garcia
| Vessel Name: | garcia |
10 October 2020
Update
Hi All, I feel rather remiss for I didn’t realise until a nudge from Keith Longson that my last blog is very out of date. Its partly because I do a lot of writing for sailing magazines and having updated through that medium had, in the back of my mind, spread the news.
04 June 2020
Foraging
With partial lifting of restrictions, I was able to go foraging off the beach and caught this beauty in the form of a 2kg spider crab. The flesh is tastier than a lobster and I look forward to going back in for more although I shall wait for my new wetsuit. Its a bit colder than the Bahamas!!!
18 May 2020
PEARL IS FOR SALE
This year the Bahamas, prior to Corona, was a time of reflection out of which we have decided to sell our lovely Pearl of Penzance. As with all these things there were many factors but the driver is changing family circumstances.
18 May 2020
Fledging
All our bird boxes have been taken and fledging has already begun – this little fella needed a bit of help and I am pleased to report that it all turned out well for him. This year has brought more woodpecker than I have ever seen and they are hammering away at the bird boxes to feed on the babies. So far the boxes have held up but some are looking very battle weary. Next year we will have to put chicken wire around the boxes for protection.
18 May 2020
Fred Flintstone
One of the symptoms of Corona is that the supply chain for spares has been effected. One of the cutting deck wheels on my mower gave up the ghost and with the grass growing like mad I needed a solution. Thoughts of good old Fred Flintstone inspired this oak wheel which looks like it will last forever.
Turks and Caicos
I was being eyed up by a big Barracuda which was a bit unsettling as he wasn’t at all scared of me when I swam towards him. In fact he went from side on to pointing straight at me which I have since heard is a sign of eminent attack. The locals are more frightened of them than sharks so it was an interesting encounter. Fortunately I had my unique counter measures on my side in that a ‘Fat old Cornishman ‘ doesn’t look that appetising!
We arrived in Cockburn Harbour on the east side of the Islands after a three night sail from the BVI’s. Good easy sailing but a bit lacking on the sleep stakes as there are a lot of banks and reefs in that area. I saw a huge Humpback whale breach in the near distance with a mighty splash as it came back down. This area is also littered, literally, with cruise ships of gargantuan size. One had a massive outdoor film screen so I had a few minutes of some action film though the binoculars.
The Turks and Caicos Island water is the clearest water I have ever seen with every hue of blue as the sand banks below wax and wane in depth. The odd area of seagrass bringing dark patches of contrast and coral heads look like billiard balls in random place after the first break. I say billiard balls for the main feature of the Island is a forty mile bank of sand which fills the gap between the east and west islands at a depth of about two and a half meters.
We crossed it yesterday to make landfall at Providentcials after one of the best sails we have had so far. Once we had felt our way through the coral heads to the clear part of the bank a lively wind saw us making 6-7knts in flat sea’s. The water so clear it felt as if we were low level flying as we dodged the odd corral head. We sat on the coach roof in the shade of the mainsail drinking tea as this magic carpet rolled out underneath us, it was just amazing.
After dropping anchor we hit the beach, literally, and found ourselves a nice little restaurant to top the day off with my first ‘Surf n Turf’. Good food, a lovely view over the nature reserve and excellent company in the form of JP and Joan. We met in Spanish Town on the BVI’s and have been loosely sailing in company ever since and they are a joy.
