Sorry for tne long post but it hs been awhile since we have been near an internet connection





Views from Sapadilla Bay, Provodinciales















Friday February 6
With a calm day predicted for today we left Thompson Bay. Long Island, heading for Rum Cay. For the first twenty miles we were in the lee of Long Island and the weather was clear with the wind 10 knot out of the east. We were about 10 mile out when our autopilot decided to give up the ghost. It appears the linear actuator no longer actuates.
As we rounded Cape Santa Maria we were treated to a water show as the Atlantic rollers were breaking on the reef that extends about two miles out. The wind was now in our face at full force and the seas were 6 to 8 feet on our nose. After one particularly nasty set of waves we lost our nav light cover again, I had figured to arrive at Rum Cay around 3:00 PM but due to the headwinds and seas our speed over ground was only about 2.5 knots. We arrived at the Rum Cay anchorage at 8:30 PM and had to navigate out way into the anchorage in the dark. The anchorage was rolling severely and in the morning we decided to take a dock at the marina.

Saturday February 7
On calling the marina they agreed to send a pilot boat out to help us navigate in through the many coral heads and rocks. As we navigated the channel I felt like we were going through a mine field and the coral and rock were quite thick. Rasta ( the marina dock master) guided us in and helped us back in to our slip/ The marina is well protected and we got a good nights sleep. The island is beautiful but there are very few amenities available . Once at the dock I was able to trouble shoot the autopilot and the linear actuator is broken. There are no repair facilities nearby and it would take about 4 weeks to get one from the states as well as the huge cost to airfreight in such a part so we are condemned to hand steering until we get to the Dominican Republic were we will probably have better luck with parts and repairs.

Sunday February 8
Jacques and Ria of Ladyhawke invited us, along with Connie and Jim on Plane to Sea, and Betty and Dick on Blue Bay. It was nice sitting in the cockpit of the catamaran Ladyhawke, I can see the appeal of a catamaran as there is a tremendous amount of space available. It was nice relaxing, watching the sun set and swapping sea stories as we solved the worlds problems. It is truly amazing all the nice folks you meet a that are out cruising. Later that evening we went searching for a bar that might be playing the Superbowl but we were out of luck and made it and early evening.

Monday February 9
We listened to Chris Parker this morning and the forecast was favorable for the 130 mile run to Mayaguana, the last island we will be visiting in the Bahamas. The seas were calm for the first 6 hours and we were able to move at 6+ knots for much of the way. The Atlantic rollers were about 6 feet but were about 30 seconds apart and the Legacy was in here element as we rode over them. As darkness fell the wind increased to about 15 knots and the waves increased slightly. The sky was breathtakingly clear as the stars were shining bright with barely a twinkle.
Mayaguana is an island with almost no inhabitants and the anchorage at Abraham Bay appears to be wide open to the south. The south side is protected by a reef so the chop inside is minimal and the only trick is to avoid the coral heads that pepper the bay. We arrived at 10:00 and the the sun was shining so it was fairly easy to work our way into the anchorage in Abraham Bay. The bay looks wide open to anything with a southerly component but the bay is surrounded on that side by a coral reef. Inside the bay is peppered with coral heads but there is plenty of room to anchor in clear sand among the heads. We are anchored in 15 feet of water and our hook is firmly set in sand. We will probably be waiting here for a weather window for the Turks and Caicos.

Tuesday February 10
Today we lowered the dingy and went to see the settlement on Mayaguana. The approach to the dock w2as marked by two poles which denoted a channel through some fairly shallow water. In fact the water was so shallow that on a couple of occasions we almost grounded in the dingy. There was a ketch anchored a ways off and appeared grounded as it was listing to starboard. The dock was a concrete wall and rather than tie up against it we continued on to a small sandy beach and beached the dingy. The walk to the settlement was about a ¼ mile and there were about 4 single story buildings, a government office, a very small grocery store, a bar, and tow houses. We bought two loaves of bread and two six packs of diet Coke and returned to the dingy.

Wednesday February 11
Connie and Jim on Plane to Sea left today en route to Puerto Rico. We wished them fair winds as we decided to wait another day for a weather window to the Turks and Caicos. We lifted the outboard motor and secured the dingy to the davits and prepared to leave the next day if the weather was favorable.

Thursday February 12
Chris Parker gave us a good forecast today so we threaded our way out of Abraham's Bay and motored over to Southeast point ( about 10 miles) to anchor just off the beach and wait for the evening to proceed to Provodinciales. At 10 PM the anchor we departed and had a very nice trip over the 39 miles to Provo. There must have been a following current as we were moving at an average of 7.5 knots, occasionally reaching 8 knots. As we were about ½ way there I had to throttle way back so we would not arrive before daybreak. The Sandbore channel through the reef around Provo requires visual piloting in order to avoid the many coral heads that lie between the entrance to the channel and Sapadilla Bay. Finally at 9:30 am we dropped anchor and I was able to rest for a couple of hours. After dropping the dingy and motor I rode over to a small beach near government dock and cleared in through customs and immigration. The Turks and Caicos give you 7 days clearance and if you decided to stay longer you need to purchase a cruising permit. Our plan is to stay through next Wednesday and clear out for Thursday morning headed for the Dominican Republic.