Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands

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Geo: 21.7837, -72.2763

Feb. 12th, 2015 - A week in the Turks & Caicos

Hello all,

We made it to Providenciales (known locally as Provo) in two legs over three days for a totoal of 180 nautical miles in 31 hours. This was my longest passage yet. We picked a really good weather window, and probably had a little less wind than Tony would have liked, but as a neophyte passage maker, I was quite happy with the dead calm seas on arrival in Provo. In my limited experience, I can say that open ocean is very different than the coastal cruising we've been doing thus far. When there are rollers out there rather than waves, it's like you are out in the middle of grassy hills that go on for miles...but they are constantly moving. Reminded me of that ball-bearing maze game that I played as a kid...see pictures.

From Clarencetown, Long Island, we motor-sailed for 11.5 hours to Atwood Harbour, Acklins Island, Bahamas where we stayed for one night and half a day. Then, we left Atwood Harbour at 3pm and did an overnight motor-sail to Provo in 19.5 hours. With the moon almost full we had a very clear, bright night. It was beautiful!

Upon arrival in Sapodilla Bay, Tony went ashore to customs and immigration to check us in. Once he returned, we raised the Turks & Caicos Islands courtesy flag and relaxed. We have a 7 day temporary permit to remain in the TCI which is much better than having a cruisers permit. It's way cheaper, for one, and we had made a decision a while back that we would solicit some help to sail beyond the Turks. Now that we are out of the Bahamas the sailing is a bit more intense. As we pass the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico next, to get to the Virgin Islands, we will truly be on the open ocean. For that reason, we've called upon our friend Steve, whom you'll remember from my posts in December. Steve was aboard Simunye getting Craig and Christa ready for their sailing adventure. We all met in Indiantown, and travelled together until Staniel Cay, Exumas, just before Christmas.

You may also remember that Steve was the third party in our Dinghy "mishap" in Wardrick Wells. There will be none of that kind of silliness on this trip!!! 😊

For the trip here, Tony got "Audrey" working (our auto-helm) which certainly made the passage easier. (Note: I've been calling the auto helm "Otto" but it was decided when Steve arrived that to even out the boy/girl ratio on board, "Audrey" it is.)

We celebrated Tony's birthday yesterday. We've met some wonderful people here at the South Side Marina and enjoyed a potluck dinner with them. There are a lot of temporary residents and ex-pats here who come around the marina's social scene. Together we all sang Happy Birthday to Tony...twice. Who doesn't enjoy a good party?!! With the British influence here, I was finally able to find Tony a bottle of HP sauce at the IGA grocery store. He's been without HP sauce for the past two years now (you can't buy it in the USA) so I think he was quite happy. Steve brought Tony a fine bottle of Whiskey from Scotland, and the boys have been happily sipping on that.

Southside Marina is a friendly place. It's owned by a Canadian, and there are two very friendly resident dogs who greet everyone on arrival along with the smiling staff. There is the greatest open-air shower with a pull-string. Yup, one water temp. Good thing we are in the tropics! It's definitely refreshing, but I love it! We came over here because there was a huge blow for a couple of days, but also because it made life so much easier to rent a car and take care of 'business' for our short time here. With the rental car we could easily pick up Steve at the airport, provision for the next leg of the trip, and sightsee for a couple of days.

Now we are onto the serious business of getting ready for departure. Earlier today, I went up the mast today to untangle the topping lift that had come loose on our way here. Then, we did the usual last minute stuff like fill the diesel and water tanks. The boys are doing a few small projects (we'd be be crazy not to use Steve's expertise while he's with us, considering he's a shipwright.) We will play again for a little while this aft, (we have a dinghy ride planned), and then we will hoist the dinghy onto the foredeck for the next leg of the journey.

After several days of gusty winds, the opportunity is here for us to move on. Customs came by this aft to us to check us out of the country already for an early morning departure. We are heading towards the Virgin Islands next. We will only stop in the DR and PR if we need to. It all depends on so many variables that I'm not even going to get into them all. Let's just say, we'll see where the wind takes us! 😉

Love and Kisses from the crew of Inspiration.

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