Departing Grand Turk, sadly

Monday 13 May, Turks & Caicos day 5: Leaving Grand Turk and sail across Turks channel to Six Hill Cays on Caicos Bank, via a very brief stop at South Caicos.
This morning we are humming-&-haring whether we should stay just one more day. After getting to know some very nice people yesterday we are very tempted. Plus, next to us, we have a yacht with three very funny Aussi’s on board. Could be fun over some beers this evening.
Just as we are having breakfast, the dive boat comes very close by. It’s Jason at the helm and Barbara taking an early morning dive. They try to persuade us to come too. And if they’d had tanks and BCDs ready for us we would have been very tempted to jump in and go too. But we decline and they head off to dive the MacDonald’s site. After breakfast we decide that we really should get going after all. Sad decision, but we are on a firm countdown. We still want to transit the Caicos Bank, have a night in the wilderness at French Cay and a day in Providenciales (Provo) before our week in Turks & Caicos is up. Then we really must start our 1200 mile journey north to the Chesapeake.

One last thing we would still like to do here is visit the Turks & Caicos history museum. It’s been closed up till now, but today a cruise ship is in port, so everything is open as its cargo of 3000 people spread all over this small island. Even while we have breakfast we can see busses of them going along Front Street taking photos of the quaint town, that they will likely never even step foot in! Out to sea, over the reef and drop-off, there are lots of tripper boats deploying hordes of snorkelers into the sea. These were all the small boats we had seen previously idle at anchor next to the cruise ship terminal.

Rather than beach the dinghy this morning, we take it back to the infamous pier we had struggled with a couple of days ago. But now we are experts and manage to tie the dinghy and get up on the pier easily, despite its lack of flooring. And we take a few funny videos and photos to remember the drama we had that first evening.
Once off the pier a very large local guy in jeans and tee shirt beckons us over to him. At first we think he is just touting for business thinking we are from the cruise liner, so we kind of show resistance to going over to him. His response is to flash a police badge at us (at least, that’s what it looked like) then proceeds to politely reprimand us for walking on the pier that clearly says “no trespassing”. Well, the sign is from the land side… we came onto the pier from the sea, how were we to know?! Anyhow, we vow we won’t use the pier again and he seems content with our answer.
While talking to him, a golf cart with two large ladies stops. In their deep southern US accents they declare they are lost and ask if this is the town! The “policeman” confirms this is indeed the center of the town and asks where they want to go. “Somewhere that we can eat and drink” they say. Seriously? They just came off the cruise liner where likely breakfast only just finished, and food is 24/7, and they step ashore and instantly need feeding! Just how did they even get to town without starving, we wonder!?
The policeman directs them to the nearest food kiosk and off they go with a cheerful wave and a “thank y’all kindly”. Talk about totally out-of-place in this quaint town.

At the museum entrance we see a bus load disembarking and approaching. So we quickly nip in and buy our tickets first. But we need not have worried, not a single one of them wanted to actually see the museum – they just wanted the gift shop at the entrance!
The museum is really cute and very well laid out, with a big exhibit on the oldest wreck in the Americas. Dating from before 1515 it’s believed to be a Spanish Caravelle sailing ship, same as those sailed in the Columbus fleets. Following his discovery of the new world in 1492, Columbus made several more voyages and during each one he lost at least one ship to reefs and shoals. This Caravelle is likely one of them. Which makes the artifacts they recovered all the more interesting. Another exhibit is on the geological formation of the Turks & Caicos sea mountains. And another on the USA base where they organised the recovery of John Glenn and the Friendship space capsule of the Mercury program. John Glenn being the first man to orbit the earth in 1962. Also an exhibit on the salt trade and the salvaging of ship wrecks, both of which brought the islands good fortune in the 1800s. All in all very interesting. It must have been, because Oana did not yawn even once!

Back on Cloudy Bay we prepare to depart. But before doing so we try to upload the last few days blogs via a weak WiFi signal we are getting from the Osprey Beach Hotel. But it’s just too slow. So we pull the anchor and move Cloudy Bay as close to the hotel as we can get, to enhance the signal. Using the engine and bow thruster, I manage to hold her there for 15 minutes, stern to the wind with WiFi antenna pointing at the hotel, while Oana uploads the blogs and photos. People ashore must have wondered what kind of maneuvers we were doing out there, holding position in shallow water very close to other anchored boats!

Once done we head back out through the gap in the reef then westwards into the deep blue sea. Again, we watch the depth sounder as we pass over the drop-off. 8m … 9 … 25 … 41 then just flashing (greater than 200m). And another 3 minutes later we are over the 1000m depth contour. These islands really are mountains in the sea. The narrow channel between Turks and the Caicos is 2700m deep!
The sail across this Turks Channel is straight forward. It’s a broad reach and we sail with main and genoa, in winds of 14-20kts, and speeds of 7-9kts, over relatively flat water. Lovely. Oana sunbathes on the aft deck and I try to fish. But all the way across there are no biters, and again our only catch is a lump of sargassum sea weed. Clearly not a fishing day 🙁

As we approach Cockburn Harbour on South Caicos island, our planned stop, we can see several holiday resorts on beaches behind the reef. Cockburn Harbour is reputed to be the safest harbour in Turks & Caicos, but today the wind and swell are blowing directly into the harbour from the SE making it a bit choppy inside.
It takes two attempts to anchor before we get it into a nice sandy patch. Then we sit back and look at the town. To say its appearance is disappointing after Grand Turk would be an understatement. We decide that it’s a true D.U.M.P (distinctively unattractive marine port). Most of the quays are broken and run down and you get the feeling the whole place is totally uncared for. Not pleasant viewing at all. Oana is not impressed, she wanted to stay in Grand Turk another night and I pushed on so we could see this town!
We decide on the spot we are not going ashore. So I look at the chart to see if there is somewhere closer to nature where we can spend the night. Bingo! There is a small island called Six Hill Cays, 6 miles south of us, and perfectly placed on our planned route, west across the Caicos Bank, tomorrow. And it looks like it should provide good shelter.

So anchor comes up and we end our stay at Cockburn Harbour just 20 minutes after arriving. “20 minutes too long” Oana says! Out of the harbour we sail south along the east side of Long Cay for 3 miles. It’s a cracking good beam reach at 9kts. We then turn west onto the Caicos Bank towards Six Hill Cays, which lies 3 miles ahead. As we come onto the Caicos Bank, at depths of 5-8m the water turns the most beautiful blue. But we are heading into the sun, which gives us zero chance to spot underwater coral heads, so we furl the sails away and carefully motor the last 2 miles.
Once behind the Cays the choppy water flattens and we anchor in 4m of water over a sandy bottom with thin seagrass. Diving the anchor is a joy. The water clarity is again incredible. But I do keep turning my head looking for sharks too. We are now very much into shark territory here. Surprisingly there is another yacht at anchor here. But we give them their privacy and anchor well away.

After lunch (at 6pm) and just prior to sunset, we take the dinghy to have a closer look at the Cay. It’s a limestone island where all the limestone has been severely undercut by the sea. It seems to over hang the water by at least 3m. Plus there are a few caves. The whole island is designated as a wildlife reserve and is covered in cacti plants and hundreds of birds. Some of which are not amused to see us, and show it by diving at us and swooping very close. We soon see why, lots of birds are nesting in the crags and crevices of the limestone. There seems to be two different types of bird. One dark grey with a lighter grey head and the other white with black wings and a black “robber’s mask” over their eyes. Both very pretty to look at. We also spot an eagle, or at least a very big bird of prey.
Oana gets very enthused taking photos of them. Hmmm, I hope she doesn’t have any inclination towards becoming a bird watcher! But I should not have worried. After 30 minutes she declares “ok, enough of these bloody birds, lets get back and watch the sunset with a cuppa tea” 🙂

The evening in this wilderness is very peaceful. But not quiet. There is the sound of the wind, the sound of birds and the sound of the waves lapping under the limestone over hangs.
The sky is clear with stars from one horizon to another, excepting around the quarter crescent moon. Lovely. We will sleep well tonight as the cool pure air, with no bugs, flows through the boat.