We have been doing a little exploring.
We have finally recovered from our over night sail. We don't really get any sleep at all on the over night sails so it takes a few days to get back to normal. We have been in town every day and it's very different. It's very dirty and the houses look more like a Cuban town but I think Cubans keep there town cleaner than Luperon. I don't know if every town is like this but we will find out. On Monday we will be going with a group of boaters to the 27 waterfalls for the day. We will get to see more of the country side on the way there and back. From our anchorage it looks very lush and green like a tropical jungle. In the morning it sounds like a tropical jungle with so many birds chirping. The town is very busy during the day. Motorcycles buzzing about doing there business. Small motorcycles are the way to get around in the town. There's so many of them and it's very noisy. They have no helmets no glasses to protect there eyes and they have there small children on the bikes with them, some times three of them.

 

 

 

It's very hot in town away from the ocean breeze and it's important to find a shady spot for siesta!

 

 

We found a great quiet spot at the Marina to relax away from the noise of the motor cycles in town.

Laurie's having an El Presidente Beer

 Looking over the bay

 Hot Tub

 

As we were finishing our drinks of course the cows had to come down to the boat ramp and have a drink

 

 

Today we walked around town again and here's just a few pictures.

A house in down town

 This is were most of the boats will meet.

 Here's how they tie up the fishing boats

 Tomorrows ham sandwich!

 Looking down the main street.

 

 

 

 



 





We are in the Dominican Republic

Wednesday night we had to get a good nights rest for the long trip on Tuesday. It was a calm rainy night and it was hot. The bugs came in out of the rain and found Laurie not covered up and they had a feast.

You can see all the bites and they are all over both arms and legs.

 



We left Caicos at 6am Tuesday morning on a calm day. It was going to be a long trip 150 miles witch should take 24 to 30 hours. On our way out of the channel we saw our buddy boats off in the distance. It looks like they got an earlier start than we did so we had a little catching up to do. About 5 miles out on the banks we received an escort for about 5 minutes.

After our escort it was straight east until Big Sand Cay just south of Grand Turk Island. When we passed from the banks to the ocean the big swells started to roll our way. Luckily we were going to be turning south soon. We passed by Big Sand Cay around 4pm and the water was so clear and blue. You could see the bottom in 50 feet of water.

 

So we were right on schedule for the turn at Big Sand Cay and now it was the overnight sail to Luperon Dominica Republic. We picked a great night for this passage because the water was very calm but that meant no sailing, it was motoring all night. All was well until around 3am. We notice lightning in the south and we wondered if it was coming are way. There seemed to be storms in a few locations but the one we were looking at was a bad one for lightning. I have never seen lightning like this. There were huge bolts of lightning lighting up the area and it was striking the water about every 3 minutes and I didn’t like that at all. Finally we heard from other boats that it was moving North West away from us. At about 5am we could smell dirt coming from the land. This was written in the book Passages South by Bruce Van Sant and it was true, there was a smell of dirt in the air for about 30 minutes and then it was gone. Arriving at Luperon had to be timed so we could arrive around 8am. So the last hour we slowed our speed to arrive on time to enter the channel. The reason was to get there in light is so you can watch for shoals and coral heads. 

 

 Also so Pappo can get us tied up to a mooring ball. When you arrive here Pappo is the guy that will help you with anything you need so it will be great to have him around. So now we are so tired and so hot we just want to go to sleep but now we have to check in. Dominican is a little different than anywhere else. First Pappo brought over the Commandancia to our boat. He checks you in and out of the harbor. You have to be checked in and out of every harbor you move to and he also takes your check out papers from the last country you came from( papers are called Dispatcho). Next we had to go into shore and check in with immigration. Next in line was Harbor Control, and then there was Customs and finally Agriculture who had to check if you were bringing in any vegetables. All this and we were dead tired and very very hot. Now we had to go to the bank and get peso’s and then the phone store to set up our data on our phone. Finally back to the boat and rest. We slept a while and the relaxed the rest of the afternoon.  Luperon is not a clean town! What we saw today will change our mind about staying here too long. Tomorrow we will head back into town and take a few pictures and see what’s there for us.

Getting Ready To Sail Again

It’s been a very quiet and relaxing visit to the Turks and Caicos. After arriving last week we have done a lot of regular maintenance on the boat. Polishing the chrome is a regular job because of rust. Laurie has polished all the chrome in 2 days and Mauna Kea is looking good again. I have change the oil and filter, reseated a leaking fuel filter, placed a lock nut and lock tight on the bolt that back off from the rudder that holds the steering in place. Also remounted our repaired davits so we can carry our dinghy on the back of the boat. I have been in touch with Mantis Anchor Company and explained the anchor shank was bent. The have sent me a new shank and it is waiting to be picked up at the FedEx depot here in the Turks and Caicos. Now that’s great service! I have inspected all the fittings on the boat and that all looks ok. I have also replaced 2 water hoses that looked a little worn. So I think we are good to go. We took a trip into the fish fry the other night and it was a great treat to get away from the boat. Our friends Frank and Mary Grace took us and then we had a little drive around the Grace Bay area.

 

 

 

 

 We love this little marina and the owner Bob is so good to everyone. We will come here on the way home. We checked out with Customs on Friday but that night we decided to stay until Monday because of the weather. We have been watching a weather window starting Tuesday. So our plan is to pick up our new anchor shaft on Monday morning and then leave on the next high tide. We will anchor behind an island for the night and then leave early Tuesday morning. After we leave everything is up in the air! We have to arrive in the Dominican in the morning so timing is everything. It’s going to be 150 miles to Luperon Dominican Republic and that should take around 30 hours. It going to be another overnight sail, we don’t like that but that’s the way you get around. It will be more interesting getting around the Dominican. If you sail the north side of the Dominican (that’s what we’re doing) you have to sail at night. During the day the trade winds come up from the east and the waves are too big to sail. At night time the land starts to cool and the wind will begin to blow away from the island and push the high seas about 30 miles out. That’s when you have to move around the north shore. In the morning the land starts to heat up and the wind and wave start to fill back in and you should be in a protected area by then. So next stop Dominican Republic.  

 

And now once again it's time for"

So Here's Interesting Tidbits! SHIT for short

 

 

Restoring Endangered Coral Species to TCI Reef

“ RESCQ”

There is a lot of loss of corals especially the Staghorn corals in the Caribbean. Coral Reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems that provide protection to beaches, habitat for fish and are a natural source of carbon from the atmosphere. Corals build from calcium carbonate which they get from carbon dioxide dissolved in sea water. 85% of Acropora Coral covers the sea floor near shore zones of the Caribbean.  Unfortunately the coral reef zones have almost disappeared from most islands.

  These Corals have become” Critically Endangered “from the result of White Band Disease. This has huge negative effects on the underwater landscape. The Turk’s still having several healthy reefs. There is a slow regrowth on these reefs. Coral reproduce in two ways. Both sexually an asexually. It occurs when coral polyps release bundles of sperm and eggs into the water. When a sperm bundle comes into contact with an egg bundle baby coral is formed. Thus is called “planulae”. These free swimming planktonic babies swim to the light on the surface and drift with the current until it settles on the sea bottom to form new coral.

  Asexual Coral occurs when a piece of coral is broken. This coral fragment can form a new coral when it lands on the sea floor. 

  In the Turks there has been a three year project to restore these reefs by establishing a coral nursery on the island. They grow coral fragments and then transplant the new coral to restoration sites. These coral fragments are harvested from heathy Staghorn and Elkhorn corals. They do his by using a series of bamboo poles suspended between two ropes. Each ladder is anchored to the sea floor and has floats to keep the structure in the water columns. The small pieces of coral about 2 inches are attached to this ladder with monofilament lines. After six months to a year these will grow into a much larger coral and then transplanted to a reef where they will continue to grow. 

  The TCRF has started an “Adopt a Coral Program” You can adopt a coral fragment for $50.00 and you will receive a certificate and a photo of your adopted coral. There government will run out of funding so they are hoping for resident and visitor support to keep this program going.

 

Ok lets make some coral!

Next time we hope to have better SHIT!

 

 

At last a fun night

We have been doing a lot of work on the boat the last few days and we needed a break. It was Easter and one of the boaters organized a pizza and Botchi Ball tournament . It was a nice night with a beautiful breeze looking over the harbor from the marina bar.

There were six boats competing and we all wanted to have some fun and relax by the bar. We drew boat names to match up our opponent. It was boat against boat and I knew we had a little advantage because Laurie curled most of her life and Botchi Ball is a little like curling. It was all set, Mauna Kea against Let It Be, Seabourne against Reposed, and Temerity against Manatee.

 First round it was Mauna Kea against Let It Be. It was a close game and I was losing strength, I needed something to eat and I thought to myself, can the pizza get here on time??? Well the pizza got here just too late and we lost 7 to 6. It was close BUT we still had a chance. There was a buy for one losing team. The losing team with the most points got to go into the playoffs so with 6 points we had a chance. Next up was Temerity against Manatee. The game went fast, Temerity was a strong team and Reposed didn’t get a point. Next up was the Swiss team Seabourne againt Reposed. This game also went quickly; it was the Swiss team Seabourne that won this game easily. So the playoff round was set and we got in with a buy. First up was Let It Be against Seabourne. It was a very close game and the Swiss team Seabourne beat out our friends Let It Be. So now it was our turn again and we had to play the best team Temerity. Watching the last 2 games I chowed down about 5 pieces of pizza and now I was ready, I had energy!

 

 

 I had the energy and I had the best partner. It started off bad for us but we clawed back and tied up the game 6 to 6. Then we did it, we beat out a very good team Temerity. So now it was the final. The Canadians (Mauna Kea)

against the Swiss team (Seabourne)

 Having  5 pieces of pizza I still had a lot of energy but just in case I had a couple of pieces of cake just to make sure I had enough to the end of the game. The match was a little back and forth BUT, The Canadians made Swiss cheese out of Seaboure and we came out on top. It was a fun night and all had a great time.

 

You may have read in a previous blog post the I suggested that the new wooden motor rail mount looked like it should have a name. Brian Millar suggested the name WOODY.

So it's WODDY THE MOTOR HOLDER!

 

 

 

 

 

Shark!

Here's a video I took of a nurse shark when we were at Conception Island. This is in about 15 to 20 feet of water. Notice how clear the water is.

Happy Easter From Laurie and Ken on Mauna Kea

 

 



We have had a good rest, Finally.

It's been a tough week trying to get to the Turks and Caicos, but we are here and the weather is perfect. The first day we relaxed and waited for customs and immigration to come and see us. It was good to just sit around on solid ground. Our buddy boat Let It Be let us wait on there boat in the air conditioning and that was sooo nice. Customs came about 2 hours later and immigration didn't come until the next day. We have done a bit of maintenance on the boat while we were waiting. I have gone back to the steering wheel cage below the deck to place a proper lock bolt. When this rudder was replaced in the spring it should have been installed with a lock washer or a lock bolt or at least lock tight to hold the nut and bolt in place. This bolt should never have backed out. So this is another part of the boat that will have routine maintenance checks done to make sure this doesn't happen again. We will spend a few days doing work on the boat in the mornings and maybe look around in the afternoon because it really hot here. It's been getting in the 90's in the afternoon. So on the way here I took a few pictures.

Here's Laurie on watch. We were lucky the autohelm was working. 

Here's a short video of the water coming out of the tape. The seas weren't to bad this day. If the seas are bigger you have to make sure the water stays in the sink. Keep you eyes on the water.

 

Here's some pictures of the marina we are in. It's very nice.

 

I hope we can get out to see the island very soon.

 

 

So now that we are in the Turks and Caicos it's time again for:

 

So Here's Interesting Tidbits  SHIT for short.

 

 

Glow Worms

In the Caicos there is an amazing occurrence in the waters at the Caicos banks. For three to six nights after a full moon. Flashes of fluorescent green dot the water and then fade away. They are very bright and can appear in a handful or hundreds. These dots are caused by the courting ritual of the marine Glowworm. The female Glowworm swims toward the surface and releases bioluminescent egg masses which make small bright green glowing spots that attract the male Glowworm. He becomes excited. He becomes so excited that he lights up his own bioluminescent. When the two meet at the surface she spins around in circles and she releases more eggs. the male dances around her releasing gametes onto the eggs and that is how a baby Glowworm begins. " simple as that".

That some amazing SHIT!

 

Turks And Caicos History

The Turks And Caicos is a British overseas territory. It has 40 islands and Cays. Legend has it that its name came from the scarlet dome of the barrel shaped Turks head cactus and the Spanish word Cayos meaning small islands. Christopher Columbus set foot on the island in 1492 welcomed by the friendly Lucayan Indians. Bermudians arrived on the island in the mid 1600's and began a thriving salt business. The American Declaration Of Independence left the British Loyalists from South Carolinas and Georgia without a country. They took advantage of British crown land in the Turks. Here they had a thriving cotton industry until a terrible hurricane brought it to an end. A few Loyalists then took their slaves to the Grand Turks  where they started the salt trade. Slavery was abolished in Britain in 1807  giving the Royal Navy the authority to set free the slavery and they were freed on the shores of the Bahamas. Many arrived to the shores of the Caicos by a shipwreck of illegal slaves in 1841. In 1976 the island was granted a new constitution and elected a form of government which was appointed by the Queen to represent the British interest in the island. Today it is developed for tourism with world class hotels and the most beautiful beaches in the world.

 

Well that's some boring SHIT!

 

 

 





 

 

 



We are in the Turks and Caicos

We left Jamaica Bay in the Crooked Islands on Thursday morning 5am and we dropped anchor here at 5am. It was a great sail and a long night. We are waiting for Immigration and Customs to come to see us and then a little rest.
It took a week but we got here safely.

I hate it when a plan doesn't come together.

We left Clarence Town at 12 noon to head for Turks and Caicos. We sailed south to the bottom of Crooked Islands estimating we would get there around midnight. The buddy boat Moseon and us were sailing great and making good time. We round the point at midnight and turned east toward the Turks. The wind was great and the waves were not to big. We were going about 6 to 8 knots and that was great. At 4;30 am our steering stopped working. I could not figure out what was happening so I started the engine to power the boat into the right direction. I had an over heat alarm so I had to shut down the engine. I called the buddy boat for assistance and there was no answer. I called for about 15 minutes and no answer. I figured we had no steering so I dug out the emergency tiller. I realized the wheel below the deck had broke. We were only 10 hours into our 40 hours trip and I could not hold the tiller all the way to the Turks. We had to turn around and head back to a safe anchorage. It took us 8 hours to get to and protected bay where we could get some sleep. We had not slept for 24 hours. We dropped anchor and slept for about 4 hours. I had a look underneath the wheel and found the wheel that controls the cables had dropped down. I tried for about 2 hours and could not figure out how it was supposed to go back together. So I decided to tackle the engine problem. I took off the water pump and looked at the impeller and that was our problem. I change the impeller and the engine was running again. We were in the middle of now where so I had to get us close to a cell tower so I could google how the steering goes back together. We sailed up 15 miles and saw a cell tower so I decided to anchor there. The wind was picking up and the waves where getting bigger so I thought this might be a good spot. I called the expert back in Oakville Jim Pollock and he help me a lot. We were still to tired to work and the waves were to big. We stayed in this anchorage for the night and the waves were so bad we didn't sleep. We had to move on the another place so we lifted the anchor to move on. BUT the anchor would not come up. I had to dive down and release the anchor from a hole in a rock then we were on our way. A short time later our davits broke off and our dinghy was dragging side ways in the water. We were definitely being tested. We got the dinghy straighten out and we were on our way. We were both exhausted and every move we made was a struggle. The winds were gusting 30 knots and the waves were building to 5 feet. All this time I had to steer the boat with the tiller. Laurie could not take a turn because she wasn't strong enough . After about 5 hours we anchored in Landrail Point where there was protection from the wind and waves. We got things straightened away and went to sleep for about 3 hours. Again I called Jim Pollock in Oakville and went over the procedure and went to work. It took about 3 hours and the steering was fixed. Now we have to get to the Turks our selves and we have to do it quickly. Yep anther front coming in this weekend. So we figure we can leave in the morning and make 2 stops and be in the Turks on Friday before the front comes in on Saturday. This is our plan and we know this one will work.

Our New Dinghy Motor Has Arrived

This was a long wait, we order it in George Town in the middle of January. The mail boat finally arrived yesterday afternoon in Clarence Town and the dock was busy.

Mail boat.

When the mail boat comes in there's a lot of people on the docks waiting for there stuff. They unload the containers off the boat and unpack them one at a time by four or five people. People are standing and watching for they stuff to be unpack. I was so lucky my engine was on the first container to be opened and it was right there when they opened the door. It was unloaded and I opened the box and installed the engine on the dinghy right on the beach. Easy as that! WRONG! The engine would not fit on the back of the dinghy. So I had to put back the old engine and go back to the boat for a little persuading. I had to cut off a little bit of plastic and then it was time for a test drive. I cant go to fast because of the breaking in period of the new engine.

She's a beauty!

So now I had to do a little adjusting on the engine rail mount I made at Conception Island

 

I drew a face on the rail mount. It's like it should have a name but I can't think of one right now.

 

While we were waiting for the motor to come another couple asked us if we were heading south. SO now we have a new buddy boat to go to the Turks and Caicos. There will be another front coming in on Monday so it's go now or wait another week. The plan is to leave Saturday noon and sail 200 miles straight through and arrive Monday morning in the day light. Hopefully the next blog will be from the Turks and Caicos. This will be our first overnight passage. Laurie's hoping not to get sea sick and I hope she doesn't either. We will have a full moon so that will help during the night.

 

 See you in the Turks and Caicos!



What a great side trip

Our new outboard motor is coming on Monday or Tuesday, so instead of sitting for a week we decided to sail to Conception Island. We provisioned on Monday and left Thompson Bay Long Island on Tuesday for Calabash Bay 25 miles north to the top of Long Island. We had been here before in February with Christine and Don but we didn’t get to shore because they took the dinghy to do some fishing. This time we went to shore to the Santa Maria Resort for lunch and a short walk around grounds. It’s a beautiful resort with great beaches. I have to remember to bring my camera everywhere we go, sorry no pictures.

 Wednesday we left for our favorite place Conception Island, it’s a protected park site and there’s nothing there. Sometimes it seems like we always plan our days when we have to travel against the wind and waves. Conception is only a 20 mile day so against the wind and waves it took 4 hours but it felt like a longer day than that. We arrived at Conception and it was well worth it. It’s a beautiful beach with very clear water.

 

The first day I was busy making a rail mount for the new motor and a little chrome polishing. After that was done it was fun in the sun! Second day was beach day. Frank and Mary Grace took us for a ride in there dinghy to the center of the island along the mangrove rivers . Along the river we passed a large amount of sea turtles and the odd lemon shark. Beautiful clear waters and scenery at this natures reserve.

 The afternoon was snorkeling on one of the reefs. It wasn’t the best reef we have seen but it was a great afternoon. We took a short walk to the other side of the island and decided we would walk and snorkel over on that side tomorrow. We were a little hesitant when we saw some nurse sharks hanging around.

 

 This is the east side of the Island with the dead coral reefs

 

Night time on the island is relaxing. The moon lights up the sand on the beach and you can hear the waves rolling on shore.

 

We decide we will stay here 4 days until Sunday and sail south to Clarence Town and have our motor delivered there instead of going back to Thompson Bay. Clarence Town will be on our way to Mayaquana Island, the last Island to stop before we cross to the Turks and Cacaos.

Here's a picture of Clarence Town from our boat at anchor.

 I have had a request to show how much stuff is on the deck of the boat. So here are a few pictures.

Five diesel cans and four water cans and now with a new motor I will have to buy a gas can.

This is salt from the water spraying on deck just sailing to Conception Island 

 Rust every where. We have to polish the chrome all the time.

 Rust

In the yellow bag is a blow up life raft. The piece of wood I found on the beach to make an engine mount.

 

And now it’s time again for:

So Here’s Interesting Tidbits  SHIT for short 

In the Bahamas we have seen a lot of dead reefs that have a few fish but no color. This is caused from the fishermen. The fisherman would fish for reef fish by filling a balloon with bleach and pushing it in the coral cracks. They would break the balloon and the fish would escape trying to escape the bleach. How sad when you have a great large ocean to fish in. Very apparent  here in the Bahamas. Very disturbing…..

Now that’s some bad S.H.I.T.