The leisurely sail back up to New England — Part IV — April 29 through May 8 (Subtitle: We swam with wild dolphins — bet that got your attention!)

We left Ocean World Marina in the Dominican Republic, as planned, on April 28.  We got off to a slow start because of a disadvantageous wind direction but within a few hours we had a nice easterly breeze that allowed us to sail on a nice beam or broad beam reach (depending on our course) for the rest of our sail.  After 28 hours (a little longer than we anticipated because Jill insisted on a conservative sail plan during the evening watches) we arrived safely at Blue Haven Marina, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.  Our sail was largely uneventful though, as always, we had periods of big rollers which seemed to become more prolific just when we wanted to sleep.

We were meeting friends here so our first few days were spent provisioning fruits and vegetables (and the items we couldn’t source in the Dominican Republic — though much more expensive, the selection is much broader in Turks & Caicos than the DR), doing laundry, cleaning and prepping food so Jill (our designated chef) could enjoy our company and not spend all of her time down in the galley.  She planned a really lovely menu and, at Zack’s request, we are sharing it with you —

Cruising menu around Turks & Caicos — Breakfast, Lunch and Dinners:

Dinners:

1. White miso linguine pasta with cashew garlic cream sauce and caramelized mushrooms served with a Caesar salad
2. Crispy fried sesame tofu served on cold brown rice noodles with peanut sauce garnished with red and organic peppers, greens onions, peanuts, cilantro and lime.
3. White bean and avocado salad in a lemon garlic dressing garnished with house made garlic chips and served on a bed of arugula with a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar
4. Caramelized shallot pasta served with a Caesar salad

Breakfasts:

1. Avocado toast 
2. Pancakes and sausage 
3. Egg scramble with sausage, red peppers, onions and cheddar
4. English muffins
5. Assorted Fruit 

Lunches:

1. A charcuterie plate with an assortment of smoked and cured salamis, cheeses and vegetables 
2. Sandwiches (ham, turkey & sliced cheese) with kosher pickle spears

Snacks:

1. House made white bean hummus with lemon and garlic served with baby carrots, red and orange peppers, sugar snap peas and a variety of chips
2. An assortment of salsas served with corn chips
3. Mandarin oranges
4. Apples
5. Nuts

Cocktails, Wines & Spirits:

1. Jill’s Killer Gin & Tonics
2. Dark & Stormies
3. Sauvignon Blanc
4. Pinot Grigio
5. Bourbon
6. Beer

When our friends joined us on May 3 we were ready!  We were so excited to see Lisa and Vic after nearly 20 years and share time on Che Figata with them.  Given the “skinny” water in Turks & Caicos we decided to stay around Providenciales.  The first night we sailed to the Northwest end of Providenciales which is largely uninhabited and anchored.  The only thing there is a single resort — nothing else around — and we had the ocean to ourselves.  We enjoyed snorkeling the reef and were treated to a fabulous fireworks display in the evening courtesy of Amanyara Resort.  Day 2 of our cruise together we headed to Grace Bay.  Though the beach is lined with resorts (and, therefore, not usually where we would chose to anchor for the night), Grace Bay Beach is one of the most magnificent beaches we have ever seen.  It is 3 miles of the some of the whitest, softest, sand you will ever see surrounded by clear turquoise water.  When you look at pictures you’ve taken they all look like they were photoshopped — the color doesn’t look natural.  We can assure you, however, that it is real.  And, once again, we were anchored with no neighbors.  Just amazing the have this beautiful anchorage to ourselves.

We decided to eat dinner out while in Grace Bay because of the large selection of highly rated restaurants.  Based on reviews we selected Coco Bistro and the restaurant did not disappoint.  We also had a bit of an adventure getting there.  There are no working piers on Grace Bay and we didn’t feel comfortable leaving our dinghy on the beach unattended for 2 hours so we had to figure out a way to secure our dinghy while we were at dinner.  There are a few an old piers on the beach that are nothing more that some concrete posts and beams—no decking.  We found one near a public access point and we secured our dinghy to one of the concrete beams with a locked metal cable while we went to dinner.  

Following our day and evening in Grace Bay we headed to Fort George Cay, an uninhabited cay and a protected national park.  Once again, we were all alone — no other cruisers in the anchorage.  (Guess everyone was in the Bahamas????). Fort George Cay was once a fortified island that protected the surrounding waters from pirates.  Five 18th-century cannons that were put in place on the island are now underwater and can be viewed by snorkelers in water that is no more than 5 feet deep.  The cannons are now covered in coral and other growth so it was interesting to snorkel around them and watch the sea life. The beach itself is beyond stunning which kept Jill busy as she took pictures of the curved shoreline from every angle and direction as well as against different skies as a few dark clouds rolled in.  But constant in all the pictures is that gorgeous turquoise water.  We enjoyed a long walk down the white sandy beach which, other than one other family, we had to ourselves.

But the highlight of our stay in the area was the dolphins.  One of the many reasons we headed to Fort George Cay was that it was an area that was frequented by Jo Jo the Dolphin.  Jo Jo is a wild Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin which freely interacts with humans. In 1989 this dolphin was declared a National Treasure by the Turks and Caicos Islands Government. According to the Turks & Caicos visitors site (see our note about this below), JoJo is a male dolphin weighing about 880 pounds (400 kg) and approximately 10 feet (3 m) in length, and is different from other dolphins in that he voluntarily interacts with humans.  It’s easy to identify Jo Jo because of unfortunate propeller scars on his back.  As we learned from his Instagram site (he’s a celebrity!), Jo Jo is alive and well and we were hoping to not only get a sighting but interact with him in the water. 

After our afternoon walking the beach and snorkeling around the submerged cannons we spotted dolphins as we motored in our dinghy back to Che Figata.  We got very excited and thought we might have found Jo Jo.  We soon realized though that we had not spotted just one dolphin but two dolphins and it was a mom and her baby.  Since Jo Jo is a grown male, and there was no scar, we knew we did not have a Jo Jo sighting.  To our surprise, these dolphins followed us back to Che Figata and we enjoyed watching them swim around us as we approached our boat.  

Once back at the boat we got busy tying off and unloading our snorkel gear.  It was also lunchtime (heaven forbid we should miss a meal on Che Figata) so Jill quickly went below deck to prepare the daily charcuterie platter.  She wasn’t down there more than five minutes when Lisa yelled down to her “Jill, you’ve got to get up here, Zack is swimming with the dolphins.”  Sure enough, with the dolphins hanging near our boat Zack jumped in with his snorkel gear and the young dolphin immediately identified Zack as a playmate.  Perhaps without many tourists around this young dolphin was bored but he quickly bonded with Zack, rubbing up against him and hitting Zack’s fins with his snout.  Zack was able to pet his new friend which the baby dolphin seemed to enjoy immensely.  All the while mom looked on, keeping a close eye on her baby but allowing the interaction to continue.  

After Zack had sufficient play time, Jill jumped in to have a turn and had the same experience.  The baby swam all around her, almost nuzzling her at times.  When Jill dove under the water, the baby followed, twirling in the water next to her like a ballet duet.  When it was time for Jill to head toward our boat, the baby let out what sounded like a chirp or a whistle as if to say, “please don’t go!”  But it was time for Lisa to play with our new friend.  As soon as she entered the water, the baby dolphin picked up where he (or she) left off and Lisa and the baby frolicked for another 15 minutes.  All in all, between the three of us, we played with the baby dolphin for about 45 minutes.  It was one of the most magical experiences any of us ever had.  We had a shared experience — truly a shared joy — with another species.  And not one that was captive or trained and had no choice but one that was interacting with us freely and by its own will — and seemed to love it as much as we did.

The only one who didn’t get a chance to join in was Lisa’s husband Vic.  He had gone down to take a shower and was all cleaned up by the time the party was over.  But don’t feel bad for Vic because the next day who shows up — Jo Jo the dolphin.  We immediately recognized him by his scars and Vic, who had his swim suit on and was ready, jumped right in.  Jo Jo quickly came over to investigate Vic and was soon all swimming around him.  So Vic got to swim with the local celebrity dolphin and has a story he will tell for years.  Important point of order:  Though the Turks & Caicos visitors site describes Jo Jo as 880 lbs and 10 feet long we question that.  While Vic and Jo Jo where in the water they were side by side.  Vic is 6’ tall and, by our estimation, Jo Jo was about two feet longer, so maybe 8’.   Our rough estimate received support from a quick Google search which indicated that male Bottlenose Dolphins grow to about 8’.  Guess everyone is entitled to a little exaggeration and Jo Jo is, in many respects, larger than life so he has probably “grown” over the years as people tell their stories about their experiences with him.

After enjoying several days anchored off Fort George Cay it is time to head back to Blue Haven Marina today (May 8).  We need to reprovision and refuel for our trip to the Bahamas.  We also need to do laundry and clean.  Most of these will be Mothers’ Day tasks and we hope to leave for our passage to the Bahamas in the morning on Monday (May 10).  We haven’t finalized where we will clear customs in the Bahamas (Long Island or George Town) but our next post will be sometime after that.  First, however, we will enjoy a celebratory dinner tonight at Grace’s Cottage (highly recommended by one of our friends) to toast to a successful voyage in Turks & Caicos and say farewell to our friends.  

For the mothers out there reading this post today (May 8) or tomorrow (May 9), we wish you a wonderful Mothers’ Day filled with love and joy.