That was a crazy trip. We motored across the Caicos banks yesterday which involved 8hrs of pushing into the wind with as little as 2' of water below the keel and coral heads to avoid everywhere. We arrived at the anchorage beside the Turks channel and were just relaxing with a sundowner and looking at the weather when we realised that the only halfway decent forecast for the trip to the DR was NOW.... We were not prepared, mentally or physically but we did it anyway. After a pretty hellish night of sailing close hauled in 20-25kts and 6' seas with no moon we arrived in the DR around 1pm today. We were way too late to get into Luperon against the trades and the sea breeze so we fell away down the coast a few miles to Bahia Isabela which is a lovely natural harbor where 5,000 people lived and worked in the Columbus era. They were all gone by 1502 so there is just a hotel and Columbus' old fort. We cannot land anyway as we are not cleared in but it is a fabulous place to refres h before facing the chaos of Luperon. We will go round there in the morning lee to do the formalities.

After all the little islands of the Bahamas banks DR is a shock, first it is huge and second it is high. We are looking forward to some exploring.