CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored in Sapodilla Bay off the island of Providenciales (commonly called Provo) in the Turks & Caicos

21 44.728' N, 072 17.389' W

We started our morning with the plan to head from our current anchorage to French Cay, a distance of about 15 nautical miles. After the morning weather, Sheryl went to town and officially cleared us out of the Turks & Caicos. Unfortunately, by the time she had returned to the boat, the winds had picked up considerably and the clouds had increased (rather than burning off as they usually do in the early morning hours). We decided to abort our attempt to move the boat before we even got underway. Another boat from the anchorage had departed very early that morning and returned before noon to report that the winds and seas were not conducive to crossing the Caicos Banks.

In preparation for an eventual departure, we deflated, dried, and stowed the dinghy. Then we spent the remainder of the day rocking and rolling in our anchorage due to the surge generated by these high winds. We made the best of our delay by reading, relaxing, baking bread, and basket weaving. Around sundown, we invited Dan & Kimber (from s/v Snark) to join us aboard Prudence for dinner. Sheryl made our own version of Bahamian peas & rice (which are not really peas, but instead are a type of bean) which we season with a little salsa. The last of the remaining ginger cookies were offered for dessert.

It was great to chat with Dan & Kimber about their experiences (from living aboard a sailboat in Guam to cycling in Australia). Of course, there was also plenty of discussion regarding upcoming passages, timing, routes, strategies and weather. The visit turned out to be a nice distraction from our own ruminations about the obstacles and decisions we will face in the next few days and weeks, while at the same time giving us an opportunity to exercise those thoughts with a sounding board who will be following in our wake very shortly.

Our main goal, at this point, is to get to the Dominican Republic. Sheryl and I will need to decide about crossing the Caicos Banks to get a better angle on a direct sail to Luperon, or cutting across from French Cay to Manzanillo. We need to decide whether to take this weather window or wait for another to arrive. In addition to winds and sea state, we need to consider departure and arrival times, sunlight angles, coral heads, tides, garbage lines, land breezes and katabatic winds (and what seem to be a hundred other factors). Stay tuned, dear Reader, as we sort it all out and continue to point our bow south and east.