Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 Broken record here....windy and chilly.  I know, 66 °F

 is not that cold....but I'm more accustomed to 76 °F !

At least the sky was mostly blue!  The batteries recovered somewhat but will need another sunny day to be fully charged. 

 

Mid-day a skiff with Bahamians (I think from one of the fishing boats still anchored nearby) came to shore and dove for conch.  I guess they must have been itching for something to do as well.  The shoreline was choppy all day with the northwest winds.

I was in the mood for some different bread so got out the recipe or hamburger buns.

 

 Turned out lovely. 

The sunset was brilliant and I saw just a hint of a green flash!

 

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 Another less-than-ideal weather day.  The morning was very grey and rainy for hours. 

We worked on getting all our business info to the accountant for taxes.  Never fun but a must do..... 

I heard an aircraft engine and went on deck as this twin engine airplane took off in low ceilings.  It looked like they were closer to us than the photo appears.  

 

 At different points during the day, the wind was either howling or dead calm.  Here we were just hovering over our anchor chain.  Before sunset we cranked up the engines and pulled hard on the anchor to make sure all was still well as we had some 30 knot west winds forecast overnight.

 

Sunset was mostly cloudy to the west but pretty looking to the east (due to reflected light I assume)!  There are 8 boats in the cut and I counted 10 boats anchored at the Southside anchorage plus two Bahamian fishing boats.  All seeking protection from the prolonged west winds.

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 Well, I hate to be a Debbie Downer....but the weather kinda stinks.  This season's weather has not been very cooperative.  At least it's warm now.  

Still breezy and the winds continue to clock around cyclically every 5-7 days, making it necessary to stay here in the protected cut anchorage when the winds are strong and from the west.  

More rain today.  I guess we'll read another book and bake some cookies!

 

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 Nothing much to report today!  The winds are still fairly strong but the temperature has gotten milder.  Beautiful sunrise though.

 

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 Feeling a bit boat-bound, we decided to make a trek up to Duncan Town.  We had a nice contingent with the same feeling.

 

Over the hill with Duncan Town in the distance.

The mailboat is still at the dock and leaving soon.  Lots of activity with a Bahamian fishing boat anchored off Little Ragged.  

 Townsfolk joined in bringing all their recent catch for shipment on the mailboat.   Kind of organized chaos.

 

 The cruisers got a few groceries at Maxines and did some visiting.  Note the jackets as we were all a bit chilly at 66°F!  (Thanks to Deb from 360 for the photo)

 

The trek back to the dinghies was pleasant as the day warmed up.  Don't often see us in long sleeves!
 

 

Back to the boat....cloudy skies are making solar power generation a bit of a struggle.

Jerry and Donna invited us over for a wonderful taco dinner and games in the evening.  I forgot to snap a photo but it was a wonderful time!

 

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 Blustery day......this is our view into an approaching squall.  Maranatha in the foreground.

 

We went for a short beach walk on a western beach out the cut just to stretch our legs.  We were on guard all day due to the arrival of the mailboat with our grocery orders from Nassau!!

 

Since it's so windy, we couldn't get around to the government dock.  I contacted Phicol in Duncan Town to arrange for them to delivery our grocery order to the airport where we can anchor and pick up the boxes.  Three of the cruisers had ordered groceries.  I was down to literally 2 carrots as my only fresh vegetable.  Not to worry, we won't starve, it's just nicer to have fresh stuff of course!

The unloading process was lengthy apparently because we didn't get the call to come ashore until well after dark.  Not really a fun process in the dark in howling winds.....but it worked out fine.

Phicol and a helper from the Captain C were at the end of the runway when we arrived.

 

Phicol helped unload, always cheerful!

Since it was high tide, we had an easy dinghy ride back to the boats.  (The area between the anchorage and the airport is notoriously shallow but navigable at high tide in the dinghy).  

Our address here - Karen McCraw  Ragged Island  Captain C 

 

 We dropped off groceries for Bluejacket so they didn't have to make the trip over.  Worked out well.

My grocery haul...I ordered and paid for tomatoes but somehow they didn't arrive.  Oh well.  Maxine will have tomatoes in her store so I can get some there. It may be several days before we make it back to Duncan Town due to the winds.....common story this year! 

 

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 Getting a little stir crazy on the boat....we got in the dinghy for a oceanside walk just to stretch our legs.  

 

 

 A couple of the other boats had the same idea.  We crossed paths and chatted with them a bit.  Lovely but windy day.  It was low tide so the little pools were calm.... 

 

Further down the island in the wide open bay the sargassum weed was being blown in from the Atlantic Ocean.  Not a pretty sight but no one cares on these uninhabited islands.

We walked all the way to the southern tip of Little Ragged.  Pretty but churned up water.

 

Ocean side views were better.

 

On the way back I spotted this board that was obviously from a shipwreck of some nature.  The nails caught my eye...usually nails in flotsam are rusty iron...

But a close look at these - green - must be copper.  Wonder how old?  A quick Google search says they were used in the late 18th century!

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 We are in a little nasty weather pattern....strong east winds right now, clocking around to west in the middle of the night....then west/northwest winds build to 30-40 knot gusts for several days.  Sort of unusual and makes snorkeling pretty impossible.  So we're in a bit of a holding pattern with no fun photos....

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 We headed out for a snorkel with Marjane and Bill to the south end of the island.  Likely the last time we'll get to snorkel for a week or more because we have some yucky windy weather forecast.

Visibility was not great in some places but OK in others.

 

After about an hour with no luck fishing we spotted a hogfish....Duane proceeded to chase it a while.  As I was following Duane, I noticed this nice shark circling below.  Before I knew it Duane was diving to spear the hogfish. 

 

 Mr. Sharky - 

 Luckily, Bill and Marjane were nearby on their dinghy and came right away to take the fish from Duane so the shark wouldn't think he could have a free lunch!  

 

 

 

Back to shore, we cleaned the fish and a lobster he also speared.  Clouds rolled in later but it never really got stormy.

 

For supper, we made good use of the fishing proceeds....I sauted the lobster in lemon butter.  For the hogfish, I made a lemon zest-garlic-ginger butter and pan-fried the fillets with lemon slices I had browned earlier.  Was delicious!

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 We are finally having a fairly calm wind day....and since it's super sunny....it's super warm.  Time to try out a new shade!  Louie and Deb on 360 had gotten a brand new large shade for their foredeck and needed a home for their old one.  So on to Sojourn it went!

Deploying it for the first time - amazing how well it fit!

 

 This gives some much needed shade when the sun is on the bow.

 

 

 

A little cluttered looking but nice an cool inside!

In the early afternoon, almost all the boats in the anchorage set out via dinghy for some snorkeling.

First stop was the Cocoa reef - the water was a bit cloudy but was nice to have a long swim in the cool water.

 

 

We eventually headed to the southern tip of Little Ragged and found the water to be much clearer there.  We just swam around the lovely reef....saw a few lobsters and groupers.  Back to the boat for a lazy afternoon.

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 I heard an aircraft engine roaring over at the Duncan Town airport and stuck my head out to see.....this guy was having a bit of fun with a low-level takeoff.....

 

 Mid-day I got a hankering for some cinnamon rolls.

 

About as easy as it comes. 

 

 Left to rise a bit.....

And fresh out of the oven!

Donna and Jerry invited us over in the afternoon for some games.  We played a round of 5 Crowns and a round of Hearts.  Good fun and good company!!  

 

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 We set out before 8AM to head down to the south end of Ragged Island.

Fun little sail with just the mail sail up....

 In the afternoon, we went for another ocean side walk.  

Lovely as always and some good exercise.

And when we returned to the boat, the loaf of bread was hot and ready in the breadmaker!