We left the next day on another overnighter, heading
for the Turks and Caicos Islands. Our longest trip
yet, we were blessed with good weather for almost
the entire journey. We celebrated Christmas on the
open water. That’s a first!
John’s fishing skills continued on December 26th
when he caught a barracuda, a dorado and a wahoo.
As we got closer to the Caicos Islands, the weather
began to turn, and not in a good way. The night
before we arrived there, the winds just stopped and
the ocean took the shape of pudding. We began to
think we had entered the Twilight Zone. As dawn
arrived the winds picked up and we knew we were
screwed. (That’s a sailing term, I think).
The Caicos Islands are a tourist mecca and a sailing
nightmare. They are surrounded by reefs and very
shallow water, not a place you want to be in bad
weather. Using our guide book, we had selected a
small marina who would send a guide boat out to
help us in. Great idea, except they were still
celebrating Christmas on Dec. 27th and the marina
was closed!
Trying to make it on our own, we encountered our
first frightening experience with touching sand.
While I wrung my hands, John calmly used our
instruments to back out the way we came in. I called
Turtle Bay Marina on the radio and they answered!
Yeah! It was getting late in the day and the weather
was getting worse so we had to make it there. They
sent a guide boat for us and we went in under heavy
winds.
Our first attempt at docking alone proved to be
almost too much for us. The wind and the pier style
of docking is almost impossible without several
capable people to help. We struggled and struggled
until finally another sailor came by and gave us a
hand.
As soon as we were settled in, John and I had many
drinks and reflected on the experiences of the day.
We were safe and sound again and due to be here
for awhile.
We spent almost a week in Provenciales at Turtle
Bay Marina, which during ordinary circumstances
would have been fine, but we wanted to be on our
way and the weather was not cooperating. We
wrung in the New Year by having drinks and
appetizers at a local bar, watching a little football,
and going to bed around 9:00. We were awakened
at midnight by local fireworks. Happy 2005!
We met several other cruisers, who were helpful with
suggestions of where we should go next. Using their
charts we plotted our way as far as Cat Cay. When
the winds finally broke on the night of January 3rd,
we set out early the next day for Rum Cay. Another
overnighter and 190 miles later we were safely
anchored!
for the Turks and Caicos Islands. Our longest trip
yet, we were blessed with good weather for almost
the entire journey. We celebrated Christmas on the
open water. That’s a first!
John’s fishing skills continued on December 26th
when he caught a barracuda, a dorado and a wahoo.
As we got closer to the Caicos Islands, the weather
began to turn, and not in a good way. The night
before we arrived there, the winds just stopped and
the ocean took the shape of pudding. We began to
think we had entered the Twilight Zone. As dawn
arrived the winds picked up and we knew we were
screwed. (That’s a sailing term, I think).
The Caicos Islands are a tourist mecca and a sailing
nightmare. They are surrounded by reefs and very
shallow water, not a place you want to be in bad
weather. Using our guide book, we had selected a
small marina who would send a guide boat out to
help us in. Great idea, except they were still
celebrating Christmas on Dec. 27th and the marina
was closed!
Trying to make it on our own, we encountered our
first frightening experience with touching sand.
While I wrung my hands, John calmly used our
instruments to back out the way we came in. I called
Turtle Bay Marina on the radio and they answered!
Yeah! It was getting late in the day and the weather
was getting worse so we had to make it there. They
sent a guide boat for us and we went in under heavy
winds.
Our first attempt at docking alone proved to be
almost too much for us. The wind and the pier style
of docking is almost impossible without several
capable people to help. We struggled and struggled
until finally another sailor came by and gave us a
hand.
As soon as we were settled in, John and I had many
drinks and reflected on the experiences of the day.
We were safe and sound again and due to be here
for awhile.
We spent almost a week in Provenciales at Turtle
Bay Marina, which during ordinary circumstances
would have been fine, but we wanted to be on our
way and the weather was not cooperating. We
wrung in the New Year by having drinks and
appetizers at a local bar, watching a little football,
and going to bed around 9:00. We were awakened
at midnight by local fireworks. Happy 2005!
We met several other cruisers, who were helpful with
suggestions of where we should go next. Using their
charts we plotted our way as far as Cat Cay. When
the winds finally broke on the night of January 3rd,
we set out early the next day for Rum Cay. Another
overnighter and 190 miles later we were safely
anchored!
Our first Christmas aboard Tee Time.
2004
2004
Three fish day: dorado, wahoo, (above) and a barracuda (below). Note that John is
not holding the barracuda. That's 'cause we didn't invite him to stay. Feeling in the
Christmas spirit, we also released the dorado!
not holding the barracuda. That's 'cause we didn't invite him to stay. Feeling in the
Christmas spirit, we also released the dorado!
Turtle Cove Marina in Provenciales
We carefully followed the guide boat out of Turtle Cove Marina. The shallow water with rocks and coral nearby was beautiful, but scary for us newbies.