Big Sand Cay to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos

Monday, March 15
Since it is only a short 24 mile run to Six Hills Cays, Marco and I decided to do some boat chores during the morning hours. I changed the oil and oil filter and fuel filter on my 12KW generator, for example.


We left Big Sand about 10:45am, and dropped the hook about 3:30pm, in about 15 feet of clear water. Our purpose in keeping the day short was to position our boats for the 44 mile run across the Caicos Banks the next day. The Caicos Banks are extremely shallow, and are dotted with hundreds of coral heads. They must be navigated in full daylight, and VPR (Visual Piloting Rules) apply big time!


Tuesday, March 16
Leaving Six Hills Cays at 8:00am, Susan was positioned on the flybridge, and I ran the boat from our pilothouse, so I could view both chartplotters simultaneously.


The charts show a route across the banks, but there are no physical channel markers to go by. So we set the autopilot to take us to the waypoints (Latitude and Longitude) designated on the charts, and kept a sharp lookout for the dark patches of water that signify coral formations. Susan has become adept at spotting them in time for me to make detours around them. At times, the water was so shallow that we barely had a foot under the keel.


We took it slow and easy, and Marco tucked OLGA II in behind us. He figured that if KINGDOM ran aground or hit anything, he could avoid it and be nearby to help. It was sort of comforting to make this passage in company with another boat. KINGDOM draws 6' and OLGA II only draws 5', so it wouldn't work the other way round. Also, this was their first time on the Caicos Banks, and we had made this crossing two years before.


Along the way, we spotted quite a few dolphins, though they were darker and smaller than the bottle-nosed dolphins we have seen out at sea. Also, it appeared that some of the dark coral formations were moving as we approached them! We eventually identified these apparitions as large black Manta Rays.


We arrived at South Side Marina, on Providenciales, around 3:30pm. The tide was too low for us to take KINGDOM into the marina channel, but OLGA II was able to go in. Susan and I anchored in the bay overnight, and took KINGDOM into the marina next day at high tide.


South Side Marina is operated by Simon and Charlyn Anderson, a delightful couple who became good friends on our previous visit to Providenciales. Their hospitality and service is legendary among crusing boats in these waters. It was wonderful to catch up with them again! We purposely stayed over a few days to enjoy their company, and stock the boat for the next few weeks journey northward. Providenciales has excellent grocery stores, and I was able to purchase the oil I needed for my main engines.


We were able to clear in and out of Turks and Caicos right at the marina. They arrange for the customs and immigration officer to come to the marina for that purpose. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is actually a really HUGE IMPROVEMENT! Ask me sometime what we had to go through to clear in and out when we were in T&C two years ago. Make sure you have set aside plenty of time to hear my ranting and raving!


It was hard to leave such pleasant surroundings and wonderful people. We would have loved to stay much longer! On our previous visit, our friend Gayle Danner was with us, and we were able to SCUBA dive some of the excellent sites in these islands.

But we had to move on northward...

Rio San Juan, DR, to Big Sand Cay, Turks and Caicos

OLGA II, anchored off Big Sand Cay, Turks and Caicos - Marco, Ann, and Pia are launching their kyak for an excursion
View of Big Sand Cay, a lovely deserted island with a fabulous beach

Marco, Ann and Pia returning from their exploration

Sunday, March 14 - From Rio San Juan to Big Sand Cay was a 16-hour, 113-mile crossing. So after a few hours sleep, Susan and I pulled our hook at midnight, in order to arrive at our small island destination in daylight. We estimated we would get there around 4:00pm, and we hit it exactly right.

The crossing was quite smooth, with hardly any sea running, probably less than 3' waves all the way across. Perfect for us!

Nearing Melchior Channel around 2:00pm, we did spot a lone whale, but it was too far away for us to see much detail.

Approaching Big Sand Cay, we were pleased to see OLGA II anchored near the shore of this pristine little island. Big Sand is not quite appropriately named. It is definitely a sand spit, with a few dunes in the center, but is not "Big" by any means. However, it is a bird and wildlife sanctuary, and has no human habitation. There is only the ruins of an old station of some sort to mar the pristine beauty of the island. Marco and Ann had stayed a day to roam the lovely beach and rest after their long crossing.

Samana to Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic

Marco and Ann's catamaran, OLGA II, passing astern KINGDOM
Marco and Ann, off the coast of Dominican Republic

KINGDOM slowly overtakes Marco and Ann's catamaran, OLGA II

6:30am, Saturday, March 13 - We hoisted our anchor in Samana at first light for our cruise "around the corner" of DR, bound for the small fishing village of Rio San Juan, on DR's north shore.

The day was splendid. With seas following at only 3' to 4', and the trade wind behind us, we made excellent speed. Marco and Ann had departed Samana an hour ahead of us, but we soon overtook them, and were able to photograph them on their boat underway. They were heading directly for Big Sand Cay, at the southeast corner of the Turks and Caicos island group. This would require an all-night sail for them, but Susan and I wanted to make our crossing so that we would arrive at Big Sand in daylight.

We arrived in Rio San Juan at 4:00pm and dropped the hook in 20 feet of very clear water. Several other cruising sailboats arrived shortly thereafter. After about an hour, the port authorities came out in a small boat to check our papers. Thank goodness we had cleared out of Samana properly. Incredibly, no money changed hands this time! In their broken English, they wished us Bon Voyage and Good Luck!

We enjoyed an early dinner, and went to bed at 8:00 pm, for a few hours sleep. We departed at midnight for the long 113-mile crossing to Turks and Caicos' Big Sand Cay.

Cap Cana to Samana, Dominican Republic

A small island in Samana Bay, with fabulous beach, and at least 100 beach chairs.
Marco and Ann's daughter Pia. Molly shared her chew toys with Pia, who was teething and needed something to knaw on...

Marco and Pia trying to interest Molly in her squeaky toy.

Pia is a sweetheart, with amazing blue eyes!

Ann is lovely, too! What a handsome family. We really enjoyed meeting and visiting with this Swiss cruising family.

I can't believe it has been two months since our last posting. We've been moving fast, and had limited access to Internet until we arrived in Florida. This series of posts is reconstructed from my ship' logs and the few pictures we've taken along the way.

We spent almost two weeks in Cap ICana, waiting for a good weather window to move north along the Mona passage to the huge Samana Bay, near the Northeast corner of Dominican Republic. While in Cap Cana, we met a lovely Swiss couple, Marco and Ann, whose 1-year old daughter Pia was a delightful playmate for Molly.

Marco and Ann have a custom-designed catamaran they have brought cross-Atlantic from Spain. They were sailing it up to Nassau, where they will meet crew to take the boat back to Europe. We cruised along with them from DR to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, anchoring nearby to exchange visits aboard each others' boats. We enjoyed their company enormously. Molly will especially miss Pia.

March 11, 7:30am - The voyage from Cap Cana northward to Samana Bay was somewhat uncomfortable, with a following sea of 6' to 7' waves, with the wind on the starboard beam. It did calm down a bit once we entered Samana Bay itself. We dropped the hook in the harbor about 6:30pm, just as it was getting dark. We did spot a few whales in the Mona Passage - fins, flukes and spouts!

Once we anchored, the port of entry officials came out to our boats, to clear us in and collect their customary fees (and free beer). Next afternoon, Marco and I had to go into town to obtain our outbound clearance papers. The port captain was asleep in his office. I mean asleep on a cot in his underwear! We had to wait while he awoke and dressed enough to fill out our documents. Naturally, he spoke no English, so we had to pay an interpreter a few bucks to help us understand his questions, and help him understand our answers.

The harbor itself was calm, but access to the town was difficult, as the town dock was so crowded with fishing boats that we could barely tie up our dinghy. This area of Dominican Republic is struggling to develop its tourist industry. There are lovely beaches nearby, mountains, state parks and resorts. But electric power is unreliable, and roads are a mess. In ten years, it might be a real destination, but for now it seems so much more primitive than Cap Cana. A few smaller cruise ships do call there now, however. We saw three while we were there.