Turtle Cove Marina

Zarafina
Melvyn Brown
Tue 19 Apr 2011 14:45

21:47.1N 72 13.6W
 
Melv phoned yesterday to say having left his anchorage in Turks & Caicos on Sunday he had arrived safely at Turtle Cove Marina.   This is more of a resort with berths radiating from a central island.  There are some large catamarans and expensive game fishing boats, but few other sail boats.  He was talking to his neighbour who runs the parasailing enterprise and he said the peak season is in the run-up to Christmas when it is a bit cooler...but a lot warmer than other parts of the world at that time of the year.
 
He encountered a lot of flying fish en route, and found one lying on the deck in the morning.  However they are very tiny - only about 2" long.  He photographed it next to a matchbox to give a sense of scale.  The entrance to the marina was exceptionally shallow and difficult - involving navigating a wiggly channel through the reef.  The marina sent out a boat to guide him in and even then he touched bottom.
 
The area is 'fairly posh' according to Melv, with hotels, restaurants and shops although the marina is charging a comparatively reasonable $55 per day - although annoyingly it includes a mandatory $15 dollars for power which he can't use on Zarafina.
 
Melv is suffering with a stiff neck, having caught something out of the corner of his eye and turned too quickly!  (He didn't say what it was that proved so fatally interesting!).  High on the list of priorities is to locate the laundrette which he has been told is nearby - I can relate to that!!  He expects to spend a week or 10 days before setting off for The Azores.
 
The Scribe