Southside Bay, Duncan Town
Hog Cay
Flamingo Cay
Water Cay
Raccoon Cay
Hunt for lobster and conch off Hog Cay
Snorkel the reef cuts near Raccoon Cay
Explore the underwater caves at Flamingo Cay
Climb the 1922 Duncan Town lighthouse
Anchor for the night at Johnson Cay
Duncan Town
Hog Cay
Flamingo Cay
Johnson Cay
Little Ragged Island
May through July typically brings the calmest weather for working down the exposed Jumentos chain, before hurricane season builds through the autumn. Because the cays offer few reliable anchorages in a strong blow, most captains treat this as a settled-weather cruising ground and build flexibility into the schedule rather than committing to a fixed route in advance. Outside the main season, the chain sees remarkably few other boats even in good conditions.
Duncan Town has a small airstrip with very limited service, used mainly by residents rather than visitors, so almost every charter guest reaches Ragged Island by boat. The nearest more reliable air connections are on Long Island or Great Exuma to the north, from where guests typically join a yacht already cruising south through the Jumentos chain toward Ragged Island itself.
Southside Bay gives the easiest access to Duncan Town and its small harbour, general store and fuel dock on the rare day both are open. Further up the chain, Hog Cay is a popular gathering spot among cruisers, while Flamingo Cay and Raccoon Cay offer sheltered, scenic stops with good snorkelling in the cuts between cays. Conditions can change quickly, so most captains keep a flexible list of backup anchorages rather than a fixed plan.
Three to five days lets guests properly work down the chain, stopping at several of the Jumentos cays rather than rushing between Duncan Town and the next major island. Because the cays offer such variety, from Hog Cay’s social anchorage to the near-total solitude of Johnson Cay, a longer stay rewards guests more than it would on a single, more developed island. Most itineraries treat the whole chain as a dedicated leg rather than a single stop.
Hurricane Irma struck Duncan Town directly in September 2017, destroying most of the settlement and forcing the evacuation of its last residents. Rather than rebuild the old diesel-fuelled power grid, the Bahamian government instead built a solar and battery microgrid, completed in 2020 and designed to supply the large majority of the town’s electricity from the sun. A small number of residents have since returned, making Ragged Island one of the most solar-reliant communities in the Bahamas.
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