The TURKS and CAICOS

        The Turks and Caicos lie east of the southeastern-most Bahamas and serve as a good staging area for cruisers to head elsewhere.  On our way to the Bahamas, we rested in the Turks and Caicos for one night at Big Sand Cay, then passed through the Caicos Bank to continue on to Mayaguana of the Bahamas.

        This island group is British, like the Bahamas, but not an independent nation.  Their make up is quite similar, though, as they also are pretty much flat as pancakes, made up of coral and limestone, have scant vegetation, and are surrounded by shallow depths. 

Sapodilla Bay Beach, Providenciales (Google Image)

        Sapodilla Bay was our first anchorage at the island of Providenciales.  As your vessel crosses the boundary waters of this port, you are hailed by PROVO RADIO not by boat name, but by your lat-long position.  Then, via VHF radio communication, an officer takes all the information on the vessel and crew.  Upon anchoring, we proceeded to the offices of Customs and Immigration to complete the process.  However, only the Customs agent was available.  We returned early the next morning to see the Immigration officer who still hadn't arrived so we were told to return in the afternoon. However, he wasn't there either later in the day.  Therefore, we dutifully returned early the next morning and finally got the paperwork done.

Lunched at Las Brisas on Mother's Day 

        All of the Turks and Caicos are a marine reserve with many buoyed dive sites.  Providenciales is geared toward posh resort goers and our time there made us well aware of this fact. There were no dingy docks here, nor were there any grocers, or fuel docks in the vicinity. Considering this information,  most cruisers would deem Providenciales as being "not cruiser friendly".  This island did, however, have the most beautiful, wide paved roads we'd seen since leaving the DR two and a half months ago.

        Eventually, we crossed the shallow Caicos Bank and stopped at South Caicos to clear out.  That island, though much smaller, had far more of what the typical cruiser requires to be content.  We secured the dinghy at the fishermen's dock where we found a convenient fuel dock and a well-stocked grocer.  We had a leisurely lunch across the street at the SUNSET & CAFE BAR & GRILL.  It had to be leisurely because it appeared they had only one cook and didn't expect all their tables to be filled.  I even left to check out the grocer while we waited for our lunch.  The food didn't disappoint us, as it was spiced just right and plenty! 

        After the lunch crowd dispersed, the restaurant owner insisted on driving us to the Customs office to complete our paperwork.  We had been in the Turks and Caicos for less than a week, but the weather window was upon us to move on.  I regret not being able to spend more time in South Caicos.

Just LOVED this BLUE!

        The next day we sailed down to Big Sand Cay and rested for the night. The water there was the most magnificent shade of blue I've ever seen! We swam ashore and had the expansive beach to ourselves.  

        The next morning brought brisk winds and we left the Turks and Caicos to head southward toward the DR and the Mona Passage.

Big Sand Cay