Great Stirrup Cay

The southern part features a helicopter airfield (with a sign reading "Great Stirrup Cay International Airport"[3]), a large area without vegetation, and numerous concrete blocks.

The first known settlers to the Bahamas were the Lucayan people, relatives of the Arawaks who populated the Caribbean around 600 A.D. Great Stirrup was a pirate hideout while the British settled in Nassau and the larger islands until 1815.

"Stirrup's Cay" remained active during the American Civil War, as the Confederates wished to continue to export cotton to Europe.

After the abolition of slavery, the British began to slowly withdraw from the out island colonies, and the plantation at Great Stirrup was abandoned.

[4] During World War II the United States, in an effort to protect its eastern shores, came to the Bahamas and Great Stirrup with a wide array of observational and defensive equipment.

The United States Air Force later constructed a LORAC (LOng Range ACcuracy) radio-navigation station for use during the early space shuttle launches.

This facility was later leased to Motorola and other private sector companies as contractors to the United States Air Force out of Patrick AFB near Satellite Beach, Florida.

A cruise liner, Yarmouth Castle, traveling from Miami to Nassau, burned and sank 13 miles (21 km) off the coast of Great Stirrup Cay on November 13, 1965.

Norwegian Cruise Line plans to build 38 private villas with up to two bedrooms each, a two-story restaurant, a swim-up bar, and a spa area.

Great Stirrup Cay is a protected marine life sanctuary, and removal of anything from the water is strictly prohibited.