22 14.49 'N:75 45.09'W
[d] 2017-02-08
[T] The Jumentos and Ragged Islands, take 2
[b] The Ti Amo crew decided to come along with us back down to the Ragged Islands. This was a welcome surprise as we thought they were going to head for Farmer's Cay instead. It is always great to have some travelling companions.
On Feb 1 we headed for Hog Cay cut in 15 to 25 knot winds . The run to the cut wasn't too bad in 2 to 3 foot seas. We didn't time the tide very well and found ourselves to be a little bit late coming through the cut which meant a strong current running against us and lower water than we would have liked to see but we made it with no issues.
Once through the cut the weather was much different on the other side and we were able to sail on a nice beam reach to Water Cay. This was our 5th time crossing the tropic of cancer in the last five days! We anchored near the northern end of the island, tucked in close to the beach and nicely out of the wind. There were several squalls through the night but we were pretty comfortable.
Since we had explored Water Cay the previous week we decided to push further south the next morning to Flamingo Cay. It was only 14 nautical miles. There were some passing squalls continuing in the morning so we delayed our departure until they were gone. The wind was still blowing at about 20 knots downwind so we just rolled out the jib and had a nice ride. We arrived in the early afternoon and found a nice spot in the two palms anchorage. Only one palm tree survived hurricane Matthew but we saw that some cruiser's had planted a new palm tree in it's place to make sure the name of the anchorage would live on.
We launched the dinghy and set out to find some snorkelling before shark o'clock (4pm). It didn't take long to find some nice coral heads to snorkel as well as a cave at the water's edge that you could drive your dinghy right into. We spent another full day at Flamingo. We hiked across the island in the morning on a trail that passed by pools of water trapped in razor rock. These tidal pools had small pink shrimp and crabs in them. The trail ended at a beautiful beach which had the remnants of a crashed airplane just at the water's edge. By late morning it was getting pretty hot so we loaded up the snorkel gear and headed out in the dinghy for some more underwater exploration. When we returned to the boat for lunch we noticed a fishing boat had arrived in the anchorage. Greg and Glenda went out to see if he was selling any fish and came back with a big bag of grouper. Paul, Greg and Glenda went out for a tour of the Lady Marie and had a great chat with George who was from Eluthera. He and his crew were planning to be fishing in the area for 20 days or so before returning north with their catch. We had a quick lunch then headed out in the dinghy again in the opposite direction in search of more coral. The reefs were spaced out but the water was really clear and noticeably warmer than Water Cay. We had a remora hanging around under the dinghies which at a quick glance looks like a small shark (2 feet) but as you get closer it more resembles a catfish. They are very curious, he came right up to me and looked in my mask just before I climbed into the dinghy. We had sundowners on board Ti Amo before calling it an early night after a full day of land and sea exploration.
The wind really died down over night to less than 10 knots. We motor-sailed thirty-three nautical miles south, to Buena Vista Cay. We fished along the way with the hand-line and landed five barracudas. These intimidating looking fish put up a good fight and are fun to catch n release. Paul's fishing lure wasn't looking so new at the end of that day. It was chewed up and had barracuda teeth stuck in the side of it. We arrived at the anchorage at 14:00 so with two hours left we jumped in the dinghy and found some great snorkelling close by. There was a pretty strong current but lots of nice coral and reef fish. We also saw a stingray sleeping in the sand beside a coral head.
Superbowl Sunday we had another jib sail in 20 knots of wind to Hog Cay in the Ragged Islands. We made it! Yet another milestone. We've joined the club of a few adventurous souls to make it to the ragged islands. So glad we decided to take the path less travelled.
We found Migration and Helios in the anchorage and got settled then headed over to Puddle Jumper. Puddle Jumper was a large catamaran anchored near us who was taking anyone who wanted to go from Hog Cay to Ragged Island for a superbowl party. We are not really football fans but we are fans of a good party so what the heck. About 35 people piled on the catamaran and I think it could easily have held another 35. We went to the government dock on Ragged Island where we were met by two trucks which we piled into the back of for the trip to Silvertail lodge. The same two trucks delivered us back to the cat after the game. We met several people that evening who head straight to the ragged islands by passing all the other Bahamas islands to get here then stay for the winter. You need to be pretty well self sufficient but you can order groceries which will be delivered by mailboat to the government dock. There are fewer protected anchorages in the ragged islands but there are some, you just always have to be tuned to the weather and ready to react.
The next day the hunters headed out in search of lobster. They got four large ones. Paul spotted a large reef shark right after he got in the water. It would take some getting used to hunting with these predators around. I think every time they got in the water there were sharks with them. This particular shark took off but he kept coming back which caused Paul and Charlie to have a discussion about whether or not they should continue to hunt with that guy hanging around. The other cruisers told us the day before there had been a large shark swimming right along the beach with it's dorsal fin out of the water. Glenda, Greg and opted for some hiking and search on the east side beach for some sea beans. We did score lots of heart beans and one hamburger bean. I collected enough heart beans that we could make a sign with our boat name to hang in the Hog Cay Yacht Club. The yacht club is a cool little tiki hut that the cruiser's have constructed on the beach and is the site of many a sundowner, bonfire and jam session. We participated in one that evening that was really a ton of fun. During that party we met Joanne from Free Bird who spent her career in the US Navy chasing submarines. The same line of work Paul's dad was in. Paul could name a few associates of his father that Joanne knew well. Again, we find it is a very small world. Crazy, we are in the middle of nowhere with less than 20 people and yet there is this connection. Wow.