Sailing the out islands of Turks and Caicos - April 2013

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.

British Virgin Islands 27 March to 13 April'13

Well, the BVI's...what can I say, except it has it all! Crystal clear, warm water, beautiful clean beaches, and of course plenty to do, whether it's diving, fishing, suntanning or pub-hopping.

We were a bit limited and initially decided to stay here only a week, and ended up staying two. I guess it's true when you are in paradise, you cant rush or make set itineraries.


We were also lucky enough to be in Trellis Bay for a full moon party. It was amazing to see so many boats stuffed into this tiny anchorage.

These huge metal domes are filled with wood and set alight, music gets played and there are so many bars on the beach you are spoiled for choice.















The next day we made our way to Peter Island with a sizeable hangover. We anchored in Dead Man's Bay and hooked up with our friends from Zinani. The free, fast wifi was also a draw card.

About 2,5nm away is the wreck of the RMS Rhone. The captain decided to put to sea due to the anchor dragging only to be wrecked on Salt Island, checkout this link for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Rhone

We snorkelled the Rhone early the following morning, before the crowds as they churn up the sand and silt, clouding the viz.







Incidentally, the underwater scenes in the movie, The Deep (Nick Nolte and Jaqueline  Bisette), were shot on this wreck.

 Next stop was the Soggy Dollar bar, on Jost van Dyke. This is the famous bar where patrons anchor just in front and swim with their Dollars to the beach bar and have drinks called Painkillers.

This is also where we met friends on 'Windchasers' whom we left with, from Langebaan, a year ago. We decided to do a little catching up...

The next day our friends on Nauticat arrived and we made our way over the small hill and down to Foxy's Bar, for a few more rum punches

The next day we all sailed to Leverick Bay where this Pirate Show takes place. Everyone is encouraged to take pAR!t. They also have a conch blowing contest, which Kieran and I took part in.

I managed to win by blowing it longer than a Norwegian chap, and won a 6-pack!

Mark on his way up after a dive through a small swimthru cave, at "The Dogs"

We also saw a small shark, yes it is there, look carefully!

There are so many beaches and snorkelling sites that we didn't get to see, as one could spend an entire season here sailing from island to island within the Virgin Islands including the US Virgin Islands. We still wanted to spend time in the Bahamas so we decided to skip Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.

We left the BVI's and made for Sandy Cay, the southern most island of Turks and Caicos....

St Martin - 13 March 2013

We had such a great sail from Barbuda that we carried on past St Barts and anchored in Marigot Bay, some 80+ miles of fast sailing.

Next morning we checked in, only to be told we needed visas, so we bought temporary visa for 24 hours at a cost of 9 Euros each and sailed the next morning to Anguilla, what a great idea! We had a great lunch there and sailed back to St Maarten, checked in again, this time inside the lagoon and all was well, no visas required! Ask no questions, I'll tell no lies!!!!

Anguilla, Road Bay. Beautiful beaches, friendly people and nice bars

They race these locally built wooden boats(Anguilla)

Elvis' Beach Bar on the right (Anguilla)












All our SA yachtie mates were anchored inside the Lagoon too and it was great to catch up with Alan and Marita on Alleycat, who introduced us to a great guy by the name of John Perry. He sails his Maxim 38 single handed and has just returned from a few months in Puerto Rico. He hosts a website called Desperate Sailors, www.desparatesailors.com/  worth checking out!

Many bars were visited a lot of beer was consumed and provisioning done. We did some duty free shopping in Phillipsburg too.

Entering the bridge from Simpson Bay into the lagoon.

View from the Hard Rock Cafe, Phillipsburg

 John and Jo, from Out of Africa organised a Chinese dinner evening at the Golden Apple.













John Perry, Allan and Marita























Allan and Marita with us at the airport beach, Maho Bay. Huge tourist attraction.

Kieran with his friends from Cape, Bethanny and Brynn

BARBUDA - 8 March

Kieran's 13th Birthday

Kieran's bad parents caused him to miss out on yet another birthday party by motoring to Barbuda. Shame, at sea again for another one! However not many kids can say they've been to two different islands on their birthday. We basically had to leave due to the weather. On the way Mark caught a huge barracuda which we released, as there is a chance it carries Ciguatera, a poison. Navigating Barbuda is tricky as there are numerous coral heads, some uncharted. We should really try to get there before sunset, again!

We anchored in Gravenor Bay.

Mark changed out the Anchor light and took some nice pics from atop the mast.

This was the biggest conch I found, chowder for dinner!

Nothing much goes on in Barbuda, people come here for the seclusion and the pink beaches(pink color from fine broken coral) The late Princess Di used to visit a resort here, called the K-Club

I did some great snorkelling and there are plenty of fish here too, along with turtles and many stingrays

Above are some coral heads

We met a lovely couple here, from a yacht called Common Crossings and exchanged some cruising guides. With provisions running low it was time to make our way to St Martin. So far Antigua and Barbuda are our favourite islands.

Jolly Harbour Antigua and on to Barbuda March 2013

After spending a wonderful time at Galley Island it was time to meet up with our pals from New Horizon and Zinani. Jolly Harbour was the place! We could also do provisioning here and check out too.

The Zinani Twins, Stephani and Zinobi had their 16th birthday party, starting with a  champagne breakfast!

Of course other children like Coco and Sushi were invited too ;-) Along with their parents Wayne and Michelle from New Horizon

Leaving Jolly Harbour, you can see Five Islands

Antigua and Barbuda 26 February and into March

We weren't even planning to go to Antigua, however after the water maker drama we knew it would be the place to have it fixed. We sailed to the North of Guadeloupe and had a fast sail up to Falmouth Bay with all the rags up! Just made it after sunset.

This is the Maltese Falcon in Falmouth Harbour

Falmouth harbour hosts many of the super yachts, this is also big regatta central, with lots of parties etc We were lucky to arrive before all of this and were able to have our watermaker bracket repaired in 2 days, by Steve. We even had our roller furler and stack pack restitched at the same time.

While sitting at the waterfront using the wifi we bumped into an old friend and sailing instructor, Phil Martinson. He now looks after a big yacht and does charters for the owner. What a small world!

Phil gave us all sorts of great advice, like how to catch a snapper. He also advised us to check out a 'must see' Green Island and Galley Island. We weren't disappointed as the photos will show.