Spending Time in the Caicos Islands

My last entry was just before our Wedding Anniversary. I’m happy to report that we had a wonderful time! We rented a car April 17th, and toured the Island of North Caicos end-to-end. On the Northwest coastal road, we found a really quaint establishment on the beach, “The Conch Shack & Rum Bar”. As it was lunchtime, we stopped at this unique little grouping of thatch-covered shacks. Obviously, we ordered rum punches and perused the menu, while watching two islanders cleaning conch directly from their shells on the beach. Susan decided to have their conch salad, while I opted for fried shrimp (as conch makes me deathly ill). We sat in the open air at a picnic table amongst the other diners, sipping and devouring. Susan was somewhat disappointed, that the conch salad, while clearly fresh, did not measure up to the dish made by Berkley, the bartender/chef at Orchid Bay! My disappointment came when I paid our bill! It was $43, plus tip, for two small meals and three drinks! That place must be a gold mine!


















After lunch, we drove along the Northeastern shore, inspecting the resorts and marinas there, selected our dinner venue, and made reservations for the evening at Hemingway’s, a lovely beachside restaurant at one of the major resort hotels. We then returned to the boat to bathe, dress, and get ready for a sumptuous dinner. Dinner at Hemingway’s was fabulous! We started with cocktails, of course, accompanied by the best escargot we have ever eaten. It was served in a creamy garlic sauce, and was piled high in a ramekin, with an excellent toasted baguette slice on the side. And, it was only $10! For our main course, we both ordered rack of lamb, which was accompanied by vegetables steamed to perfection. It was one of the best meals we have encountered on our journey to date. Service was friendly and prompt, and the view of the Caicos banks from our table was spectacular. The moon rose nearly full over the water, the music was light jazz, and we were in heaven! The next day,

Friday, we returned to our quiet anchorage at Cooper Jack Marina Basin, and have been here since then. It is now Wednesday, April 23rd and we have been busy with a number of maintenance tasks.

I have changed the oil, oil filters and fuel filters in the small generator. I’ve cleaned all of the raw water strainers leading to the main engines, both generators, and air conditioning systems. Our big generator was overheating, and I found the cause to be a combination of plastic bag and aluminum foil that had been sucked up into the strainer. While Susan concentrated on washing and polishing topside, I finally took on the task of cleaning the bilges. Then we both washed down the engine room. Finally, I placed “diapers” under both main engines. These are actually oil-absorbent pads that lie under the engines against the hull. They are white as snow, and are intended to absorb any drops of oil that may come from the engines above, and alerting the captain/engineer of any immanent problems with oil leakage. This was my first opportunity to replace the old ones that came with the boat.

While at Caicos Marina and Boatyard, we took on 913 gallons of Diesel fuel, topping up all our fuel tanks. Armed with this data, plus the number of hours on each engine and generator, we are finally able to accurately calculate our fuel usage. Our main engines use 6.1 gallons of diesel per hour underway, running at an average of 1350 RPM. This yields an average speed of 7.5 knots per hour. Since we have logged 667 nautical miles, we calculated that we are using roughly 1.2 gallons of diesel per mile.

Our 12 KW generator is rated to use 1.2 gallons per hour under full load. We’ve calculated that it actually uses .57 gallon per hour, since it seldom is running under full load. This generator produces 80 amps, and will run everything by itself – house lights, battery charger, watermaker, and air conditioning. When we make water (using our desalinator), we have to use the big generator, since the watermaker requires 220 volts of power.

Our 6KW generator is rated to use .54 gallons per hour, at full load. Since it does usually run at nearly full load when it is started, we believe it is using fuel at that rate. This smaller generator produces 40 amps, and is adequate to recharge the house batteries and run house lights (110 watt systems), but cannot at the same time run air conditioners or our watermaker.

Our friends, Tom and Leslie Pawley, aboard S/V “KOBBE”, left us on Tuesday morning, headed for the USA, via Nassau in the Bahamas. We thoroughly enjoyed their company, and traded cocktail hour hosting duty aboard their boat and ours. We will miss them, their wonderful stories of the “down island” life, their sense of humor, and expert advice!

Captain Walt with Captain Tom Pawley, with his sailing yacht KOBBE in the background.


















Tom and Leslie Pawley on their day of departure for the USA.

















The climate here remains dry and warm, with daytime temperature about 80 F (degrees Fahrenheit). The water temperature today is 77 F. Susan’s favorite onboard instrument is the sea temperature gauge. She was ecstatic the day it reached 79 F. The breeze has been nearly non-existent since we arrived here.

Rather than use our air conditioners (which freeze us to death at this temperature) we opted to purchase several portable fans. Placed around the boat, the air movement alone is enough to keep us comfortable in conditions of no wind and moderate temperatures, such as we’ve been having. Humidity has been low as well. All in all, perfect conditions for diving, snorkeling and swimming!

This evening we are hosting Simon and Sharlynn, who manage the nearby Southside Marina, for sunset cocktails. They have been wonderful to us, as well as other cruisers passing through the area. They have allowed us to dinghy over to their marina, use their WiFi network to access the internet, drop off bags of trash for disposal, and have even driven us to town for groceries and parts, as well as to the post office!! Each morning, at 7:30am, Simon hosts the “Southside Cruisers Net” on VHF Channel 18, where he provides extensive and accurate weather information to cruisers in the area, and as far as the Dominican north coast and southern Bahamas. He also provides a forum for exchange of information and general announcements. He and Sharlynn also host a Thursday evening BBQ and potluck at their marina for cruisers in the area! Obviously, all of these services are good for their business and reputation, since word-of-mouth advertising among cruisers is the best you can get. But these folks go above and beyond, and are loved and respected by everyone we have met here.