Farewell To The Bahamas

We have spent two seasons sailing and exploring in the Bahamas. It is now time to move on. We love the Bahamas for the crystal clear water, beautiful deserted islands and the friendly people. How much we will miss this enchanted place only time will tell.

The Bahamas are a self-governed group of islands, having gained their independence from England in the 1970's. South of the Bahamas lie the Turks and Caicos Islands. They are frequently believed to be part of the Bahamas but they are a British Crown Colony and the two differ in many ways as we were soon to find out.

When entering a new country we must fly our "Q" flag. It is a yellow flag known as a quarantine flag. It must remain up until we have cleared in with the host country's Customs and Immigration department. Only the captain goes ashore with the boat and crew documents. Once cleared you can remove the "Q" flag and raise the host country flag. Steve is taking down our Bahama Flag and raising the "Q" flag as we approach Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Finding a good anchorage in a new country depends on your guidebooks, your paper charts and all the "boating brains" you have picked along the way. We dropped our hook in Sapodilla Bay on the southern shore of Provo. There are some lovely homes here priced in the multi-million dollar range.

The island of Provo in the Turks and Caicos is where the action is. There are resorts, supermarkets, laundry, electronics and excellent restaurants. We could not wait to try out the local cuisine.

We rented a van and looked around. The grocery store won our hearts: great produce, whole wheat bread, fine cheeses and meats. We did find time to check out the local beautiful beaches in Grace Bay.

Our visa was good for 7 days so it was not long before we left our shopping mecca for the southern chain of islands. To gain access to South Caicos Island we had to cross the Caicos Bank. It is a shallow body of water with many coral reefs lurking beneath the surface. With the right daylight, the crystal clear blue water and the dark colored coral are easy to discern. Should you try this trip in the dark, well you may find a hole or two in your boat bottom.

We stopped for a few nights at the uninhabited Islands of Six Hills. Yes, we counted them and there are six hills. There is so much cactus on land that you dare not set foot ashore. It is also a nature preserve so you cannot fish here. These islands do not allow spear fishing so the lobster walk around the bottom with a cocky attitude. We considered grabbing a few with gloved hands but decided against it.

There are small reefs with some beautiful fish to see and caves to explore.

Our last stop in the Turks and Caicos was South Caicos Island where we would need to check out of the country with Customs and Immigration. The Customs house seen below was well cared for.

Unlike the island of Provo, South Caicos has no tourism. It has all the ambiance of other "out islands" we have visited. The locals fish for their food and grow a few fruits and vegetables in small gardens. They enjoy visitors and frequently their home is also the local eatery and you can get a nice meal or a cold beer.

We did mange to find the local bar. We have "bar GPS".

The bartenders were from the Dominican Republic. So were some of the guests. The Dominican Republic lies about 110 miles south east of here and there are a few fishing boats here from the Dominican Republic. We were excited to practice our Spanish in preparation for our next port of call.

The route south through the Bahamas and into the Caribbean is known as the Thorny Path. The course you sail is always into the wind (windward). The trade winds here blow constantly from the east. There is very little variation. A cold front from the north swings the wind a bit north- east and sometimes the prevailing winds swing a bit southeast. You must wait and watch for the trade winds to calm and the seas to flatten before venturing out into the deep blue. This can be a trying time for sailors wanting to get south. But patient you must be or you will pay the sea monster. Many weather information systems are available and all are studied over and over and over until all agree that today is a good day to set sail. Except, frequently, it is the night when the wind is the calmest so sailing a night becomes the time we leave. We have all become "boat meteorologists".

Our next port of call was the Dominican Republic (DR). It would take us approximately 12 hours to get there from Big Sand Cay, the last small island before heading into the wide open Atlantic. We left South Caicos Island the morning after our check out. We sailed 20 miles to Big Sand Cay and dropped our anchor for a few hours while we swam, ate and .....

explored the beach.

At 6 PM we raised the anchor and follow Fred and Kathy on Makai out of the anchorage. 12 hours later our first glimpse of the DR was through rain clouds as squall after squall moved across the coastline. The mountains were tall and glorious and the earthy smells from the wet hillsides reminded us we had left the arid islands of the Bahamas for a lush tropical new world.
We are currently in Puerto Plata, DR (19.49 N, 70.43 W.). We are waiting patiently for the trade winds to calm so we can move towards Puerto Rico. We will be leaving this evening (Sunday 3/9) for another night sail in the lee of the island. We will slowly make our way east to Punta Cana and from there we will cross the Mona Passage to Boqueron Puerto Rico.

Adios from the Captain and Crew

Anne and Steve

S/V Fine Line