August 21, 2008

Dear Sir,

I recently read in the newspaper that an islet on park land off of Tobacco Bay is to be used for one of the holes of the new golf course in St. George's. There is an islet between Coot Pond and Achilles Bay very close to the 15th green and 16th tee of the present golf course. This islet should not be changed from park land to recreation for the sake of a golf course. This islet is in an area of great geological significance where one can see many vertical columns of rock that are obviously the remains of stalactites and stalagmites from collapsed caves. At this location stretching from Tobacco Bay to Fort St. Catherine, the public has fairly easy access to these features. Other areas with these types of features were the Natural Arches (now gone) and Cathedral Rocks in Sandys which the public does not have easy access to. See "A Geography of Bermuda by Watson, Oliver and Foggo Collins 1965" which was once a geography text book and is now out of print.

This area should be left natural with its unique beauty and given St. George's lack of open space. The islet and the land between Tobacco Bay and Fort St. Catherine are already zoned park land, coastal reserve, nature reserve and recreation on the 2008 Bermuda Plan. If anything, the golf course or recreational zone should be pulled back from the rock formations behind the 15th green and 16th tee. Even ten yards would be a relief so that no more of that stretch of shore is destroyed. The nature reserve zoning in the area is the strip of mangroves along the eastern edge of Coot Pond which borders the approach to the 14th green. There should be a similar strip behind the 15th green and 16th tee for the preservation of the rock formations.

This area is also where the balance of nature is at stake. In recent years there has been a fishing ban during the summer months to allow the grunt population to increase. Years ago sea urchins, eels and octopus or "scuttles" thrived in this area. One could not step in the water without looking down to see what was around your feet or legs. This islet was called "Scuttle Island" by boys who swam in the area. The Tobacco Bay "snorkeling paradise" takes in this whole area. People snorkeling would often snorkel from Fort St. Catherine to Tobacco Bay. There are still longtails nesting on the rock and at low tide one can see where parrot fish have been eating off the rocks below the high water line.

I think I have given enough reasons to not have this islet used for a golf course and I hope that a hotel can be built in the area without destroying the beauty of the area.

OTTO TROTT

Hamilton Parish