Flamingo Bay, One Swell Of A Stay

Gentle enough conditions for pleasant sailing were forecast on Thursday morning when we set out for Flamingo Bay on Rum Cay, just a few hours away from Conception.

Flamingo Bay Beach on Rum Cay

The gentle conditions lasted about twenty minutes for as soon as we rounded the southern point of Conception, the sea state was lumpy and the wind was blowing about 20 knots. With six foot swell (large rolling waves) lifting and dropping Kaleo every few seconds, the boat rocked and rolled like a painfully long song. Imagine picking up your house and setting it into the seat of a giant Tilt-a-Whirl. Now, ask the carnie to throw the throttle on full speed and you have yourself a replica of our little sail from Conception to Rum Cay.

To add insult to injury, the wind was blowing straight from the direction of Rum Cay meaning we couldn’t sail a direct course and adding miles to our hobby-horsing journey. For our final challenge, we navigated over a mile through a tight maze of reef-riddled waters into the Bay.

There was no rest for the weary as our anchorage was so rolly we could hardly stand up without getting thrown from side to side in the boat. Picture our mast going from 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock, 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock. Flamingo Bay’s anchorage is open to the north and west with a large rock that protects a small corner from ocean swell. Our draft (depth of our boat’s keel) wouldn’t allow us to get into the more protected corner so we had to anchor right at the point where the swell wraps around the rock. 10 o’clock, 2 o’clock. 10 o’clock, 2 o’clock.

Once our anchor was securely set under the firm sand, we immediately made for the beach to walk around and regain some sense of balance. All the while, watching Kaleo roll wildly on her chain leash. 10 o’clock, 2 o’clock. 10 o’clock, 2 o’clock.

That night, we slept off and on for a couple hours while being tossed back and forth, even wearing earphones to drown out the clanking of everything shifting within the boat.

When morning finally arrived, it was off to the beach for a few hours of reprieve with plans to sail somewhere more comfortable by mid-morning. We dinghied to an unexplored-by-us portion of the beach and ended up spending nearly the entire day there. The reward for our sleepless night was the best shelling we’ve had yet along the mile and a half curve of untouched sand.

Ted and Mili offered refuge aboard “MG” for the night in exchange for another night’s stay. Slumber party, catamaran style!

That evening, sleeping aboard “MG”, we watched Kaleo’s mast top continue its wild dance. She sounded like an ocean bell buoy as her halyards and cables (though drawn taunt) clanged and reverberated in the mast. It was painful to see her taking all the wave action alone but very comfortable to have a sound night’s sleep.

In the morning, the gals hit the beach again for one final shell hunt then we packed up and pointed our bows for Port Nelson to explore the other side of Rum Cay.

N 23° 41.20 / W 74° 55.47