A cruise through the Bight of Acklins definitely qualifies as remote. We were there for five days and never saw another boat of any kind. We went ashore one day and barely found anyone there either. Since the population is only about 500 that is understandable.
We left Provo, Turks & Caiscos, midday and rounded Castle Island at the southern tip of Acklins just before dawn. Our destination was Delectable Bay but the timing of the tides did not support the more direct route along the back side of the island so we ran north to the tip of Long Cay and entered the Bight there.
Our choice of Delectable Bay met two criteria. First, it would allow us to visit a couple of the small settlements on the island and second, it would provide some protection from strong northeasterly winds predicted for that night. Active Captain comments mentioned poor holding with sand over marl, but we figured we could get a decent grip somewhere.
We anchored using our usual technique to set the anchor, including backing down at 1200 rpm or so. Our first attempt held so we were encouraged, until I dove on the anchor.
Looking at this you might wonder why we didn’t pull up and re-anchor. But this photo was taken after the blow. When I initially dove on the anchor there was a fair amount of sand piled up in front, making it appear the anchor was more deeply set than it was. After 8 hours of winds gusting to 40 knots I suspect all the loose sand was washed away and this was all that was left to hold the anchor.
I have no idea how the anchor held through those winds. Luckily there were no wind shifts so it never had to re-set. I admit that I knew it was not the best set I have ever seen, but in my defense, we could drag a couple of miles before the nearest sand flats. Did I mention we were the only boat in the anchorage? In the entire Bight?
Our first land adventure was to the settlement of Pompey Bay. The sign is all we could find. I am sure there were a few houses somewhere, but after walking for 15 minutes and seeing no one, we returned to the dinghy to find a “bigger” town.
PRIVATEER is in the background, so far away that she is not easily seen. Before the road was built, the only way to move up and down the island was by boat and these jetties were important. Now there are no boats and no reason to maintain the jetties. Leaving Pompey Bay we were getting hungry and thirsty so hoping Delectable Bay had more activity.
When the population of the settlement is only about 20, there is no need for a sign to identify the local store. We would have missed it but for the lady near by that invited us in. Not much to sell, some dry goods, a few sheets of drywall and, thankfully, some cold Kalik!
Our next destination was Ragged Island and the distance required us to reposition near the west end of the Bight in order to cross over to Ragged and arrive before dark. We anchored at the tip of Long Cay in order to hop out to sea around 2am.
After our anchoring experience at Delectable Bay I was hoping for a little better set this time. While the set wasn’t perfect, a bit of a sea grass ball rolled up under the anchor, a calm night was predicted so all was well.
The weather pretty much dictated our early departure. A significant cold front was heading our way and there is no west protection in the Bight. We did miss out on some land adventures that we had planned, but as a cruising ground, its hard to get too excited about the Bight of Acklins. We hear that there is some good snorkeling further south and we didn’t get down there, but the route is a bit shallow for our 5′ draft. It is also difficult to get near shore for any wind protection as the slope of the shore is shallow quite a ways out into the bay. And did I mention the holding is difficult?