Dave and Phoebe Gale traveled to the Bahamas as newlyweds in 1954 Rather than left. After nearly 60 years of marriage, the couple has never owned a vehicle, connecting to the external world from their 5-acre island, Parrot Cay, entirely by ship.
In 2011 Dave published a book chronicling their island life, titled Below Another Sky: a Bahama Memoir (Caribe Publishing). Here we provide some descriptions in the book to accompany our own photographs of the home, aptly named the Open House, as well as their original island refuge, Gale-O-Wind, currently a rental cabin. The main home is inspired by the designs of legendary Florida architect Alfred Browning Parker, that are known to be “bathed in moving air,” as Dave writes.
at a Glance
Who lives here: Dave and Phoebe Gale
Location: Parrot Cay, near Great Abaco Island, Bahamas
Size: Main home: 1,500 square feet; two bedrooms, 2 baths; rental cabin: 600 square feet; 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
That is intriguing: The Gales rented their island property for $28 annually by the Queen of England before finally buying it from her in 1965.
Brenda Olde
The Main Home
A carefully manicured sand route lined with conch shells leads the way by the pier into the main home. Dave’s design for the Open House follows Parker’s philosophy, which, he writes, “emphasized horizontal area, openness and projecting roofs that would connect with nature and the tropical surroundings while using the outside and natural breezes.”
The main home was made to adopt the sea breezes and the vibrant hues of the water that surrounds it. “Sixty-five percent of [its] true ‘walls’ are not walls at all, but doorways or windows or louvers into the ground, in 2 buildings linked by decks,” according to Dave. “We have no screens.”
Brenda Olde
While the couple has been on Parrot Cay because 1958, they have lived in the larger Open House only since 1968. They designed and constructed three little cottages on the island.
Brenda Olde
Each corner is adorned with maritime souvenirs and unique art made by Dave’s parents, sculptor Eleanor S. Gale and architect Dermot W. Gale. The painting under the ceiling eaves in the living area is by Dave’s father.
Brenda Olde
The home evolved to some single-floor pavilion wrapped within an advanced method of louvered redwood shutters. The couple designed and constructed the home with 10 large openings, making a total of 24 doorways, five full-length redwood louvered openings and five ordinary awning-type windows. The 29 wood and glass multifold doors provide ventilation and light.
Brenda Olde
The couple designed their home with hurricane security in mind. “Because of the complete destruction of the two largest houses in this section of Abaco through Hurricane Betsy in 1965, Phoebe and I made a decision to construct lower, in 2 little buildings united by decks,” Dave writes.
The living area, dining area and kitchen are under one roof (shown here), along with the bedrooms and bathrooms are under a different. Decks surround the whole home. “This accomplished two of their objectives: smaller, lower roofs and greater cooling air flow in most rooms,” writes Dave.
See Strategies to hurricane proof your house
Brenda Olde
The island home is truly a family affair. Although Dave designed the constructions, he received counsel by his architect father. This sculpture on the front deck, made by his mom, is titled “David Gazes Seaward.”
When Dave designed and constructed the Open House, the couple’s two sons were 8 weeks and two years old. One of their sons returned after graduating from college to run the household boat rental company. He lives in a third cabin on the island along with his loved ones.
Brenda Olde
The open lawn, with hanging fishing floats, provides tranquil sea views.
See how to decorate with fishing floats inside
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The Rental Cottage
The couple built a beachfront shelter in 1958, which evolved into this cabin. Fondly called Gale-O-Wind, it had been their home for their first ten years on Parrot Cay and is now rented out to visitors.
Brenda Olde
Dave and Phoebe slowly built their cabin using leftover materials from a hotel they were helping to build on another nearby island. To start, it was only 1 room, commonly called a snore box.
Brenda Olde
“Phoebe and I designed our cabin when sitting on the site and by climbing a stepladder to observe the view over the trees at various times of the day,” Dave writes, “but its design was completely dictated by the substances that our boss would let us have.”
Brenda Olde
“We could scrape up enough 2-by-4s, siding and tar paper to your 20-by-20 roof, but only enough materials for half that much foundation, walls and floor, so we held up the extra 10 feet of roof with galvanized pipes and made a sandy floor under it,” Dave writes. “We had a toilet nor kitchen, for it was only a place to sleep.”
Brenda Olde
The mailbox is currently the living area of the cabin. Since the couple lived there, the cabin evolved: They added the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom and lovely beachfront patios. Now the impeccably kept home is exactly the same as when it was first constructed. The initial galvanized pipes still hold up a lot of the roof.
When Phoebe and Dave designed the cabin, they cautiously drew plans that called for 6- and 8-foot doors. “The top half of the wide door was pulled by ropes and blocks (pulleys) or simply pushed upward and held there by sticks on each side,” Dave describes. “The bottom half of this door swung open in 2 halves hinging back from the cabin walls. The design was quite practical, for [the doors] were all wood, without a import except hinges. They let the cooling breezes to flow through when available, and when hooked closed became storm shutters.”
Brenda Olde
The open-air kitchen comes with a hibiscus vase that has hung in the exact same place since 1958.
Brenda Olde
The cabin bedroom opens to a patio and gorgeous view.
Brenda Olde
Built-in storage is a practical addition to the relaxing bedroom area.
Brenda Olde
A gum elemi tree planted decades ago still stands on one of the two dining patios.
Brenda Olde
The cottage’s front patio offers front-row seats to the ocean view.
Brenda Olde
Dave and Phoebe pose for a picture out of their cabin.
The Gales have built four houses, based a boat rental company, raised two sons and traveled the world. Within the course of more than 50 years, through dedication, artistic innovation and love, they transformed this once-uninhabited cay into a gorgeous Bahamian oasis.
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