A NEW STAMP ON OUR PASSPORTS

APRIL 26, 2013 

PEREGRIN AT SUNSET

We left Rum Cay before dawn shortly after Peregrin, both heading to Pittstown Point, Crooked Island.  The anchorage was crowded, a weather front was arriving & we were all staying put until the weather passed.  We spent 3 days anchored waiting for a weather window, everyone was anxious to move south.
On our day of departure we weighed anchor at dawn, heading for the most southern island in the Bahamas. We reached the entrance to the bay at Mayaguana around noon the same day.  After anchoring in the beautiful shallow water full of coral heads & small reefs it was time for chores. 

CAICOS PASSAGE

We spent the afternoon making water & repairing the radar.  By 4pm we made the decision to make a night sail, 66 miles to the Turks & Caicos.  At 6 pm we passed through the Guano Point cut out into the Caicos Passage.  As the sun set over the water the winds were light, with all sails up we cut the engine just as the moon began to rise.

After hours on watch Rod turned the helm over to me & spent some much needed time below.  From midnight to almost 4am I spent my watch in the quiet moon lit night, watching the dark water flowing under the keel. 

At 4 am Rod was back & the dark night turned into a beautiful morning.  By 8am we had reached the Sandbore Channel mark & made our call to Provo Radar asking permission to enter the channel.  At 11am we turned into Sapodilla Bay at Providenciales Island, our first stop in the British Overseas Territory of the Turks & Caicos. 

No rest for the weary after anchoring.  Customs was our next stop.  Clearing Customs here was so simple compared to the forms & drama of the Bahamas.  Within the hour we had cleared in & out of the country.  Time for a nap on Its Perfect.

The island is beautiful & soon we were joined by Cheers, Mezzoluna & Cannon Ball.  We had all met in Georgetown & now are heading south.  We are spending 2 nights before making a long passage on to Luperon in the Dominican Republic.