What Coral Heads?! Crossing (Carefully) the Caicos Banks

Our sail from Great Sand Cay in the Turks to Sapodilla Bay in Providenciales, Caicos, was about 75 miles. We had beautiful weather and skies for crossing the Caicos Banks.

Kent, his brother Jerry, and I did not expect a particularly difficult crossing to Providenciales. At the end of the day, I was surprised by the intensity of the experience. About 45 miles of the 65-mile crossing was shallow, sometimes as shallow as 4'9", and filled with coral heads. Most of the coral heads, which appear as dark areas against the turquoise water, lay at a safe distance beneath the surface of the water but a few were a danger. Coral heads can easily rip a serious gash in your boat's hull.

Our trip was complicated by the fact that our new Lowrance chart plotter stopped performing properly early in our trip, making it necessary to use the navigation program on my iPad. We very carefully followed a recommended route marked clearly on our chart. We motored quickly because we had to cross in daylight and needed to be able to quickly react as we steered around coral heads. With Jerry seated in a dolphin seat on the bow watching for coral heads and me giving Kent directions from my iPad, we safely maneuvered in depths of 5 to 7 feet beneath the shoal and across the Caicos Banks. One of the books we use as a guide in our travels mentioned that this crossing should never be made in the dark. No kidding!

We anchored safely (and before sundown) at our intended destination, in Sapodilla Bay in a sandy area between dark patches of coral heads. That night, after our long day crossing the Caicos Banks and avoiding the coral heads, I was able to catch a few moonlight shots at anchor in Sapodilla Bay. 

Moonlight off the bow in Sapodilla Bay

The airport in Providenciales was just over the hill a couple miles north. Sadly, Jerry flew back to to Portland, OR in the afternoon the next day. Kent and I are so grateful for his help and companionship for the last month. We will miss his sense of humor! Thank you, Jerry, we love you. And thank you to Robyn, who shared him with us for so long!

Jerry