Frank is a lot happier than the tuna is.
We had an excellent passage from Conception Island to Providenciales and we managed to catch some yellow fin tuna on our way!
Beautiful tuna steaks!
And what is the best thing to do when you finish a passage and arrive at a dock with fresh fish? Share it with you dock neighbors!
New neighbors and familiar friends!
I am surprised to report that we have spent nearly three weeks on Providenciales (Provo), Turks and Caicos. While many cruisers stop here just as a layover until they have a good weather window to or from the Dominican Republic, we chose to have our kids fly in to visit us, so we are hanging around a while until they arrive.
Turquoise waters draw many tourists.
Provo is an upscale island with a well established tourist trade for those arriving by airplane or cruise ship. The island has several very cushy, all inclusive resorts on white sand beaches overlooking turquoise water where visitors can lounge all day, play golf or visit nice boutiques.
A view of South Side Marina from a nearby hill.
As easy as this island is to access by air and cruise ship, as cruisers we found it less accessible than other islands we have visited. The people here are very nice and extremely welcoming, but the anchorages tend to be exposed to wind or swell, so cruisers must hunt for quiet waters. Once a protected spot is found, we did not find any support facilities nearby unless we went to an actual marina.
Provo is well developed with many amenities, including beautiful groceries, but a car is necessary to get around unless you are prepared to walk a long way.
The ladies hanging out at Bob’s Bar – Captain too!
Even though access to the island is a challenge, we have enjoyed Provo. When we arrived, we stopped at South Side Marina, owned by a great guy named Bob. South Side is very small with about a dozen slips and Bob’s Bar; a fun place to gather for drinks and Bocce Ball. Plus Bob is super helpful and will arrange to have Customs and Immigration come to the marina, and he offers to take folks to the grocery every day around noon.
Bocce Ball ~ where spectators have a ringside seat!
While we were in South Side, we became friends with the other cruising boats and almost every night we gathered for drinks or bocce ball or pot luck dinners.
We went to the Provo Fish Fry with Ken and Laurie of Mauna Kea.
The social life was in full swing for those first 10 days before our friends took advantage of an excellent weather window to go either to the Dominican Republic or back toward the States. But we stayed behind to await the arrival of our sons.
Captain enjoyed free roaming and a new friend, Maddie, while at South Side!
In addition to the social time, the wind was exceedingly cooperative and we were able to kite board several days! Long Bay is the most perfect place to learn to kite I have ever seen! The water is beautiful and shallow and the floor of the ocean is sand with only an occasional seashell to mar its surface.
Long Bay has miles of shallow water!
Frank kited 6 days in a row! I kited four times and loved that I could be completely self sufficient in this location! That is a huge accomplishment for me as a new kiter.
A bit sad to see this abandoned resort.
When the winds settled and we had had as much marina time as we could take, Frank and I sailed to West Caicos Island, home to an abandoned Ritz Carleton Resort. Apparently the Ritz invested $150 million in this resort, then halted construction. The partially finished buildings remain but those are the only structures on West Caicos.
Love those pictures using a red filter!
However, on the western side of the island are several buoys placed by scuba diving companies and each one is named on the electronic charts of the area, theoretically giving you an idea of what you will find below.
Why does this make me think of Dr. Seuss?
We had a very nice dive along a deep wall in a current free area that allowed us to relax and enjoy the scenery. This dive was not as clear or colorful as the one on Conception Island, but it was definitely worth the effort.
We see you Mr. Ray.
After the dive we needed to move LIB to the east side of West Caicos to protect us from westerly winds. As we rounded the southern end of West Caicos, we saw something in the water and were not sure what it was. We were in about 25 feet of water and wondered if it was an unmarked obstacle…..
Whales in the shallows.
But as we approached, the “obstacle” blew out spray from its’ blow hole – WHALES AHEAD!
We were able to get pretty close to the whales so I drove and Frank jumped into the water to swim with the whales. Once below, he found two humpback whales – a cow and calf!
There is a video on our FB page.
I didn’t realize that humpback whales have all white flippers! It was very easy to see the solid white appendage in the water even from above. Fun fact – a humpback’s flipper can be up to 1/3 of its body length! I guess that is a good thing as it helps propel their huge bodies.
After a very peaceful evening anchored off of West Caicos, we sailed to Blue Haven Marina on the northeastern part of Provo where we hung out and prepared for our kids to arrive.
As always, thank you for stopping by to read our blog. If you want to see what we are up to more often, check out our FB page: Let It Be, Helia 44. We would love to hear from you.
Ticket to Ride 