Jobiska happily moored in South Side Marina, Providenciales

In the light of covID19 our decision was that we needed to keep moving north west to get through the Bahamas and on to Florida as quickly as possible so that we could prepare Jobiska for the hurricane season, see her safely tied down with land anchors and fly home. We set off for the Turks and Caicos which would get us 400 miles further on. It was a good sail and we checked in with Customs, Immigration and Environmental Health at Grand Turk where we were startled by the very low profile of the island and the vibrant colour of the sea looking not unlike the coral atolls of the Tuamotos in the Pacific.

Things then came to a grinding halt for us. We considered making a dash for Cuba but eventually decided against that as Caribbean countries here were starting to close their borders very quickly and Cuba, some 160 miles away, could be closed by the time we got there. The Bahamas were already starting to close their borders as were all other islands around us: Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands where we had just been, so if we left Turks and Caicos we might not be able to get back in, they had already closed to cruise ships.

After spending 2 nights at Grand Turk we realised the anchorage would not be a good place to stay and decided that South Side Marina on Providenciales, the most populated of the Turks and Caicos, would be a safer bet. This was a really good decision.

The route from Grand Turk to Provo, as Providenciales is known locally, involved a short open water crossing in water 5,000 ft deep which changed suddenly giving us a 40 mile trip across the 'Caicos Bank' an area of water about 8ft deep with regular coral heads to keep one alert. With a strong following wind we had a safe but nerve-racking trip across. The water is a quite stunning aquamarine colour and with the sun behind it is easy to see the darker patches that indicate reefy lumps. Even so when we arrived at the marina we met 2 boats that had hit coral heads whilst crossing, one Canadian yacht which started taking on water ended up in the island's shipyard requiring fairly major repairs. Even getting through the channel into the marina was a hold your breath experience with just a foot of water under the keel.

News of closed borders continued to pour in until it was clear that every island south and north of us was closed. Trump also announced that UK residents would not be allowed into the US and with their worsening coronavirus situation we no longer wanted to go there. Our decision then became easier and we shall be sailing back home.

South Side Marina has proved an excellent safe haven remote from most of the dangers of covID19 with everything we need for a period of lockdown: washing machine, showers and toilets just a stones throw from the boat and the use of a car once a week for shopping at the excellent supermarket which is very expensive but little grows here so nearly all food stuffs are imported. We swim everyday in the clear waters of the marina. At first there were about 10 other boats but gradually one by one they set off, mostly American yachts returning to the US and one British that will try to get into Miami but one or 2 going south eastward to other parts of the Caribbean for the hurricane season where they will have to go into quarantine.

Having made the decision that the US is a risky place to be we need to stay put until the conditions are right to depart for the Azores and home.