Cove Bay is a is coastal

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

on the island of

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Șaba or Șaba-Târg, the Romanian name for Shabo, a village in Ukraine * Saba, ...

in the

Dutch Caribbean The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the New World territories, colonies, and countries (former and current) of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea, mainly the norther ...

. It is located on the southeastern coast of the

Flat Point Flat Point (or Flat Point Peninsula) is an area on the northeastern coast of Saba (island), Saba, an island in the Dutch Caribbean. It is located in the lower part of the Zion's Hill, Hell's Gate village, known as Lower Hell's Gate. Flat Point is ...

peninsula, below the Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport and the

Flat Point Tide Pools The Flat Point Tide Pools (or Saba Tide Pools) are located on the coast of Saba, in the Dutch Caribbean. They are located on the Flat Point peninsula Lower Hell's Gate. These tide pools feature large lava rock formations filled with colorful ...

. The bay is one of a few places for swimming on Saba. Cove Bay's swimming area is shielded from waves by a wall of large rocks; these rocks were brought down from Flat Point after being removed to help make airplane approaches easier. Cove Bay is a

snorkeling Snorkeling (American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English, British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of human swimming, swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing ...

site and

dive site Recreational dive sites are specific places that recreational scuba divers go to enjoy the underwater environment or for training purposes. They include technical diving sites beyond the range generally accepted for recreational diving. In this c ...

. The area is also popular for barbecues and picnics. Sand has been brought in to Cove Bay from

St. Maarten Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean region of North America. With a population of 58,477 as of June 2023 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of ...

, to create an artificial beach.

History

The entire Flat Point peninsula was formed during volcanic activity about 5,000 years ago. The end of a large

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

formed the

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

as it cooled. It was occupied by

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

sometime between 400 A.D. and 800 A.D. Archeological surveys uncovered

pre-columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

and

conch shell Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ends). Conchs ...

adze An adze () or adz is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing or carving wood in ha ...

s. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Flat Point peninsula was the site of a sugar and

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

plantation. According to archeological surveys, the plantation had at least one indigo

boiling house A boilery or boiling house is a place of boiling, much as a bakery is a place of baking. Boilery can also mean the process and equipment for boiling. Although they are now generally confined to factories, and usually boil industrial products ra ...

, two

well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

s, and two domestic structures for

enslaved Africans Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were once commonplace in parts of Africa, as they were in much of the rest of the Ancient history, ancient and Post-classical history, medieval world. When t ...

. One of the wells was located at Cove Bay, and one of the domestic structures was on the cliff overlooking Cove Bay. Archeologists believe the plantation's location allowed for easy transportation of indigo and sugar from Cove Bay to a larger ship in nearby Spring Bay. In 1781, Cove Bay may have been the landing point for the British during their capture of Saba.Before docking facilities were built on Saba, imported lumber intended for

Hell's Gate Hells Gate, Hell's Gate, Hell Gate or Hells Gates may refer to: Places Africa * Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya Antarctica * Hells Gate (Antarctica), Victoria Land * Hells Gate Moraine, Victoria Land Asia * Nyalam Town, Tibet * A location in N ...

was thrown overboard near

Fort Bay Fort Bay is the official and only port on the island of Saba, in the Caribbean Netherlands. It is located on the south side of the island, about by road from The Bottom. The port is very important for the island as most of its supplies arrive ...

, rowed around the island to Cove Bay, and then brought up to Hell's Gate by donkeys or people. In 1911, rafters for the construction of a

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Hell's Gate were likely brought in via Cove Bay. In 1963, Saba's airport officially began service, built on the flat stretch of land just above Cove Bay. In the 1990s, there was a leather factory between Cove Bay and the airport; in 2012, Saba Comprehensive School's Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) moved in to the former leather factory building. In 2014, a children's playground was built at Cove Bay.

Nature

Cauliflower soft coral at Off-Whittle Ridge P6070595

Snorkelers or divers can expect to see red and yellow

soft corals Octocorallia, along with Hexacorallia, is one of the two extant classes of Anthozoa. It comprises over 3,000 species of marine and brackish animals consisting of colonial polyps with 8-fold symmetry, commonly referred informally as "soft cora ...

(''Alcyonacea''), Devil's Sea Whips (''Ellisella barbadensis''), Green Moray Eels (''Gymnothorax funebris''),

Midnight Parrotfish The midnight parrotfish (''Scarus coelestinus'') is a species of parrotfish that inhabits coral reefs mainly in the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Florida. The typical size is between 30 and 60 cm, but it can grow to almost 1 m. It has been observ ...

(''Scarus coelestinus''), and Nurse Sharks (''Ginglymostoma cirratum'') in Cove Bay. Birds in the Flat Point area include the Common Ground Dove (''Columbigallina passerina nigrirostris''), the Brown Noddy (''Anous stolidus stolidus''), and the

Least Sandpiper The least sandpiper (''Calidris minutilla'') is the smallest shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-colored waterside birds. The specific ''minutilla'' is Medieval Lat ...

(''Calidris minutilla''). Flat Point is a nesting site for the

White-tailed Tropicbird The white-tailed tropicbird (''Phaethon lepturus'') or yellow-billed tropicbird is a tropicbird. It is the smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It is found in the tro ...

(''Phaeton lepturus catesbyi;'' also called the Yellow-billed Tropicbird). In 2015,

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

s hatched at Cove Bay.

Amenities

Cove Bay is equipped with a covered area for barbecues, a children's playground area, and public restrooms. An outdoor restaurant, The Sea Grape Grill, opened just above Cove Bay in 2015-2016. There is also a restaurant in Saba's airport, Runway 30 Sports Bar & Grill (previously Saba Flight Deck). Cove Bay is not used as a harbour; Saba's harbour is located at

References

{{Saba Landforms of Saba (island) Geography of Saba (island) Bays of the Caribbean Saba (island)