Archive for the ‘Single Engine Aircraft’ Category

A Friend “Drops In” on Dann Lewis

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

From Eleuthera, Bahamas: One sunny Saturday shortly after lunch, I decided to catch up on some paperwork in the Current Club office rather than go sailing. I was expecting a good friend from the States to arrive in his private plane that day, so was monitoring our air-to-ground radio while trying to balance the checkbook and ignore the squeals of laughter coming from guests languishing on the beach outside my office window. Several passing aircraft called in to see if we had rooms for them later in the week on their return from Exuma, and finally I heard my buddy calling in to say he was en route from Nassau to the North Eleuthera airstrip, and would make a low pass in front of the Current Club on his way in.

A few minutes later he called in again and I noticed a distinct change in his voice – “Uh, Dann, I’m having a bit of a problem — my engine is acting up and I’m not sure I can make it to the airport!” “Where are you?” I asked, while waving at our Dock-master who had just come in the door. “I’m about ten miles south of the Club, just off Current Island,” he replied. “I’m going to have to ditch – I’ll try for the shallow sand bar in front of the Clubhouse in about five minutes,” his voice faltering. “We’ll be standing by in the Boston Whaler,” I said. “Good luck”.

“Billy, get the Whaler started, I’ll be out in a minute.” Knowing my old friend well, I though he’d be able to accomplish a successful ditching with the landing gear up in his single-engine plane, but my heart rate was climbing and I knew his must be too! I stopped at the bar and grabbed a tumbler of his favorite beverage, Wild Turkey Bourbon, and ran out to meet Billy in our Whaler.

The sea was flat calm, and as we headed down the channel to round the sandbar, we saw the plane gliding towards us. The engine sputtered to a dead stop and after a perfect splash down, we came up behind the left wing as the plane slowed to a stop and slowly began to settle. The door popped open and my friend climbed onto the wing, shoes in one hand and briefcase in the other. He stepped into the Whaler, feet hardly wet, and gratefully sipped on his Wild Turkey as we backed off and watched the plane sink to the bottom in eight feet of crystal clear water.

I looked at my buddy with admiration and commented “I knew you said you’d drop in this weekend, but I had no idea you’d be in such a hurry to get here…”

Believe it or not, that plane was hauled out of the water, pulled up next to the Current Club bar, re-built much to the pleasure and amazement of my guests, and eventually towed to the airport where it flew away!

By: Dann Lewis, May 23, 2008

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Posted in Bahamas, Current Club, Dann H. Lewis, Dann Lewis, Eleuthera, Nassau, Out Islands, Pilot, Single Engine Aircraft | No Comments »

Time Machine to Eleuthera, Bahamas

Sunday, September 16th, 2007

Our Time Machine has us one hour east of the South Florida coast at 7,500 feet, traveling at almost 200 m.p.h. when the island of Eleuthera rose up from the sea. I throttled back and pushed the nose of the single engine aircraft into a gentle descent. The windshield of the Bellanca gradually filled with a view of the lush green island rimmed with it’s famous pink sands and wearing necklaces of white, then pale green and finally, dark blue water.

This is the way to arrive in the Out Islands of the Bahamas, in a time machine that lets you overfly the clink of the dice and the noisy crowds of Nassau and Freeport, and land at the quiet, serene island of Eleuthera which, like most Out Islands is still dominated by sea, sun and yester-year; an ambience of warmth and contentment that has long since disappeared from most spots on this earth.

The Out Islands are for people who know how to enjoy doing nothing. Take the Current Club. It is hard by the village of Current on the northern tip of Eleuthera. People who travel the Out Islands say the Current Club typifies the better of the small resorts. One reason is that it is owned by Dann H. Lewis, assistant director of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.

His manager, Peter Smith greets guests warmly. Doors to the cottages are never locked. The cottages are nestled in a grove of Casuarina trees and surrounded by coconut palms, sea grapes and hibiscus bushes.

Days usually begin with a bounteous breakfast followed by a dip along a three mile stretch of sandy shores that is perfect for skinny-dipping, and is only five minutes away by fast golf-cart. Two side-trips that should be musts for guests at the Current Club are Spanish Wells and Harbour Island. Both of these trips are close enought to get you back to Current Club for the al fresco lunch served on the patio a few feet from the edge of the ocean. Meals here are above average and are certainly “Bahamian fare” - such as lobster or grouper.

So if you’re a bum at heart, or want to learn how to become an expert at doing nothing, the Current Club is for you. And, if you are a qualified pilot (as is the multi-faceted Dann Lewis) you can leap Georgia and Florida in a single bound and touch down in paradise. The owner of Current Club, Dann Lewis, is now running the Ministry of Tourism for all the Bahamas Islands, and is embroiled in starting a new airline that will serve Eleuthera and other Out Islands from Nassau and Freeport.

from: Atlanta Magazine, August 1972

The next chapter in Dann’s remarkable career will be the birth of Bahamasair, the national flag carrier of the Bahamas.

Posted in Bahamas, Current Club, Dann Lewis, Eleuthera, Flying, Freeport, Harbour Island, Nassau, Out Islands, Pilot, Single Engine Aircraft, Spanish Wells | No Comments »