Ladder Bay (Saba)

Ladder Bay
Ladder Bay, with "The Ladder" and the old customs house above
Ladder Bay Location on Saba
Location	Saba National Marine Park, Saba
Coordinates	17°38′2″N 63°15′21″W / 17.63389°N 63.25583°W / 17.63389; -63.25583
Type	Bay
Primary inflows	Caribbean Sea
Max. depth	80 ft (24 m) [1]
Settlements	The Bottom

Ladder Bay is an anchorage on the leeward side of the Caribbean island of Saba. The bay sits on the west side of the island, directly under a set of 800 steps hand carved into the rocks locally known as "The Ladder".^[2][3] Until the construction of Saba's first pier in the 1970s, Ladder Bay was a primary point of entry for supplies to the island.^[4][3][5] An abandoned customs house sits on the lip of a cliff overlooking the bay.^[6][7]

History

Before European colonization, the area above Ladder Bay may have been occupied by Amerindians during the Ceramic Era.^[8] Archeologists have not yet found evidence of an Amerindian settlement above Ladder Bay, but they have found ceramic artifacts in the area.^[8]

Saba was settled by Europeans in the mid-17th century.^[9] There is long-standing documentation of early European settlements near Tent Bay, Fort Bay, and above Well's Bay.^[9][10] But more recently, archeologists have found 17th-century ceramics above Ladder Bay, suggesting the area may have been occupied during early years of European settlement.^[8]

From the 1650s until the 1970s, the two primary ports of entry for Saba were at Ladder Bay and Fort Bay.^[11] Boats could offload cargo at Ladder Bay, which would then be transported up "The Ladder", a series of steps carved into the ridge above Ladder Bay.^[2][9] The cargo would then be transported to Saba's capital, The Bottom, via a footpath through an area known as The Gap.^[2]

Both cargo and people were brought onto Saba via The Ladder.^[2][9][10] Even large items were transported up The Ladder, one of the most famous being a piano.^[2][12][13]

In the 1930s, The Ladder in its current form, as well as the Customs House, were constructed.^[2][9] The steps of The Ladder were made of poured concrete, and the staircase walls from a mixture of concrete and rock.^[2]

In the 1970s, the Capt. Chance Leo Pier was constructed at Fort Bay. With a harbor at Fort Bay, the use of Ladder Bay as a port fell out of use.^[14] In 2017, the bottom 2 meters (6.5 ft) of The Ladder were severely damaged by Hurricane Maria.

Today, "The Ladder" is an iconic Saban monument^[2][15] and popular hiking location,^[16][17] and Ladder Bay is an official mooring area^[18] and the site of multiple popular dive sites.^[19]

Hiking

The Ladder (Trail): The trailhead is located between The Bottom and Well's Bay.^[17] The trail goes past the old customs house, and descends all 800 steps of The Ladder, before coming back up. The strenuous hike takes about 1 hour round trip.^[17][20] The dry forest^[21] portion of the trail includes diverse trees, including mahogany trees (e.g. Swietenia mahagoni) and cinnamon trees (Pimenta racemosa).^[22]

Middle Island Trail: The trail begins close to The Ladder trail, and has views of Well's Bay and Ladder Bay.^[23] It is a heritage trail that includes ruins of an open cistern, stone walls of a farm, and a cavern. The hike takes about 40 minutes one-way.^[24]

Diving

Ladder Bay is the location of multiple dive sites for scuba divers.^[19]

• Porites Point, named for the quantity of Porites coral at the locating, including Mustardhill Coral (Porites astreoides) and Branching Finger Coral (Porites furcata).^[25]
• Babylon, a site with dramatic overhangs (possibly reminiscent of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon)^[26] home to sea fans, as well as a site for seeing sharks, turtles, eels, and fish.^[26]
• Ladder Labyrinth, named for the labyrinth of tall, 10-foot coral and rock ridges that are for shrimp, crabs, and lobsters.^[27][28]
• 50/50, named for divers' choice of multiple areas to explore, including underwater lava formations, a shallow reef area, and a rubble field.^[29]

At Babylon, Ladder Labyrinth, and 50/50, divers can place their hands on hot, sulfur-colored sand, resulting from the active status of Saba's volcano.^{[30][26][27][29]}

Marine life

The bay is home to a variety of fish, including Burrfish, Chromis, Filefish, Glassy Sweepers, Horse-eye Jacks, Lancer Dragonets, Lizardfish, Peacock Flounders, Pikeblennies, Schoolmasters, Spotted Drums, Tarpons, Yellowfin Groupers, and Yellowhead Jawfish, as well as Nurse Sharks and Reef sharks.^{[25][26][27][29]}

Other marine life in Ladder Bay includes Channel Clinging Crabs, Green Turtles, Hawksbill Turtles, Spotted Moray Eels, Squat Lobster, and Tigertail Sea Cucumber.^{[25][26][27][29]}

Ladder Bay's reefs include a variety of coral. The most common are Star coral (Astreopora), Brain coral, and Gorgonian (Alcyonacea) coral,^[25] as well as Porites coral at the Porites Point dive site.^[25] The bay is also home to sea fans such as Deepwater Seafans.^[26]

Moorings

Saba has two designated anchorage zones within the Saba National Marine Park: one between Ladder Bay and Wells Bay (west coast),^[18] and one in front of Fort Bay (southern coast).^[18] Between Ladder Bay and Wells Bay, the Saba National Marine Park manages about half a dozen moorings^[31] that are in about 60 feet (18 m) of water. The use of mooring buoys can help eliminator anchor damage to coral reefs.^[18][32][33]

Passengers of moored boats are advised to enter the island via through Fort Bay Harbor for safety reasons.^[18][34] Additionally, passengers from arriving yachts are required to go to Fort Bay to clear Customs and Immigration, as well as to check in and out with the Saba's Harbor Master.^[34]

In March 2017, a French-owned boat broke free of its mooring, and became stranded on the rocks in Ladder Bay. No one was aboard, and the boat was successfully salvaged a few days later.^[35][36] That same year another vessel ran aground at Ladder Bay; all passengers were unharmed.^[37] In April 2023, a mooring holding a French charter boat broke off during the night while the crew was asleep. ^{[citation needed]} The crew was alerted and safely re-anchored, but only two visitor moorings remain. ^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Fort Bay
• The Bottom

References

External links

• Wikivoyage: Saba
• Saba Conservation Foundation: Plan your hike
• Sea Saba: Saba Dive Sites

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