Location: Raccoon Cay, Ragged Islands, Bahamas
Position: N 22 21.393 W075 48.814
The chart book says “The Ragged Islands are not just more southerly Exumas but rather unpopulated wilderness with only one tiny settlement that’s closer to Cuba than to George Town. Cruisers must be totally self-sufficient here; there are no services to speak of in the entire chain. “
No chandleries, marinas, fuel, spare parts, groceries, toilet paper, restaurants or beer. And only a little water. Being this remote means we’re pretty much on our own if anything happens to us or Rachel. If we run aground, it’s up to us to get off. If we break down, it’s up to us to get going again. If we get sick or are injured, we’ll have to be our own doctors. Duncan Town, the lone settlement on Ragged Island has a population of less than 100. It’s very remote and definitely off the beaten path. This, of course, is what lures Rachel and her crew down for a visit. Not to mention that it's also absolutely gorgeous here with great fishing, snorkeling, hiking, and beachcombing.
It took us 3 days (of awesome sailing we might add – woohoo!!) to get here. Our friends on Diva have already been here for 2 weeks and we arrange to meet them in the anchorage at House Bay on Raccoon Cay. After their enthusiastic description of the island chain we are really looking forward to the peace and quiet.
As we pull in to anchor we notice a blue boat in a small bay just north of us, which we think seems a bit unusual as it is so remote. We assume it’s a fisherman from Duncan Town on Ragged Island, a few islands to the south. As we approach, however, we are able to read "POLICE" on the side. We can also tell it’s not one, but two, high tech high speed blacked out stealth Bahamian Defence Force patrol boats rafted together with a third white-hulled boat alongside. After we get anchored our
friends on Diva say they’ve been zooming around the area all day. They have no idea what’s going on but are very pleased to see us and our travelling companions on “Osprey”. Safety in numbers, and all that.
After a while a helicopter arrives and starts circling in an obvious search pattern over the island. We discover they’re coordinating with the police boats (“Ghost Rider I and Ghost Rider II”) on VHF channel 21, so we listen in. The helicopter has to leave to refuel in George Town. Another arrives - bright orange and white, we see it’s a US Coast Guard chopper. The chatter on channel 21 doesn’t tell us much – search here, fly over that island there, look there’s a house with a rusted roof.
We still don’t know what’s going on, but we’re nervous about going ashore. One of the boats has children aboard, so the father calls the Bahamian Defence Force guys on the VHF and asks if it’s safe for us or if we’ll interfere with their operations if we go ashore. They reply “No, you should be fine. We’re just looking for some suspects.” That makes us all feel so very much better…..
Raccoon Cay is only about 50 miles north of Cuba and maybe 80 miles from Haiti so there is apparently a lot of drug running and illegal immigration activity in the area. Apparently it's a fairly frequent occurrence to see the US Drug Enforcement Agency in the area trying to catch drug runners!!! And we thought it would be quiet and serene here!! Something big must be going on because they're throwing a lot of effort and resources into it.
We all decide to go to sleep, hoping they’ll be gone when we wake up. In the morning one of our friends tells us she woke up in the night and, seeing a rock she hadn’t noticed earlier, wondered if they’d dragged anchor. Naked, she grabs the binoculars, climbs up into the cockpit and takes a closer look at the “rock”. It’s the stealth boats, blacked out, no lights showing and engines barely making any noise. Only a hundred feet or so away. Then she thinks “I wonder if they have infra red binoculars? Oops!” It doesn’t take her very long to vanish back down below.
Gone in the morning? Nope. In fact, not only do we have the Defence Forces stealth boats and the Coast Guard helicopter, we also have two other choppers circling the island.
Now we hear the Coast Guard chopper talking to “Delta One” who have apparently been dropped on the ground for a recon mission. Wow, it just keeps getting better.
One of the choppers: "We heard shots were fired." Delta One: "If they were, they weren't firing at us." Other chopper: “There are 3 sailboats on the west side of the island (meaning us!!) – you should probably check them out!” Defence Force boat: “We already have” (even though they haven’t – oh, wait – our binocular wielding naked friend – maybe they figure they checked that boat out well enough to count for all three of us).
It’s about this time we decide to move. No point staying here since we can’t go ashore and don’t even feel safe dinghying around. All this cops and robbers stuff makes us all feel downright nervous, not to mention detracting a bit from the allure of the Jumentos.
We’re grateful that the Bahamian Defence Forces and the US Coast Guard are on the ball, protecting the Bahamian people and their guests from “the bad guys”. That being said, we’re also grateful that we have the ability to leave them all behind, at least for a while. We haul anchor and sail a few miles north to Buena Vista Cay. We anchor off a beautiful mile long beach lined with palm trees, in bright blue water with easily accessible coral heads for snorkeling, and not a cloud or helicopter in the sky. Aaahhhh.
When we made the decision to visit the Jumentos and Ragged Islands, we knew from the start that we’d have to be totally self-reliant. There’s a certain sense of vulnerability that accompanies this, and we’re prepared to deal with that. It’s completely unexpected, however, to feel this entirely different form of vulnerability imposed upon us from outside by the “civilization” we supposedly left behind.
"Who you gonna call?"
Position: N 22 21.393 W075 48.814
The chart book says “The Ragged Islands are not just more southerly Exumas but rather unpopulated wilderness with only one tiny settlement that’s closer to Cuba than to George Town. Cruisers must be totally self-sufficient here; there are no services to speak of in the entire chain. “
No chandleries, marinas, fuel, spare parts, groceries, toilet paper, restaurants or beer. And only a little water. Being this remote means we’re pretty much on our own if anything happens to us or Rachel. If we run aground, it’s up to us to get off. If we break down, it’s up to us to get going again. If we get sick or are injured, we’ll have to be our own doctors. Duncan Town, the lone settlement on Ragged Island has a population of less than 100. It’s very remote and definitely off the beaten path. This, of course, is what lures Rachel and her crew down for a visit. Not to mention that it's also absolutely gorgeous here with great fishing, snorkeling, hiking, and beachcombing.
It took us 3 days (of awesome sailing we might add – woohoo!!) to get here. Our friends on Diva have already been here for 2 weeks and we arrange to meet them in the anchorage at House Bay on Raccoon Cay. After their enthusiastic description of the island chain we are really looking forward to the peace and quiet.
As we pull in to anchor we notice a blue boat in a small bay just north of us, which we think seems a bit unusual as it is so remote. We assume it’s a fisherman from Duncan Town on Ragged Island, a few islands to the south. As we approach, however, we are able to read "POLICE" on the side. We can also tell it’s not one, but two, high tech high speed blacked out stealth Bahamian Defence Force patrol boats rafted together with a third white-hulled boat alongside. After we get anchored our
friends on Diva say they’ve been zooming around the area all day. They have no idea what’s going on but are very pleased to see us and our travelling companions on “Osprey”. Safety in numbers, and all that.After a while a helicopter arrives and starts circling in an obvious search pattern over the island. We discover they’re coordinating with the police boats (“Ghost Rider I and Ghost Rider II”) on VHF channel 21, so we listen in. The helicopter has to leave to refuel in George Town. Another arrives - bright orange and white, we see it’s a US Coast Guard chopper. The chatter on channel 21 doesn’t tell us much – search here, fly over that island there, look there’s a house with a rusted roof.
We still don’t know what’s going on, but we’re nervous about going ashore. One of the boats has children aboard, so the father calls the Bahamian Defence Force guys on the VHF and asks if it’s safe for us or if we’ll interfere with their operations if we go ashore. They reply “No, you should be fine. We’re just looking for some suspects.” That makes us all feel so very much better…..
Raccoon Cay is only about 50 miles north of Cuba and maybe 80 miles from Haiti so there is apparently a lot of drug running and illegal immigration activity in the area. Apparently it's a fairly frequent occurrence to see the US Drug Enforcement Agency in the area trying to catch drug runners!!! And we thought it would be quiet and serene here!! Something big must be going on because they're throwing a lot of effort and resources into it.
We all decide to go to sleep, hoping they’ll be gone when we wake up. In the morning one of our friends tells us she woke up in the night and, seeing a rock she hadn’t noticed earlier, wondered if they’d dragged anchor. Naked, she grabs the binoculars, climbs up into the cockpit and takes a closer look at the “rock”. It’s the stealth boats, blacked out, no lights showing and engines barely making any noise. Only a hundred feet or so away. Then she thinks “I wonder if they have infra red binoculars? Oops!” It doesn’t take her very long to vanish back down below.
Gone in the morning? Nope. In fact, not only do we have the Defence Forces stealth boats and the Coast Guard helicopter, we also have two other choppers circling the island.
Now we hear the Coast Guard chopper talking to “Delta One” who have apparently been dropped on the ground for a recon mission. Wow, it just keeps getting better.
One of the choppers: "We heard shots were fired." Delta One: "If they were, they weren't firing at us." Other chopper: “There are 3 sailboats on the west side of the island (meaning us!!) – you should probably check them out!” Defence Force boat: “We already have” (even though they haven’t – oh, wait – our binocular wielding naked friend – maybe they figure they checked that boat out well enough to count for all three of us).
It’s about this time we decide to move. No point staying here since we can’t go ashore and don’t even feel safe dinghying around. All this cops and robbers stuff makes us all feel downright nervous, not to mention detracting a bit from the allure of the Jumentos.
We’re grateful that the Bahamian Defence Forces and the US Coast Guard are on the ball, protecting the Bahamian people and their guests from “the bad guys”. That being said, we’re also grateful that we have the ability to leave them all behind, at least for a while. We haul anchor and sail a few miles north to Buena Vista Cay. We anchor off a beautiful mile long beach lined with palm trees, in bright blue water with easily accessible coral heads for snorkeling, and not a cloud or helicopter in the sky. Aaahhhh.
When we made the decision to visit the Jumentos and Ragged Islands, we knew from the start that we’d have to be totally self-reliant. There’s a certain sense of vulnerability that accompanies this, and we’re prepared to deal with that. It’s completely unexpected, however, to feel this entirely different form of vulnerability imposed upon us from outside by the “civilization” we supposedly left behind.
"Who you gonna call?"
