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68 69 biologist and inventor Allan Charlesworth, after he visited the island on his yacht, fell in love with its beauty, and bought the property where the Club now exists. One building already there at the time was a boathouse that Charlesworth turned into a bar. Today, it’s a famous Club land- mark that still feels like you’re stepping into a boathouse when you go in to order a drink – though its walls are covered in signed dollar bills, and the ceiling is festooned with burgees. (More about that, read on…) In 2004, Adam Lockhart Showell, Sr. purchased the Green Turtle Club from Charlesworth’s family. Showell’s daughter, Sarah Ann, is now VP of Development, and shares the ins and outs of this fabulous Abacos resort: “It’s an interesting story. My father had been to Green Turtle Cay before; he was out on the water one stormy GREEN TURTLE CLUB RESORT & MARINA November night in 1994, managed to get his vessel ashore, and walked into the Tipsy Turtle Bar, where he ordered a rum punch from Miss Debbie –who’s still our bartender there, today. Ten years later, dad flew down and bought the property from the second-generation owners.” Adam Showell, Sr. is a second-generation hotelier, himself, in Ocean City, Maryland. Sarah Ann notes, “We have two properties there, the main one is Castle in the Sand. Hospitality has always been our family business, but we’ve never been out of Ocean City. So, this was re- ally a purchase of passion for my dad. I handle everything here, since he still lives in Maryland. When he comes to the Club, he’s on vacation!” The Green Turtle Club offers an eclectic collection of 34 rooms for rent – all villas, all gorgeous – spread out across the property.