We had lifted anchor in Road Harbour and sailed across to Peter Island briefly to say farewell to Chris and Jules who as you know from our previous letters have been good friends to us here in the BVI's. Chris presented me with a picture of his family and some beautiful words written on the back which ended with '... Enjoy your journey and we will follow you in 15 years'. Once again we felt the blessing in our hearts as we contemplated how fortunate we are to be living this lifestyle ... something we realize through the words of others who contemplate following a similar dream!
We arrived in Soper's Hole where we fueled up Impi and did some last minute shopping to get everything ready for the journey which lay ahead of us ... the sail up to the Bahamas viz the Caicos Islands.
Here we saw our friend from South Africa 'Adam Bentley' who now has taken up a position as a 'charter captain' with the Voyager Yacht Charter Company located at Soper's Hole. Unfortunately we were unable to join him for a 'party' that night as we had to get some much needed rest for our early departure the following morning, but it was nice to see the lad and know that he was happy to be there!
Customs and Immigration were great ... despite many reports to the contrary Ana and I found them to always be courteous and friendly ... there was a $5.00 departure tax for each of us and of course we had to hand in our 'temporary import' permits for the vessel.
We decided to tie up to a mooring ball for the night as we wanted to be in a quiet spot where the water seemed calmer. We hoped this way to have a good night's rest in preparation for the journey ... a cost of $30 for the night.
Tying up to a mooring ball in the hope of having some 'peace and quiet' seemed counter productive though as later on in the evening an 'over-sized' fishing boat pulled in and took the ball ahead of us dropping back literally 3m from Impi's bow. I could not believe this as the entire anchorage was 'wide open' with plenty of moorings being unoccupied ... why choose one which was clearly a 'tight fit' for both our boats?
The vessel spewed out diesel smoke all over us as his 'not so well maintained' engines powered up his generator to provide the 'selfish' occupants with cool air.
My first thought was to get over to the guy and have a 1 on 1 session with him but 'good sense prevailed' and I quietly slipped the lines and moved Impi back and to one side where we tied off on another ball.
At 6:30am we slipped the lines once again ... this time we were headed out of the British Virgin Islands and headed for Cockburn Harbour on the South Caicos Island. Andrew Fehrsen was departing on his boat called 'Champolion' the same day but from Puerto Rico, and we hoped to meet somewhere on the deep blue ... perhaps somewhere out there on a strip known as the Puerto Rico Channel.
As we sailed from Soper's Hole, we turned back to watch as the sun rose over the islands we grew to love so much ... Islands I will never forget ... The beauty, the people, the many stunning dive sites and anchorages ...
I felt a mixed sense of sadness and excitement ... sadness to be looking over my shoulder and excitement as I looked forward ... my curious mind prompting actions for every limb to pull, tug and tweak at the sails to 'get there' faster!
And so we left the British Virgin Islands ... Great Tobago Island to port and Jost Van Dyke to our starboard side ... heading 298 degrees ...
I took the opportunity to practice my fishing skills again ... something I still have much to learn about!
I put out a lure ... boat speed 7-8 knts ...
I watched unbelieving as the bungee chord took up the shock ... there was a fish on the line ...
I think Ana pinched herself a number of times when I called out to her to please take over the helm ... 'I have a fish to reel in'!
The fish we caught is a 'Hog fish' and unfortunately is not safe to eat as it is subject to poisoning known as ciguatera.
Having caught the fish was great for my ego ... on many an occasion Ana has jokingly said she wondered if we would survive should we ever have to eat from the sea!
I threw out a third line, additional bright pink lure ... out into the sea ...
It was not long ... woosh ... the elastic bungee once again stretched out and recoiled as a fish took up the lure ...
Fisherman Brent shouted out to Ana ... the soon to be cook ... to once again take the helm as I had business to do!
A Dorado ... Oh Boy ...
If you have read my previous letters you will know by now that I find the Dorado too beautiful a fish to 'take from the sea' ...
Ana stood and watched as I struggled with idea of killing such a beautiful fish whilst our refrigerators were still well laden with other sorts of food ... we have been sailing for 1 year now and apart from one delicious tuna I caught off Brazil ... well ... well ...
Ana made the decision easy for me ... 'Let it go Brent', she said, 'Let it go!'
We stood there as we watched the fish pause for a moment in disbelief as it landed back in the water and then with a flicking of its tail it dived as the sun light shimmer reflecting off its scales faded with the depth of the ocean.
We stood there at the back of the boat looking out over the wide expanse of sea ... we laughed and hugged each other as I vowed the next one would be for eating!
Impi glided across the deep blue ... winds shifted a little in direction and became a bit twitchy ... the gusts we felt were those of receding winds, not building winds and so it was time to hoist the 'Kite' (asymmetric sail).
Taking clear photos on a moving boat at sea is not easy but one gets the idea!
We were down to 6 knots SOG (speed over ground) and the wind was dropping off even more!
The trip had now become one where we had to use the engine, use the sail and sometimes just use both together. The sea progressively became lumpy and fortunately our crossing from South Africa to Brazil in heavy weather conditions reminded us of how fortunate we were not to be in that situation again!
In the meantime we had got a position fix on the Fehrsen family when Andrew sent through an sms to our satellite phone. We both have Iridium sat phones and SMS is free from Iridium to Iridium. We were hopeful that our journeys would bring us within vhf radio range of each other so that we could arrive at the Caicos Islands together.
We decided to keep speed but alter course slightly so that each yacht progressively got closer to the other. At one point Andrew sent through a satellite call to say he could hear us on VHF 16 but we were unable to hear them.
Eventually and in the pitch black of night we saw each other's navigational lights ... the wind had picked up and under sail our speed by now had us rushing along at some 9 knots SOG in fairly lumpy seas.
Sailing at night can be tricky ... of course there is no chance of seeing any dangerous floating obstacles that could be out there and so one sails totally by faith and is in the hands of God!
Just before dark we had seen a bucket float past us ... very odd so far out to sea ... and right after that a submerged object of fair size floated past ... a log ... some sort of tree trunk that had been cut off and was roughly 0.5m in diameter.
Of course these images did not help us as Impi ploughed ahead from one swell and wave to the next at some 9 knts speed in the dead of night!
Impi slid along an ocean surface ... no land in sight ... yet land in the Puerto Rico trench was some 8000m below (8 kms !)
Before long the Fehrsens were now within vhf radio contact of us. We had switched channels and young Hanna Fehrsen was displaying her radio work skills as she excitedly greeted us on her first ever passage at sea covering a few days and nights.
By morning I could see the Fehrsen's yacht against the orange skies as the suns rays caressed the dark of night into pages of time.
I took a number of photographs to capture the beauty of this morning ... the sea was lumpy and it was no easy task to photograph a moving object from a moving platform in low light conditions but I could not help but to keep clicking away!
We were now passing the Silver Bank Reef ... a reef system that has claimed a number of vessels at sea and lies directly in the path of travel from the BVI's and the Turks and Caicos islands.
Later on in the day we observed the wind switch from a NE to E direction ... and then to a SE to S direction ... S to SW direction ...
Ana came up to me and said she felt we could be in for a weather change ... she had been filling in the log and reported a drop in the barometer ... she had also noticed the wind switch.
WEATHER in this region during this time of year typically produces strong winds that blow E -NE in direction.
When wind moves from one side to the other we typically know this as wind clocking. When wind clocks from NE -E-SE-S-SW in this region at this time of year it is an indication of a front approaching and the speed at which it clocks will also be an indication of how fast the front is approaching.
The shorter the time it takes for wind to clock through these angles, the stronger and faster these fronts are moving.
Ana was recording wind patterns, barometer readings together with other information and determined that we would soon have a front approaching us.
We agreed on some 'rough weather tactics' and discussed safety procedures.
Before long, we could see the sky taking on some interesting cloud formations and suddenly the seas became an eerie calm ...
I pulled in the fishing lines as we observed the first sign of the front approaching us at speed over the seas. A huge mushroom cloud raced across the water, its head reaching high up into the skies and its base low to the sea surface. Water spewed down between the base and the sea revealing a black dark rim at the base ...
Impi lay directly in its path and we were not too sure what to expect but battened down all hatches, dropped sails and turned on the engines ....
The air was deadly quiet, the sea as smooth as glass yet visually we could see things were not to be this way much longer ...
Suddenly there was the sound of wind and rain ... one system hit Impi after another and it felt as if we were in a giant 'car wash machine'. The situation was manageable ... although the systems produced incredible hard hitting wind squalls and driving rain, such as I have never seen before ... one after the other Impi was showered from bow to stern ... so was I!
Seeing and feeling this weather front in action out here at sea is truly a humbling experience ... its ability to be at peace without even so much as a breath of wind from one moment to producing a screeching gale the next.
As the front passed overhead, it left behind it the most beautiful sparkling weather I have not seen in many years. The clouds appeared bright white and fluffy, the water a beautiful blue and the air almost seemed to twinkle reflections of light ... it was amazing to see ....
Lets not forget about the many flying fish that landed on Impi ... these little guys spread their wings a little too far ...
We were pleased to eventually approach South Caicos Island ... an island which remains off the 'beaten track' for many sailors, an island renowned for its many surrounding reef systems and shallow coral heads ... an island to be cautiously navigated ... here we were arriving at Cockburn Harbour on the South Caicos Island (Not to be confused with that of Cockburn Town on Grand Turk Island ...).
My immediate and initial thought was how much flatter these islands were than I had imagined. They certainly were a lot more difficult to spot on the horizon.
The water around these islands is known for its emerald green colour, however we were to discover that depending on the time of day, the clouds in the sky and the shallow of the tide, that these waters would change colours and dazzle the eyes ... differing shades of greens and blues.
The Caicos Islands lie on a 'shallow platform' which actually is the top of an otherwise underwater 'mountain' with vertical cliffs that descend into the depths below. It is fascinating approaching these islands from the depths of the sea and to suddenly find oneself gliding over incredibly shallow and transparent water ... of course being ever mindful of the coral heads and reefs that stir caution even among the most weathered of sailors out here!
As we negotiated the entrance to Cockburn Harbour, I noticed what seemed at first sight to be a ram shackled town ... I was to discover later at second glance that this view was even further confirmed in my mind. None the less, we were happy to be here, and it was time for some well deserved rest.
I motored about in the shallow waters of the harbour as I sought out a good spot in sand to drop the anchor ... crisp and clear ... I glided past a submerged dingy which had been sent to the sand with the passing of the last hurricane named 'Sandy'.
I eventually settled to drop anchor on the west side of the harbour where there was a nice sandy floor. Our way point was 21.30.20N, 71.31.74W.
In amazement we stood and watched the anchor through a transparent blue ... it felt to me not to be real somehow as I had never seen the anchor in such clear water before ...
We called Customs and Immigration on vhf 16 a number of times but being Sunday we had no response so decided to rest up and seek them out on Monday.
The anchorage was beautiful ... the town seemed derelict from our vantage point, but we will speak more about this in our next letter where we describe what makes the town so interesting for people such as ourselves who have crossed from distant shores ...
For now we were happy to put our feet in the air and rest in this beautiful place.
The sun was setting and the town lights came on and began to set a dazzling glow on the waters surface.
We are happy ... this place surely is a beautiful place to drop anchor.
Great account, thanks. How long did this passage take?
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