By Guy Britton

Long Island is on the edge.

The eastern side of this island in The Bahamas plunges to depths of 1,000 feet right offshore; there are striking cliffs that stand up to the sea.

The ocean meets the Bahamas Bank no more dramatically than here.

This island in the southern Out Islands of The Bahamas is 80 miles long and light years away from the ordinary.

This is a beautiful, unspoiled place for nature lovers, fishermen (the fishing is some of the best in the region) and those in search of total relaxation.

This is a place that beckons you to discover incredible beaches, blue holes, unexplored caves and hidden coves that are natural harbors — including the harbor Columbus used when he arrived on this island in 1492.

Scrub Hill. Long Island.

Things here tend to get their names from where there are; Dean’s Blue Hole is in Dean’s, and Hamilton’s Caves are in Hamilton.

The Stella Maris Resort Club is located in a settlement known as Stella Maris — that’s just how it works here.

The clubhouse at Stella Maris.

The Stella Maris has hotel rooms, villas and homes, along with a charming clubhouse with a cozy bar and restaurant serving three meals every day.

And then there is the Moonshine Beach Bar and Grill with sweeping Atlantic views, a pool and sun-deck, a beach with room to roam and even a cool catwalk over the rocks to a natural pool carved in the cliffside where the water runs in and out with the tide.

While tourism is here, the island doesn’t want you just to visit — Long Island wants you to stay.

You can fly right to the Stella Maris Resort Club (and Stella Maris has its own air service)

All you have to do is fly to Nassau and you are met at the private FBO and then simply whisked away.

The airfield here is just blocks from the center of the resort clubhouse — making for a completely unique arrival experience.

Stella Maris is huge and sprawling — the whole site is thousands of acres, running from the flats in the west to the ocean in the east.

But back to the earlier point — this island wants you to stay.

The bar at Stella Maris.

Because Stella Maris is also a real estate development.

Founded back in 1963 as one of the first full-fledged resort communities in The Bahamas, Stella Maris continues to grow with ownership options from new construction to existing homes — there are over 100 existing homes and a new project of homes and condos called Ocean Heights.

In other words — buy a one-way ticket.

See more in the latest CJ video at the top of the page.

For more info, visit Stella Maris.

— CJ