Ragged Islands

We did a quick run up the Ragged Island and Jumento Cays chain. By this point we had been gone from the Turks and Caicos for a week and were somewhat overdue to clear Customs and Immigration back in to the Bahamas.

The chain runs for about a hundred miles, has more than a hundred islands, and has fewer than 100 people. They all live in Duncan Town at the southern tip of the chain.

Duncan Town is the little settlement that could. Exposed at it is, on one of the higher points in the Bahamas, it has been devastated by hurricanes most recently, Irma. Being a long distance from Nassau, the money to reconstruct has been slow to appear. And now the more recent devastation in Abaco is spreading rebuilding funds even more thin.

The police station has yet to be repaired, along with many other structures in town. But work has begun on a new school and a solar power plant.

We took our dinghy up the long mangrove channel to the town dock and walked up the hill to town. Signs of rebuilding were everywhere but with a long way yet to go. We had a nice lunch at Sheila’s Fisherman Lodge and met Adrian who rode out the Irma in a house that was mostly destroyed. He told us about having to leave that house as it was being torn apart by 200 mph winds and escape to the neighbor’s house still standing. Hard to imaging what it was like, as the house that was destroyed by the hurricane was built with thick walls of stone.

The Raggeds raw beauty and nearly unoccupied land and water suggest what the Exumas must have been like many years ago. Spectacular beaches, clear water and white sand anchorages make for a nearly perfect cruising ground. I say nearly perfect as there are few places to hide from a significant cold front. The few other cruisers we ran into down there all knew each other – group of hardy sailors that return every year for a little relaxation and camaraderie at the Hog Cay Yacht Club.

After a five days in the Acklins and a few more in the Raggeds we would have enjoyed some company at the “Yacht Club” but we were the only boat anchored in the bay. We sat through yet another minor weather front but this time our anchor was well set. After diving on this set I was beginning to really appreciate the Raggeds.

We hiked across to the windward side of the island and enjoyed some great views. Also enjoyed a nice sunrise before moving north.

By now we were ten days out of Turks and Caicos so decided to get back to George Town to clear in at Customs & Immigration. The shortest route is through Hog Cay Cut (a different Hog Cay) but it looked a bit tricky so we took the long way around. That did provide for some very pretty motoring across white sand banks. About ten feet deep but we could count the blades of grass below.

We hope to return some day!