After leaving the BVI's we had such good wind, we pressed on and eventually dropped the anchor in the crystal clear water, off the island of Sandy Cay. Sandy Cay is the southern most island of the Turks and Caicos Island chain. We have never seen such "Gin clear" water, ever!!! Upon arriving we met another French family sailing on their catamaran Toupelou. They had already got there the day before and were leaving for Bahamas later that afternoon.
We walked to the other side of the island, where all the flotsam and jetsam washes up, amazing to see all the junk that comes ashore! There are huge iguanas on the island as well, unfortunately I didn't get any pics.
We left the next day, after a much needed, good night's rest. Our mission: to sail over the banks!
Well, transiting the shallow 'Caicos bank' (1,5-3m), with uncharted coral heads everywhere, is not a good idea. Especially if you don't have Explorer Charts (we don't)
We arrived on the banks at 1400 and could only sail while the light was good enough to see the coral heads. As soon at the sun goes over and starts to set, or if it becomes overcast, you can't navigate anymore. Fortunately, the weather was good and we could anchor midway on the banks. The next morning we waited for enough light to see the coral heads and set off again. All along the edge of the banks you can make out shipwrecks, some, even quite recent. They look as if they are stranded in the middle of the ocean.
Next time we will sail around the banks in deep water!
Our next overnighter was on French Cay, another deserted island, with many old shipwrecks, lots of nesting birds, like this Osprey and many stingrays.
Notice the cloud formations....there's a mackerel sky in there somewhere!
The next morning we left for Mayagunas, Bahamas with the intention to check in.
However, the weather started to deteriorate fast. Our sailing angle and the wave/wind angles, dictated we keep going and not stop. Otherwise we would have to beat into Mayagunas. Cresting 3m plus waves crashed into our cockpit frequently, drenching us. Needless to say, we were all wearing our lifejackets and hooked in. This was the worst weather we experienced since leaving Trinidad in December.
With our weather 'grib file' expired, we didn't know what to expect for the next 3 days sail to Georgetown, Bahamas. On the third day everything calmed down and we ended up having to slow down to make the entrance to Georgetown in daylight.
