Wednesday, February 11 – Saturday, February 14
| Start: Thompson Bay, Long Island, Bahamas (anchored) | Miles: 317 nm |
| End: Cockburn Town, Grand Turks, Turks & Caicos (anchored) | Time: 50hr 42m |
| Weather: Caribbean Warm, light to moderate winds | Waves: 4 ft confused seas, washing machine |
| Wildlife: Dolphins, starfish, donkeys |
This passage was really 4 very different trips all merged together. Here’s the overview:
- Five hour fun sail to the north end of Long Island, where we anchored to catch some rest while the seas calmed down
- Thirty-three hours motoring to Provo in Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) in lumpy, confused seas. No one felt good. We checked in here, got some diesel and lunch, and took for a few more afternoon hours.
- Three hours motor across the crystal-clear, glass-water-calm Caicos Bank. Anchored in the middle of the bank without land in sight.
- Ten hours motor-sailing to Grand Turks in increasingly choppy conditions
Our two weeks in the Bahamas have been marked by two big northern blows, and record-low temperatures. We snorkeled a few times, but usually in our full-body wet suits to keep warm. With the water being the big draw to the Bahamas, we were left with a couple options: either stay here until it warms up, or press further south and east toward warmer temperatures. We decided to press on. But before we could move on, we really needed to finalize our insurance. At the furthest point our current policy allowed, we needed to choose one of the policies we had been reviewing.
We ironed out the insurance Terms & Conditions and left for Turks & Caicos, the midpoint between us and the Dominican Republic. We had a lumpy sail from Long Island in the Bahamas to Provo in Turks and Caicos. We checked in on land and picked up some diesel from a gas station. It was a much longer walk than we thought back to the dinghy.
Fueled up, we headed out in the afternoon to begin crossing the Caicos Bank, which is an archipelago 50 miles across, and consistently 12 feet deep. The water, roughly the color of blue Gatorade, was crystal clear with the still wind, and we watched coral heads and starfish drift below us. We anchored in the middle of the Caicos Bank, which felt wrong. There was no shelter from wind or waves, but there was nothing we needed shelter from. In the morning, we continued our trek across the bank and crossed to Grand Turks, where we spent a few nights.
Approaching Grand Turks was spectacular. The 25-mile crossing from the Caicos Bank to Grand Turks island was back into the lumpy Atlantic Ocean, inky black with 6,000 feet of depth. The first thing we saw on Grand Turks was a cruise ship at dock. As we approached the island, the trees rose from the sea and the sound of donkeys braying filled the air. Within a ¼ mile, depths in the thousands of feet climbed to 12 feet, where we would anchor on the leeward side of the island. A line in the water between inky black and gatorade-blue highlighted the sea wall.
We spent 2 days on Grand Turk. We explored Cockburn Town, learned about the salt-producing history, swam around our boat, and played with kids from SV Moemoea in the fine sand beach. But a weather window to get to the Dominican Republic is on the horizon, so we’re not staying long!
