Midnight Rambler gets to Turks and Caicos

We cross the Mona passage

Isla Desecheo in the Mona Passage

It was 56 hours from Puerto Rojo to South Caicos. By the start of the second night we were all pretty tired. We stood 4 hours on 6 off watches overlapped so there was always a watch stander who had been on for 2 hours to keep good continuity, but as we were all keyed up for the trip no one got much sleep the first night and just got little naps during the day. The sailing was good with 15 kts of wind, but with a 6-8’ swell on the starboard quarter so we rolled a good bit in the seas. Even though we all got some sleep the second night we were still tired when we pulled into South Caicos and anchored.

Old wall in South Caicos

 

It was a rolly anchorage and unfortunately it was Sunday. So everything was closed. We did get some cold beers by asking Risha to open her store for us and she very kindly accommodated us. There is also a Marine school there and they let us use their wi fi while we were there to check the weather.

Porpoise acompany us on the crossing

Aug in the Galley

The next morning we crossed the Caicos Banks. It was an all-day sail dodging coral heads and skimming over the bottom which sometimes was only a foot and a half beneath our keel. About 2/3 of the way across we were greeted by a couple of porpoise who played by our bow for about 15 minutes before leaving. About an hour later the sight was repeated but this time with six porpoises! They are just so great to watch. They barely move their tails and they shoot away.  As we approached Providenciales we were met by a high speed police boat and told to call Radio Provo and provide them with all the information about the boat and the crew. We did, but in after thought since they asked for a lot of personal information and passport numbers we should have refused to give the information over the radio since it is open communication.

We anchored in 8’ of water in Sapodilla Bay Providenciales and spent a relaxing night. The next day Aug and Bobbie went in and checked us in. At the dock by customs is a 43’ Haitian boat which was stopped with over 100 people on it.

Our transportaion

Bugaloos Conch Crawl

The winds were predicted to pick up in two days so we decided to wait for good weather before pressing on and to go into a dock while we waited. We took a cab to South Side Marina and checked it out. It is really nice and the owner, Bob, gave us directions in and assured us that our 6’ draft would be no problem at high tide. So the next day we threaded through the coral heads and slipped through the narrow channel to the dock.

There are some nice places to eat here. We went to a beach bar and restaurant called Bugaloo’s Conch Crawl which is a stunning place with dinning on the beach and the food is good.

At South Side Marina

At bar overlooking the marina

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Side Marina

 

The fish fry

Grace Bay Providenciales  at Fish Fry

 

We also went to a fish fry on Grace Bay which tuned out to be a party with almost a dozen food tents to choose from and a band and entertainment.

A small parade like Junkanoo at the Fish Fry

There is along canal complex here at the marina which stretches for miles with houses all along its banks.

House on the canal

We put Bobbie up the mizzen mast to work on the wind generator and the radar reflector. It was his first time up a mast and he did a great job up there.

Bobbie goes up the mast

It was then time to leave the Turks and Caicos as the weather turned fair so we waited for the high tide so we can get through the channel and off we went for the Bahamas.

We start to Cruise with Midnight Rambler

Frolic is safely put to bed in Virgin Gorda and we take a series of ferries to St John to meet up with Peg and Aug on Midnight Rambler, a 49’ ketch rigged transpacific. We have a going away dinner at Morgan’s Mangrove Aug and Bobbie’s past place of employment, and the Fatty Crab and pick up our 5^th crew member, Bobbie. Our purpose is to zip by the south coast of Puerto Rico,  sail through the Turks and Caicos, enjoy the Bahamas, then across the Gulf Stream to Florida and up to Sarasota. Peg has the trip on Facebook Midnight Ramblers Caribbean Adventures.

friends on the beach

our last beach party of the year

The first day we enjoy a nice sail running from Caneel Bay St. John to Brewers Bay on St. Thomas. There we have another good bye party on the beach with many of our cruising friends. We miss them already as we hear of their travels.

we have the triditional shot at the end
of a sucessful day's sail

drinks at Zaco Tacos in Culebra

Our plans to do an overnight down the South Coast of Puerto Rico is foiled by weather and we stop in Culebra for a couple days. We take advantage of it by visiting some of the sights, like Flamenco Beach and some of the eating and drinking establishments.

Carl and Aug on the tank at Flamenco Beach

One of the camps at Flamenco

 

 

 

 

 

Rambler at Plamas del Mar

The pool at the marina at Palmas

 

We bounced along the South coast of Puerto Rico stopping at Palmas Del Mar, Salinas, Gilligan’s Island , and Puerto Rojo. It was great exploring and enjoying these new places. The coast has many parks and public camping areas on the beach which the locals take full advantage of.

The "girls" on Rambler

Sunset at Salinas

 

 

 

 

 

storm on the horizon

Another sucessful day's sail

 

 

 

 

 

Mexican bar at Palmas

The "harbor" at Salinas

 

 

 

 

 

 

The marina at Gilligan's Island

The beach at the resort

 

 

 

 

 

Gilligan's Island

park on Gilligans

 

 

 

 

 

 

Play time at Gilligans

 

Now we leave Puerto Rojo and head for the Turks and Caicos which will be  3 day and night trip at sea. Everyone is looking forward to the trip, for some it will be their first night at sea.

A last drink at Puero Rojo

It’s a Short Season

Diane has left and now we are left to our own devices. Soon our friends Wilma and Gene on Gewil, and Vince and Alex from Slow Motion will arrive. In the mean time what is there to do? We go to the Honeymoon

Beach Drive In

Dog Learning to boogie board

 

Monday night movie and enjoy a movie, popcorn and burgers.  Joe’s on the other end of the beach is now the Dinghy and they have an inflatable on the beach with a female mannequin in it. I understand she has already had trouble with people borrowing her bathing suit and taking her for rides. Honeymoon beach is a lot of fun.

Dinghy's and their sign

Leslie at Heidi's

 

 People have fun in the water during the day sometimes teaching dogs to surf. There is of course Heidi’s beach bar at one end and Dinghy at the other for food and drinks and at night with the lights on it is a magical place.

Honeymoon at night





What a cool slide

The most toys wins

 

There is also Brewers Beach to swim, snorkel, get food and drinks at the food trucks and sometimes catch a beach wedding or even a swimsuit model shoot. Some big boats sometimes drop in for a play day, and they have the toys!



another slide! It must be the new thing

 

swimsuit models at Brewers

 

 




There of course is the Wednesday shopping spree with friends to the thrift store, Cost U Less, Home Depot, and Price Smart.

Zora fitting Leslie's sandals

 

 Leslie got some custom sandals at Zora’s.  There is also dinner with friends at various spots on St. Thomas, or go to St. Johns. Here there is great snorkeling and swimming at Maho, Frances, and Caneel Bays to mention just a few, as well as hiking all over the island.

Dinner on Ocean Wings

Dinner at Island View with friends

Suzanne's birthday dinner

 

An Octopus hiding in a hole

 

The bug parade

Nice cars

 

Of course there are parties and events all around. We went to the University of the Virgin Island’s Taste of Spring celebration. There was all kinds of foods with a food contest and a parade of classic cars.

fire jugler at taste of Spring

The Spring Queens

 

 

 

 

 

One of the food tents with local dishes

There were lots of kids activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concert at Crown Bay

 

Beautiful Coral at Culebra

Another Octopus

 

 

 

 

We also sailed to Culebra to meet friends and snorkel as the water and snorkeling is wonderful!

 

Leslie at Culebra

 

Templet for Scuba tank holder

The completed tank holder

 

What do you do? Well when all else fails there is always the list of projects and maintenance waiting to be done.

The tank holders installed

Tanks in the holders

Varnish the engine hatches

 

 

 

Putting a gasket on oven

New anchor bow roller with anchor guards

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carl spicing 8 strand to chain

The finished splice

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lelsie with new tables at Leverick

Completed scuba shop at Leverick

 

We made a last trip to BVI North Sound, one of our favorite places, and started to get the boat ready to haul out. We had a great close hauled tack up the Francis Drake Passage and got passed by some Maxi boats racing around Virgin Gorda.

New shops at Leverick under
construction

Maxi boat heading for the start

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Beans with 81 year old father
on the wash board

crowd sailing away with Beans

 

We also caught a last show of Michael Beans.

 

Of Course just as we were leaving Brewers Bay, Carl did something to his right leg and could barely walk! So mornings were spent stretching and rubbing his knee and leg. At Leverick he had 2 massages and 2 acupuncture treatments and is now almost back to normal.

Midnight Rambler crew

Midnight Rambler Leaving Maho Bay

We will soon be putting Frolic up for the year as we will be sailing on Midnight Rambler with Peg and August to Tampa Florida. It promises to be a leisurely and fun trip and should take 6 – 8 weeks. Then since we will be in the states we will start a land travel marathon to visit as many friends as we can.  From there we will hopefully fly to Australia to visit family we haven’t seen since 2006, many new additions await our acquaintance. 

Frolic out of the water after 3 months