Experience List 2015

First off, from my family to yours, a very happy New Year. The last few days of twenty-fourteen and the first of twenty-fifteen were spent as hoped: reflecting. When asked about my resolutions for the new year I nervously laughed as I fished for an answer. Ultimately my line came up short and was quite reflective of my mindset: I wish for this year to be about being present instead of living for what’s to come.

Mapped out below is the course of my travels in the new year. Unlisted, however, is my resolve to get my grammar and punctuation under control. For I am forever driving my better half to distraction and I’m worried he’ll soon threaten to charge me his industry rate, an overhead I would rather avoid.

My only other is to find balance, in all things, as several new exciting projects and collaborations are on the horizon. And much like the desire to learn scuba diving and go cliff jumping, these too will place me squarely outside of my comfort zone: the place where I’ve always felt that life begins and adventure awaits.

How might you embrace adventure this year?

HARBOUR ISLAND
Sleep under swaying palms at the Ocean View Club
Recently renovated by Ben Simmons and his leading lady, Charlotte, this boho-chic getaway features one-of-a-kind design details that are sure to catch the watchful eyes of travel editors in 2015. From one unique moment to the next, the itinerary will be filled with nights dreamt under palm treed canopies and moments spent seated at a table laden with some of the best food in the Bahamas.

THE ABACOS
Sip on Southern Hospitality at Firefly Sunset Resort
From the family who serve us the similarly named sweet-tea vodka, Firefly Sunset Resort is a seaside escape complete with seven villas overlooking the Sea of Abaco, a boutique in which I’ll surely discover some coastal covet finds, and a noteworthy restaurant and bar.

THE EXUMAS
Learn to Sail with Out Island Explorers
Long have I wished to learn to sail, and while my first lesson oddly took place along the pacific coastline I intend to learn to navigate with the hand of a far more skillful sailor while exploring the Exumas with the husband and wife team behind the #1 Experience in the Bahamas – according to CNN and Lonely Planet.

Stay at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club
Gone are the days when the yacht club was “home” to the crew who filmed the Bond classics’ Thunderball and Never Say Never Again but still the marina-hugging resort hasn’t adopted the wildly inflated prices usually associated with faraway island travel. A welcome surprise considering the 3,000 foot airstrip sees its fair share of private aircrafts and the resort recently expanded to include a bevy of seaside bungalows.

ANDROS
Scuba Dive the World’s Third Largest Barrier Reef
Long have I also wished to learn to scuba dive. No more ideal a spot than the island which is home to the world’s third largest barrier reef. Enrolled with Kamalame Cay’s PADI-rated dive centre I will confidently descend waters with 100-foot-visibility.

ELEUTHERA
Ride along the Beach with Ocean View Farms
A favourite childhood pastime of mine, I will revisit the joy of horseback riding while gliding along the pink sand beaches of Eleuthera.

LONG ISLAND
Jump in to Dean’s Blue Hole
Host to the annual Vertical Blue competition, and the training grounds for free-diver and 15 time world-record holder William Trubridge, I will muster the coverage and take a giant leap in to the world’s largest inland blue hole in the new year.

P.S. 14 Anticipated Experiences of 2014
P.P.S. Lead photograph compliment of Dede Brown Photography