Turks and Caicos - What a shame

We had high expectations for Turks and Caicos, everything you read makes the islands sound idyllic and a pleasure (expensive) to visit but for us the weather really tarnished our experience L

On arrival at Malcolm Roadstead, in the dark, on the north west coast of Providenciales which is the largest of the Caicos island, we could not see what was ashore apart from the lights to a resort that was dotted along the shoreline.  In the morning we could see the lovely white sandy beach and the luxury resort, we had been alone overnight but we were joined in the morning Abramavich’s super yacht in the morning, not sure if he was aboard but quite a funky boat.

The next day we moved to the south coast of Provo, this was a bit of a challenge as we had to enter the Caicos Bank. The Caicos Bank is an area of sandbanks covering 10's of square miles which is surrounded by a protecting reef, to reach Provo you have to navigate through a pass in the reef and across miles of shallow water scattered with coral ! When approaching the narrow entrance to the Caicos bank you are in water over 1000m deep but can see the waves breaking on the surrounding reef and the dramatic change in the colour of the water, it is quite scary as the pass is not marked in any way so you have to trust your GPS position, the charts and your eyes. 

The pass is only a few 100m across and as you commit to going through, the water depth changes from 1000m to 10m pretty much instantly as denoted by a change in the water colour deep blue to sandy turquoise. There is no blurring of colour just an instant change like someone has drawn a line in the water.  

These drop offs are what makes Caicos so popular for diving.

Waves breaking on the reef in the distance whilst we were in water which was 100's metres deep

The change in water colour can be seen in the distance

Finally we are in the shallow water and the darker deep water is in the distance

Once on the bank spreads we were mainly in water 3-5 metres deep and navigation was "by eye" as there were numerous coral patches with shallower water which we had to weave around and as Magnum is 2.1m draft we had to be on lookout the whole time.  This was increasingly difficult as the wind was 20 knots on the nose, we thought being shallow water there would not be any waves but the sea was really choppy and made progress very slow!  Occasionally the waves were large and steep enough that they brought our 8 ton boat to a complete standstill ! We travelled under 10 miles to Sapodilla Bay, but were shattered on arrival.  Here we stay for 5 days, with strong winds and rolly conditions it was pretty awful! Although the surrounding sea looked amazing and we were treated to some lovely sunsets.

Sapodilla Bay was surrounded by huge plush houses which was a taste of what was to come around the island.

Beautiful properties lining Sapodilla Bay

Mark on the shore of Sapodilla Bay, Magnum at anchor, you can't see how rolly it is!

We had to hire a car one day as the bay is miles from anywhere, no shops, no bank, nothing! But we enjoyed a day rushing round the island, the down town area of the island and the main road that runs along the island is more developed than expected, with large shops, banks and generally an expensive infrastructure. Grace Bay is the main tourist area and the resorts are the height of luxury but are a bit ?.  The beaches along the north coast are protected by a reef and generally the sea around the island is some of the most beautiful we have seen in all of the Caribbean.

Beautiful resort on south coast

Stunning beach for our picnic lunch

Beach by Turtle Cove marina

Beach on north coast

It was such a shame for us that the weather made us tired, did not allow us to explore the island or go diving which is one of the main reasons we wanted to visit.  This is a difficult place to sail and optimum conditions are really needed to make the most of your time here.  If you want a exclusive beach holiday where you do not leave the resort and want some privacy this may be the place to visit but we will not be planning another trip.