March 22
Salt Pond, Long Island Latitude 23_ 20.70N - Longitude 75_ 08.7W
If you have a vessel with more than four feet of draft you will likely begin and end your trip to the Jumentos at Thompson Bay/Salt Pond Long Island. The depths between Great Exuma and the Jumentos are only 2-3 feet making it impossible to traverse directly, but there is a narrow channel, called the Comer Channel, that extends west from southern Long Island in about seven feet of water to a point that connects to a southern passage with enough water for deeper drafts. Once past the channel, your obstacles are hard coral reefs and various patch reefs that are fairly easy to spot in fair weather conditions (you do NOT want to go to the Jumentos unless weather conditions are favorable). Because the depth sounder died, and the forecast called for strong north winds extending over 5 days, we left the Jumentos long before expected to ride out the weather in more protected surroundings and get the depth sounder sent for repair before it hampered more adventures in the shallows.