These little tropical islands, approximately 239 miles (386km) southeast of Nassau, make up an undiscovered Bahamian frontier outpost. Although Acklins Island and Crooked Island are separate, they are usually mentioned as a unit because of their proximity to one another. Together the two islands form the shape of a boomerang. Crooked Island, the northern one, is 181 sq. km (71 sq. miles) in area, whereas Acklins Island, to the south, occupies 311 sq. km (121 sq. miles). Both islands, which have good white-sand beaches and offer fishing and

scuba diving, are inhabited mainly by fishermen and farmers.

Columbus came this way looking for gold. Much later, Acklins Island, Crooked Island, and their surrounding cays became hide-outs for pirates who attacked vessels in the Crooked Island Passage (the narrow waterway Columbus sailed), which separates the two islands.