There are no power outages on Musha Cay as generators on the island produce more than enough electricity to service its large guest villas, restaurants, pool bars and other electrical amenities, said Carmine and Dawn Mattozzi, general managers of the resort island.
The husband and wife team has been running the island, off Great Exuma, for the past six months. In an interview with The Guardian, Carmine and Dawn, who hails from the U.S. and Canada respectively, said since the 150-acre island welcomed its first guests on Feb. 18, 2001, there was never a time when the power was turned off.
Many Bahamians elsewhere in The Bahamas can only dream of living four years without experiencing a power outage. In New Providence for that matter, where The Bahamas Electricity Corporation has had to contend with faulty “new” generators for years, it is common for the power to go off within a four-week period.
However, on Musha Cay, a high-end resort island in the Exuma chain approximately 85 miles southeast of Nassau, a power outage would not be tolerated by well-to-do guests.
“That’s why, we have three large 3205 generators on the island and we run two of them when guests are here. When guests aren’t here, we run one. The generators make enough power to run a small town,” said Carmine.
“We have enough power that you can turn on everything on the island – every Jacuzzi and steam room, all air-conditioning units, every single light and appliance in every house as well as our water maker and we would still have a back-up generator.”
No shortage of water
The island is also equipped with its own reverse-osmosis system, which makes 20,000 gallons of water a day. The water is then pumped into a 200,000-gallon storage tank built underneath the island’s tennis court. With this storage capacity, the island’s water reserve is always kept at a relatively high level.
“And it’s the same water we bathe with, shower with, the same water we use to water our plants with,” Carmine explained. He said though the system is able to convert seawater into freshwater, brackish water is used instead. “We have wells, we don’t take it out of the sea because brackish water does not have much salt and it has less bacteria than seawater,” he said.
Regarding the island’s food, the bulk of it is flown in from Ft. Lauderdale. When guests book the island, the purchasing agent sends each person a questionnaire to determine his or her food preferences. An executive chef is then flown in to prepare cuisines based on those preferences.
“And we also bring food in from Nassau. We have the mailboat that comes, and usually people are always interested in the foods we have in The Bahamas like crack conch, conch fritters, conch salad, peas and rice and macaroni and cheese,” said Dawn.
Exotic vegetation
Guests are also impressed when they see the hundreds of exotic plants making up Musha’s lush green environment, considering that the cay was originally an unfriendly vegetative zone.
During the six-year construction phase, starting in 1995, truckloads of sand were brought in from Ft. Lauderdale to widen some of Musha’s beaches. Additionally, to spur plant growth, rich soil and fertilizers were shipped in and laced across the island.
Growing pains
All was not easy with the development of Musha Cay as there were times when the couple felt that the feat to essentially “reconstruct” the island was too great to accomplish.
“We use to sit over on Little Lansing Cay and look over at Musha and ask ourselves: Will we ever be sitting on Musha Cay? And sometimes it seemed like it was never going to happen,” said Dawn.
“But with a little perseverance and when you keep going at it, you finally get it done,” added Carmine. “But there were times when there were such exorbitant construction fees to finish the project, it just seem mind boggling.” At one point there were 175 construction workers on the island including engineers from the U.S. and Nassau.
The couple assisted Musha’s owner, John Melk during the construction phase. Dawn was responsible for the purchasing and shipping of all the building materials. A lot of the materials were pre-constructed in Wisconsin and were assembled on the island. Carmine travelled to Musha from the U.S. periodically to ensure that the construction was progressing on schedule. “You never feel like it’s smooth sailing because on an island it’s a challenge but somehow you get through it,” he said.
Rewarding feeling
Now that the construction is behind them, the couple said they still have to continually work hard to ensure that the property is well maintained. Carmine attributed the maintenance of the island to the 24 staff members who he said were always getting compliments from the guests. “Because the houses don’t stay as pristine as they are, and in the condition that they are without a lot of help from the staff here.”
Eighty percent of the island’s bookings are for groups between 18 and 24 people. Compared to the other seasons, the summer months are generally slower for bookings, though summer is still a fairly busy season. “And when I look back at it, what really warms my heart is to see the excitement in people’s eyes, not only inland when they go on the island tour but also when they see the natural beauty of the sea, something that we didn’t create,” said Dawn.
“People write us notes and tell us that their stay with us was fantastic. They would say that they had a great time or that the food was excellent. So it’s a good feeling for us when people are telling us constantly that they are having a really great time,” added Carmine.
Mindell Small, The Nassau Guardian
