Ragged Island to Water Cay

Our stay in the Raggeds and Jumentos has been all too short. We love this area but need to head north because of our schedule to be back in April. Ken and Belinda on Duet have the same constraint. So, we left the southern most of the Ragged Islands for the southern most of the Jumentos: Jamaica Cay. It is a small Cay with a little beach and plenty of swell. The 35 mile sail up to it was at 7K on a broad reach, the fastest angle of sail.

Sunday, we left at 8:30 AM for Water Cay. The wind angle was not so favorable: the second half of the trip from Flamingo Cay to Water Cay was at 35 degrees to the wind. We motor-sailed, Duet was able to sail it. Perhaps if we had used our cutter sail we would have been able to but I did not feel like going on the foredeck with 3-6 foot waves. We need to put it on a roller-furling like the jib so we can easily put it up and down from the cockpit.

It was a nice day anyway, not too long. Ken and I snorkeled with me taking a small grouper and he a triggerfish. The corals were the best I have seen on this trip.

We hope to go to Long Island tomorrow, hopefully we will have the SSE winds we need. If they shift as forecasted we will sail all the way to Salt Pond in Thompson Bay.

Good night for now, dinner is almost ready.

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Long Island to Duncantown, Ragged Islands

Long Island was as usual a delight to visit. We enjoyed an adventure into a cave that was quite well used by the bats and termites. We enjoyed a beach walk to the ocean and a dinner at Club Thompson Bay with a friend/owner Traphina who we were happy to reconnect with. We utilized the laundry facilities as it is the last chance we have to use an actual machine for the several weeks we will be in the Ragged Islands and Jumento Cays. We took a long walk on the eastern shore of the island enjoying its rugged beauty and the beautiful weather.

On Monday, March 8th, we headed for Water Cay, our traditional first stop in the Jumentos. We stop there because it is the closest cay, any others are at least 2 more hours. The sail was mainly a motor today although we sailed with the light air spinnaker for a couple of hours. Ed was pretty frustrated that he did not rig it quite right and that he was an "idiot" thinking he could adjust the spinnaker halyard by hand in light winds resulting in the sail going in the water and the halyard way up the mast. He blames his stupidity on lack of any breakfast. Considering that we have power bars, cereal bars and cereal, he blames that on himself. Anyway, once in Water Cay up the mast he went to retrieve the halyard. He then snorkeled around the little bay and found a large lobster but was unable to get him in the deep recesses of his hole. Dang!

On Tuesday we headed to Racoon Cay going across the deep waters of the sound. The cays and islands are spaced along a curve (like a bow) with Water Cay at one end and Ragged Island at the south end. We cut across to save time and hopefully catch fish but in the latter were disappointed. Anyway, it was a beautiful sail with winds 15K on a broad reach, seas 3-5 feet. We averaged over 6 knots thru Nurse Channel into the Ragged Islands. Once thru the channel we had a bit of a closer reach into Racoon Cay on flat seas, turning on the engine only at the very last minute to anchor as we no longer had enough momentum to move in close. It was a wonderful sail.

Ken and Ed went fishing Wednesday with Ed spearing a lobster and hogfish plus they found 10 conch. For four hours of work they were pretty disappointed but happy to come back with something. On Thursday, because of the coming west winds we moved down to Double Breasted Cay and stayed for three days. Once again, Ken and Ed hunted with Ed getting a decent hog fish and nothing else. We found out that our neighbor hunting in a different spot got 9 lobsters in two days which he shared with other cruisers. He probably should have taken only what he could use given that he had no freezer but some people think nothing of taking everything and leaving nothing.

After the west winds come north winds. We stayed one more night than was really comfortable at Double Breasted but did enjoy a nice walk along the ocean. We moved to the southern-most island of the chain which has great north and east wind protection. It was a very light air sail of about 12 miles so we let the wind move us south at a slow pace enjoying the day.

Duncantown on Ragged Island has about 70 residents plus workers doing several government improvement projects on the roads and airport. The walk from Southside Bay in 1.5 miles. In town they have free internet (one of the only places in the Bahamas), a grocery shop with very few items, a restaurant, bar and bakery. Most of the time they are closed until you find the owner and let them know you want something. Most people order their groceries from Nassau and they arrive on the weekly mail-boat.

We have been here for a few days and are planning to start heading north towards home as soon as the winds go east tomorrow. Besides walking to Duncantown, we walked along the ocean side of Little Ragged Island to high cliffs of limestone named Lovers Leap. We actually saw several small sharks come into the shallows for feeding on something late in the day.

Ed has been sanding the starboard rails in preparation for new varnish. Moisture that got into the varnish several years ago has made the old look bad with yellow spots as the moisture heated and cooled inside the polyurethane. He needs to be more patient with the weather in Georgia to make sure it is absolutely dry and will remain that way while the varnish dries. Live and learn. Today he will put on the first of seven coats.

Ed has been swimming each day and has located about 10 nice conch grazing in the area around our boat. We may take a few but he enjoys surveying the area and seeing how his little friends are doing. Cleaning conch is a lot of work but so is preparing it because you have to dice it small or beat it thin because they are tough.

A little milestone here: we have caught up on writing the blog! This is the first time we are not weeks behind.

We are aiming for returning to Portland in mid-April because Rachel will be doing a final presentation of her PHD thesis April 26th. We do not want to leave the Bahamas so soon but this is a once in a lifetime event.

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Samson Cay to Georgetown

Not too much to report about these places in the Exumas so I will stick to the highlights.

Samson Cay has a nice marina with a decent bar, restaurant and laundry. Although we anchored outside our patronage was welcomed just as if we stayed in the marina. From our anchorage we had easy access to Pipe Creek to the north and Staniel Cay to the south. We dinghied several times to Staniel Cay to refill our propane tanks once, enjoy lunch and visit the swimming pigs at Big Major Spot (another cay). One day while Ed and Ken went after elusive prey (which they did not find), Ann and Belinda went snorkeling on their own to Thunderball cave where one of the final scenes of Thunderball, the James Bond movie, was filmed. It is very scenic and filled with fish.

At Samson Cay we ran into our first non-sailing sailboaters/cruisers. They have been on their boat for years always motoring or sometimes motorsailing with the mainsail only for stabalization. They do not go out in waves over 2 feet which means winds under about 12 knots. I am sure their are more boaters like them. We often hear questions on our radio when we listed to the subscribers question Chris Parker, the weather guru.

We left Samson Cay for Blackpoint on a close reach with light winds. We did not care, it was only about 10 miles so we were in no hurry. At BP we ate dinner at Lorraines cafe and then visited the Garden of Eden the next day. It is a rock and wood garden with pieces that you resemble human and animal shapes. They also have many fruit trees that grow out of small holes in the rock. He and his wife have carefully nurtured them. We cruisers visit and give them a small tip.

Our next stop was Galliot Cay prior to exiting the Exuma Banks for Exuma Sound. Ed speared his first lobster of the year, woohoo! Fishing was disappointing on the way to Lee Stocking Island. It is a nice anchorage with good protection. We stayed for 2 nights enjoying a tour of the marine research facility and hike to the highest hill in the Exumas (137 feet). We learned about corals, lobsters and grouper. Unfortunately, the facility is underfunded currently, both private and US federal dollars are going elsewhere.

Our next stop was Georgetown, site of the Cruisers' Regatta held on Stocking Island directly across for GT. We attended Chris Parker's weather presentation on Saturday, shopped on Sunday and attended the opening of the regatta which featured the "No Talent Show" plus dancing. The show was humorous and well done but a cold front came in so they delayed the Tuesday and Wednesday events.

We are not the type to stay in GT all winter so we left as soon as the weather calmed down. Meanwhile we enjoyed a rocky anchorage not wanting to venture out in the dinghy to get wet. Cabin fever set in so we put on our rain gear and went to Stocking Island where we ate lunch and hiked with friends we had not seen in a year. That was a great tonic and use of our foulies! Next stop: Thompson Bay, Long Island

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Rose Island to Cambridge Cay

Rose Island is always exciting for us because our friends on Dancing With Dolphins most often are there. We hunt for lobster and conch, play dominoes, walk the beach with their dog and generally have a great time. This year we introduced Ken and Belinda from Duet to them. Unfortunately, the weather cut our time with them because the anchorage would not be protected from the clocking winds of the cold front so we left February 4th for Allans Cay.

Before we left Ed went up the mast to put on a new tri-color/anchor light. He found out several things while up there: He tied his lifting point a little high so could not be hoisted high enough to work atop the mast comfortably. His single foot strap made it difficult to stand and work while up there so he needs to make another foot strap. The black cup that fell off in the Northwest Channel was the tri-color light so we now have only the running lights (legal but less visible). The job is going to be more difficult and he needs a perfect day with single digit winds. At least the anchor light still works and the tri-color pulled off cleanly without breaking any wires because off the connector versus hard wiring. Another day perhaps.

We sailed to Allans with northeast winds allowing for apparent winds from 50 to 35 degrees, a doable close reach for full keel boats. Our spot in Allans was kind of exposed to the SW because there were so many boats but we had a day or so before the surge started. We found out that we do not like the anchorage unless in very settled conditions and anchored centrally over the sandy patch. Anyway, we enjoyed seeing the iguanas and visiting the islands until things got rough. Plus we moved spots twice, we went to the third spot after dragging and feeling the beach under the keel. After two rough nights we decided to run the sound side to Normans Cay. It was a splendid slow sail and the channel at Normans offered great protection with no surge and great holding and a lot more room.

We arrived at Normans on Superbowl Sunday. Ed likes playoff football and we both enjoy Superbowl parties so we went into the beach club for all you can eat appetizers (conch fritters, chicken, salsa, salad, fruits and more). The game was close, the beer cold and the company interesting. There were lots of dogs running around and one piglet that a guy living on a nearby island brought over for amusement. We also had a chance to see a small plane take off. The difficulty is that with a single strip and cross winds the pilot has to be very carefull as he clears the tree-line and hits the full cross wind. Ken and Belinda joined us on Monday and we did more beach walking, attempted to find some good reef but did not, went up into Normans Pond to see if we had any chance of entering it but concluded that we would need a super high tide for Duet which draws nearly 6 feet (WSD draws 5). The cove is very well protected, you could weather a severe storm there with no worries.

Our next stop was Cambridge Cay in the Exuma Land and Sea Park on 2-10. The winds were 15-20 out of the NNW so we flew down there (boat talk for going a wee bit faster in a slow boat) averaging 6.5K. The wind was right behind us so we went of jib alone. The day was partly cloudy. Duet had left before us so they went into the entrance first with the light in their eyes and partly cloudy. They were trying to go to Bell Island but went a little too far before turning north and ended up on the rocky bottom. Within 10 minutes there were 10 dinghys out of Cambridge Cay pushing Duet east while one dinghy took a halyard out tipping Duet thereby reducing Duet's draft. We came in while this was going on. Ann refused to try the approach to Bell no matter what I said so we turned back to the cut entrance to go into Cambridge which requires going right next to the islands headland. We then took the last available mooring ball. We did not know what Duet wanted to do at that point. Anyway, they came into Cambridge too and anchored near us. That night there was a cruiser party on the sand spit. Ken made rum punch as a thank you to all that helped. We had quite a front come thru with winds to 34 knots sustained 20-30 (multiply by 1.15 to convert to mph). Cambridge Cay offered great protection so there were no worries and we all slept well partially because we were on a mooring ball but mainly because the waves were small and the boats road well in the wind.

We snorkeled the Aquarium and plane wreck at Cambridge. All the land and water is protected in the park. We saw many beautiful fish and several lobster but the weather was kind of cool (70). We also swam into several caves at Rocky Dundas marveling at the Stalagtites, coral and formations. We then headed to Samson Cay on the 14th of February.

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