TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

First morning single handed and arrive just after sunrise at the Silver Backs

I had read that it was a wintering area for humpback whales…..........Well guess what it IS. Fantastic and a little unnerving.  I wish I had the picture of that but they were on the laptop that was stolen in the TCI’s

19°13.336’N 066°04.210’W

Auto Helm is doing a fine job of holding course. Winds are good, no traffic.

Finally got under way and set a course of 310M to shirt the silver banks and come into Grand Turk on the East side of the island.

Not much wind after waiting for a week because of to much wind and seas. Motor sailed most of the day.

Spent the day watching charters boats come into the bay drop their hooks and everyone bail off and swim to shore for a drink at the Soggy Dollar Bar.

Checked the weather and the window has opened! I checked out with immigration for a morning departure. Single handing.

Decided to explore a little of the BVI’s and untied from the dock and moved over to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke Island.

May as well see something else while I’m waiting for the window to open

Still waiting

The weather window doesn’t seem to want to open for a couple of days and my crew needs to get back to work so they are leaving a few days early to meet up with fellow yacht club members in Antigua to act as rail meat for race week.

I was going to join them but remember I am commuting to work don’t you know!

Another day of weather and no window. Oh well there are worse places to be stuck hanging out

Still in Tortola, a front is passing and we’re waiting for a weather window befor we push on to the Turks & Caicos Islands

Arrived into Road Harbour and tied upto a mooring ball at 0837 after having a very uncomfortable night passage. Winds built to 25 knots and seas also built. At it’s worse we had our third reef in the main and a hanky out for a headsail.
All in control just uncomfortable from the sailing bliss we had experienced up until that passage.

We later move to Footloose Marina to have a rest and a shower.