Rum Cay
03 December 2009
We set out South East for the Turks and Caicos. The "weather window" was small. The course is around 130º and because of this, ideally one is looking for wind that is out of the North. That only happens when a front passes off the United States. The issue for the weather witchdoctors is how strong the front is and how far it will push down into the convergence zone and influence the prevailing trade winds (17-25 knots) that blow relentlessly out of the South East.. Well to cut a long story short....we planned on a stop at Rum Cay.....which we had heard had a nice little marina that one could tuck into to await weather developments.
Arrival at Rum Cay produced an immediate challenge. We had little time (short days this time of year) and even less water between our keel and the reef below us. A friendly and unforgettable Rastafarian fisherman was kind enough to guide us from his skiff through the hundreds of coral heads into Sumner Point. Here we were the first and only guests for what must have been many many months, if not a year.. After tying Angel onto a rather unstable finger pier where she struggled against the swell coming over the reef at high tide or later settled into the sand at low...we took off on our half mile walk to center of Port Nelson Settlement where our Rasta Man had called Ruby at "Ocean View" to announce our arrival. After a few beers and or Ruby's delicious lime and peppered wahoo (no menu, you just eat what she is serving) we leaned more about the island and its recent history.