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May 31, 2005
N21.3 W71.0 Big Sand Cay, Turks & Caicos Islands
Our sail from Luperon to the Turks & Caicos Islands was uneventful with lots and lots of wind. What we expected would take 12-14 hours took us a little over 10. We left Luperon with sunrise at 5:30am and made it to Big Sand Cay in plenty of time for a swim and a cold beer. Big Sand Cay is an uninhabited marine wildlife sanctuary, and is stunning in its beauty. We sailed the following day to Grand Turk to clear customs so that we could go back to Big Sand Cay to explore the cay.
Grand Turk is a charming town with Bermudian influences. We learned that the boat that carries fresh fruit and vegetables was delayed at one of the other islands, so our quest for roughage went undone.
From the 17th century, the islands were settled by Bermudians ho farmed salt. Pirate raids were common, which probably provided the names ‘Turks’ referring to the Mediterranean pirates, and ‘caiques’, their ships. A British Dependent Territory, the islands have had internal self-government since 1976.
Posted by dave at May 31, 2005 03:10 PM