Sailing on Ati

We made few stops along the way because the owners were 6 weeks behind schedule leaving St Petersburg, FL. We were very disappointed as we had thought we would be stopping in the Bahamas here and there; but that was not to be, as the owner did not want to pay for the check in fees for the limited time spent there. We did however eventually stop and check in to Turks and Caicos for a bit of provisions and fuel. We waited there until we had a weather window for the crossing to Luperon, Dominican Republic. At this juncture we cannot sail with Ati any further as we have run out of time and are anxious to return to Leap. We did however achieve our goal getting Ati to some place safe for hurricane season. 

Passing by Acklin Island Bahamas

Turks and Caicos - French Cay

An osprey on the bow fishing for breakfast

Dawn breaking

Sunset

Enjoying happy hour at Neptune on Provodenciales Turks and Caicos

The Turks & Caicos islands are arid islands surrounded by reefs along one side and the Caicos Banks on the other. The islands themselves are not attractive but the water is gorgeous shades of Caribbean blue.

Living and provisioning here is very expensive so we will only pick up the essentials. Everything is shipped in from the States and some things from the Dominican Republic. Mango - $3.50 - 4.50 each and, same with an apple, avocado or orange. Romaine lettuce $6-7 a head. Brussels Sprouts $7/bag of 10. Loaf of bread $7.75. Six pack of beer $18-20 and a case $85-90 and it isn't even good beer. Turks & Caicos rum $10/bottle all others $35-40. Fortunately we still have Fat Tire and Ranger on board that we bought for ourselves in St Pete. 

Six Hills Cays, Turks and Caicos in route to South Caicos to check out of country and head for Luperon. We snorkeled along the cave lined shore and again reef mostly dead. Most all of the Turks and Caicos Islands are park preserves now, however; appears there is no regulations for the locals as we see piles of dead conch where fisherman have stopped to clean their catch and very few large fish or lobster on reef. We did see urchins, sea biscuits, rays, turtles an occasional lobster and a few shark.

Entering Luperon Dominican Republic

The harbor at Luperon. Large cruising community here and we are excited to meet new people.

We will disembark from Ati here and begin our sightseeing of Dominican Republic. We are happy to be in control of our own schedule again. We will eventually end up in Santa Domingo for our flight back to Roatan. Next blog post will be overland sightseeing pictures.