From the Sailing Blog of S/V Island Spirit
“Arrival in Provo (Turks and Caicos) after a 36 hr motor sail from Georgetown.
The weather window for winds was calm and the east trades were laid down, so we took off. Little did we know, the squall and rain forecast was extremely high. In 8 years of being in the Bahamas, we have never had rain and squalls like this.
On departure day, we had to wait for several 35-knot squalls to blow over. Then we left at 0900 and within an hour we had our first of many. We motor sailed with the staysail and/or the jib this entire way as the winds never reached over 12-15 knots. Now, most will think that is a great sailing day. Yes, it is, if you are out for a day sail. But, when pushing into 4-foot seas and a 4-6 foot ocean swell for 300 miles, you can not sail in 10-15 knots 40-50 degrees off the starboard bow. Your speed will only be 2-3 knots due to the waves. That would double your time on passage, so you burn fuel and motor sail.
Fuel became our problem. We wanted to get fuel and KEEP GOING to Puerto Rico as the WX window was amazing. The problem is, you cannot get fuel under the ‘Q’ flag, you must check into Customs and Immigration. This took us from 1130 to 1700, and that delay seemed to make us miss our WX run to PR.
OH WELL, we are now ‘Stuck’ in Provo at South Side Marina where Bob Pratt built a very cool and peaceful place. The price is $50 per night flat fee with a pub and sunset restaurant on site. We are happy to wait here…”
