At 7:30 AM on February 18th, we hauled anchor at Cape Santa Maria, Long Island and headed for Rum Cay. It was a decent, 6.5-hour passage. There were maybe 3-5’ swells with about a 7-second period on our starboard quarter. No slamming, just a steady roll as we proceeded. It got a little bumpier with some slamming closer to Rum Cay, but it was short-lived and not too loud. The anchorage on the south side of Rum Cay is really a shallow “bay” that is bordered on the north by the island and on the SE by a reef. It is pretty much exposed from SW-SE. The reef breaks the waves, better at low tide than at high. It was more rolly from half tide rising to half tide falling, and less rolly as the other half of the time.
The next day we dinghied ashore late morning to explore a bit and find lunch. There is an old marina at the east end of the island that was destroyed during a hurricane about 10 or so years ago. A couple of docks remain, but most were never repaired. We counted four boats tied to the intact docks. Beyond the marina, the inlet continues, lined by private homes (of wealthy people from away) and their docks. One such dock had no home and a nice sturdy ladder. We tied up there. We wandered toward “town” and stopped at Kay’s Sand and Beach Bar (she’s in the Explorer Chart Books). She also has a little gift shop and groceries. I bought a few gifts and a couple jars of pasta sauce, and she graciously agreed to make us lunch, despite the short notice. We didn’t realize we needed to call ahead of time. We were fine with burgers and fries, so we sipped some drinks while we waited in the shade and breeze outside. Her 3-year-old granddaughter joined us, bringing along some of her toys. She was adorable! It was fun to watch her figure out how to stack a round ball on top of a square item (Dave may have helped a bit). She was pleased as punch when she proceeded to accomplish the stacking herself. Lunch arrived and we devoured it! We went back to Lady, then Dave and I took off to spear fish at some of the coral heads nearby. Dave scored a couple of small lobsters, which was better than nothing. He hit one large fish, but it came off the spear before he could haul it out of the rocks. Bummer!
Rum Cay was really just a quick stop before making a long, overnight jump to Mayaguana. The forecasts made the 20th look like a viable day, but we weren’t certain. So that morning we got up early and poked our noses outside the protection of the reef. It didn’t take long to determine that we were going to be beaten up if we continued, so we turned around and went back to the protection of the bay for another night. This time, we anchored closer to government dock where it was a bit less rolly. That gave us the whole morning for chores. Dave installed a replacement speaker. I did some laundry and set up our passage dinner for the next night in the instant pot. Dave had to enlarge the hole for the speaker, which resulted in a layer of white dust in parts of the galley. Once he was done, the boat got a thorough cleaning. With that done, Dave and I went ashore again to find some lunch and talk with a local or two. We ended up at Ocean View restaurant, where the lovely proprietor said she could give us pork chops and rice. Works for us. We chatted with her and a man who came in who we assumed was her son. We learned that there are only about 50-60 residents on the island. As for work, the government and consul employ a few, but that’s it. Many go to Nassau for work, while others stay and fish. Sounds mostly like a subsistence lifestyle. When the marina was active, more cruisers came to Rum Cay. Since its demise, however, few stop or stay long. The owner told us they had a big celebration coming up that Friday, called Rum Cay Day. Family would be coming in on the mailboat in the next day or two to visit and celebrate. We always manage to miss those events. Alas!
We had just finished our afternoon drinks on Lady when we noticed a dinghy with two young men approaching. Rob and Finbar, of S/V Sophia, had seen our names in the logbook at Kay’s, where we had noted we were a solar electric catamaran from NH. They were from VT and wanted to say hello to fellow New Englanders, and to learn about our solar system. We invited them aboard for conversation, which evolved into an invitation for dinner. We enjoyed several hours with these 24-year old adventurers who had been friends since high school. They bought the sailboat during the heat of the pandemic and learned to sail. Then they bought a different boat and set out south, getting as far as St. Martin. We met them on their return north. They’re spending a couple of months in the Bahamas, then heading up the east coast of the U.S. planning to get to Maine for the summer. Hopefully Dave and I will cross paths with them this summer on Dumbledore.
The following morning, we were up at 6:30 AM to check the forecast and saw that we were good to proceed to Mayaguana. Rob dinghied over to give us a pint jar of homemade maple sugar as a thank you for dinner the previous night. We bid them fair winds and following seas, then hauled anchor and left for Mayaguana by 7:30 PM.
This was our first overnight passage of more than 24 hours since that ill-fated trip back in November of 2019. The passage wasn’t as bad, thankfully, but the latter half of it certainly was not what was forecast. You’re going to have to wait for my next post to hear the details, though. Until then, stay safe and take care of each other!
Life on Lady 