On Friday, February 5 we sailed back across the Caicos Bank to the south side of Provo where we waited for a cold front to pass. On the morning of February 8 we cleared out of the Turks and Caicos customs office in Provo (where we had cleared in) and immediately departed to the WNW for the Ragged Islands and Jumentos Cays area of the Bahamas on favorable ENE winds. This was a distance of approx. 200 nm. We anticipated an overnight passage arriving in the afternoon of the 9th, however, the winds decreased significantly during the night, slowing us down to the point that we realized we would not be able to make our selected landfall during daylight hours. So we altered our destination somewhat northeast to the Acklins Island area, specifically to the east side of (another) Long Cay to arrive there mid-afternoon on February 9. We chose this location that would allow us to wait out yet another passing cold front.

Soon after getting to deep water departing Provo, we landed a "standard issue" size female mahi mahi . It was small enough that we didn't have to slow the boat to get her in (and we weren't going that fast anyway) but was big enough for two dinners. After changing our destination from the Ragged/Jumentos to Long Cay, we also hooked a large male mahi and finally got it to the transom after about 20 minutes of struggle, simultaneously handling the fish and slowing the boat which is a real fire drill. Unfortunately, with it at the transom, Dave flubbed the landing and the fish got off. What a disappointment after all that work! However, shortly after getting the boat back on course and up to speed (maybe ten minutes) -- and even before Dave's arms recovered from the prior fight - another large mahi, this one a female - took our bait and we didn't flub this one. We slowed the boat sooner and more aggressively and landed the fish in less than 10 minutes. Another 41" freezer filler the same size as the male caught enroute to Provo back in January. Dave quickly cleaned it and Donna used the vacuum packer to package it in meal sized portions prior to freezing . We knew we had two dinners worth of the other fish to eat yet and didn't want this one going bad before we would have a chance to eat it. Life was good again!

Following passage of the front, we took advantage of the changed wind direction to the NNW, favorable for sailing in what would now be a WSW direction to our original destination in the Ragged Islands, at a distance of some 85 nm. We departed Long Cay in the dark at 2200 hrs on February 10. A night departure was reasonable from this anchorage as there were no obstacles getting back into deep water and this allowed us to plan for a daylight arrival around 10 AM the following day, affording good light for negotiating the numerous obstacles that could be confronted in the shallow anchorages of our destination. Our only challenge with the pitch black departure was locating a nearby anchored boat which had no anchor light. Dave remembered it in the daylight hours as being about a quarter mile "over there somewhere" in the general direction we needed to depart. We used our radar to locate it and depart safely.

This passage was rougher than we expected as the wind direction had not come around beyond NW as forecast and we were faced with a long upwind slog in 15 to 20 knots NW winds and choppy seas. We were using a double reefed main and full genoa. We were somewhat thankful it was a moonless night so we didn't have to see how ugly the seas probably were - just had to bear a few bouts of unforeseen cold spray in the face .

For a change, Dave actually had to sail the boat to the wind oscillations to stay close to our desired course versus letting the autopilot steer to a GPS waypoint. Most of the night he stayed glued to the windward helm focusing on the apparent wind angle instrument reading and trying to keep the genoa full. Regardless, our boat speed was in the 6 to 9 knot range and we were actually a bit ahead of our planned 1000 arrival. By around 0500 the wind had clocked a bit further towards due north, improving the apparent wind angle and Dave could relinquish the steering back to the autopilot.

We arrived at Johnson Cut, near Raccoon Cay around 0915 hours and anchored adjacent to Double Breasted Cay, reuniting with Our White Magic, who had been sailing in the area at least a week ahead of us. We had stayed in radio contact with them since separating in Provo and chose this anchorage both knowing they were here and in anticipation of the next cold front that would arrive that day . The Ragged Islands/Jumentos Cays have few all- weather anchorages and this is considered one of them, providing some protection from what would be very strong SW and W winds.

These islands are really off the beaten path, a largely untouched wilderness, and not easy to get to. There is only one settlement - not a fully qualified "town" - of less than 100 residents that is closer to Cuba than it is to any other Bahamas town. All the other cays are uninhabited. They are simply gorgeous and form a 50 nm arc "string of pearls" hanging off the Exuma Cays separated from the Exumas by a large area of very shallow water. Like the Exumas, they have deep water on the east side and a shallow bank to the west, but unlike the Exumas they are NOT for the casual minded cruiser. Being more separated from civilization, there are no facilities here to speak of and you have to be fully prepared to be totally on your own. Just the way we like it.... As with the rest of the islands, there are no aids to navigation . Literally, the only channel marks are the small cays themselves. Nonetheless, there are about a dozen boats in the nearby area - most holed up in this same anchorage to wait out the cold front.

We are affected by the same weather systems that have been bringing the big snowfalls to the mid-Atlantic states this year. We get the low pressure system trailing cold fronts - again, again, and again which present continuous planning and routing challenges. Our day begins by listening to a mariner's weather summary on the single side band radio which covers the Bahamas and TCI in detail. We can ask questions specific to our plans. Our planned movements can't reasonably be more than a few days into the future. But this is the challenge we wanted and we are loving every minute of it. Well, almost every minute!

We met Bob & Beckie of Our White Magic and a couple from another boat on the beach for Happy Hour sunset . Bob & Beckie left first in their dinghy leaving us and Chris and Ann (whom we had shuttled to the shore) with only our dinghy ashore. As we prepared to go back to our boats after dark, we failed to see our dinghy drifting away from the beach on the rising tide. It was almost out of sight already. Chris bravely swam after it as we radioed Bob to get ready to try to find and retrieve it using his dinghy. But Chris caught up with it, brought it back, and the near disaster was averted. Another lesson learned!

On Sunday, February 14 we sailed south a short distance to Hog Cay to attend a Valentine's Day beach party hosted by a nice local lady, Maxine, who runs the small market on Ragged Island. She provided a big ham and turkey and the cruisers all brought a side dish. Maxine also provided a huge sheet cake decorated with hearts. About a dozen boats were represented and we made some new friends. Maxine is a smart business lady and this was one of her ways to generate business and attract future customers via word-of-mouth on the coconut telegraph - the info cruisers pass amongst themselves. The cruisers took up a collection to cover her expenses so we're sure she made a few $$ but benefited much more from the exposure. The Bahamian people are very kind and friendly - especially on the small out islands away from the tourist traps.

On Feb. 15 we sailed north a bit to a protected anchorage in Man of War Bay at the south end of Raccoon Cay to sit out yet another cold front. We were there for four days as we waited for favorable conditions to continue moving north through the Jumentos Cays.

During this stay we were reminded of the risks involved with cruising - or living - in very remote locations. A man on another boat in the anchorage broke his wrist very badly in a fall while hiking on shore. The closest town with medical facilities sufficient to handle an injury like this is Nassau which is days away by boat, even in good weather. Cuba is closer. The closest X-ray machine is 80 boat miles away in Georgetown - at the local veterinarian. Fortunately for this guy, who was traveling alone on his boat, the other cruisers in the anchorage (several of whom he had arrived with) rallied to his assistance including making attempts to get him airlifted out to Nassau by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has an active presence in the Bahamas. The communications with the Coast Guard were initially facilitated by a commercial fisherman via VHF radio who had a cell phone link via the Bahamas cell system. Ultimately, direct communication with the CG was made via SSB radio. We offered our satellite phone in the process, but it wasn't needed. One of the cruisers in the anchorage was a licensed practical nurse who could help splint the injury. When the Coast Guard asked for his vital signs, none of the other vessels had a blood pressure cuff but Pas de Deux did, which they were grateful to borrow. To make a long story short, the CG (as we expected) refused to airlift the guy to Nassau because his situation was not life threatening. One of the other boats transported him the 15 miles south to Ragged Island, which has an airstrip, with the thought that he could charter a private plane to get to Nassau. He had to leave his boat in the anchorage. On an ironic note, during this incident, on another boat anchored south at Ragged Island was an orthopedic surgeon. The two boats coordinated a rendezvous mid-way the following morning on his trek northbound and their trek southbound so that he could check the victim's condition (and perhaps provide some stronger pain medication). We didn't hear the end of the story.

We were finally able to continue north on February 19 and we moved to the Two Palms anchorage at Flamingo Cay, about 30 miles away. While there we spent time with new friends Eric and Jeanne, residents of Juneau Alaska, on their very nice trawler Farpoint. On February 22 we sailed another 45 miles northward to Georgetown, taking a short cut through Hog Cay Cut at the east end of Little Exuma Island. This passage was a lot of fun as we had to time our arrival at the cut near high tide and visually pilot our way through the extreme shallows to pick out a deep enough passage in the mostly uncharted, shifting sands. Donna did all the planning and naviguessing. Four other crews had the same plan and we all arrived at the cut near the same time. We were the second boat through the cut - each one reporting via radio back to the others waiting to go through what depths and bottom conditions were encountered. The deeper boats waited until exactly high tide. We made it with a foot of depth to spare! A lot of cruisers don’t even want to attempt this shortcut route and take a much longer journey around the island to finally end up at Georgetown.