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.

Royal Harbour to Caicos

March 30th, after our beautiful calm crossing from Little Harbour, Abacos, we spent the night in Royal Harbour, Royal Island, Eleuthera. It is a small keyhole harbour with great protection in all directions. This picture is of the ruins of an old estate at Royal Harbour.


















The following day we shot the treacherous “Current Cut” to Eluthera Sound. In the Sound, we faced 25 knot winds, spray over the bow, and bumpy ride all day in moderate seas. That afternoon, we entered Rock Sound Harbour, a nice big 3 mile wide bay, and found 34 other boats, (all sailboats) awaiting good weather to move north. We were outnumbered! But we were accepted into the fleet at the impromptu happy hour at the abandoned Tiki Hut bar on the second evening. We always pick up good tips from meeting and mingling with other cruisers. We were unable to depart Rock Sound until a week later, due to high winds and rolling seas. Fair Weather Sailors are we!!!

On April 5th, we departed for Half Moon Bay, Little San Salvador Island, a private island owned by Holland America Cruise Lines, where we found only one other yacht anchored, and a Carnival Cruise ship with all their passengers ashore for a day of beachie-beachie…We had a marvelous swim off the boat after their departure, and watched Holland America’s herd of horses gallop down the beach from the corral to their barn for dinner. Beautiful sight! The bay is not large, or well-protected, so unfortunately, we had a lousy nights’ sleep with rollers knocking us to and fro. So we were not disappointed to leave this spot at first light. (Photo)Hawks Nest Creek Marina on Cat Island was our overnight stop on April 6th. Complete with hawk parents in the nest feeding babies, and screeching loudly, it was almost perfect, except for the shallow water in the entrance channel upon arrival. I believe we must now say we have “run aground”, but no harm done, we were able to back off the sand bar and make another approach, and docked with no further ado.

Carnival Cruise line ship at Half-Moon Bay - It's leaving, thank goodness!!!














Beach at Half Moon Bay -














Sunset at Half Moon Bay, Little San Salvador Island, Bahamas.













Hawks Nest Creek Marina on Cat Island was our overnight stop on April 6th. Complete with hawk parents in the nest feeding babies, and screeching loudly, it was almost perfect, except for the shallow water in the entrance channel upon arrival. I believe we must now say we have “run aground”, but no harm done, we were able to back off the sand bar and make another approach, and docked with no further ado.

On April 7th, after a perfect day of calm seas, sunny skies, and light breezes, we found an ideal anchorage in Clarence Town Harbour, Long Island, Bahamas; crystal clear water, surrounded by little white sand coves, palm trees, church steeples and twinkling lights from the few homes ashore, and nobody else around. We enjoyed views of the waves crashing over the submerged coral reefs directly ahead of us, views out to sea, and perfectly flat water. The stars were magnificent from the deck that evening, the Milky Way in all its glory overhead; I think Clarence Town is my favorite anchorage so far.













After our first cruising experience with flat, glassy seas, no wind, and no incidents, we dropped our anchor in Atwood Harbour, Crooked Island, Bahamas on April 8th. The area was largely uninhabited, and gorgeous.
OK, now is a time to mention my ever improving navigational skills. Unfortunately, I sometimes learn by my mistakes. We maneuvered into Abrahams Bay, Mayaguana, Bahamas in good light, with good charts, and yet I insisted to my Captain that we approach a particularly scenic area, in too little water! Coral heads, sea fans, anemones, and grasses all visible to the naked eye should have been my first clue! I wasn’t demoted, but I have since stopped being so outspoken about where to drop the hook! Captain likes a little water under the keel, go figure!

Leaving the Bahamas behind, we ventured ever farther south to Providenciales, Caicos, British West Indies. Here we are honing our skills in "eyeball navigation". Our charts note “Visual Piloting Rules” required, as the coral heads here are numerous and deadly, and the light must be right to spot them. We dropped the hook in Sapadillo Bay, Caicos Island late on Friday April 10th. We flew our quarantine flag until my Captain was able to secure our clearance through Customs the following day. Saturday morning, Walt was told that the Customs Officer would be available at Government Dock (aka South Dock) for clearance, and he had made arrangement with another Captain to go ashore together. As is not uncommon, the Customs Officer was not there, so the two of them shared a taxi to the Airport for clearance, only to be told they couldn’t clear cruisers there, and that they needed to return to Government Dock for Clearance!!!

By this time, a bond had been forged, and we became friends with the most wonderful British couple, Tom and Leslie Pawley. They have shared their 8 years of cruising experience with us over evening cocktails in the ensuing days, plus baked us some delicious bread, and in turn enjoyed iced drinks from Kingdom, which was a treat for them. Tom hand-built their Ferro-cement hulled, gaff rigged, Norwegian designed beauty, over the course of 10 years, in Exeter, England. They intended to cruise for about a year, but they are still at it 8 years later. They're now heading to the States for the first time. Believe it or not, they sailed from England down the coast of Africa, and then directly across the Atlantic to Barbados. And, they are prepared to make the crossing again!
Sapadillo Bay was lovely, with huge homes surrounding the bay. However, the protection is iffy at best, so we decided with Tom and Leslie to head to Cooper Jack Yacht Basin, a beautifully cut marina wanna-be, without docks or anything else, but a wonderfully secure and protected anchorage. Best of all; it’s free! Around the bend from there is South Side Marina, with internet available on the Dock Master’s boat, which he allows cruisers to access, and access to an IGA grocery store to rival the ones stateside. We stocked up on almost everything…I wish I’d had a list because I’m still without horseradish for Bloodies (OMG) and Ice Cream for the Captain.
This morning (April 16th) we moved reluctantly to Caicos Marina & Ship Yard to fuel up our tanks. My Captain wanted to top off, and is doing the math on fuel and hours so he is more comfortable with our planning and usage. At $5.20 a gallon for diesel I wish he’d do the math in Venezuela where it is about $ .30 per gallon, but he’s the Boss of this ship! So we are here, with free internet and a great connection until Friday morning when they kick us out for some other incoming “big boat”. Perhaps we’ll go back to Cooper Jack and hang with Tom, Leslie and their cat, “Roti”.
Tomorrow night we celebrate our 4th Anniversary, and will go to the Grace Bay side of the island for dinner and sightseeing. It’s amazing to us that 4 years have passed already, and the way our life is unfolding. Daily we are overwhelmed with gratitude and awe for the experiences and blessings that enrich our life. There is new meaning to “over the horizon”, for it literally holds so many surprises for us. We miss you all and wish you were here!
With Love,
Susan & Walt

Bahamas to the British West Indies

It has been quite a while since our last post, not because we haven’t experienced anything of note, but because of difficulties accessing the internet. We've been to some rather remote places... As soon as we had a conducive weather window, we plowed our way south rather quickly, covering about 70 nautical miles a day, eventually arriving in Providenciales, aka “Provo”. It is the largest of the islands in the Turks and Caicos Island group, British West Indies. It is one of the places that Columbus was said to have made his first landfall on his historic voyage to the New World.

On our way from Marsh Harbor to Little Harbor, Abaco, Bahamas, we ran into sizable thunderstorms. One of these contained a microburst, which hit us with a spate of 100mph winds, like a small tornado… It damaged our Bimini Top Canvas, but didn’t blow it off the boat, thank goodness! We were able to have it re-sewn when we reached Rock Sound, a few days later.

Departing Little Harbor, Abaco on March 29th, we had a beautiful calm crossing to the Elutheras, which is the next chain of Bahamian Islands on the eastern side. We opted to skip Nassau, and the Exumas, not in need of the hustle and bustle of big city life, or the over crowded cruisers ports. Also, we are anxious to get to the Caribbean!

Leaving Little Harbor, Abacos, Bahamas - Heading out to sea.

Have you ever seen such deep blue water in your life?!!

Waiting to Move...

At last, Susan is back aboard after nearly two weeks away. She was in West Palm Beach for knee surgery and medical tests. She returns with a clean bill of health and a repaired left knee joint.
We cannot thank Claire and Don Jones enough for all they did to help Susan with her medical appointments, chauffer service, and room & board! It would have been so much harder to manage without them!
This is a picture of Easter Morning Sunrise at Marsh Harbor.

We decided to move the boat about 15 miles south from Marsh Harbor to a place called Little Harbor, at the southern end of Great Abaco Island. Our anticipated easy two-hour jaunt turned into a four-hour ordeal. Just as we left Marsh Harbor, a line of severe thunderstorms struck. There was driving rain, nearly whiteout conditions, and lightning all around us. Winds were above 40mph (we were too busy to see how high it actually reached). We think we experienced a micro-burst, which ripped loose a section of our Bimini Top Canvas. We were happy it wasn't carried away. We took it down to await repair. There was other minor damage, with a few screws pulled loose, but we've already repaired those. The canvas will have to wait until we find a canvas repair shop somewhere along the way.
This was some of the most severe weather we have experienced. We knew there was rain in the forecast, but nothing like what actually occurred was anticipated. Normal rain is no big deal for us. The boat itself performed perfectly. At least on the Bahama Banks, averaging 15 feet of water, it is impossible to build huge waves, no matter how much wind is present.

This move positions us to make the 50 mile jump from Abaco to Eluthera across a section of open ocean known as the Northeast Providence Channel, with depths of 4,500 feet. The weather forecast calls for high winds and wave conditions in the channel for the next several days. Today is Tuesday, and the next potential good weather window appears to be next Saturday. So we wait.
This is a picture taken out to sea, from our anchorage here in Old Robinson's Bight, near Little Harbor, Abaco. Just around the headland is the harbor itself, but the approach to the harbor is too shallow for us to actually make it inside. So we are bouncing around here on the hook...

It is hard to see from this picture, but offshore there are 10' to 16' waves in the channel at the moment. We will wait to venture out until it settles down to 2' to 4' wave heights. Then we will head for Egg Island, the entrance to the Eleuthera chain (about 50 miles), and then another few miles to Royal Harbor, a small very protected anchorage.
We will definitely wait until we get a perfect weather forecast for this next passage!

Marsh Harbor, Abacos, Bahamas

Check out our "vanity plates"



View of Marsh Harbor looking Southeast. Marsh Harbor Marina is at the shoreline a half-mile away.


My outdoor "office", napping sofa and BBQ grill.


View of Marsh Harbor from the flybridge, looking Southwest.



Lots of boats in this harbor, mostly sailboats. At the moment, KINGDOM is the largest powerboat at anchor here. There are a few larger boats tied up to some of the Marina piers, though.
We didn’t really intend to be in Marsh Harbor more than a few days. But Susan’s internist called and insisted that she needed to run some tests right away. Not to be too graphic, but some blood had appeared in her last urine sample, which was of concern because Susan’s father has a history of bladder cancer. This is a highly treatable condition if it is found early. So Susan flew into West Palm Beach for an appointment with a urologist.

Since she was going anyway, she decided to have her knee examined. It has been giving her pain on and off for some time, and it has been getting worse. Some days, she could barely walk.

Claire and Don Jones once again came to our rescue. Claire made appointments for Sue with doctors and labs, picked her up at the airport, saw to it that she was provided with bed and board, and drove her to the appointments. I don’t know how we would have coped without their help and kindness.

X-rays and MRI scans of Susan’s knee turned up a torn meniscus (sp?) tendon, which needed arthroscopic surgery to repair. She scheduled the procedure between visits to labs and other doctor visits last week. Her stitches will be removed next Wednesday. In the meantime, she is doing physical therapy, treating the knee with ice packs, and walking on crutches.

She is scheduled for more tests next week for the urinary tract, so we don’t yet have a diagnosis on that issue.

Our hope is that Susan will fly back to Marsh Harbor on Friday of next week. We’ll just have to see how it goes.

Life aboard KINGDOM is very quiet, without my Susie.

The weather has been extremely changeable, with alternating cold and warm fronts sweeping across the Bahamas with great regularity. For example; today started calm, sunny, and warm, with light breezes out of the southeast. By noon, the wind had shifted around and blowing out of the north 20 mph. By sundown, it was calm again out of the northwest. Forecast calls for more of the same pattern tomorrow. I don’t like to leave the boat to go ashore when the wind is blowing hard and shifting directions. There is always a chance that one of our neighboring boats will drag an anchor, so I prefer to be on deck under these conditions.

When the boat is swinging around on the anchor chain, in windy conditions, we constantly lose connectivity to the internet and satellite, so it gets frustrating trying to do email, update our blog, or even watch TV. I don’t like to be belowdecks working in the engine room under these conditions, either, since I cannot see what is going on around us. About the only thing I can do is try to read, and even then I can’t sit still very long.

While Susan is on the mainland, she took the opportunity to do some needed shopping at US prices. She was able to get some of her scuba gear; a wet suit and BCD (Buoyancy Control Device – basically an inflatable vest). I negotiated with a local dive shop here in Marsh Harbor for two reconditioned air tanks, and a reconditioned regulator and octopus. You divers know what this stuff is.

We also ordered additional charts from Bluewater Books in Ft. Lauderdale, which she will bring back with her. We expected to buy them along the way, but we are finding local sources are virtually non-existent for anything other than the Bahamian waters, which we already have aboard. She will bring back a complete chart set that will take us all the way to Venezuela, another investment of about $1000. I think subconsciously, we wanted to see if we could actually do this before buying them. We are now sure that we can, and that we will, proceed on southward.

When we have more test results, or further news to report, I will post another blog entry.

Loading the Scooters

A number of people have asked us how we get our scooters on and off the boat, so I thought I should photograph the process as we prepare to depart Guana Cay. Our dockmaster, McKenzie, was kind enough to help steady the load while I shot pix.



We lift the scooters with the same crane that we use to load and unload the zodiac dinghy, which is also stored on the flybridge deck.

We start with the cargo net spread flat on the dock. The scooter is driven into the center of the net. Then the four corners are gathered in the center above the scooter, and attached to the lift hook with four carabiners.


The 8'x8' cargo net is made of a very heavy polyethelyne weave, reinforced on all 4 sides with 3/4 inch line. It is rated for lifting several tons. Our scooters weigh only 150 lbs. each.


Once the scooter is level and slightly above the flybridge deck, the lift is rotated toward the center of the deck. The winch is then lowered, the cargo net is removed, and the scooter is rolled to its tie-down spot on deck.

The cargo netting was Susan's brainstorm, and it has worked absolutely beautifully. We can manage the unloading and reloading by ourselves, and only needed help today so I could take photographs. It was a bit windy, so it wouldn't have been prudent to just let them swing in the breeze while I stepped away to use the camera.

Diving Guana Cay's Atlantic Reefs

These pictures were taken by our divemaster during our final two open water reef dives, required for certification. We're in 25 to 45 feet of very clear water.


Susan is in the yellow fins - mine are blue. She has the dark hair, mine is white...



We're in a cavern, maybe 35 feet across. It was filled with tiny fry, glistening in the filtered light.


Susan spotted this Lionfish. We learned that they are fierce predators of other fish species, are not native to the Bahamas, and have no natural enemies. Their spines are toxic. To protect the local species, divers are supposed to kill them whenever they find them. We didn't.


Susan and her pet barracuda -


Well, here it is Tuesday March 4th, and as we prepare Kingdom and ourselves to head over to Marsh Harbour, I realize that the cruising life exposes us to people, things and places that come to mean so much in so little time. It's been fantastic here in Guana Cay for a month, and although we haven't updated you all on our activities, we have been busy! Most significant is our Certification in Scuba Open Water Diving. This process includes confined water dives, videos, text work, exams and open water diving. Our adventures now includes up to 60 feet under the sea, and we are hooked! Since our forseeable future takes us into some of the worlds best diving environments, it seemed unlikely we'd be happy just skimming the surface, now all I need is the gear, since Terry Carron fitted Walt out with top of the line stuff, he's already set! So far we have been blessed to swim with a Caribbean Reef Shark, a poisonous Lion fish, an octopus, a school of hungry baracudas, every sort of aquarium fish, stingrays, and been completely surrounded in a cavern with millions of little tiny fry, seen huge tree sized corals, and sea fans as big as areca palms, along with gazillions of fish in the most brilliant colors imaginable. We need a book so we can start to identify all the marine life, but even not knowing the proper names, we are appreciating everything.
Sunday was a monumental day here on Guana Cay. "Barefoot Man" a local recording star with a Jimmy Buffet style, held a concert at Nippers. Every bar in town had something going on all weekend, and every mooring, anchorage, and dock slip was filled. Special ferries were hired to bring others over from the surrounding islands, and it was standing room only, and traffic jams on the tiny roads. Most people only drive golf carts here, and Walt and I are the local motorcycle gang. I thought the island might sink into the ocean! Fortunately, what happens on Guana stays on Guana so I can't tell you any more about the weekend! Suffice it to say, that a good time was had by ALL.
This afternoon we are planning to dine in the Marina Restaurant where our friend and very famous bartender Berkley has promised to make me Conch Salad for the last time. His recipe is better than anyones, and he indulges me with my special requests. After lunch we'll head over to the fuel dock and hoist up the scooters, then the dingy, and we'll be ready for a morning departure to Marsh Harbour.
Unfortunately, I have to delay our cruising plans a few days and fly to Palm Beach for some medical exams that my wonderful Dr. Rebecca Cook has ordered. I'm not really too disappointed because it will give me an opportunity to pick up some of the scuba gear I need. Upon my return, Walt should have the engine room looking like an operating room (right) and we'll take off for the next chain of islands; the Elutheras, followed by the Exumas, from there to Turks and Caicos, where we will make about a 100 mile passage to the Dominican Republic, and the 85 degree Caribbean! The upcoming segment of the journey should take us a couple weeks, which puts us in the Caribbean by April, so get out your atlas, and google the flights, this is something you don't want to miss.
We love you all, Susan & Walt