Bahamas, Jumento Cays (Ragged Islands), Ragged Island and Hog Cay – Now this is much too civilized!

We have had a wonderful time in the isolated Jumento Cays, but the cupboards are getting empty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Also we are missing having an internet connection.  We are lucky enough to have a SSB (single side band) radio and a pactor modeum to receive basic messages and weather forecasts, but we can not do any research or update the blog.  So we are going to head off to the only populated island in the string of Cays here, Ragged Island.

Unfortunately the harbour in front of Duncan Town, on the north west end of Ragged Island, has silted up.  There is still an area in the harbour deep enough for vessels to anchor in, but it is a long distance from town and open to ocean surge.

Our cruising guide recommends using the sheltered bays on the west side of Hog Cay to anchor and then taking a dingy ride into town.

So we set sail for the south western bay of Hog Cay.  We had a lovely sail down and passed lots of boats heading back north.  One boat struck us as very unusual.  It was a motor boat (trader sort of style) that had sails.  Yes, sails!  A ‘sort of’ main sail and Genoa on the fore deck and a ‘sort of’ mizzen on the back deck.  Sorry the new (purchased used in George Town) camera has a poor zoom feature, but I was sure you wanted to see this.

We got into the anchorage in the late afternoon and found that it was a lot shallower then the charts indicated.  We had to anchor well off shore with spring tides, but well worth the longer kayak ride ashore.

Well cleared and marked trails lead from the beach across the cay to the harbour that separated Hog Cay from Ragged Island.

There is a lovely windward beach here with a coconut grove.

If you do not mind being anchored a little further off shore, this is a lovely anchorage.

If you fancy a little civilization and luxury then you want to anchor over at Middle Pen Bay, just north of this beach.

Here deeper water runs ‘a little’ closer to shore and it too has a fabulous beach.

But what makes this anchorage special is the cruisers that return here season after season.  This endeavorous lot have built their own Yacht Club from flotsam.

Here cruisers have built tables, benches, fire pits and decorated the place with their boat names a memorability.

At the far end of the Hog Cay Yacht Club the town’s people shipped in building materials and they pitched in with cruisers to build a much more substantial structure.  This building is the focal point for the annual Valentines Party.  We heard over 40 boats attended this year with the entire (about 65) population of Duncan Town.

In between festivals the hut is a lovely shady place to hang out and cruisers have set up a book exchange here, and of course, have started decorating the place with memorabilia.

If chilling is not your style then there are lots of trails, cleared and marked with flotsam, criss crossing the cay.

Some of the beaches on the windward side are covered in flotsam.

Here you can find a multitude on useful building materials and even bits to make your own boat sign.

There are also lots of rock pools to cool off in and logs to take a respite on.

The winding paths across the cay will lead you to windward beach to beautiful windward beach.

There is lots to keep you entertained here.

With our building materials collected I got the humans to work making us a boat sign.

It is remarkable what you can make with flotsam, some paint, old fishing line and a Dremmel tool.

When you want a change there is also Duncan Town to explore next door on Ragged Island.  It is about a 20 minute dingy ride around the towns shallow and reef encircled harbour and in through a cut made in the mangroves.  You do need to pick settled conditions or it will be a ‘wet and bumpy’ ride across the open section.

The ‘small vessel’ route from Hog Cay is well marked.  After you round Hog Point you can clearly see the big white cross on the top of Pass Cay, leave this to port (the left).

Leave the next Cay, Salt Cay, also to port and continue straight until you find the channel marker for the turn into the mangrove cut.

The mangrove channel ends in a small fishing harbour and a concrete dock to tie your dingy.  Do not forget your dingy anchor, to hold yourself off.  From the dock it is a short climb up a hill into town.

From up here you have a clear view of the mangrove channel and the shallow reefs that surround the harbour.

Just over 60 souls live in Duncan town, and almost as many goats.

On the opposite side of town you will find the salt ponds.  The town’s people each have their own section and work these each summer making a small profit and supplying their own needs.

The town itself consists of mostly pleasant homes, a school and administration buildings.

Although the town has one odd house.  A pigeon house!

Started as a small hobby, it has taken over an entire house.  The owner also breeds quails, and a huge variety of chickens out back.

For the cruisers interest there is a BaTelCo office and tower to purchase mobile and internet time.  It is a weak and variable signal at Middle Pen Bay, Hog Cay, but the town has a much stronger signal.  You can sit and use the slow signal at the towns little band stand or you can patronize one of the three bar/restaurants in town that have a good 3G link.

A beer in Duncan Town is half the price of George Town, but the grocery selection is very limited with only one tiny store housing no more than the basics.  Similar to George Town, the town depends on a weekly mail boat to bring in new supplies.  The owner of the store, Maxine, has friends and family in Nassau, and can have anything you need purchased and sent to Duncan Town on this mail boat.  She can also arrange for your propane tanks to be filled there.  And it is cheaper then George Town.

Maxine tries to keep a reasonable selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, but it is difficult for her when the number of cruisers coming here fluctuates so much.  As a result the ‘pickings are scarce’ between mail boat arrivals.

If you leave in the late afternoon, and the weather is settled, the little fishing harbour will be filled with boats arriving with their days catch.  Here you can purchase freshly caught and cleaned fish and lobster.  I will warn you, watching them dump all those lobster heads and fish guts in the waters of the tiny harbour, is frightful.

But if you are anchored at Hog Cay you can dingy back to the crystal clear waters here to cook and enjoy your purchases.  With a sundowner of course!