Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve via the MSC Seashore

Ocean Cay is a low lying limestone island that straddles the Great Bahama Banks and the Straits of Florida that has historically been the site of extractive – and often destructive – sand mining. The devastation to the environment over the past six decades was abruptly halted when MSC Cruises took over the lease and embarked on a massive, multi-disciplinary, broad scale ecological restoration project to bring this island back to life.

First arriving here in 2018, Owen has been an integral part in the progression and development of this island, specifically the science that has underpinned the restoration effort to create this bucolic and unique island paradise that exists today. The idea of conservation is so subjective in the minds of many, yet this island exists at the front lines of restorative conservation that has included the removal of over 3000 tons of scrap metal and derelict machinery, the planting of over 75,000 native trees, shrubs and plants and a holistic, ecosystem driven approach to giving nature a helping hand in recovery, bolstering a natural resilience at an ecosystem scale across both terrestrial and marine environments.

It is for these reasons that Hayley first journeyed here in 2022 as a guest of MSC, to witness first hand among a collective of journalists, to document this transformation and to understand the vital role and obligation that private industry has within their spaces of operation.

And so, as the stars shone and the tides ebbed and flowed, it was here at Ocean Cay – a speck of dust in an infinite and ephemeral ocean – that Hayley and Owen became inseparable and Ocean Cay became so much more than just a conservation success story; it became ground zero for the love story we celebrate today.

25°25’04.01” N, 79°12’12.60” W