Seaworthy.com

 The chart and following text are from The Southern Bahamas Guide by Stephen J. Pavlidis

The Jumentos have all the flavor of the most pristine islands of the Exumas Cays but without all the hordes of cruisers, and yet, if needed, George Town is only a day or two away. Here is solitude. Here is natural beauty. Here you can relax, enjoy life at your own pace, and rarely see another human being except for the local fishermen who frequent these islands in great numbers.

The Jumentos, once called the Yumettos, are a croissant-shaped chain of islands approximately 110 miles long that lie at the southeastern edge of the Great Bahama Bank at the western edge of the Crooked Island Passage. The entire island chain is often called the Ragged Island Range although they are most often referred to as the Jumentos with the Ragged Island Range sometimes spoken of as a separate entity. With the exception of Jamaica Cay where a new resort is being planned, the only inhabitants of the cays reside in the Ragged Island area at its only settlement of Duncan Town. As a side note, jumento in a Spanish dictionary means donkey.

The Jumentos are an ideal place for cruisers wishing to get off the beaten path, to visit unspoiled islands free from commercial development, and to enjoy superb fishing, diving, and beachcombing. When cruising the Jumentos you will rarely see another cruising boat although this will surely change as more and more visitors to George Town, Exuma begin to venture in that direction. During lobster season, from August 1 through April 1, you will probably only see fishing boats from Long Island, Nassau, or Exuma, in the anchorages up and down the cays. There are a few large cays in the northern Jumentos with the majority of the larger cays lying in the southern Jumentos in the area of Ragged Island and northwards. Many of the passages in between are wide open to the deep water of the Crooked Island Passage with a few small cays spread over a very large area. These areas are prone to heavy seas in strong easterly winds, even well out onto the banks you may experience large seas. Strong currents and tides abound in all the cuts from the banks out to the Crooked Island Passage. Do not take this warning lightly. If you think a rage in Exuma can be rough, you have yet to see one in the Jumentos. Wind against tide in some of these cuts sometimes makes for some truly awesome waves, and a ground swell against the tide, even with little or no wind, can do the same.

From George Town it is possible to pass through Hog Cay Cut and head southward, cruise the Jumentos to Ragged Island and then go offshore across the Crooked Island Passage to Long Cay or Castle Cay in the Crooked/Acklins group. Another possibility is to head down island to Ragged Island, then return along the string of cays past Nuevitas Rocks and further east along the western shore of Long Island to anchor at Dollar Harbour or off Long Island’s southern tip. From here it is only 30 some odd miles or so to Landrail Point or French Wells in the Crooked/Acklins group.

Tides in the central and southern Jumentos and the Ragged Island area are approximately 15 minutes later than Nassau. Tides in the area of Nuevitas Rocks are approximately ¾ hour later than Nassau.