Weather Games & Water Torture

Puerto Real Marina, small but very friendly.  Note overcast skies...

Having bid the hurricane season farewell, we did not expect great swathes of fronts crossing from Alaska, bringing storms, unsettled seas and snow as far south as Texas and Georgia.  Warm waters of the Caribbean were not unaffected, and finding a weather window in this milieu to get us to Turks & Caicos, a three-day exercise, was proving difficult.  Finally, an exasperated Cap’n decided, we could leave now with following winds, or wait for another two weeks.  So, we upped anchor and left.

Our voyage started off well in the protection of the reef, but the Mona Passage, between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, has something of a reputation being a regular conveyor belt of storms into the Caribbean Sea.  Other than increasingly strengthening winds, we were indeed, in a following breeze and making good time.  The problem was, wind and swell continued to increase with the onset of the evening and when the Coast Guard issued a “small ships alert” (winds 18-34kts and seas 7 to 10 feet), we knew we were in for a beating.  It was about this time, that the autopilot relinquished command of the helm, and the Cap’n had to hand steer.  We had come too far to turn back, naturally, although at one point we did consider running back to Luperon in the DR, however continued on for Turks Caicos in the hope that these large banks would offer some shelter, eventually...

After 48 hours at the helm, GS took command (and her head out of a bucket) and learning how not to steer in great loops, managed, with the aid of the compass, to head in the right direction allowing our good Cap’n a few hours sleep.  The seas were starting to ease, whales wintering off the Mouchoir and Silver Banks, had better things to do than disturb us, and we only had to dodge 3 local freighters.  Why is it that we only pass them at night when they’re ablaze with confusing lights!  

The third day saw us in much improved conditions although we were still hand steering.  Our approach to the south Caicos Bank though, would be at night.  Having taken the wider Ship (freighter) Channel over this coral strewn bank once before (in daylight) we felt confident (well, sort of) heading for this channel entrance.  Naturally, an hour out, the engine stopped!!  So, we wallowed about, GS keeping a shipping watch, while the now very, very tired Cap’n managed to get us underway again.  Replacing the fuel filter did the trick.  All of us, WJ3 and crew, had had enough by now. 

Over the precipitous bank, from 2000ft of water into 12 is also unnerving, but we followed the channel by our chart’s magenta line, hoping not to meet any more commercial traffic.   Needless, to say, by this stage, we were both hallucinating.  So, we carefully threaded our way through the commercial anchorage, around a bommie strewn reef, then with huge relief, into Sapodilla Bay, busy with fellow cruisers. 

Next morning, our Cap’n shouted, “There’s no one here.  Where did they go?”  We stood staring at stunning turquoise waters as far as the eye could see, and other than a freighter at the nearby Port, we were the only ones at anchor.  

Sapodilla Bay.  Nobody anchored here for sure

Looking back to the Ship Channel.  No-one there either!  
If your wondering, that's a Starlink receiver, used at anchor.
Gee-whiz technology for cruisers