From Swimming Pigs to Flying Squid!

It's been a busy couple of days since I've managed to write, with everything from the mundane to the unusual happening! Monday was our last day with Dan and Trish, and in the morning, Ron took them out on Grace Bay in Eclipse for one last scuba dive together. With the scuba gear aboard, it was a tad crowded with just three people in the boat, so I opted not to go out this trip. (It's not like I don't get to go diving whenever I choose, and Trish was eager to get another dive in before they had to go back to the chilly, wintery north.) So, I enjoyed a bit of quiet time doing laundry and general galley clean-up while they were out on the water. Dan stayed topside aboard Eclipse while Ron and Trish dove off a mooring near Litlte Water Cay. While they enjoyed the dive, seeing a couple of very large lobster in the depths, they both agreed the dive site wasn't of the caliber as those at French Cay or West Caicos. The diving was the highlight Monday, as we didn't do much beyond hitting Governor's Highway for a bit more souvenir shopping by Dan and Trish, and and the usual "pack and prep" for departure. Dan and Trish treated us to a lovely thank-you dinner at Hemingway's at The Sands Resort on Grace Bay that evening, which we all enjoyed tremendously. 

Tuesday was gray and cloudy -- clearly a boat maintenance day! Dan and Trish left mid-morning after a great breakfast out at the Gansevoort resort, then we returned to the boat to sort and stow the extra scuba gear, clean the lazarette bilge, change oil in the genset and do laundry. We used the gray day to our advantage!

Ron and I went out to dive this morning, and found that going out the cut was ... well, a bit intimidating. There were large waves across the cut: almost breaking, but not quite. Still, Ron maneuvered us through nicely and once we were through the cut, the seas were pretty flat and there were just swells -- while still somewhat high -- but spaced pretty far apart so it was a simple matter to zip along the the reefs to the dive sites. Unfortunately, when we got on a mooring and descended, the visibility in the water was barely 20'! It was like swimming in fog, as there was a tremendous amount of sand swirling around us in the surge -- even at 60'! Ugly! And, not really safe, since you really didn't want to get lost -- which would have been easy to do in the low visibility. So, we turned around and returned to the boat after only five minutes, it was that dismal. 

Ron guided us back in the reefs through the wider -- and calmer -- cut closer to Leeward Going Through and we made our way back to Turtle Cove along the shoreline of Grace Bay. On the way back, we startled a Caribbean reef squid swimming at the surface: it jumped clear out of the water and into the air, inking all over the dinghy in the process! I wouldn't have believed it a few weeks ago, but during just about every trip across the Caicos Bank to dive, we've seen squid startle and jump, going airborne for quite a distance, and sometimes leaving a trail of ink on the surface. The first time we saw one fly, we thought we were mistaken, but since then, we've seen several do it. Yes, flying squid! We just didn't expect to get marked with ink, though! 

Squid ink striping the dinghy

Another shot of the ink -- there was some on the front of the
pontoon as well. Ron was worried about it staining things.

After that adventure, we then focused on land and rode our bikes up and down the roads along Grace Bay, about 10 miles. We stopped and checked out the different resorts for their beachside restaurants and views, plus we meandered into a few shops in the SaltMills area. After a good two hours, we returned to Equinox for lunch then did a few more boat projects - refastening the pads on the  dinghy cradle with some 4200, more laundry, and attempted to get our iPod player to work in the salon. We thought it might be a setting issue -- perhaps it wasn't paired with the new Bose unit -- but it's an older Escient Fastball unit, which only needs a simple connection to work properly. After some troubleshooting, we think there's something wrong with the unit itself, as it won't complete its start-up procedure: just blinks red continuously, then shuts itself off a few seconds into the reset start-up. Oh well. One more thing to repair/replace!  We do have local radio though, which is rather fun to listen to in the meantime!


We wound down the day with a delightful dinner on the deck at Magnolia, a restaurant on the hillside overlooking Turtle Cove and Grace Bay. There were numerous entrees that appealed to us, which it made it difficult to choose! It means we will simply have to return another time to sample some of the other choices --- tough duty! It was a nice way to end the evening though, after such a full day. I have to wonder: after swimming pigs in the Bahamas, and flying squid in the Turks & Caicos, what will be next??

Shoreside fun!

Now that we're back in a marina again, we explored more of the island with Dan and Trish. The first order of the day on Sunday was breakfast, so we splurged and brunched at The Tiki Hut, where we discovered they had a "Build Your Own Bloody Mary or Bloody Caesar" bar, where you could doctor up your tomato juice to your liking with an array of Worchestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and assorted local spicy hot sauces, horseradish, capers, olives, celery sticks, hot peppers, pepperoncini or banana peppers. You could never claim to have a bad Bloody Mary if you made it yourself! While Trish indulged in a mimosa, Ron, Dan and I tried our hand at making various concoctions to sample. 

The Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary or Bloody Caesar bar
at The Tiki Hut's Sunday Brunch

I had to try this stuff  just because of the name! It  looked and
tasted somewhat like thick Worchestershire sauce.

Dan sampling his first concoction, which included capers.
A second attempt accidentally included way too much
 El Yucateco green Habanero chili sauce, which was deemed undrinkable.

Ron had gotten up early that morning and bicycled over to Southside Marina to retrieve the rental car, so after brunch, we all hopped in to do some sight-seeing. They drive on the left here in the British fashion, which was a novelty for Dan and Trish that took some getting used to! Ron drove us down the length of the road along Grace Bay, then we stopped to walk about the shopping district for a couple of hours so Dan & Trish could do a bit of souvenir shopping, checked out the fancy resorts along Grace Bay and took in the amazing water views along the beach. The ever-changing shades of turquoise, teal, blue and azure of the water was stunning.


After a lunch at Sharkbite's, we returned to the boat to launch the dinghy for a cruise along the Grace Bay waterfront, before meandering over to Little Water Cay for a stop there. Little Water Cay is an uninhabited 150-acre Cay, that is part of the Princess Alexandra National Park and a sanctuary for the Turks and Caicos Islands Rock Iguanas and ospreys. It's a gorgeous place, with a raised walking trail to protect the habitat of the rock iguanas, filled with dune grasses and native foliage, surrounded by pristine white sand beaches. We really enjoyed it!

Heading out in the dinghy for some exploration by sea

There was a great walking trail through the foliage on the cay,
with signs naming the various native plants. 

Lots of these rock iguanas on the island, some tagged and some not

After a leisurely return to Turtle Cove Marina just before sunset, the day rounded out with the group of us going to the Tiki Hut, where we avidly watched the NFL football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The match-up is always a hotly contested, knock-down, drag-out fight between the two. Being aboard the boat this far south, we no longer have reception of any US channels on our satellite TV, so we made sure we found a place where we could watch the game! Of course, we wore our finest Ravens' purple and black attire -- I had on my Ravens jersey -- and enjoyed cheering and hooting loudly at the ferocious football slugfest that ensued. Unfortunately, while Baltimore led for the majority of the game, the Steelers prevailed in the very last few minutes...a classic game once again, even if it wasn't the ending we wanted! Whew --- what a day!

West Caicos to Turtle Cove

It wasn't exactly the most restful night on the mooring with the winds we had -- northeast at 20-30 knots -- but it was still fun being together aboard, out on the ocean! We had a leisurely cruise from French Cay in the morning; we fished as we went, with Dan happily bringing in his first couple of fish, a barracuda and a Cero mackerel. It was definitely catch and release, since neither are fabulously edible in our opinion and we were hoping for mahi or wahoo. We had some unexpected visitors as we neared the south end of West Caicos, with a large pod of dolphins joining Equinox to play in her bow wave. They surfed in front of the bow for quite some time, clearly enjoying themselves, and us them. It was delightful!

Five of the dolphins surfing the bow wave as we came
around the south end of West Caicos.
They were having a blast!

At West Caicos we hooked onto a mooring line near The Gullies, and while conditions at the surface were rolling pretty good with the northerly swells, Ron Trish and I had a great dive below! As we descended, two good sized reef sharks were already there, cruising the sandy areas beneath us. They each made a singular pass near us, before heading off down the reef and later circling back. It was very cool! Ron was so excited that Trish could see some sharks, and to see them so closely was a treat. Ron brought his new camera down to document Trish in the water with the sharks although visibility again was not the best, and much less so for photography. We also saw some flamingo tongues, tiny and shy garden eels, lots of juvenile reef fish of all description, plus several black durgeon and a large queen triggerfish. As we retraced our route, we also saw a small southern ray scooting across the sand and had a reef shark escort back to the boat until we ascended for our safety stop. It was a great dive!

We decided we wouldn't stay out on a mooring for the night, since the brisk winds, combined with the 3'-5' waves on top of the northerly 6'-8' swells were really tossing the boat about on the mooring. So, we headed from West Caicos and made our way around the Northwest Corner of Providenciales towards the reefs along Grace Bay. The waves were really breaking along shallower edges of the reef, and it was somewhat intimidating to watch the swells crash and break as they did. Not having come through Sellar's Cut before and being unfamiliar with the route zig-zagging across Grace Bight, we called ahead for one of the marina's courtesy guide boats to lead us in. Ron did this more to appease me, as we actually had it charted quite well, but...better to be safe than sorry, especially since the sunlight wasn't the best for reading the water in the late afternoon! It reminded us a bit of the Devil's Backbone off the north side of Harbour Island and Eleuthera, but it wasn't nearly as hairy since the Backbone is unmarked and inside Grace Bight there were several sets of channel markers. The last couple of doglegs into the marina were interesting, but there was plenty of water even at mid-tide, and soon we were tied up and secure at Turtle Cove Marina.

Following the guide boat from Turtle Cove Marina in through
Sellar's Cut and across Grace Bight

Dinner and drinks ashore at the Tiki Bar followed, before an early night, as we were all pretty tired from our day's adventures. Captain Ron didn't even make it through the DVD we watched after dinner, and no one minded having an early night. I do believe that 9 o'clock is the cruiser's midnight! :)

Boat friends aboard!

Friday we were up with the sun (well, nearly) and were underway at 0710. We slipped out of the marina at high tide with no mishap, and motored across the Caicos Bank in utterly calm waters (variable winds @ 3 knots) on our way south to French Cay. Blue skies and bright sun on the water....what a treat for Dan and Trish: crystal clear teal and turquoise waters from horizon to horizon sparkling in the sunshine -- we are not on the Chesapeake any more, Toto!

Ron and Dan at the helm en route to French Cay

We saw the Turks and Caicos Explorer already on a mooring when we pulled up to French Cay. We took the G-Spot mooring (pink buoy) as we came off the Bank, but other than that, there were no other boats around. Then we geared up  for a dive; Trish is certified, but hadn’t dived in a while, so Ron put his training (rescue diver that he is) to the test and did a complete review and renew on skills with her beforehand. Once in, Trish and I floated about and made sure she was feeling comfortable with the gear while Ron watched from the transom, ready to assist if needed. She admitted to feeling a bit nervous, so we calmly floated about, adjusting her weights and the fit of her gear until she was feeling calmer,  more confident and eager to dive. Ron then joined us in the water, and we three descended without issue, following the mooring line down to 50’. Unfortunately, with the rough seas of the past few days, visibility really was low -- not up to its usual gorgeous clarity -- but that didn't matter to Trish! She was happy to be in the water and amongst the fish. We meandered along the top of the reef, just enjoying the fish life. We saw great schools of blue chromis, wrasses, angelfish, butterfly fish, lots of parrotfish, and even a small spotted moray and a large green moray -- delightful! Oddly though, no sharks! 

Trish getting ready for the second dive

We moved to a nearby mooring for the afternoon dive, which just as fun, but again, without sharks. Since Dan doesn't dive, Ron, Dan and Trish went out in Eclipse for some exploration of the shallower reefs, where they snorkeled and looked for lobster...with the lobster being wily once again, and no where to be found. However, they did come across a very large 7' nurse shark! 

Blue skies and calm seas for snorkeling and exploration

Sunset had some clouds on the horizon and squalls to our north, with the winds picking up a bit. We watched the amazing myriad of sea life, from diatoms to blood worms to sea wasps and small bait fish that the crevalle jacks were feeding on. We were all mesmerized by the scene, by the "biological soup" as Ron called it. A great day and night aboard!

Rothsteins 1, Lobsters 17

A gorgeous morning, almost devoid of wind! Since we had the morning free before our fellow Baltimore Marine Center boating friends, Dan and Trish, were due to arrive in the mid-afternoon, Ron and I decided to go out lobstering in Eclipse on the Caicos Bank. Neither of us felt like running all the way out to either West Caicos or French Cay to dive, so lobstering was a great choice! We discovered that many of the random rocky coral head groupings on the Caicos Bank are perfect lairs for the spiny lobster: filled with plenty of holes, overhanging ledges and deep crevices in which to hide! We used our glass bottom bucket to scout out the coral heads, and found several spots filled with lots of lobster, although most were too small to take. (Being well into lobster season, the easy pickings are clearly gone.)

It was a bit hard to get used to lobstering without a Hawaiian sling! Turks and Caicos fishing regulations dictate that no fishing is to be done while on scuba, and no spear guns or spear slings are allowed. One can only take lobster by hand or by snare, which we discovered is a hell of a lot harder than it sounds! We also decided that the T&C lobster are much wilier than their Bahamian counterparts, for they refused to be flushed out by either the tickle-stick or the snare, and they were quick as can be when finally forced to move! Ron eventually managed to snag one -- this after two hours of swimming and diving down 7-15’ in a  pretty good current. We found that we had to be move more slowly and be painstakingly patient when taking lobster by hand, which isn’t so easy on a single breath of air! Definitely a lot of work and only a meager reward this time! But...despite the score, with the lobsters winning , at least we didn't strike out like we did last time! We feel we have a pretty good handle on how to do it now, so perhaps the next attempt will be even more successful. We can hope!

After a few hours of prepping the boat for guests and an easy departure tomorrow, Ron got a ride to the airport to meet Dan and Trish, so that he could drive them back in their rental car. Ron, Dan and Trish arrived back at the marina about 4 o’clock; we didn’t do anything but relax and catch up over sunset drinks, as it’s been over a year since we’ve seen them! It seems hard to  believe it’s been that long since we were at BMC together! They still keep their 52’ Hatteras, Serenity, at BMC and cruise the Chesapeake as often as ever. We talked the night away as we feasted aboard on fabulously grilled steaks, steamed broccoli and tortellini with pesto.  An early night after all their travels, but not before watching the myriad of small reef fish attracted to the underwater lights off our stern. Nice to have them aboard!

Windy days are boat project days!

Last night was an uneasy night. I woke up to hear the low moaning of the wind in the rigging of all the sailboats here at the marina...which told me today would probably be a boat project day. With a boat, there's always something to keep one busy, so days with less-than-perfect or inclement weather are the best times to try to achieve productive results. I think our friends Paul and Muriel discovered that while we were gone and they were here...and our thanks to Paul for changing out the fuel/water separator on Eclipse, not to mention any other unfortunate -- but typical -- tasks he did that needed attention! (Yep, life aboard a boat -- always something!) And so, upon waking, I was proven correct, since the morning was grey, cool and cloudy with a stiff breeze out of the east. A day for projects!

Armed with whipping twine, needle, pliers and duct-taped fingers, I started in on my chores by paying a bit of attention to the seat cushions on Eclipse. The sun, heat, rain, wash-downs and our daily abuse had combined over the last few years to weaken the stitching on the seat cushions so they had given way in various spots, causing the vinyl covers to split apart at the seams and gape open, revealing the padding inside. So...I re-stitched the seat cushions, carefully following the pattern of the original seams. The fact that the cushions were permanently screwed down onto the seats made it a bit more challenging, since I couldn't just pick them up and repair them at my leisure aboard Equinox in the shade! (For those interested, I needed the pliers to assist in pulling the needle through the vinyl, and the duct-tape to protect my fingers since an hour or so with the needle incessantly pressed against my fingertips is a rare and little-known form of maritime torture.) But...after patient and somewhat painful ministrations throughout the morning, the cushions are in fine shape once again. Boat project number one dispensed with!

Boat project number two was getting a ride to the local grocery store, to do a bit a re-provisioning for our upcoming guests from Baltimore. Graciously, Bob, the owner of Southside Marina, gave me a ride and dropped me off at the IGA while he ran some errands of his own. I had time to hit the bookstore (Unicorn Books - fabulous!) before doing the marketing. Since I found I had extra time on my hands, I meandered a bit in the produce section, noting a few items that were unfamiliar: tamarind, soursop, plantains and taro. I need to research what exactly they are, and what do they taste like? Are they easy to cook? I have no idea. Not to mention there was a whole display of cans of "Ackee in Salt Water"  with labels in English and French, but the picture on the cans were of no help whatsoever to discern what they were. Then...in the snack aisle, I stumbled across cans of "boiled green peanuts". Hmmmm, so many things to try, so little time...thankfully. I say thankfully, since there is so little interest in boiled green peanuts on my part, to be honest! Still, tamarind and ackee...I need to check out what those are!

Tamarinds...hmmm. I have NO idea how to cook with them

Boat project number three was cleaning the shower sump in Ally's cabin. This is a quick job that needs to be done periodically, so after having guests aboard and seeing the amount of sand in the shower, I figured it was time for a good cleaning of the sump. However, since a simple five-minute boat job is never that, in the midst of my sanctimonious cleaning, I had my comeuppance! Not only once, but twice (!) while cleaning out the mesh wire trap from the sump on the back deck, I dropped it into the water. I managed to capture it before it sank the first time it slipped out of my hands, but the second time it escaped, it got away cleanly, bouncing off the dingy pontoon into the water. Argh!! After a lengthy but fruitless search in the waters beneath the boat in the late afternoon dusk on my part, I was ready to give up, but Ron valiantly offered to try to find it, and...of course he came up with it after only a couple of minutes. My hero!

So....that signaled the end of boat projects for a bit. It's been a productive day, with lots of little tasks accomplished! The forecast tomorrow is for calmer winds, plus we have more friends coming. Quite a reward!

Back to the Island!

We enjoyed a great week stateside with Ally and some of Ron's family, boating on the ICW with family and friends in Tingum, sharing Thanksgiving festivities and enjoying family recipes. We ate enough turkey to last a lifetime (at least it wasn't ground turkey!) and accomplished most of the necessary errands, tasks and correspondence to exhaust ourselves. Now though, we are back aboard Equinox, and are back to the island once again!

Monday was an early-to-rise travel day, so we didn't do much after our arrival but stow our things, tidy up the boat a bit and reconnect our replacement Bose media center unit. Since we had carefully labeled all the wires when disconnecting the old unit, it was fairly easy to reconnect everything, but...the color on the TV was off when we tested the system. Everything was blue tinged with magenta! Fearing we'd received a faulty unit, we called Bose customer service (with more than a bit of trepidation) but thankfully, the tech walked us though a few simple setting checks to return the color to normal. Whew!! We now have TV and music in the salon again!! Yay!

Ron getting our scuba gear assembled for diving

Tuesday morning was bright and sunny, albeit breezy, so Ron and I took Eclipse out to West Caicos for a lovely morning dive. We anchored in the sand near the edge of the reef, and enjoyed meandering our way along the coral wall with its gorgeous vertical vista in the depths. Lots of bushy black coral, barrel sponges and different rope sponges, and again, the huge schools of reef fish of all sizes and color, along with a single reef shark that cruised by to check us out. Great dive! I spied a spotted moray hanging out under a ledge on our return loop back to the boat too; it's the first one I've seen since we've been diving here this trip. 

View of Split Rock as we headed out to dive

After the dive we enjoyed a beach picnic in the sunshine, reveling in the warmth. We both were rather chilled after the dive, so opted not to do a second dive. It took us a bit of time to slog our way back to the marina; winds were whipping out of the east at 20 knots or so, and the waves on the bank kept slamming us on the nose. (I'm glad I brought one of my rain jackets for the ride back, because the spray from the waves had us soaked!) We took a break from the thumping the waves were giving us and tucked in at Pirates Cove on the west end of Providenciales to walk the beach for a bit. It was a smart decision: a gorgeous, deserted bit of beach, with all sorts of tumbled stones, driftwood, the occasional shells and broken bits of coral, although nary a piece of sea glass. So many beaches to beachcomb, so little time!

The stretch of beach at Pirates Cove