S/V Koinonia Weekly Sailing Log - Farewells, Fishing, Bahamas to TCI (Wed Apr 26 - Tue May 2, 2023)

Sailing Log Highlights This Week:

Goodbyes to family and our friends on S/V Happy Pancake; sailing from George Town to Long Island, Bahamas; an abundance of fishing success; overnight passage and checking in to Turks and Caicos.

Wed 4/26 - moved the boat to Kidd’s Cove, then met Buck and Laura to say our goodbyes and see you laters.  Bought fresh eggs from the local farmer’s market and other necessities. Schlepped six Jerry cans to the Shell station to top up on fuel. Moved the boat back to Monument Beach and made lunch. Kids do school. Went to Don and LaVonne’s on S/V “Cat’s Meow” to discuss route planning to the eastern Caribbean; gleaned lots of great information. Made water. Simple cheese plate dinner; prepped for fishing offshore on Thursday.

Thu 4/27 - woke early around 5:30 to go fishing. Picked up Happy Pancake at 6. Trolled for a few hours. Amber made muffins and coffee for everyone. Caught two Cero Mackerel and a barracuda. One of our Mackerel got it's tail cut off by a Wahoo. Spoke to a guy who has been successful trolling offshore in the Caribbean and learned we’ve been setting our lines out a bit too far; planning to leave for Long Island tomorrow and will try a few new strategies. Amber went grocery shopping with Annie. Ben took the Jerry cans ashore to top off the diesel. Fish tacos for dinner on S/V Happy Pancake. Ben made a mango salsa.

Fri 4/28 - departed for the north of Long Island, at Calabash. Lost a couple of really big fish. Caught a small kingfish. Rerigged all the rods with heavier leaders. Anchored off the resort; anchorage was a bit rolly. Went ashore for dinner at the resort, which was quite good. Mosquitos were absolutely insane here. Had to run for our lives!

Sat 4/29 - said goodbye to our wonderful Swedish friends on S/V Happy Pancake.  Everyone was very sad, but we all put on smiles as we departed.  Kids put on a diving show for us as we left. We decided to go south to Clarence Town, Long Island to prepare to ride the west wind to go east to Turks and Caicos (TCI). Put the lines out and had an epic day of fishing.  At times, had two and three Mahi hooked at once.  Managed to boat four nice fish and packed the freezer quite full. Motored into the wind all day (on purpose) to get south ahead of the wind. Passed all the boats anchored together in the harbor and got close to the south western shore in a spot with great protection. Made water. Had dinner and a watched a movie.

Sun 4/30 - winds very brisk today; glad to be anchored securely. Worshipped with our home church in VA via livestream. Did some laundry. Topped up our fuel tanks. Researched weather for our next passage. Completed SailClear arrival form for Turks and Caicos with target arrival mid afternoon on Tue.  Rigged lines for fishing. Kids made pancakes and eggs for lunch.  Knocked out some boat chores, desalted the deck, then made blackened Mahi with roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash for dinner. Saw a nurse shark and a big barracuda off the stern.

Mon 5/1 - today marks 4 years since we first saw “Koinonia,” our boat to be.  Today we’re back underway, under sail power; beautiful morning leaving Clarence Town, bound for TCI.  Put four lines out; two fewer than usual. Sleigh ride conditions. The clew ring of the mainsail (the part that attaches the lower back corner of the sail to the boom) broke through the nylon straps!  Ugghhh. Probably a case of UV damage. Had to shorten the main to the first reef point, giving up a knot of boat speed.m. Caught another nice Mahi today off the north bank of Crooked Island. Lost an even bigger one because we couldn't get to the rod fast enough and the hook wasn't set. Passage meal of toasted quesadillas with homemade guacamole and tortilla chips.  4-hour watch schedule started at 10pm.  Amber took the middle watch (10pm - 2am); Ben took the morning watch (2-6am).

Tue 5/2 - had a smooth passage to TCI. We were able to go 1/3 of the way under sail power alone, going the “wrong” direction!  Hailed the port officials on 16 and gave them our vessels details. Dropped the hook at 2pm in the harbor outside of South Side Marina, 30.5 hours after our departure from Long Island. Water here is gorgeous; looks like neon turquoise. Went ashore to check in with customs and immigration, deposit trash, and generally scope things out.  Cost to park the dinghy was $30 and $10 per bag of trash! Yikes. Requested a 7-day pass but the officer gave us 10 days “just in case.” Super nice.  No breeze tonight and extremely hot. Decided to fire up the generator

and run the A/C, to the delight of all hands.

S/V Koinonia