Duncan Town Delights

From Hog Cay we motor sailed back south of Ragged Island to Southside Bay. From the anchorage it is about a mile and a half walk to Duncan Town. Duncan Town has a population of about 80 and is the only settlement in the Jumentos. As you can see by the map it is quite far south in the chain in the Bahamian Islands. From where we are it is only 60 miles to Cuba.

I spent some time in the morning doing internet and talking to my mom in the post office/town hall building. Both the town hall and school have internet that they let the cruisers use; however using internet here is not like using a signal at home. The signal can come and go and depending on the number of people it can be a long and onerous task getting things done; however I did manage to do three postings without totally going crazy. Besides we were waiting for our grocery order from the mail boat. Maxine's order seemed to be the last delivered and by late afternoon we still didn't have our groceries. We were determined to wait so we joined a group of other cruisers in the local bar and had a drink to put in the time. We trundled our bundle buggy and back packs back to the anchorage as the sun was setting. It had been a loooooooonnnnnnnnggggg day but a good day.

Our refrigeration system has been acting up and we were afraid that we were going to have to change our cruising plans and head to Nassau. You can well imagine the fear one gets when you see your freezer start to melt. We talked to some other cruisers and got some suggestions for trouble shooting. I am both relieved and happy to say that we seem to be back in business. Rob soddered one of the wires and we are hoping that the problem was electrical and has been solved.

We spent a glorious day paddling out in the ocean from Southside and doing some shelling and snorkelling. The limestone rock in this area is quite stunning and in the picture of Rob in the kayak it almost looks like snow. Today we are going to trek back into town to go to the school lunch fundraiser. It will be Bahamian staples of peas and rice, macaroni, coleslaw and conch or chicken. It should be fun and Lynn and I hope to do a little computer work before the BBQ.

From here we hope to make our way north back up the Jumento's chain visiting some cays that we have not seen and returning to some favourite spots with First Edition. I think we are planning on staying in the Jumentos until Valentine's Day when there is a big party in Hog Cay. After that we will head to Long Island for provisions and to do five weeks of laundry. I do what I can by hand but two sets of sheets and towels are all we have so we have to make due. Sometimes Celebrian's lifelines look like a clothesline. It is all just part of life living on a sail boat.

Why is this man smiling? He was so delighted that I wanted to take his picture. This is my favourite picture taken in Duncan Town.

First Edition and Celebrian Together Again

First Edition and Celebrian decided to rendezvous at Coco Bay which is as far south in the Jumentos as you can safely anchor. From there it is about 60 miles to Cuba. This is the fourth year that we have met up with Lynn and Peter and we try to spend a little time sailing together. It is always a joyful reunion and we just take up from where we last left off...a true sign of a good friendship. Lynn and Peter are taking a year off next year to live in their new house on Chesapeake Bay. This is after 4 years of living full time on First Edition so needless to say they are excited. We saw their plans the first night we had dinner with them. Peter had caught a mahi mahi a couple of weeks ago and Lynn had frozen some for us....a treat for Rob's birthday. She also surprised him with a cake since she knew he was only getting birthday bread from his wife.

The next day in Coco Bay we awoke to a surge and decided that we should look for a more comfortable anchorage. We headed north to Hog Cay which is a popular cruising anchorage because it is usually surge free. For the first day we were here it was so windy and cloudy we decided that it would be a good day to stay aboard. I read one of the books Lynn had saved for me from First Edition's library called The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. The story is narrated by Enzo the dog. He lives with Denny who is a race car driver. It is both heart wrenching and funny look at human life....as only a dog could tell it. I would highly recommend it for everyone, not just dog lovers as it has a message for us all.

We spent a night at Johnson Cay and then first thing on the captain's birthday we motored a mile over to Man O War Bay to be ready for the cold front. The captain had a choice of either birthday bread or birthday oatmeal cookies and as you can see from the picture he chose the bread. I had been trying to come up with a nice meal idea for Rob`s birthday dinner but after a month after provisioning options are not too exciting until Raphael came into the anchorage. Raphael lives in Duncan Town and makes his living diving for conch and lobster. We were able to buy 6 small lobster tails from him for ten dollars. So the birthday boy had lobster for dinner and what a treat that was. Many cruisers dive with pole spears and spear their own lobsters. Rob used to have a spear but it didn`t get put on board when we left Bayfield and it is not exactly the kind of thing you want to carry in your luggage. Peter has one so we are hoping that he can be the great white hunter for both First Edition and Celebrian.

I decided to go paddling at Man O War before the wind picked up and also do some snorkelling. The reef on the one side of the bay was beautiful and had lots of fish. We had decided that the smart thing to do in the Jumentos was to snorkel off the kayak so that if we got rattled we could always get out of the water. We see lots of rays and the occasional nurse shark but we know that they won`t bother a swimmer; however I saw my first pelagic shark, a bull shark about 20 feet away that I learned from other crusiers in the bay was close to 8 feet long. Unlike a nurse shark they are unpredictable and can be a problem with divers. Needless to say I was grateful of my kayak and have little recollection of getting out of the water and up on my kayak. Evidently the folks I spoke to had speared a couple of lobsters and nothing brings sharks faster than blood. I also didn`t know that Raphael had been cleaning conch and lobster in the bay or I would have stayed out of the water. It was something amazing to see; however that will do me for a life time.

Today, sunday January 23rd we are sailing south to meet up with First Edition. It will be wonderful to see them both. Later in the week we will be in town to pick up our mailboat grocery order from Maxine and do some blog entries.

Christine at the helm on a warm day in the Jumentos.

Life in the Jumento Cays

From Flamingo Cay we had a great sail south about 25 miles to Nurse Cay. From Nurse Cay we headed another 12 miles down the chain to one of our favourite anchorages Johnson Cay. Johnson provides good protection from every direction but the north as it is wide open to the ocean. It has a lovely crescent beach for walking and lots of rock for climbing and exploring. Unfortunately most of the Jumento beaches are on the bank side and are poor for shelling but they are great for walking. Buenavista Cay has a beach that is about 1.5 miles long and we walked the whole beach without finding any treasures; however we did make a rescue.

At low tide we saw a small pile of sand moving on the beach. Rob uncovered a beautiful helmet shell and its occupant who we named Herman was high and dry and definitely in trouble. As much as we love helmet shells we have never taken a shell with a live occupant and so while singing Born Free we moved Herman further out to sea. Just to make sure that he was indeed healthy and happy we returned to see how he was doing the next morning. We had suggested to him that he get a move on and by the next morning Herman was no more to be seen.

Before going to Buenavista we spent a night at Man O War Bay as it is a good spot to anchor for protection from the north and the west. We did some kayaking and snorkelling right off the boat. We often see sting rays around the boat and it almost seems like they associate boats with food. While the weather is forecast to be good we decided to head up the chain a few miles to Buenavista Cay. The beach is the longest in the Jumentos. The day we found Herman was the warmest day we have had in The Bahamas and we had to keep dipping in the ocean just to stay cool enough to walk. This seldom happens in the winter as the trade winds dominate the weather patterns. From Buenavista we motored down to the northern end of Raccoon Cay where once again we spent a glorious day paddling and snorkelling. It is such a pleasure not to fight the trade winds.

We have talked to Lynn and Peter on the VHF radio and we are hoping to connect with them by Monday. This weekend we are expecting a front that will keep us pinned down for a couple of days and even though we are only 12 miles apart the weather gods rule. We have been anchoring by ourselves for the most part; however we may have to share the anchorage for the front as there are fewer places to hide in poor weather. Next week we hope to get to Duncan Town, population less than 100 and the only settlement in the Jumentos. The local little store will order groceries for cruisers and then you can pick them up when the weekly mail boat comes. We may try and do this as we are as of today officially out of lettuce. Thank goodness for cabbage and canned bean and potato salad. We are not starving yet?! The little school lets cruisers use their lunch room for internet and just asks that you leave a donation so that is also on our Duncan Town list of things to do. When you are sailing down here you are really in the remote Bahamas and last night we didn't see a single light except for the full moon which has been absolutely stunning.

Today we had hoped to move to another Raccoon Cay anchorage but the wind and the surge is making us change our mind. We will head back to Johnson Cay and be comfortable for the day. Besides I want to make yoghurt and the bacteria don't like to be jostled so we need a relatively settled anchorage. That being said you have to realize that rocking gently is as good as it gets anchored in the Jumentos. Not having a surge is a pleasant surprise.

This picture shows how the conch shells have become part of the limestone on many of the beaches. It must have taken a thousand years or more we thought. I think that there were more conch alive in those days that died natural deaths and just washed up on the shores of the various islands.

A Dolphin Welcomes Us Back to the Jumentos

We spent an enjoyable evening at Deshemon's Restaurant eating our old favourite, conch pizza. Simon and Dianne run a small restaurant in Black Point with a nice patio and a free internet signal. It is popular with the cruisers. I sent off my last update and called my mom as I knew it would be awhile before I would have internet again.


The next morning we left at dawn for our motorsail to Coakley Island. We had our first dolphin come to play in our bow wave and it is always such a joyful sight. After ten hours and about 50 miles we anchored safely in what felt like the middle of nowhere. The sunset picture was taken the evening at Coakley. Coakley offers some protection out on the banks and allows us to get within sailing distance of the Jumentos. Wenesday January 12th will see us sailing about 35 miles to Flamingo Cay dodging coral heads a good part of the way. We will seek shelter at Flamingo Cay for the next 3 days as the wind is to blow 20-25-30 knots and squalls are expected. Gratefully the wind is from the north and east and we can get good shelter at Flamingo.


It is now the third day we have been hunkered down in Flamingo Cay. We are getting good shelter from the wind; however the surge here, like many of the anchorages in the Jumentos can be pretty ugly at times. Surge is the term for the waves that refract around the islands and end up rolling into the anchorage. These waves start the boat rolling and just like a child on a swing we continue to roll after being pushed. This is the motion that we hate the most and we call it the death roll. The first day we put out a stern anchor to try and keep Celebrian from lying in the trough of the waves. It has worked quite well and now we are doing a motion we call cork screwing and it is not nearly as bad as death rolling. The first night Rob slept in the salon so that I could sleep across the berth and not feel like I might roll out of bed. Picture lying in bed and rolling from side to side without any control and that is how our first night felt. Sleeping while moving is definitel a cruising skill. Lynn and Peter will be glad that they decided to stay in Long Island for this front.

The remora or shark suckers that are attached to Celebrian's keel think that she is a big shark. They use a suction cup action with the top of their heads and attach themselves to sharks, turtles or in our case Celebrian's keel. They eat the cast offs of their host;however they didn't think too much of the cabbage leaves we tossed overboard. They must be getting quite hungry. They are obviously not the brightest of fish.

Yesterday we managed to get ashore for a walk and a break from the boat. We are hoping to do the same this afternoon. Tomorrow the wind is dropping enough to allow us to head further down the chain of islands. Gratefully the forecast is for some settled weather so we are hopeful of getting diving and kayaking. The water temperature is about 23 degrees C / mid 70s F. That is an improvement from The Exumas of a couple of degrees and it makes a big difference when you are in the water for a period of time.