Bahamas Bound, Part VI—Pink Gold

A self-defining term of basic economics, scarcity value is the reason beautiful commodities such as diamonds and gold, emeralds and platinum and a bunch of other bright, shiny things cost what they do. You can safely add pink sand, which graces the shores of Harbour Island in the Bahamas, to that list.

The entrance to pink-sand beach paradise. Photos courtesy Jackie Jones, Max Jones, Megan Smith and members of the Florida Powerboat Club.

Published estimates put the total number of pink-sand beaches, most of which are in the Bahamas at eight. But the stuff is more precious than its gem and metal counterparts, because it delivers something more beautiful—and far more elusive for this reporter—than all the money in the world can buy.

Peace and tranquility. Taking in a pink strand beach doesn’t just expose you to a natural wonder. It lowers your heart-rate. It’s soothes the soul.

And if you happen to possess one, It makes you grateful to be alive.

Memories from a Bahamian odyssey.

Thanks to Deep Impact Boats owners Mark Fischer and his wife, Eileen—my hosts for this journey—I learned this yesterday on Harbour Island, the final stop of the 34th annual Florida Powerboat Club Bahamas Poker Run. Of the thousands of memories I will carry from this seven-day adventure, I know the final one spent gazing east into the Atlantic Ocean from a pink-sand beach will stick.

I grew up staring into the Pacific Ocean from the shores of a Southern California beach town. Through good times and bad, it has always been the place I go to find peace.

Some memories of this trip will fade, much as I hope to cling to every one of them. That’s just the nature of the human brain as you get older, especially when you’ve been blessed with thousands of remarkable adventures you swore you’d never forget—but did.

But I’ll always remember the pink-sand beaches of Harbour Island and the path—literal and figurative—that led me to it. Because like pink sand itself, this experience has scarcity value.

Now it’s time to go home.