You know how I've said before that BOAT stands for Bring Out Another Thousand or Ten thousand? Well here in the Caicos Islands they have taken that to the extreme with their 32 - 54% import duties. Along with that the Caicos Marina and Shipyard managed even more billing atrocities, such as a mark up of ten percent on all work their fellow diesel office did on the boat. Then add to that a 4% charge for using your credit card and even sales tax and a delivery fee on a FedEx shipment I had sent myself that I had delivered to the marina. So our "T" was not Twenty but nearly caused a heart attack. ::sigh::

The fuel tanks were full of algae and the one that was half full actually had the fuel gauge installed improperly and was stuck on the side of the tank, thus always indicating a half of a tank regardless of the actual fuel level. Due to running the tank dry unknowingly we plugged everything with what looked like fine black seaweed but it was algae. Although the glass bowl on the bottom of the fuel pre-filter (before it gets to the engine fuel filter) was clear, it had to be taken apart and every crevice cleaned out due to that crap. It caused the engine to lose power as no fuel to speak of was making it to the filter.

It was, of course dirty, hot, bottom paint dust everywhere and only a little a/c unit, so we went to the Sands on Grace Bay. It was nice to have a/c and a place to hang out that was not miserable, but it sure was expensive. Seems like a common theme here in the Caicos!

Pic of us enjoying the a/c


The tides here are just over two feet high and then 3 centimeters low, twice a day. My short legs cannot deal with that, so out comes the "Donna Plank." It is not much fun either as it is nearly straight up. I feel like I am gonna topple right into the drink next to the boat. Need some floating docks in these places!

Pic o' the plank!


We went to a place called Coral Gardens to go snorkeling off the beach. It is a weird cordoned off area that you swim around so no one can touch the coral. It was okay but much prettier stuff in Christmas Cove and diving in Grand Turk.

Pic of cordoned off "reef"


Once the boat was back in the water, we checked out of the hotel and sweated it out in the marina. We have our own guard dogs that protect the boat as Jettie bought two bags of dog biscuits. One of the dogs was left here by her owner when she sailed away. She looks just like the dogs (and the cat) at Jettie's parents place. And her name is Tiger as well. How can someone be so cruel? Makes me wanna scream! Humans! Wish we could bottle them all up and take them with us. There are thousands of wild and abandoned dogs on this island. They call them Potcakes as that is what the locals would feed them. They put the scraps from the day all in a pot and make a sort of a cake to feed them at the end of the day.

Tiger is in the middle.


Once we were thoroughly cleaned out, bank account included, and it was time to head to the Bahamas, but a storm came from the Pacific across Mexico and developed into the first named storm, Andrea. Even though she is way up in Florida, she is stirring up high winds and waves here. So once again, we remain stuck in paradise. At least we are out of the hotel. We stayed there because it was so hot, little wind and lots of mosquitoes. Right now it is wind and flies! I just hate bugs! Where is my zapper?? (Hundreds of dead bug notches on the handle!)

Speaking of bugs.... conch is the ugliest seafood around. I had never had the desire to eat it and now I really don't want to. We went to a conch shack on the beach in Providenciales called Boogaloo's. Huge wooden furniture on the deck so it would not blow away into the ocean as the place is right on the beach and tables built around the trees. Then we got to see CONCH being removed from the shells right outside of the restaurant. I took a few videos and now have stitched them together and here is a link:

There is a pic with me in it but the guy took a bad pic so it is all blurry, so you only get Jettie and Joel!

It was so hot and buggy and sometimes windy that I put the "Harem" back up. Otherwise known as the "MacGyver Tent" which is constructed with a blanket with a Diet Coke plastic lid in the middle, sheets (sleeping kind, not sailing), our broken flag line cut up into many pieces, a halyard (pulls things up the mast) and knots tied in the sheets to the tramp. It really looks like the Clampetts especially with Joel's undies upfront, our clothes, towels and such hanging all over the boat. Someday, when we can afford it, we will have a Sunbrella one with battens made. For now, they viewing public will have to endure this one!


We originally checked out of Caicos on the 5th of June, with a departure of the 6th. Due to the weather I had to call the Customs guy. Officer Samuels is a great guy as well as a professional, reasonable and intelligent man. He said that due to the crappy weather they were not encouraging mariners to leave but stay put in the harbor. So they are extending of departure.


I was disappointed to find out that a completion of the Discover SCUBA Diving course at Blue Water Divers in Grand Turk, was only a fee to take THEIR course. To go to another dive place, THEY want you to take it again. Go to another place, and yet again they want you to take it so the dive instructors know what your status is as a new diver. So the only way to avoid such nonsense is to get your diving certification. I am not sure I am up to that right now but it would be the most economical decision.

Joel and I took the eLearning from PADI and then did the pool course. It kicked my ass physically. The next day after getting only 3 hours of sleep two days in a row, I was wiped out. I felt so bad, but I let them talk me into going out and giving it a shot. I just couldn't do it. Maybe another time. Joel got his certification which was good.

PADI torture pool via Dive Provo at Ports of Call


After what seems like forever, we were about to leave, again! Dropped Joel off at the airport so he could go to NY for a business meeting. One the way to check out a few anchorages around the island, we stopped to see if we could get a map at the airport only to be hit by a taxi cab van! Out of the country more than 25 miles and State Farm insurance doesn't cover you. His insurance better pay for running into that car. So after three more days of traffic investigator and police hassle, they are going to have to email us the police report anyway. ::sigh::

Since this place is littered with coral heads and reefs one cannot safely travel in unfamiliar water especially after three in the afternoon, so today, June 14th, is a bust. I could see the white caps crashing onto the shore out on the Caicos banks from the helm seat where I was sitting reviewing the chart plotter data around the Sapodilla anchorage.

Speaking of that, I had previously written that we did not have any chart plotter data for anything outside of Puerto Rico despite assuming my purchase covered these areas. I was not happy and called Navionics to find out why the data was missing. Oddly enough, the lady that helped me was named Andrea, same as the named storm that had us stuck here. She was quite helpful in instructing me to find some goofy Select Chart option in the chart setup that listed all of the charts on the memory card. Select the correct one and Bam...there it was. Tons of little splats on the screen (coral heads) and shallow water colors to scare the pants off ya. Thanks to Andrea, we can see the data all the way up the Bahamas!

When we were out looking at the anchorages, we drove around the Chalk Sound. It is a shallow inland ocean area that looks a lot like the Caicos Banks except for the land masses. The whole area has a lot of lime stone which adds to the silkiness of the sand. It sticks to you like powder, not like typical grainy sand. On the road to the marina there is a hillside that is eroding. It was so interesting looking that I had to take some pictures.

Limestone wall erosion



Chalk Sound



While warming the engines to leave, the fan belt started screaming. So now we are late leaving, which gives me more time to get this blog posted.

Off to the Bahamas...

Here are a few more pics and one to ponder about what it is. Any guesses?