From the Bahamas to the Turks and Caicos Islands

 

February 1st found us returning to Long Island from the Jumentos. We needed to get the boat restocked with fresh produce diesel and water, laundry done, all the internet work/website work updated before trying to head out south for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

As of course our life is dictated to by the weather as to when we can head out we have to be ready for the 1^st available weather window. We managed to get everything accomplished and did hire a car to drive to the north to visit the Columbus monument.

The area was amazingly beautiful with white cliffs, turquoise shallow bays, pounding surf of the seas surging in and over the reefs.

Guana Cay was our next stop where we found the bay and the cay to be an enjoyable walk.

We were also able to walk the Long Island shoreline again enjoying the beautiful stretch that I had previously enjoyed with Leta and Roland.  One evening we went to the Breeze for the Super bowl Night. When we were first told about it we were not that keen on going as we both have no interest in the game, but as it turned out it was not at all about the game and it was a great social evening with all of the cruisers – 25 – boats, locals and expats from the area, all sorts of people, even the divers from the blue hole were there.

We also managed to get our sail repaired, which was essential. It was repaired by a couple, from the USA that had built a house – just an amazing place – and she, Jill was able sew it up within our first few days.

Basically within 4 days the weather was acceptable and we were ready to set sail, which we did for Rum Cay. However the weather Gods again felt it wasn’t time for us to leave – as we rounded the north point we discovered that the wind was right on the nose along with a 1knot current against us  – so we had to settle for a night in Calabash Bay at the northern tip of Long Island.

Conception Island

We set off bright and early the following morning; destination was altered to Conception Island where

we hoped to snag a good wind angle to sail to Rum Cay. Arriving in Conception within 3 hours after a fast sail and having caught a Mai Mai we were amazed at how beautiful the island was. It is a land and sea park so it is completely an uninhibited island surrounded by turquoise water, dotted with pristine reefs. Long white beaches and rocky shore ring the island itself.

In our anchorage we were greeted by some of the biggest sharks I had seen. One being a nurse shark and the other probably a lemon shark it was not a place to swim from the boat. There were 6 other cruisers there and as the bay was large it was a comfortably private anchorage. We decided to spend an extra day there exploring both land and sea. We really enjoyed snorkeling the reefs off of the northern end of Conception. They are definitely the best I’d seen to date with absolutely amazing Stag Horn coral, which is so rare these days. We also loved hiking the north coast, along the cliff tops, rocky shoreline and long beaches.

What we found to be the most stunning was our visit in the dingy to the inlet of the salt pond, mangrove area along the east shoreline. The number of juvenile turtles and sharks was unbelievable; also the huge rays were pretty incredible.

At Conception we also met up with some new friends; Les and Jeremy on “Golightly” Les is from South Africa and Jeremy is from Canada and Mark and Jill on “Truant” both are from Canada.  Mark and Jill had us on board their beautiful boat for cocktails and Mark played his guitar and harmonica; he is a very accomplished musician.  The boat is a Carpo Rico 47; the only one built as it was specially built for a couple that never got to use her. Gill and Mark showed us around it is an amazing boat even the settee lifts up to reveal a laundry room come work shop which is fully stocked man’s playroom.

Rum Cay

We all ended up leaving together for Rum Cay at 7am and sailed into Rum by mid morning. Rum Cay is also a really incredible place. It has a population of only 50 or so and most of the island is uninhabited.

We reached the marina by going down a narrow little iddy biddy channel into the marina there where we stayed for free. Mind you there was no electric hook up, nor any food or fuel available. All the rest the water, ice and trash we paid for separately. The folks there are lovely. There was Bobby the owner who mainly carves/sculpts coral sculptures for a living and sells them in different USA galleries. Gro was Bobby’s girlfriend and she is from Norway, does the general maintenance like painting and bakes great bread to sell. Then there was JJ and Hartley who do the bigger chores around the place and help the cruisers tie up and such. We were told there was a pot luck in the closed restaurant, that first night, which we all went to and had a great time and an excellent meal. Most of the people staying at the marina and some of the residents came to the potluck. The owner Bobby had found a skull from an aboriginal that had lived on the Cay way back before the colonial times. He had it there on display and apparently an expert was flying in to check it out.

We found out that the area around the marina and the marina itself was involved in a battle with an American over the land. The case was in court and there was much bad feelings between the locals and this American who had apparently tried to steal the land and had cleared huge areas without any permission. We stayed at Rum Cay for 3 days awaiting the weather, as we needed fair weather for a several day passage to reach the Turks and Caicos.

While at Rum and as we were along side, we were able to unpack our bikes and go biking. We visited the north side on our first outing. This was quite an easy ride as the “road” was a tarmac road for as far as the airstrip. After that it became a rocky sandy challenging track. It ended at a beautiful long beach. However John’s bike had a flat tire, so he rode my bike the 4 – 5 miles back to get the repair kit while I walked the beach. It was a very lonely beach as there was absolutely nobody around for miles. I walked for a good while and then headed back to his bike and started to push it back up the road where I met him after a mile or so. He fixed his puncture and we made it back just before dark.

Our second bike adventure we rode towards the western end of Rum where there is an inlet into the salt pond. This was a tough ride! The entire track was rough, rough, rock and sand where the ground had washed away or where the sea had thrown sand and rocks. However we both really enjoyed the ride and were pleased to find that we were able to manage the terrain.

The outlooks along the way were awesome. From the cliff tops we could see the coastline for miles and it was just beautiful. Arriving at the salt ponds again we found a very beautiful area to explore. We walked the shoreline and spent several hours enjoying the magnificent beach and inlet. On our return John again had a flat tire but as we had the repair kit with us and he was able to repair the tire and then continue back.

On our third day the bike ride we chose was to head towards Sandy Point in the east. These tracks were the worst we had ever encountered, just hellishly rough from where the diggers had just cleared through leaving huge grooves and boulders. Then along the shoreline the recent hurricane had washed rocks and sand over the track.

Anyway we persisted to try and reach Sandy Point, but alas we never made it, the tracks defeated us. We were just one bay away when John’s foot was too sore to continue (he has a splinter embedded in it) and it was getting late. So after a bite to eat we started our return trip. We returned using more of the shoreline track in the hope that it would be shorter, however it was harder still with deep, deep, sand and huge boulders. We both agreed it was an absolute exhausting day/ride and a never to be repeated experience. Plus as we were just about back when John got a flat tire again but this time there were 2 punctures!

We had a great dinner at a local Restaurant rum by Ruby, Hartly’s Mom. She served us cracked conch and fried fish. It was yummy! However there was very little to drink as the supply boat hadn’t arrived for some time. Our choice was coconut milk with either gin, vodka or tequila. (The men were preparing the coconut milk right outside the door, so we knew it was fresh!) After dinner Hartly ran us home on his bike. It was a all terrain bike, Jill and I sat together behind him while John and Mark sat in front  of the handle bars. It was a novel way to travel but we left the mosquitoes behind.

Turks and Caicos

 

We left Rum Cay at 10:00am on February 14th arriving at Turks and Caicos February 16th at 1:00pm a passage for us of 300 miles of which we sailed for 60% and motor sailed the rest. Our route of choice was to head east from Rum Cay until we were north of Turks and Caicos and then to head south, reason being to take advantage of the wind angle we were presented with by the weather gods. For the most part John’s strategy worked however much of the wind speed that was predicted was incorrect.

I found it to be quite tedious in the beginning of the passage and then slid into a routine of living in increments. As we did 4-hour watches I would just split each hour into 10-minute sections and found that it seemed much easier to deal with just 10 minutes at a time, especially at night.

The seas were quite rough at times with swells of around 8-10 feet and we did get winds of up to 22 knots, however we were never ploughing into the weather but moving with the wind, which does make a big difference.

I felt an amazing sense of accomplishment upon arrival, as I hadn’t been sick and was able to function throughout the passage, I’d learnt much more as far as the navigation and instruments were concerned and had found it pleasurable at times. We were greeted by a pod of over 30 dolphins when we reached the outside of the Caicos bank. They were jumping, flipping and excited to see us, an excellent arrival for us.

As I write this we are awaiting the high tide so we can get into the Southside Marina. There we can check in with customs and immigration and shelter from the front that is due to arrive this evening. We were not able to check in upon arrival yesterday due to a crisis ashore. The officials had seized a Haitian sloop full of illegals and were dealing with them.

We anchored out in Bermudian Harbour and crashed out enjoying a full nights sleep. The next morning, after arranging to enter Southside Marina, (due to the approaching front that was bringing strong winds); we waited for the high tide in the afternoon. The whole area is very shallow as we are on the Caicos bank. Anyway so into the marina we went to spend time awaiting the weather to clear. Just squeezing in over the shallow water. Meanwhile John was concerned about the rudder as things didn’t sound or seem “right” so he went over the side to see what give/play there was in the rudder. He was not happy with what he found so we contacted the main Caicos Marina. They were able to do the work for us and arranged to have the boat hauled and checked as loosing the rudder is not a risk we could afford to take.

We arranged to hire a car and decided to see what we could and do what we could while in the Turks and Caicos. At Southside we saw that there was a sister boat to Aeeshah, which was amazing as there were only ever 27 built. We met the couple Don and Mary Ann that own “Straight From the Heart” and did a tour of Aeeshah’s sister boat. Wow!! The wonderful alterations that they have made to the interior have inspired us both. They also have 2 beautiful cats, Velcro who is pure black and a 7 month Bengal kitten Kai.

We had a fun day with Jill and Mark doing a few of the sights. We visited the conch farm where they have farmed conch and are now farming some species of fish too. It was fascinating hearing about the conch life cycle. If left they believe the conch can live to 30 odd years. They actually harvest the fertilized eggs sacks, (each sack can hold a million fertilized eggs), and they then keep them in special vats. When the eggs hatch and start to be “babies” they are fed a special algae. Each age group is kept in special pens in the bay until they can be moved to the deep farm area off shore.

Our next visit was to the Cheshire Hall Plantation. This was again a very interesting visit. Built by one of the original inhabitants it was used primarily as a cotton plantation until the market folded. The slaves quarters were reproduced with a likely example of what a real one would be like. A very simple building indeed. The remains of the master’s house was standing but has not been restored. The guide explained the uses for many of the plants and I found that they were the same as in Bermuda. The one thing that I found surprising was what we call Cane grass and it is a real nuisance is an import from Africa – Guinea grass which was used for bedding by the slaves.

We moved Aeeshah to the Caicos Marina for the work to be done. It was the same marina where Truant – Mark and Jill’s boat was docked. Once there Aeeshah was hauled and blocked up for the work. It was found that indeed there was a problem, however not the one that was suspected. The stuffing box had come away from the rudder housing in heavy seas and was in an unsafe state. Unfortunately when they started to repair the damaged shaft fitting it was found that water had leaked, over time into the wood between the fiberglass. The decision was made to dig out, chip away what could be removed and have the area completely repaired. This seems to be a problem that has been worsening over many years probably since the repair had last been done to that area in 1997, according to the records, (it wasn’t done properly) and it has steadily worsened.

We had a fabulous late afternoon, evening out with Jill and Mark. We visited the Northern
Point  of the island and walked the beach. We then walked around some of the “tourist” area, (which is very elegant and exclusive), had a few drinks and listened to music followed by a truly amazing sushi dinner. Probably the best sushi ever!! When we drove back to the boatyard we were startled to find that we faced locked gates……we were locked out.

Well after trying to reach the guard by phone John climbed under the fence and found Aubry, the guard, who let us in. The hilarious part is that the marine police are stationed inside the marina too. So here they are locked inside every night as well.

We had a great evening at the Southside potluck and cook out. There was a record number of people there. Great dinner and Mark entertained the crowd.

There is a real problem with feral dogs in the whole of T&C. An organization has been established to try to resolve the problem. The dogs, puppies are rescued and given all their vet care, shots and neutering and are then put up for adoption. Many of them have been flown overseas for adoption. All of this is funded by donations and they are flown out by volunteers. They are just regular mutts, real pond dogs as we call them at home. Here they are referred to as Pot Cake Dogs. The reason is that they eat the scraps at the bottom of the pots after the peas and rice has been cooked. Check out the blog at: info:http://www.potcakeplace.com     There are several of these dogs in the marina. One of them I called Brindle and became quite fond of her.I think they are wonderful dogs and much better to import into Bermuda than any pure breed.

We have had many fun evenings and afternoons with Jill and Mark. They have treated us to excellent sushi and conch salad. Mark has entertained us most evenings and so being up on the hard has been made

so much easier.

We hope the repair will be completed today. Then we really hope to have our boat splashed back in tomorrow. And all being good we would leave T&C for the Dominican Republic at the end of this week. Fingers crossed…….

 

 

 

 

 

 

        “The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our disposition and not on our circumstances.”                  Martha Washington