Sunday, March 07, 1999 – Sapodilla Bay, Providenciales, Caicos

G’day all

It’s been a bit of a strange day today really. We moved out of last night’s anchorage at 03:30 this morning and made way for the Caicos Islands. These groups of islands lie about 570 miles south east of Ft. Lauderdale. Some believe the islands’ name is derived from the Lucayan word Caya Hica which means string of islands and as life would have it, others believe it is derived from the Spanish Cayos which means rocky islands. From what I have seen, the latter certainly describes Provo rather well.

Provo is the yachty term for the island Providenciales, which according to a local legend was given to the island by some shipwrecked sailors whose boat was called La Providentielle. How original of them. In pre-Colombian times Lucayan Indians used to live here where as today tourists and yachties from all over the world seek out the crystal clear waters and white beaches of Provo. We tried to check in at Turtle Cove today after welcoming our guests Christian and Helmut. Immigration and Customs promised to come promptly but to no avail. So we headed off to our present location. Fringing reefs and shallow banks protect most of the island, which made getting into both Turtle Cove and Sapodilla Bay a very nerve wracking business indeed. With an average of 2m (6’) or less and windy cuts through the reefs we had look outs everywhere and the sonar working overtime. The only grace is that once inside the reefs, we are well protected from the 20-knot winds that have been blowing. The weather itself has been rather shabby to say the least. Dark clouds and rain have plagued us most of yesterday and today. With Christian coming from Seattle and Helmut from Germany this is hardly the weather they have been hoping for. As I often say though, you get that on the big jobs!

Tomorrow we hope to check in and possibly get some water activities in before we start making our way towards the Silver Banks to hopefully see the end of the Humpback whale season. Water ski-ing and diving look like they might be the ticket and possibly a glimpse of the islands around here as well. We shall see what tomorrow brings….

Regards