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...