tropical system. The center's forecast track would move it north off Florida.

"Regardless of development, very heavy rain and flooding is possible over portions of the Florida peninsula during the next few days," Blake said.

In the warm Gulf Stream waters off Florida, cyclones historically have churned up quickly from slow drifting storms to threaten the South Carolina coast. But weather moving across the country is expected to push this storm out to sea.

Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters said the storm on Tuesday wasn't producing a lot of thunderstorms a signature of an emerging tropical system. He concurred it was more likely turn into a cyclone, if it does at all, as it moves away from Florida and the Southeast coast over the weekend.

Reach Bo Petersen Reporter at Facebook, @bopete on Twitter or 1-843-937-5744.

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Threat to South Carolina from storm near the Bahamas eases - Charleston Post Courier

When it comes to foreign trips and the WAC, Grand Canyons shortened-trip to Spain will, rightfully, get the most attention. Fortunately the Lopes and their traveling party were safe after the terrorist attack in Barcelona.

But they werent the only league team to head overseas. Chicago State spent five days in the Bahamas playing three exhibition games against local teams. Tracy Dildy talked about the benefits of playing older players in the Caribbean earlier in the summer.

Results against the competition on these trips should always be taken with a grain of salt. But hey, weve got actual box scores, so lets see what we can glean about the 2017-18 Cougars.

This one doesnt come as a surprise.

Last season, Sims shot 36.4 percent of CSUs shots while he was on the floor, the fifth-highest percentage in the country. That figure shouldnt change much in 2017-18, as the junior took 58 shots over the three games in the Bahamas. He shot just 37.9 percent, but that number is skewed by a 4-for-22 outing in the finale.

With all the shots come what Sims is best at: scoring. He averaged 20.3 PPG on the trip and it would not at all be surprising to see him sitting on a number like that at the end of the season. The WAC has some strong contenders for the scoring title in 2017-18, like Damiyne Durham and Nick Dixon. Sims should be right in that conversation.

Dildy talked up two of his redshirt players in an interview with Mid-Major Madness in June.

Our best two players last year were two kids sitting out, Jelani Pruitt and Travon Bell. Everyday at practice, talking about confidence and skill level it wasnt close that those two were the best two players on the team, he said.

Pruitt didnt make the trip, but Bell did, and showed a little of why Dildy is excited to have him available. The Chicago Public School standout averaged 15.0 points per game in relatively limited minutes (19.0 MPG). He also may have given a glimpse into what his role will be: three-point gunner.

The redshirt freshman hoisted 28 threes over the three games, knocking down 13 of them for a sterling 46.4 percent. After a rough opener (1-6 3FG) he went 8-for-12 from deep against the NPBA All-Stars. Again, the level of competition needs to be considered, but CSU sorely needs three-point shooting. As a team the Cougars shot just 30.4 percent last season, one of the lowest marks in the country.

JuCo transfer Anthony Harris may have an early track to big minutes. Dildy heaped praise on the 65 junior and teased his important role in a release earlier this summer.

Anthony is a guy that really takes a lot of pride on the defensive end. His ability to guard multiple positions is going to be really huge for us. I already told him during the recruiting process that whoever we play, you're going to guard their leading scorer and he welcomes that challenge.

The numbers from the trip suggest Harrus will indeed be a cog in the Cougars rotation. He played 102 minutes over the three games (34.0 MPG), second only to Sims, the incumbent star. The presumptive defensive stopper pitched in all over the place, averaging 15.3 points, 5.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. And while averages can get a bit wonky on these trips, he did also swipe 13 steals.

Thanks to CSU Sports Information Director Corey Miggins for sharing aggregate stats from the trip.

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What we learned from Chicago State's trip to the Bahamas - Mid-Major Madness

A rain storm lurking off the Bahamas could become a tropical cyclone this week with the potential to land along the Southeast coast.

The National Hurricane Center gave the storm a 40 percent chance of turning into at least a tropical depression a weak tropical storm, within five days as it drifts across the Bahamian islands toward Florida.

The Hurricane Center put its potential track anywhere from the Florida Straits below Miami, to out to sea off Bermuda.

In the warm Gulf Stream waters, cyclones historically have churned up quickly from slow drifting storms to threaten the South Carolina coast.

Weather patterns that would steer the storm have become tricky to read. If the storm begins to drift up the Florida coast, it could bring at least heavy rain and maybe gusty winds to South Carolina in the days ahead, said meteorologist Shea Gibson, of WeatherFlow, a Charleston-based company.

However, weather moving across the country should push it out to sea Thursday or Friday, said Gibson and meteorologist Bob Henson, of Weather Underground.

The storm is the second of three in the ocean Monday. Ahead of it, the remnants of Tropical Storm Harvey were approaching the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico with a good chance of re-emerging as a tropical storm. Behind it, a third storm was forecast to stay out to sea.

Reach Bo Petersen Reporter at Facebook, @bopete on Twitter or 1-843-937-5744.

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A rain storm lurking off the Bahamas could strengthen and impact South Carolina - Charleston Post Courier

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#Bahamas, August 24, 2017 Nassau Sir Franklyn and Lady Sharon Wilson are the latest Bahamians to make an investment in the endowed scholarship program at the University of The Bahamas. President of UB, Dr. Rodney Smith announced that the Wilsons have given $35,000 and are the Royal Donor to the Presidents Gala Soiree, which is schedule for November 11, 2017.

Representative for the Wilsons, Chakita Archer said, it is important for each of us, regardless of our circumstance, to help build the University of The Bahamas to become what it must become for the full and proper development of the country we love.

Through Sunshine Holdings Ltd and Sharon Wilson& Co, both chairpersons now join the distinguished list of #UB Royal Donors, which is the highest level of sponsorship for the Presidents Gala Soiree and the university informs that there are only two remaining donor packages at this level.

Naturally, President Dr. Smith encouraged corporate Bahamas to come on board; the soiree is billed as an elegant evening of entertainment and celebration and is a grand fundraiser for endowed student scholarships and it commemorates the first anniversary of the charter of UB.

#MagneticMediaNews

Photo credit: BIS

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University of the Bahamas attracts new Royal Donors, a Sir and a Lady - Magnetic Media (press release)

QUALITY Beach Soccer experienced success at all levels in the Bahamas Beach Soccer Super League.

The squad was victorious in both the league and cup competitions, despite only having one World Cup team member in their squad.

They took the final with an 8-3 win over the Bears at the Beach Soccer Stadium at Malcolm Park.

QBS' team included Ehren Hanna (captain), Christopher Davis (co-captain), Alex Thompson, Dwayne Taylor, Matthew Richardson, Jaime Thompson, Cameron Kemp, Kyle Williams and Javier Lamas.

Thompson won the league's MVP award after amassing a total of 32 goals for the season.

Quality Beach Soccer Club was founded in 2013 by Ehren Hanna and Christopher Davis.

Their accomplishments include winning the Swiss Beach Soccer Super League in 2014 with BSC Sable Dancers, as well as dozens of caps for the Bahamas' national beach soccer team.

QBS' youth programme has also produced top talent, including five members of this year's under-18 beach soccer team competing at the Commonwealth Youth Games here in Nassau.

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Quality Beach Soccer Squad Wins League And Cup Competitions In The Bahamas Super League - Bahamas Tribune