The Island Hopping Digital Guide To The Turks and Caicos Islands - Part II - The Turks Islands: Including Grand Turk, North Creek Anchorage, Hawksnest Anchorage, Salt Cay, and Great Sand Cay

By Stephen J Pavlidis

This edition is Part II of The Island Hopping Digital Guide to the Turks and Caicos and covers the Turks Islands. 

The Island Hopping Digital Guides are the digital versions of the world-famous cruising guides written by Stephen J. Pavlidis. Over the past 20 years, Stephen J. Pavlidis has written more than 10 excellent cruising guid

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seaworthy Publications, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781892399540

Stephen J Pavlidis

Stephen J. Pavlidis has been cruising and living aboard since 1989. First aboard his 40' cutter-rigged sloop, IV Play, and today he is cruising aboard his 31' Chris Craft, Swan Song. Starting in the Exuma Cays, over 20 years ago, Steve began his writing career with guides to the many fascinating destinations he visited. Many of his books stand alone to this day as the quintessential guides to the areas he covers. His books are different than most other cruising guides in some very significant ways. All of the charts in Steve's books were created using data personally collected while visiting each area using a computerized system that interfaces GPS and depth soundings.

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The Island Hopping Digital Guide To The Turks and Caicos Islands

Part II

The Turks Islands

Copyright © 2016 Stephen J. Pavlidis

ISBN 978-1-892399-54-0

Published in the USA by:

Seaworthy Publications, Inc.

2023 N. Atlantic Ave., Unit #226

Cocoa Beach, Florida 32931

Phone [phone]

email [e-mail]

www.seaworthy.com - Your Bahamas and Caribbean Cruising Advisory

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or by any storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

CAUTION: Sketch charts are not to scale and are not to be used for navigational purposes. They are intended as supplements for NOAA, DMA, or British Admiralty charts and no warranties are either expressed or implied as to the usability or the information contained herein. The Author and Publisher take no responsibility for their misuse.

A publication like this is actually the result of a blending of many people’s talents, knowledge and experiences. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following for their help in this effort: Capt. Lee Bakewell of the S/V Winterlude for his help with programming; Dean Bernal; Caicos Marina and Shipyard and manager David Taylor; Judd Clarence; Titus H. DeBoer of the Bamboo Gallery; Andy Lowe and Star Droshine for their help with the diving sections and areas around Provo; Captain Bob Gascoine of the M/V Aquanaut, whose years of experience in these waters made my job that much easier; Ralph Higgs of the Tourist Board; a special thanks goes to Carol Hochberg-Holker of the S/V Alcyone, for her dedicated editing; Captain Willis Jennings of South Caicos; Chuck and Alexis Kehn; John Lawson, Caribbean Cruisin’ Ltd.; Dwayne and Denver Pratt; Josiah Marvel, Providenciales historian and proponent of the Grand Turk Landfall Theory; Captain David Matthews of the S/V Tao whose twenty-plus years of experience here are now available for all to benefit from; Beryl Nelson of TACRA; D.J. Piltingsrud; Nicolas Popov of Island Expeditions School at Sea; Scooter Bob’s; Pierre Seymour, Deputy Chief Conservation Officer of the DECR in Provo; Jack and Pat Tyler; and Lenny Williams of Lenny’s Photo. If there is anybody that I have neglected to mention here, rest assured that it is an oversight and I sincerely apologize.

Cover design by Ken Quant, Broad Reach Marketing LLC, Milwaukee, WI.

Introduction

There is an ancient bit of wisdom that has been passed down over the centuries about slowing down the maddening pace of one’s travels through life long enough to appreciate what life has placed along your path. More commonly it is called stopping to smell the roses. This sage advice is often a way of life aboard some cruising boats, not all, just some, and therein lies a sadness. All too often voyagers rush from one port to another seeing little of what lies between, save sea and sky. Most cruisers will tell you that it is the voyage itself that is important; your ultimate destination will still be there and you will arrive there eventually, at worst, a bit more fulfilled for savoring each and every tiny destination along your route.

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a perfect example of one of those tiny destinations. Like the lady who is always a bridesmaid and never a bride, the Turks and Caicos Islands are, more often than not, used as a stopover, a place to refuel and get some sleep, perhaps even wait out some weather, for those boaters sailing between the U.S. and the Caribbean. Some older publications have given the Turks and Caicos Islands, and especially Providenciales (usually just called Provo), the thumbs down in some regards for reasons I cannot fathom. Perhaps the authors of these publications were not treated well. Perhaps they had a bad attitude about the Turks and Caicos Islands and could not view the area objectively. That, my friends, is a sin for the author of a cruising guide. We must be objective, impartial. We have a tremendous responsibility that cannot be taken lightly. We must show off the best of the areas we visit yet we cannot blindly ignore the worst. If we have been treated badly at one time or another, we must hope that it was just a bad day. We must return a few days or weeks later and see if things have changed. One must spend a lot of time in an area to notice trends, to get the feel for the way of life. Our written word is very often taken for Bible truth concerning the areas we write about. That is why I get so angry when I hear cruisers say that So and so doesn’t have anything good to say about Provo! or What’s his name said that you can’t do this or you can’t do that there so why stop? I know immediately that these people did not spend enough time in the Turks and Caicos Islands, that they did not stop to smell the roses, to savor each and every nuance of their aroma, going from flower to flower like a bee in search of droplets of tasty, sweet nectar. Instead they hastily grabbed the bunch and suffered a thorn. One must learn how to handle the thorns and to delight in the fragrant bouquet presented by the delicate petals.

With the help of this book you will learn how to handle the thorns. You will learn that there are several all-weather anchorages, even a few good hurricane holes. Boats heading to the Caribbean will learn that you can provision in Provo for less than in Nassau or George Town with some prices being almost equivalent to those in the U.S. You will learn that there are quite a few National Parks where fishing is prohibited, the result is fantastic diving rich in marine life. Fishermen will come to know the Pinnacles and some of the other hot spots for piscatorial action. More important, you will come to understand that there is more to the Turks and Caicos Islands than simply being a rest stop on the superhighway to and from the Caribbean. The Turks and Caicos Islands can be a destination in themselves.

Stephen J. Pavlidis

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Basics

Anchoring

Charts

Clothing

Currency

Customs and Immigration

Dinghy Safety

Diving

Fishing

Garbage

Ham Radio

Holidays

Hurricane Holes

JoJo the Dolphin

Medical Emergencies

National Parks

Phoning Home

Provisioning

Radio and TV

Tides and Currents

Time

VHF

Weather

Using the Charts

List of Charts

Index of Charts

The Turks Islands

The Turks Islands

Approaches to the Turks Islands

Grand Turk

The North Creek Anchorage

The Front Street Anchorage

Hawksnest Anchorage

Salt Cay

Great Sand Cay

References

Appendices

Appendix A: Navigational Lights

Appendix B: Marinas

Appendix C: Service Facilities

Appendix D: Waypoints

Appendix E: Protected Areas

Appendix F: Metric Conversion Table

Appendix G: Turks and Caicos Flag

About the Author

The Basics

Anchoring

Just as important as getting your vessel moving and keeping her heading along your chosen courseline quickly and efficiently is the fine art of keeping your vessel from moving. Many of the anchorages in this book are swept by swift tidal currents, sometimes up to 3 knots, and to avoid bumping into your neighbor in the middle of the night or putting your vessel on the rocks or beach, two anchors, such as in a Bahamian Moor, are required.

Anchor choice is basically a personal preference. Some skippers prefer CQRs, while others swear by a Bruce or a Danforth. Of the Big Three, you will find that a Danforth holds as well or better than a CQR or Bruce in sandy bottoms while the CQR or Bruce is preferred when anchoring in rocky bottoms. Whatever your choice of anchor, you must deploy your anchor correctly and with sufficient scope to hold you when the tide changes, if a front approaches, or if a squall should blow through at 2:00 a.m. (which seems to be the time they choose to blow through). Your anchor should have a length of chain (at least 15’) shackled to your anchor to keep your rode from chafing against coral or rocks and to create a catenary curve that helps absorb shock loads while lowering the angle of pull on your anchor. Too high an angle may cause your anchor to pull up and out of the bottom. Some cruisers prefer all chain rodes with a nylon snubber to absorb the shock loads. This is an excellent arrangement but a windlass may be needed unless you prefer the workout involved with hauling in the chain and anchor every time you move.

In many of the leeward anchorages in The Turks and Caicos Islands you will find that you can