Rhonda L.C. Hull, Esq.
A life rooted in Abaco, Law, Family, Purpose, and God…
01 · Abaconian at Heart
Abaconian at Heart
There are places that become part of you long before you understand why.
My family's story in The Bahamas stretches back through generations, to Eleuthera, where my mother was born in the little settlement of Tarpum Bay. She was the third of eleven children, and the last daughter born there before the family moved to Nassau.
Even before her father died, much of the responsibility for raising her younger siblings had fallen to her. Caring for others became part of her life long before she had a family of her own.
Years later, she married an American missionary, and together they felt called to serve the people of Abaco.
They arrived by boat, approaching the wild Atlantic coastline near Cherokee Sound. Just beyond the long dock evoked in the opening image, their little vessel began to sink. Their belongings were soaked, their arrival was anything but graceful, and their new life in Abaco began with a rather extraordinary introduction to the elements.
It was an unlikely beginning to a lifelong commitment to the island and its people.
Nearly seven decades later, my parents are still serving the communities they came to call home. Their work was never simply something they did; it was a way of life, woven into the everyday fabric of the settlements where we lived.
I grew up in the little villages of Cherokee Sound and Sandy Point, where neighbours were more like extended family and children seemed to belong to everyone. Some of my earliest memories are of bathing in a tin bathtub alongside the neighbourhood children. There was always someone to feed us, look after us, or tell us when we were getting into mischief.
It was a childhood in which sharing what you had and looking after one another were simply part of everyday life. My parents taught us the importance of service not so much through words, but through the example they set.
I sometimes think my own instinct to build, nurture, and serve the community was inherited from them. It is difficult to separate who I am from the place that shaped me.
My family has since grown across generations and continents, with cousins and extended family scattered around the world. However busy life becomes, those connections remain important to me.
And although my own adventures have taken me far beyond these shores, Abaco has always drawn me back.
“Home is Abaco and God. Family. Friendships. Love. Heart to heart.”
02 · Journey
Journey
In 1985, I represented The Bahamas as Miss Commonwealth Bahamas and stood on the stage at the Miss World Pageant in London's Royal Albert Hall. It was an early taste of a world much bigger than the islands I called home.
My education took me further afield, beginning in Switzerland and continuing through Canada, Trinidad & Tobago, and Sweden.
Moving between countries and cultures taught me to feel at home in unfamiliar places, find common ground with people from very different backgrounds, and see the world from more than one perspective. Along the way, I made lasting friendships and developed a curiosity about people and places that has stayed with me ever since.
I've always had a competitive streak, particularly when it came to sport. Field hockey, netball, and squash were among my great passions, and somewhere along the way, I even managed to win the Conchman Triathlon in The Bahamas.
Looking back, I suppose I've always enjoyed a challenge, whether it involved a hockey stick, a bicycle, a pageant stage, or something considerably less sensible.
- Bahamas
- Switzerland
- Canada
- Trinidad & Tobago
- Sweden
- …
…And eventually, home to Abaco.
It was here that I established my practice, raised my family, and found a way to bring together the many different parts of my life.
03 · Law & HULLco
Law & HULLco
Not your ordinary attorney.
My legal career has taken me across borders, but it has always brought me back to Abaco.
I was called to the Bar in Ontario, Canada, in 1996, completed my professional legal education at Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago in 1997, and was admitted to the Bahamian Bar later that year.
In 2002, I established L.C. HULL & Co. in Marsh Harbour, building a practice around the needs of the people and communities I know best.
Over the years, my work has spanned conveyancing, real estate, estate administration, and corporate and commercial matters.
Practising law in the Family Islands requires more than an understanding of legislation and procedure. It requires an understanding of the people, the properties, and the relationships that make these communities what they are.
Having lived and studied in different parts of the world, I've always felt comfortable working with people from different backgrounds. Some of my clients have lived in The Bahamas for generations; others are discovering the islands for the first time. Each brings a different story, a different set of circumstances, and a different reason for being here.
Through our Amsterdam office, we also serve European and other international clients with interests in The Bahamas.
After Hurricane Dorian, we rebuilt the practice and rebranded as HULLco—the name under which we continue to serve clients today.
Passing It On
Passing It On
One of the most rewarding parts of my legal career has been helping young people find their footing in the profession.
Over the years, I've had the pleasure of encouraging and supporting aspiring attorneys, sometimes from their earliest days of studying law through to their admission to the Bar and beyond.
One young attorney I supported went on, within five years of being called to the Bar, to appear before the Privy Council in London, the highest court of appeal for The Bahamas. Another began as the first junior attorney at a firm and has since moved into the judiciary. I've also had the privilege of supporting a young woman through her legal training and watching her establish herself in practice.
Their achievements are entirely their own. I'm simply grateful to have played a small part along the way.
And I hope to keep doing so.
04 · Dorian
Dorian
The storm that changed everything.
Hurricane Dorian changed the face of Abaco, and the lives of its people, in the space of forty-eight hours.
My world was turned on its head. Quite literally, in some ways.
I rode out the storm in a bathtub as the structures around me came apart.
My parents took refuge on top of a refrigerator unit as the floodwaters rose around them. My father's prosthetic leg was swept away by the water. He had lost his leg years earlier while serving with the volunteer fire department.
Across my family, homes and properties were lost. Businesses were swept away. Places we had built our lives around disappeared almost overnight.
And no one was untouched.
Family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, clients—everyone I knew had lost something. Some had lost almost everything. Others had lost people they loved.
What followed was not simply recovery from a hurricane.
It was the extraordinary task of beginning again.
Homes, businesses, roads, docks, schools, churches, airports, and supermarkets had to be rebuilt. Familiar places had vanished, and the circumstances in the aftermath were often dangerous and uncertain.
But rebuilding the physical island was only part of the challenge.
We also had to find our way through the grief, the trauma, and the loss of a community that would never be quite the same again.
And yet, in the midst of it all, people found ways to help one another, to begin again, and to imagine a future.
Building, rebuilding and moving forward have always been part of my story.
05 · Beyond Law
Beyond Law
Builder. Dreamer. Creator. Writer. Educator. Traveller. Lover. Adventurer. Marathoner. Gardener. Pianist.
Mother of 4. Grandmother of 7 (so far).
Abaconian. Bahamian. Canadian. American.
HULLdev
HULLdev — Building with a Sense of Place
I've always believed that the most beautiful places are those that belong to their surroundings. In Abaco, that means respecting the landscape, embracing the rhythm of island life, and creating spaces that feel as though they could never belong anywhere else.
Through HULLdev, I've had the opportunity to bring some of those ideas to life.
I have a particular fondness for native fruit trees, and a rather unreasonable obsession with coconut palms. If I spot a young coconut tree growing somewhere it shouldn't, there's a good chance I'll be digging it up and finding it a new home. And there's an equally good chance I'll have persuaded someone else to help me, regardless of what either of us happens to be wearing.
For me, development isn't simply about buildings. It's about creating places that feel as though they belong to Abaco, where the natural beauty and character of the islands remain part of the experience.
Selected Places & Projects
Witch Point
There are places in Abaco where the landscape still feels almost untouched. Witch Point is one of them. Just three miles from Marsh Harbour Airport, this wild, beautiful 55-acre property opens onto the shallow turquoise waters and extraordinary shoreline that make The Bahamas so special. I've long imagined a small, thoughtfully designed bonefishing lodge here. Somewhere visitors could enjoy simple luxury, spending their days wading through clear shallows, casting their lines, and discovering the quiet pleasure of being completely immersed in nature. It's a vision rooted in the belief that sharing the beauty of Abaco should never mean losing what makes it beautiful. The sale of Witch Point is open for discussion. Whatever its next chapter, I hope it will honour that same spirit.
Proposed bonefishing lodge — concept.
Orange House
Orange House is my idea of island living at its loveliest. Set along a canal leading into a private, gated community, the house sits just moments from the open water, with views towards Hope Town and its famous lighthouse. Dolphins, turtles, and pufferfish find their way into the canal, sometimes appearing right beside the private dock. Just beyond the canal entrance, a beautiful reef offers a world of colourful fish and wonderfully easy snorkelling. It's the kind of place where the natural world becomes part of everyday life. And after sunset, the distant light of the Hope Town lighthouse is a lovely reminder of exactly where you are.
Royal House
Royal House has had several lives. Once home to John Bull, the longstanding Bahamian jewellery and luxury retailer, this distinctive building in Marsh Harbour has become a place where several parts of my own world come together. Hurricane Dorian left its mark here, too. Restoring the building has been a labour of love, bringing back its character and island charm while creating something new within its walls. Today, Royal House is home to HULLco, my law practice, and the Abaco Art Gallery & Boutique. And standing guard outside are genuine antique cannons, reminders of the islands' long and colourful history. Originally belonging to an uncle, it's also a reminder that collecting beautiful and unusual objects runs in the family.
Gallery & Boutique
Abaco Art Gallery & Boutique
In the years following Hurricane Dorian, much of our energy went into rebuilding. Roofs had to be repaired, homes made habitable, businesses reopened. There was so much practical work to be done that, for a while, there seemed little room for anything else.
But gradually, Abaco's artists and craftspeople began creating again.
Beautiful things emerged from hardworking hands: paintings, jewellery, straw work, clothing, books, and wonderfully imaginative pieces that could only have come from these islands.
The trouble was, there were few places for people to discover them.
That was the beginning of the Abaco Art Gallery & Boutique.
We created a space where Bahamian artists, makers, and designers could display their work, share their talents, and find an audience. A place where visitors could discover something genuinely made in The Bahamas and take a little piece of the islands home with them.
I've always loved making things with my own hands, too.
One of my particular pleasures is working with oyster shells found here in Abaco. What begins as an ordinary shell can, with weeks of patience, imagination, and a great deal of trial and error, become a beautiful, one-of-a-kind piece of jewellery.
I love that something so easily overlooked can turn into something treasured. No two pieces are quite alike, and some eventually find their way into the gallery alongside the work of other local makers.
The gallery is entirely nonprofit. HULLco provides the space and support, and our clerks help staff the gallery and assist the artists.
The proceeds go towards purchasing school uniforms for disadvantaged children in Abaco.
A Life Beyond One Island
A Life Beyond One Island
I've never been particularly good at sitting still.
Over the years, I've climbed mountains, crossed oceans, explored unfamiliar places, and made friends in corners of the world I might never have imagined visiting.
Some adventures were carefully planned. Others were decidedly less so.
And while I've collected more than a few stories along the way, it's the people I've met who have made those experiences memorable.
My family has grown along with my adventures. I've raised three sons—James, Jeffrey, and Jacob—and my adopted daughter, Erinlee. Motherhood has been one of the great adventures of my life, although certainly not one that came with a reliable instruction manual.
Now there are grandchildren, too, including my grandson Donnie, whom I'm helping to raise. I've never thought of family as something defined entirely by blood or convention.
Living in a small community means that lives become intertwined. The children you once knew grow into adults, neighbours become lifelong friends, and the people you've known for decades continue to find their way into your story.
I've been fortunate to be part of many of those stories. Sometimes as an attorney, sometimes as a mentor, sometimes as a friend, and often simply as someone who could lend a hand.
Always Up for a Challenge
My first Miami Marathon. My second child was still a baby, so he came along for the adventure and stayed with family while I ran.
Apparently, once wasn't enough. Back in Miami for my second and third marathons, in 2008 and 2010.
It seems the appetite for endurance events runs in the family. Jeffrey, after completing his first Ironman.
A World to Explore
Cycling 260 kilometres around Lake Constance—the Bodensee—with my sons. This was before you could easily rent an e-bike, too. The next family cycling holiday may involve four wheels, a roof and an engine.
Returning to Switzerland, where I once studied, this time to hike in the Alps. Some places have a way of drawing you back.
The day after hiking Acatenango Volcano in Guatemala, 2024. Still smiling—which I consider an achievement in itself.
Island Life, Naturally
Teaching the next generation when and how to harvest young coconut palms. With a pickup truck handy, you can seize the opportunity whenever it arises—even in your Sunday best.
Coconut palms may be my passion, but growing a watermelon this enormous felt like a major life achievement.
A proper Bahamian ought to know how to catch a crab… …boil it in the pot, and crack the claws with a spoon.
Teaching nieces, nephews and grandchildren to fish. Some lessons are best learned at the water's edge.
Collecting shells and sea glass with family—treasures from the shoreline that sometimes find a second life as jewellery.
Family, Across Generations
Celebrating my mother's 90th birthday, surrounded by family, friends and members of the community she has served for so many years.
Family has always meant a great many people in my life. Here we are as babies, a collection of cousins squeezed onto one sofa. And decades later, still finding reasons to get together—this time for my mother's 90th birthday.
Seven grandchildren, and counting. Life is certainly never dull.
A first meeting between cousins. Another generation of family stories begins.
Celebrating my grandson's graduation from primary school with his mother, Erinlee. One of those milestones worth making a fuss about.
Out on the water with family. No particular destination required.
Giving Back and Coming Home
Presenting the annual Citizenship Award at James A. Pinder Primary School in Sandy Point, my hometown. It is always a privilege to celebrate young people who are making a difference in their community.
Decades after my parents first arrived in Abaco, we gathered as a family at Cherokee Sound's Long Dock. My father had preached in Cherokee Sound countless times over the years, but this occasion was special: for the first time, my son and cousins were there to hear him.
The same place where my parents' Abaco story began, now shared with another generation.
Abaco gave me plenty of reasons to leave, and better reasons to stay.
Still Writing the Story
I'm still here.
Still building, planting, and digging up coconut trees that really ought to be left alone.
Still looking after children and grandchildren, and finding myself involved in the lives of young people who aren't technically mine but somehow become part of the family anyway.
Still learning, still advising clients, and still sharing what I know with pupils and clerks finding their way into the profession.
Still exploring, still finding adventures, and still occasionally wondering what I've got myself into.
I have no particular intention of slowing down.
There are still places I want to see, things I want to create, people I want to help, and adventures I haven't even thought of yet.
And wherever those adventures take me, I know where I'll want to return.