Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

Started the day doing some boat chores- washed a big load of laundry...needed to do that before the forecast "big winds" arrive tonight.

There just wasn't enough solar to do it all at once, so we ran the generator for about an hour to make water and bake a loaf of bread as well.

I thought I had the recipe "just right" to make a nice loaf - but every once in a while I get this - just too big for the breadmaker.  No worries - it's still delicious - just a bit of cleanup to do!

 Then it was time to stretch our legs a bit before the windstorm arrives.  We may be "boatbound" if the chop makes it difficult to get in the dinghy.  

Just a normal beach walk. 

 

Beautiful day!

 

But we could see the stormfront approaching from the west so we turned around and made it back to the boat before the rain started.

 

Bluejacket getting a nice rinse.

 

And at sunset we were treated to a mesmerizing display of clouds!  Looking east.

The actual sunset was spectacular!!!  This is just the photo I snapped - no filters or anything.

 

As the night progressed, the winds built into the low 30's.  The anchorage was excellent protection - we slept easily thru the night.

 

We woke to Now & Zen being at the end of the rainbow!

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

 The anchorage is quite beautiful with a mix of sun and heavy clouds.

 

In preparation for the coming winds and storms, we took down our flags.  The Bahamian flag was in need of replacement anyway!

We did re-anchor the boat in a slightly better position...

 

Sunset was colorful.....

And overnight was just a bit bumpy - we saw a frontal passage with gusty winds and rain.  That lasted only about an hour or so with the highest gust we saw at 34 knots.  The stronger wind event starts tonight and will last all day Tuesday into Wednesday.  But we're now perfectly positioned for it.

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

Beautiful sunrise over the cut.  There are 6 boats now anchored on the east side of the channel.  We'll be seeing 24 hours of west winds at 30+ knots sustained starting tomorrow....non of us have ever ridden out a storm anchored here but we're hoping the protection will be goo.

 This area is quite beautiful!  Bluejacket joined us in the afternoon.  We used Jerry's handheld depth sounder to make sure we have good depths for a 360° cycle. 

 

We do have one very small coral head that my interfere with our chain so we might have to re-anchor at some point in the next two days.  Not ideal but manageable.

 

There was a nice-sized gathering at sundown - this will probably be the last one for a few days since the winds will start blowing soon.

 

No green flash since there were clouds at the horizon but a pretty sunset nonetheless.

 

We were invited over to Meriwether for pizza!   The view of the sunset from their boat.

 

Our lovely hostess Jeanna - their boat is a Pacific Seacraft.

 

And host Jeff.  Sweet folks.  We had Thanksgiving dinner with them and Charm in Vero Beach.

 

Jeff is a woodworker and custom made this beautiful mahogany table for the small cockpit.

Now & Zen joined us for a really fun evening. 

 

Jeanna made a wonderful Sicilian pizza - an old family recipe.

 

Served with a fresh salad that included my favorite arugula.  (They've recently been in Georgetown so had fancy groceries!!)

Fun evening with great conversation.

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

With the forecast strong winds coming up several of the boats in the cut anchorage decided to move out further east than we've ever done before.  This should, in theory protect us a little more from the winds when they turn east.

 

After we backed down on the anchor at a high RPM to bury it well, we went out for a snorkel in the currently calm conditions.  Jerry in his dinghy paired up with us.

 

Beautiful water - a bit chilly though.  I wore my full wetsuit and was very comfortable.

 

Duane got one nice lobster.

 

The bad thing about anchoring in the this area, the land that will protect us from the west winds is also blocking our sunset-over-the-water view!

 

But we should be having a beautiful view of sunrise to the east!  Unfortunately, it is cloudy this morning....maybe tomorrow will be clear.

A few minutes later.

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

We woke to a beautiful morning...what looks like a Cessna Caravan flew into the airport - Phicol had said that the construction workers were due back soon so I expect it was carrying a few of the men back from a long holiday.

 

I did some monthly paperwork most of the morning.  We did venture out once to take trash to the dump - exciting stuff!

 

The anchorage in the distance is pretty full with 14 boats waiting on the strong winds on Feb 5-6.

We went in for sundown....a bit too cloudy on the horizon to see the actual sunset.  But the reflection making the pink clouds was beautiful.

We will be treated to two days of almost dead calm now.  You can see straight down to the bottom off the boat. 

The bad thing about calm days is that the no-see-um's tend to find us with no wind to blow them away.  So we'll probably be closing up all the hatches in the evenings to protect ourselves!!

Little Ragged Cut, Ragged Islands, Bahamas

We continue to stay in one spot, really the only spot in about 100 miles that will offer protection from a weather system forecast for Feb 5-6 that will blow west winds gusting to 40 knots for 24 hours.  

Rick on C Language had arranged for the Lost Cay Lodge to open up for the cruisers for lunch - Phicol brought a truck to the airport to haul a bunch of us to the Lodge.

 

Always an adventure!

 

Good, noisy conversations.

 

It is "honor bar" there - you just go to the fridge and pick out your beverage - keep your bottle caps in your pocket - at the end of the day - count and present your bottle caps to pay your tab.

 

Those who wanted pizza had ordered ahead....very nicely done!

 

Lots of salty stories....

 

Good fun and we're happy that they are willing to open up and let us have a nice outing.  (They are actually a bone-fishing lodge....not really open to the public as a restaurant but just for their bone-fishing customers).

 

After a much needed and deserved nap....a quite and beautiful evening and sunset.