Rum Cay

Conception to Rum is, in theory, a short sail. And sail we did, on a nice comfortable reach, until we came even with the point of the island and the wind turned abruptly onto our nose. So between wind and current, the first fifteen miles of sailing took about as long as the last five of motoring. But we arrived, and dropped anchor in five feet of water in an otherwise-empty harbor. Apparently the marina here has been destroyed and rebuilt several times, and services on the island are currently in ebb. We had dinner at apparently the only restaurant on the island, Kay’s, which is also the only remaining (“Last Chance”) food store. As a cruiser this felt a little bleak. But there is still a lot of natural beauty.

We especially loved the hoards of crabs, doing their best to navigate the puddles across the dirt roads.

We also met the former and current owner of the marina (long story), who is now running a farm up the hill. He’s raising goats, pigs, and chickens, and he gave us a tour and some fresh eggs. Apparently the chickens hide them, so we got a half-dozen from under the seat of a jeep, and they were some of the best eggs we’ve had so far.

While we were out touring the farm, it started to rain, and we had to rush the cat back to the boat. We did our best to cover him up, but he’d rather get his head a little wet and see where we’re going.