By Laura Salas
Arthur had a the whole thing planned out for him and his family. They wouldn’t take a big cruise or get on an airplane (is the 60s flying by airplane was something of luxury). But they would head to the Bahamas on a boat.
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They’d get a boat and spend a week experiencing how life was like in the calm, peaceful islands. If things went well, maybe they could return as early as Christmas.
To launch their sea expedition, Arthur and his family would first head to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. That’s where their boat lay in wait for them.
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The boat was called Bluebelle. As its name suggests, it was a beauty. It was a sixty-food two-masted sailboat, fully equipped with everything they needed for the journey.
The boat would not be exclusively occupied by Arthur and his family. Without any real sailing experience, Arthur would need help to captain the ship.
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To assist him, he hired a man named Julian Harvey. Described by many who knew him as “handsome enough for Hollywood,” Julian was a decorated Air Force bomber pilot who had seen World War II and the less glorified Korean War. He owned several racing yachts, and seemed like the right man for the job. Harvey brought along his wife of four months, Mary Dene.
On Wednesday, November 8, 1961, Arthur, Julian, and their respective families began their highly-anticipated odyssey.
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The ship had a 115-horsepower Chrysler engine. That Chrysler engine rumbled soothingly as Julian Harvey steered the sail boat away from the Fort Lauderdale dock and into the open seas. Soon, the seven occupants of Bluebelle would be in the midst of the 700s islands of Bahamas archipelago.
First, Harvey steered Bluebelle toward Bimini, a miniature island chain. Then they headed east, to Sandy Point, a village located on the southwest point of the Great Abaco Island.
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Here, the sun-smitten vacationers filled their days with snorkeling. They also picked up shells on the beautiful beaches. Things were looking good for the two families, who were having a wonderful time.
