April 6, 2006 – Turks and Caicos Islands Again

The trip from the Domican Republic to TCI was as pleasant as it had been miserable going the other way over five years ago. The weather was very calm, so we motor-sailed most of the time. As we rounded the point, we were able to call Moonbeam III on the VHF to tell them how well the motor was running. Our first stop was at Sand Cay, 30 hours away. Through the night we watched a lightning show over the DR mountains. As usual, Orma dozed while Cliff watched. Sometime in the night was saw a boat light in the distance and watched as it maintained a parallel course through the long hours. As dawn broke, we saw that we had a companion sailboat heading for the same destination. We spoke briefly on the radio to “Doubletake” out of Boston, who had left Boqueron PR to sail directly to TCI. It was nice to have the company for the last part of the trip to Sand Cay, and after we had all had a chance to have a sleep, we went to their boat for drinks and a visit.

We realize now that we are back in the Atlantic, that there is nowhere in the Caribbean with crystal clear, turquoise blue water like TCI and the Bahamas have. There is no need to go further south for beautiful beaches! The bottom at 50 ft. depth was easy to see. Sand Cay, with a long, white beach, surrounded by turquoise ocean, was exquisite.

To arrive at Sapodilla Bay, Providenciales, in good light, we left the anchorage in the dark at 4:00a.m., crossed the Turks and Caicos Passage, and arrived on the Caicos Banks at 8:00. The water here is very shallow – from 6 to 8 feet – and studded with coral heads, necessitating a close watch even on the charted routes. But the water is so clear that it is easy to see anything in the way, and it was so calm that it hardly felt like we were moving. Orma took advantage of the time to defrost the fridge and do some cleaning.

It was fun as we approached Provo to note the changes and see the development occurring along the shoreline, but Sapodilla Bay looked much the same, and it felt like a homecoming to return to this familiar area.

It is now Monday afternoon. We rented a car for three days and have enjoyed cruising the island, seeing old friends, and revisiting the places where we spent a good part of three summers. We attended Bethany Baptist on Sunday morning, where we received a warm welcome.




There is an amazing amount of development taking place along Grace Bay, with luxurious condos filling in almost every vacant space. Fortunately, the beach is not private and there are beach accesses every quarter mile or so. Everyone tells about the real estate boom, and the mood seems quite upbeat, but we do not regret our decision to return to Canada rather than become permanent residents of the TCI.