Jumentos February 9- March 1, 2009

Jumentos February 9- March 1, 2009
On February 9 Sea Star, Charmed, Jay Sea Dee and Windsong departed Salt Pond Long Island and headed by way of the Comer Channel, Driers Reef and Water Cay into the island chain known as the Ragged Islands or the Jumentos. The Jumentos came highly recommended by the guide books and other cruisers who regale how lovely, isolated and wild these islands are and what stocks of fish, lobster, and conch are available just for the snorkeling. Most cruisers who have been through even some of the islands have had wonderful experiences with the people who either live on the few inhabited islands or work in their waters, and here you do find the self-sufficient cruisers who repeatedly visit year after year.
To prepare for the Jumentos we filled the diesel tanks on the big boat, bought an extra five gallon jerry jug for dinghy gasoline and found what supplies we could during our stop in Long Island. Luckily we were in Long Island the day the mailboat come in; the weekly arrival of supplies to the stores. We had also put aboard what supplies we could find when in George Town, not having decided on our next stop after Long Island but knowing it would definitely be more isolated.
We left as early as we could see the water clearly, and had a pleasant sail southwest using the Comer Channel and Driers Reef waypoints over the Great Bahama Bank- the inside route as it is referred to on the Explorer Chart series. Our original plan was to stop and anchor at the first cay of the Jumentos having a safe anchorage, Water Cay. As we approached Water Cay it was early in the day, about two o’clock, and the decision was made to continue south to Flamingo Cay. Weather and winds are sometimes unpredictable and changing. While we had the opportunity and good wind we felt we could advance down the chain. Often, after the winter cold fronts go through winds are more favorable to push a boat northerly or to the east than to allow southern travel. We had come around 35 nm and continued on the 20 or so additional miles to a protected anchorage at tiny Flamingo Cay, an uninhabited island fringed with reef.
Dots of land, spaced quite far apart- some flat, some hilly or rocky is what the sailor observes following the Bank route along the cays. On the other side of the cays is the Atlantic Ocean. While the boat is in the lee of the cay as you pass, the water is relatively smooth and calmer than when traversing the open areas or “cuts” between the islands to the Atlantic. These spaces of incoming water can set up adverse current and waves called “rages” when the wind opposes the tides; one of the reasons that care needs to be taken to plan and time your trip for relatively calm winds and seas and consider the time of changing tide as you travel. Since the travel is many miles in a slow sailboat, sometimes it is hard to plan ahead. Our day was fine, with no more than three foot seas and wind keeping us moving at 7kn average, allowing us to save our precious diesel and enjoy the trip in warm and sunny weather.
Another problem keeping some cruisers out of the Jumentos is the cays all lie north and south with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Great Bahama Bank to the west. Rarely can a boat anchor safely off the Ocean to the east. Only the most settled conditions will allow that. Anchorages are located in coves off the west side of most cays with some north or south cay boundaries allowing space for a few boats to tuck in. There are few or no anchorages with protection of 360 degrees. Any north or west winds send cruisers scurrying for the few anchorages that will suit those conditions, and even then you find that surge through the cuts or over the Bank as it shallows by the shore will roll your boat uncomfortably and for hours, especially as the tide changes.
So, one would ask, “Why go there?” The answer lies in the pristine water, lapping turquoise blue over sand. Under that water available because of the water depth, lie reef systems along the cuts and in the shallow areas where snorkeling allows the boater to see the beauty and bounty still available on the reefs in this small area of the Bahamas. On Flamingo Cay Dan and I were able to gather our boat limit of six conch while snorkeling our first area. Another cruiser invited us to conch cleaning 101 on the sandy beach by our boats, where I learned the basics in the broiling sun. Conk the conch on the third spiral to make a hole, detach the conch from the shell, lift the animal out with forceps, gut, then remove the tough skin from the meat taking care to cut open and remove a black line of the intestines carefully. To prepare, cut thinly and pound the meat flat, bread and fry or make raw conch salad with lime juice, onion and pepper. YIKES! I was a total mess and burned to a crisp after trying just two. It is not easy! The fun part was watching the stingrays come close to shore and gobble up the remains as I threw guts back into the water.
Well- then entered my hero, Ramon. Ramon, a local fisherman, had been conching all day. He had cleaned 200 conch in the morning, and now in the afternoon he was back to clean the 200 more he had gathered (he is allowed to use air tanks as he works the reefs, which tourists are not) He conversed pleasantly while his knife worked by itself, seemingly effortlessly. He of course had been doing this for all his life he explained as he took our catch one at a time- pop- with a special hatchet, quick insert of a flat bladed dull knife, turn conch over and it falls into his hand, detached. One quick cut with sharp knife to remove the foot, siphon and guts. A pull to remove the tough skin, then one more quick cut and pull and DONE. Thanks, Ramon and to Foolin Around, the boat that showed me what had to be done to enjoy a simple sea snail meal.
We stayed at Flamingo Cay a second day, hiked, drove the dinghy into the grotto cave and later in the day, snorkeled. This time I realized how much I still had to learn to be comfortable in that water environment. As I entered the water from the dinghy a three foot fish I thought was a shark went after me- or so it seemed. I jumped back in the dinghy, alarmed. Dan and I went in at the same time to find that my attacker was a remora and it sure liked the dinghy underside. A short time later we looked up and saw not the usual one or two, but a big stack of maybe thirty barracudas. There were small, skinny ones near the surface with more and larger underneath those, and still larger and fatter under those until again I swore I saw a shark at the very bottom-but Dan said it was grandpa barracuda, long, large and scary. Why they were all together there is a mystery. They didn’t bother with us.
I was swimming near a cut into the wilder Atlantic water on the other side of some rocks and entered the cut to go to the reef on the other side, I thought cautiously and slowly. Suddenly with a whoosh I was being pulled by the current and I knew I had to turn back through the cut, but couldn’t swim against it. Dan was able to hold on by his hands to a rock and offer me his fin to hold on to until I could get to the rock myself, then pull hard to get myself back through the cut and around to the backside of the rock slowly inching my way around. As soon as I was through I realized I was quite tired and went back to the dinghy- yes the remora was still there, quite a handsome fellow with green gill markings and a yellowish belly.
We had been expecting only a few boats at Flamingo. There may have been thirteen or fourteen boats who decided to go to the beach at sunset for a beach get-together on shore so we met more cruisers. One couple on a boat named Passport were planning to go on down the islands the same as we were, so Jay Sea Dee, Charmed, Windsong, Sea Star and Passport and more made our next stop at Buenavista Cay where good shelter from the higher velocity and north winds was available. We snorkeled without incident this time, hiked and beach combed and attended another cruiser social organized by Passport on the beach. A fire was made and we watched our paper rubbish burn, then returned to the boats for a rolly night.
Our next night was spent at Raccoon Cay where we walked the beaches and were introduced to “beaning”-collecting sea beans that floated in from trees in Brazil. There are heart beans, hamburger beans, monkey faces and the rare and infrequently found, Saint Anne’s bean that is small and has a cross on one side. With a stick you push aside the sea weed, plastics, driftwood and poke around at the highest tide line for hours to find some. Beans are easier to find than exceptional shells on these cays. Its addicting once you find one!
Our weather had been ok and we were beginning to realize we could make it to the “last stop before Cuba”- a place of 150 hardy Bahamians called Duncan Town down the chain past Hog Cay. We sailed to Hog Cay and anchored, where we met Scotch Mist and old friends of Passport on Windswept at yet another beach get together. The next day we dinghied the two bumpy miles into the mangrove creek leading to Duncan Town.
At Duncan Town we were lucky to ask Sheila to open the only restaurant in town for our lunch. Duncan Towners are the fishermen and conchers so we had a nice lunch. We walked up a hill and down another to see what the southernmost cay that was too shallow for our boats to visit was like and walked another road to where salt flats are still worked. We then returned to our boats, planning to move on the next morning.
From Hog Cay north where the cruisers have built a Yacht Club under rock overhang on the beach we moved to anchor a few beaches south where the north protection was better for a night, then we moved back to Buenavista’s west anchorage.
Yesterday we started back up through the Jumento chain. What a day of sailing! We put out all the sails in the moderate wind 15kn on the beam, and just flew the 5 hours to Flamingo Cay where we are waiting for yet another cold front to come and then go. When we passed Flamingo a few weeks ago, there were more than thirteen boats crowded in. When we arrived at Flamingo we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves the first boat into the gorgeous anchorage. We quickly set anchor in sand close to shore and jumped in the crystal clear water. We had been traveling with Windsong and Passport and we the only three boats there even at the end of the day. We got together for sundown and supper at Sea Star, Passport-Dave was from Newfoundland, gave us some Newfi music on the iPod and we watched the Captain Johnson movie Around Cape Horn. It was a special day! We got up this morning and all went snorkeling and had a great time. Tonight as I write this one fishing boat trailing four smaller motorboats has just arrived to Flamingo, and it is pouring rain. It’s wonderful because we have not had any fresh water wash on Sea Star since-well somewhere in the Abaco I think. We probably will not move tomorrow either, so it will be a sleep-in morning and I’ll have some reading time. It may be a day to bake bread as we didn’t buy enough home made in Duncan Town.