23:38N 74:56W

 

Rum Cay had been a highlight for fellow cruisers last season so we eagerly looked forward to it.  Our arrival inside the reef was inauspicious – we got caught in a huge rainsquall but managed to get the sails down just in time.  The rain was unbelievable – full wet weather gear required.  Another squall hit just as we were negotiating our way into the anchorage.  A foray ashore proved we were way too early in the season.  The handful of locals we saw were outnumbered by dogs and everything was well and truly shut up. Rum Cay got hit by Hurricane Sandy last year so perhaps they haven’t recovered yet.  There were obvious signs of damage.

 

The snorkelling was good but, once again, we got hit by squalls so had to time our expeditions.

 

We had a scary incident when approached by another yacht – a lovely looking boat registered in Newport.  However it wasn’t Americans on board, there were six rather large natives.  They said they had electrical problems and needed help.  Call us unfriendly and suspicious but none of us was prepared to do so.  We went back down below and waited until they got sick of waiting and disappeared – frantically bailing.