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| Flip Flop Shop; a true unhosted no host bar when we visited. |
Nudity is prohibited in the Bahamas, unlike our hometown, Portland Oregon.
To wit, former Portland mayor Bud Clark’s “Expose Yourself to Art” poster implied nothing stood between himself and his trenchcoat. Portland’s also infamous for its nude bike ride – edgy as it is, something alternative channel but still prime-time Portlandia’s likely unable to show (dunno – to tv aboard). Ditto textile optional Sauvie’s Island Collins Beach on the Columbia river. But it’s a rare day in the Pacific NW when it’s warm enough, dry enough and mosquito-free enough to bare it all.
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| Flip Flop Shop outdoor “lounge.” Nice place to hang out in the shade & shelter near Georgetown Bahamas. |
Here in the sunny Bahamas, most days are balmy, temps mostly in the 70s-80s. Ideal conditions for sun seekers favoring no tan lines. Other than applying enough sunscreen, certainly there’s little risk in wardrobe selection at hand if not on body upon a secluded beach in an unpopulated area.
What if you want to enjoy the sunshine au natural with like-minded Bohemians, here in the Bahamas? When Zero to Cruising’s Mike and Rebecca claimed there’s an “unofficial” nude beach in Georgetown, we decided to track it down (click here to link to their post about it). Despite 302 boats in Georgetown’s Elizabeth Harbour (according the Georgetown Cruiser’s Net, at 8 am on VHF channel 72) anchoring our boat near “Flip Flip Shop” placed us far from the hordes.
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| Entry landmark easily spotted from the beach or offshore to Flip Flop Beach, Georgetown area, Bahamas. |
We dinghied over to “the spot,” not entirely sure where it was. We had an idea. Mike said it was “North of Hamburger Beach” (named for a burger-serving beach bar which no longer exists) but not exactly lat-long (latitude longitude) on the beach on Stocking Island, opposite Great Exuma Island; together they form Elizabeth Harbour. We wandered past a couple swimsuit-clad kayakers on the beach on Stocking Island. Further toward the entrance to Elizabeth Harbour, Wayne recognized Zero to Cruising’s “Flip Flip Shop” photos.
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| Was Zero to Cruising here? Yup, unless their fans are graffiti-oriented. We think not. |
We had Flip Flop Beach to ourselves, initially. Was it safe to get fully sun kissed or not? We settled in on the beach, with books, beach chairs and an umbrella.
Eventually a beach-combing woman wandered by. Clothed. Two older couples ambled off a trail that meandered inland into the Flip Flop lounge. Clothed. Another couple rounded the beach, saying they’d return for a swim. They did. Clothed.
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| Nice beach! Flip Flop beach, off Stocking Island across from Georgetown, Bahamas. |
So what did we do?
We’ll leave you guessing.
Regardless of your predilection for tan lines, Flip Flop Beach’s a nifty spot.
FYI our rough Lat-Long guesstimate for the maybe clothing optional Flip Flop Beach off Stocking Island across from Georgetown Bahamas, N23.32.5 W75.46.8.
Location LocationMarch 3, 2014. We’re anchored off Georgetown, BAHAMAS Monument Beach, not too far from N23.32.5 W75.46.8.
 Wayne’s enjoying a warm water wade at Flip Flip Beach. Is he nude? |
Bahama sounds nice. thanks for sharing your adventure
Thanks Jerry. This year's sailing in the Bahamas are really mellow for us; especially compared to last year, sailing a new-to-us boat from St. Lucia to the U.S.
In the off season we've stowed the shorts several times when we've had the shop to ourselves including walking across the island to the Atlantic side au natural.