Sailing with Lala

Turks and Caicos !

We left San Salvador, Bahamas, on Saturday morning with the same boats that we had been traveling with since Georgetown. Ahead of us we had almost 190 nautical miles to sail non-stop to the Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos. The sailing was OK, but we had to fight the current and waves almost all the way. Misiu was again crewing on 'Opal' with Mark. The very first night we were all without sight of each other. The sailing was tough, we motor-sail at 2000 RPM hardly making four knots. Also the seas were fairly high, waves up to 8 feet and higher. The Admiral didn't like this at all, Lala didn't care, she slept all night and half the day without leaving the cockpit. On the second night we started to worry about the rest and especially 'Opal' and Misiu. We made a contact a few times with 'Gravy Boat' on the SSB radio and they said that 'Opal ' is ahead of us. The last night was very hard, the seas got even bigger and it seamed like we'll never make it to Provos.
We were sailing in a lee of Mayaguana Island, but knew, once we'll get to the easternmost point, the heading will be more to the south and the waves on the beam. Those were the most remote places of the Bahamas and we wanted to get out of there. It was so different when we finally got there, the sailing became smoother and faster and when everything was going so good, the bolt on the boomvang fell of, so our main was out of commission. We flew genoa only and were motoring hard to be before 8 AM at the Caicos banks, ahead of the daily strong trade winds. After forty some hours I finally went down below and had a couple hours of sleep. At daybreak we saw two sails ahead of us and it was 'Sousurra' and 'Gravy Boat'. What a nice feeling to be in their company after fifty some hours of sailing in total solitude. They said everybody is back together, and as usual we are the last boat in the fleet.
Misiu didn't have a really good passage this time, the sail was long and hard and he was getting seasick, and maybe home, or 'boat' sick too. The place were we are anchored it's not as nice as we are used to. Far away from town, no bus service at all and the anchorage itself a bit rolly. We hitchhiked to town and went strait to IGA, as Misiu couldn't wait any longer to get fresh supplies of bacon and meats. We were shocked, this IGA had more stuff and choices than the one we have in Glenmore. We were devouring on a freshly baked baguettes as the bread in the Bahamas was terrible. There isn't much to do here if you are not a guest at one of the many resorts. We rented together a van for one day, did some shopping and just drove around. Maybe we just got spoiled in the Bahamas and it's hard to get back to the real world.. As for now we are waiting for the next weather window to hop over to the Dominican Republic, and it looks like next Thursday we'll be under way again. Last night we had a torrential downpour, a mother of all rains. None of us ever had seen a rain like this. Two boats had dragged their anchors, and nobody really slept. It was so much rain, that we toped of our tanks for the trip, as water is hard to find in our 'neighborhood'. Also we had many leaks inside the boat that we didn't know about it, now we do.
I and the crew (Misiu and Lala) went to do last grocery shopping for the passage. As always we went hitchhiking and got the ride from the fellow Canadian who's building a house in Provos. Of course we went shopping at IGA and had quite a load. In the Parking lot we asked a lady with a small child if she could help us. She offered to drive us all the way to the anchorage, even that she lives on the other side of the island. Jana happened to be from The Czech Republic and was happy to speak Czech to us. We invited them on 'LALA', but Jana got sea sick in the rolly anchorage and had to live, but invited us for supper for next evening . Jana's husband, Gordon and their little son Julian came to pick us up and of we went. They live in the very nice apartament, right on the beach. Mama and Misiu hoped in the shower right away and I and Lala couldn't understand why they didn't shower before we left. Last time they were in the real shower was in Nassau, over two months ago. We were there for almost five hours, and all the time Jana was cooking, and we were eating. We were treated like royalties, with the best dishes that you can't get at the best restaurants. It was nice to be 'on the solid ground', seating at the table that wasn't bouncing. It was actually weird. Gordon is also a good guitar player and has few of them at home, so him and Misiu had a little 'jam session'. Misiu was in heaven. For the way home Gordon presented Misiu with one of his guitars and actually 'landed' to him, so he can better take care of it. That kind hospitality we don't encounter very often, and we were very thankful for that.
That would be it for now, got to go to town in search of wi-fi signal and send some e-mails. Our booster antenna caput and no more internet on the boat.
Sorry, no luck, we'll have to do it when we'll get to the DR.
Best regards, S/V, LALA and the crew (Henryk, Mariola, Misiu and Lala.)