Sorry for the lack of entries the last few days – we were underway in (what’s new) lumpy seas. So let’s go back to Monday, March 9. We left Georgetown and all those wacky festivities (the scavenger hunt was still looking for red high heels and a red boa!!); the bocci ball tournament and sand golf tournament were scheduled etc. But we headed out the south cut of Elizabeth Harbour. The plan was to go straight through to Provo, in the Turks and Caicos. (Ms. Gifford’s students – here’s a math question: if the boat travels an average of 5 knots and the destination is 236 nautical miles away – how long will it take to get there?)
Back to the trip: we pulled anchor at 1250 and were on our way. Elizabeth Harbour’s south end is filled with patch coral reefs so you have to watch for them. As we entered Exuma Sound – the fish line went in the water, the wind was unfortunately on the nose and we were motor sailing through some pretty good swells and seas.
FISH ON! Barbara was watching the fish line and saw a tuna leap out of the water and seconds later a hit on the training line…tuna hopefully! But we pulled it in and it was another mahi. We’re getting better at landing them and the tail loop was tied perfectly by Capt. Mike. He filleted it and as it was starting to get dark, we pulled in the line.
Fillet stance!
The overnight motor sail was actually quite pleasant thanks to the full moon that was very bright. In fact, the moonbeams on the water looked like an underwater spotlight. It was actually fun to watch and chase after. It hid every so often behind clouds which gave the clouds an eerie look. Through the night we saw few other boats.
On Tuesday, the seas picked up a bit with bigger swells – probably 6-8 feet but they were farther apart so Astarte rode them well. The line was in the water – but no love from the seas on this day. (Unless you count the barracuda who grabbed our line as we got into more shallow water – it (and its nasty teeth) was released unharmed!) We sailed some during the day and night whenever the wind was in our favor we could shut down the motor and it was peaceful.
The personal best under sail was 6.5 knots.
We arrived in the Turks and Caicos around 1 pm and anchored in Sapodilla Bay off Providenciales (called Provo). We anchored in the bay with local knowledge from our friend Jack Warren who is aboard Anthem (a Cabo Rico 38). He is a fellow Dolphin Cruising Club member and from St. Petersburg who is single handing his boat south.
We got cleaned up (the showers were great) and then headed to customs and immigration. There’s a little more security here with checking in at the front gate (no frisking as promised, darn!) and getting badges. We parted with some more American dollars (that’s the currency of the Turks & Caicos) having to get a cruising permit because we’ll be here longer. So $90 later, we had to go to immigration – but nobody was there. We have to return this morning to get stamped.
I’ll do another entry later with more details on the Turks & Caicos.
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