Provo

Moonbeam
David and Lynn Wilkie
Sun 10 Apr 2011 15:01
 
21.44.547N  72.17.318W
 
Nothing to do with the IRA but 'Provo' is the local name for Providenciales, the main island of the Turks and Caicos Group.   www.turksandcaicostourism.com    www.turksandcaicostourism.com/virtual-slide-show.htmee
 
Friday morning was glorious and the wind had gone more on the beam and Moonbeam was revelling in the conditions. We were a bit disappointed that we had decided to bypass the anchorages in the SE corner of the group but it was dark when we passed and I was concerned about the accuracy of the charts for a night approach.
 
      
 
Sunrise Friday morning
 
We made for the "ship channel" into Provo and it was a strange that at 10 miles out we could see no evidence of the island but the colour of the sea changed from dark blue to turquoise as the depth changed abruptly from 600ft to 15ft!. Needless to say the 'ship' channel does not take very large ships but small tankers and container ships bring everything from Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
 
We anchored in Sapodilla Bay at 14.00hrs in only 8ft of water over glorious soft sand. We had taken 76 hours and sailed 430 miles from Puerto Rico in quite favourable conditions.  A short walk to Customs had us checked in, a tidy up after the passage, a good steak and a long night's sleep!. It amused us that the cost of checking in and out of the British T&Cs for a four day stay is 38$US while a cruising license for the USA for a year is only 30$US!
 
     
 
     
 
We had an introduction to a Provo resident who's late father lived in Kilmelford and he collected us from Moonbeam in his 25ft launch and sped us to the east end of the island where he lives, threading our way through coral outcrops showing dark in the water. While there are some marinas here the entrances are tricky and often only possible at high water which when there is only a 2ft rise and fall at neeps does not allow much room for error!        www.southsidemarina-tci.com
 
We entered a narrow 'canal' through the nature reserve and moored at Peter's dock just below his house then headed off to the North side of the island for lunch at Mango Reef ( www.mangoreef.com) which overlooks a glorious beach.
 
      
 
Entering nature reserve                                                                           At Anchor   Sapodilla Bay
                                                                                                            
Apparently 'Provo' did not get a wheeled vehicle until 1964 and the roads only started being tarmaced in the mid 90s!     Now the place is popular not only as a holiday destination ( record bookings during the Florida oil spill) but as a home for wealthy folk as there is no income tax!  All tax comes from 30% import duty which when added to freight costs makes everything expensive as we noted at the otherwise excellent supermarket! There are some superb houses and very expensive resorts- one especially apparently charges 10,000US $  a night and that includes a personal chef and maid!
Apparently one guest was an Arab Sheikh who travelled with his personal organ donor--- is that a definition of ultimate wealth or just worrying a bit too much?
Peter ran us back to Moonbeam where we enjoyed a beer before he had to head home - it is not really practical to travel by boat in the dark!