Times of the Islands Winter 2015-16

TIMES 

OF THE 

ISLANDS 

SAMPLING THE SOUL OF THE TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS WINTER 2015/16 NO. 113 

OCEAN COUNTRY 

A call for hope and action 

A VOICE FOR THE ANIMALS 

TCSPCA speaks 

THE PINE CAY EVOLUTION 

Delving into this private island

AT 

A luxury condo and villa resort community 

The Perfect Combination... 

The privacy of a luxury villa 

The convenience of a penthouse 

• Located on exclusive Long Bay Beach 

• The security of a full service resort 

• Full access to resort amenities 

• The opportunity to earn rental 

Villa 

income 

Frontage 

A “10 Best Island Beaches Around the World” 

- Condé Nast Travellers List 

www.TheShoreClubTC.com 

“Future Location of Villas” 

Award winning developer of luxury 

beachfront condos for over a decade.

THE WORLD’S ONLY 

FIVE-STAR 

LUXURY 

I N C L U D E D ® 

R E S O R T S 

Enjoy all the luxuries of a world-class, 

five-star resort, except, at Sandals ® 

Resorts, everything is included. 

Gourmet Discovery Dining at up to 16 

restaurants with top chefs from around 

the world. We’ve raised the bar on our 

bars, with up to 11 at each resort. Suites 

with pools in the sky, private Tranquility 

Soaking Tubs TM 

on the terrace, and 

butlers to cater to every whim in toptier 

suites. Every land and water sport 

you can imagine—even scuba diving for 

certified divers and golf*. At Sandals, 

you really can have it all, because it’s 

all included, all unlimited—all the time. 

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED 

Visit sandals.com, 

call 1-888-SANDALS 

or your Travel Professional 

Butler Village Honeymoon Romeo & Juliet 

Sanctuary 1 Bdrm. Villa Suite w/Private Pool 

at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort in Jamaica 

ALL INCLUDED, ALL UNLIMITED, ALL THE TIME. 

JAMAICA • ANTIGUA • SAINT LUCIA • BAHAMAS • GRENADA • BARBADOS 

*Visit www.sandals.com/disclaimers/timesoftheislandswinter2015 or call 1-800-SANDALS for important terms and conditions.

The Leading Private Bank in the Turks and Caicos Islands 

Where values are growing 

Wealth Management • Bonds/Fixed Income 

Investment Strategies • Foreign Exchange 

Stocks/Equities • Precious Metals 

Fixed deposits/CD’s • International Transfers 

Turks & Caicos Banking Company Ltd. 

The Regent Village, Unit H102, Grace Bay Road, Providenciales 

Tel: +649 941 4994 

Email: services@tcbc.tc • www.tcbc.tc 

Regulated by the Financial Services Commission, Turks & Caicos Islands

The cool side of classic. 

7 2 W E S T 

T H E S P A 

P A R A L L E L 2 3 

The Palms (formerly Regent Palms) may totally inhabit the role of 

an elegant, luxurious, award-winning resort, but beneath that cultivated 

exterior beats an untamed heart. Parallel23 sprinkles every dish 

with a dash of the unexpected. 72West offers you the moon and the stars. 

Whimsy rules at The Palms Courtyard Shops featuring Wish Boutique. 

And your senses are utterly seduced at The Spa at The Palms. 

Feel free to visit and indulge your inner wild child in all we have to offer. 

THE PALMS, LAID -BACK LU XE . 

649.946.8666 | thepalmstc.com 

W I S H B O U T I Q U E

contents 

Departments 

10 From the Editor 

15 Getting to Know 

From Grand Turk to Grand Cru: Shane Jones 

By Trish Flanagan 

20 What’s New 

A Turks & Caicos Original: Wellington Williams 

By Zahrya Musgrove ~ Photos By Davidson Louis 

79 Faces & Places 

Third Annual Ladies Hat Luncheon 

Photos By Paradise Photography 

80 Crossing Africa 

The Journey Begins 

82 Shape Up 

Get Fit with PaddleFit 

By Morgan Luker 

You are What You Eat 

By Dr. Sam Slattery 

84 About the Islands/TCI Map 

89 Where to Stay 

91 Dining Out 

94 Classified Ads/Subscription Form 

Features 

36 Ocean Country 

Excerpts By Liz Cunningham 

46 A Voice for Those Who Cannot Speak 

By Kathi Barrington 

57 Treasuring Pine Cay 

By Sara Kaufman ~ 


Green Pages 

24 No Place Like Home 

By Kathy Lockhart, Lily Zhao & Heidi Hertler 

28 Green Living in the TCI 

By Amy Avenant 

30 The Iconic Nassau Grouper 

Story & Photos By John Claydon & Marta Calosso 

33 Birding in Paradise 

By B Naqqi Manco ~ Photo By Eric F. Salamanca 

TIMES 

OF THE 

ISLANDS 

SAMPLING THE SOUL OF THE TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS WINTER 2015/16 NO. 113 

On the Cover 

Marta Morton is an avid resident photographer, 

documenting the beauty of these Islands since 1998. 

This fall, she braved the heat and humidity to climb 

Jim Hill and shoot this scene overlooking the entrance 

to South Side Marina and Cooper Jack. Two hours and 

500 photos later she was dehydrated and had to head 

home to her “day job” of running Harbour Club Villas & 

Marina, but had captured this stunning image. See her 

blog for more at www.myturksandcaicosblog.com. 

46 

Astrolabe 

66 An Unfinished Story 

By Dr. Donald H. Keith ~ 

Photos By Windward Media 

72 The Original “Snail Mail” 

Story & Photos By Peter Marshall 

75 Grand Turk’s Postcard Man 

By Sherlin Williams 

COURTESY TCSPCA 

6 www.timespub.tc

Turks And Caicos Featured 

TurksAndCaicosProperty.com 

Real Estate 

Mandalay Villa 

Completed in 2012 this one-of-a-kind estate on sought 

after Long Bay Beach sets the standard for luxurious 

living in the Turks & Caicos. Features include “drivethrough” 

gate house, travertine driveway lined by fruit 

trees, multi-level infinity pool with central lounge 

and waterfalls, Creston smart home technology, and 

sumptuous furnishings. There’s nothing like it! 

US$15,000,000 

North Brae Villa 

4BD/4BTH “Spanish-inspired” mansion built on the 

beach in Thompson Cove w/ its own private boat dock. 

Exceptional and unique - custom staircases; custom 

metal-work; extensive use of Brazilian hardwood and 

mahogany. It’s all here - formal dining room, “luxury 

fitted” kitchen, etc. All centered on the infinity pool, 

jacuzzi and the ocean beyond. 

US$2,950,000 

Bernadette Hunt 

cell ~ 649 231 4029 | tel ~ 649 941 3361 

Bernadette@TurksAndCaicosProperty.com 

Bernadette is an Irish qualified attorney who 

began practicing law in the Turks & Caicos in 

1997. Working in a general practice she dealt 

with conveyancing, immigration, licensing, 

company and trust formation and estate 

planning. In 2000 she co-founded Turks & 

Caicos Property, Ltd. (“TCP”) taking the lead 

on sales and dividing her time between law 

and real estate. 

Seven Stars 3 Bedroom 

Beachfront suite 1201/02 provides 2,672 sqf of luxurious 

living space. Granite counters, marbled bathrooms, 

travertine flooring and GE Monogram appliances. The 

main living areas and master suite enjoy turquoise water 

views. The additional bedrooms have a lockout feature 

for rental flexibility. Part of the fabulous Seven Stars 

Resort in the center of Grace Bay. 

US$1,449,000 

Grace Bay Development Site 

Right between The Mansions and Villa Renaissance 

on Grace Bay. Suitable for condo development (resort 

or residential), a boutique hotel or for an estate home. 

There is a two storey residential building on the southern 

portion. A resurgent tourism industry and a busy real 

estate market mean the timing is now perfect. 

US$6,000,000 

Villa Renaissance Penthouse 

This beautiful 2BR penthouse suite is in pristine 

condition. Enjoy direct Grace Bay beach views from 

the terrace and additional rooftop space incorporating 

a private jacuzzi and BBQ area. This feature is unique 

in the development - its like your own a private 

spa. If you are searching for the ultimate 2 bedroom 

suite on Grace Bay this penthouse is a must see. 

US$1,545,000 

Grace Bay Beach House 

5 BR / 4.5 BTH villa w/ pool on an acre of Grace 

Bay beach. Powdery white sand at your doorstep, 

snorkeling on Smith’s Reef, close to Turtle Cove 

Marina, restaurants and shops. Dazzling views from 

the 3rd floor wraparound balcony. Enquire for shortterm 

vacation rental earnings info. 

US$2,950,000 

Bernadette retired from law in 2007 to focus 

exclusively on what was already a successful 

real estate business. Since then, based on 

independent MLS data, she is the only TCI 

agent with active sales (i.e. introducing the 

buyer) exceeding US$100 million. Her gross 

sales figures and transaction numbers are also 

unrivalled. This proven level of efficiency, 

experience and up-to-the-minute information 

provides a platform for quality service that 

you can count on every time. 

TCP is the leading independent real estate 

brokerage in TCI with offices located on 

Grace Bay Rd., and at Ocean Club West. 

TCP’s reputation and success has been earned 

over time through the dedication, enthusiasm 

and consistent performance of Bernadette and 

the Turks & Caicos Property team. Bernadette 

works 6 days a week from her offices in Grace 

Bay and delights in meeting new people and 

making new contacts. 

Call Bernadette if you would like to find out 

a little more about owning real estate in the 

Turks & Caicos Islands. 

Turks & Caicos Property 

Boutique real Estate Brokerage

® 

Turks Caicos 

Resort Villages & Spa 

MORE QUALITY INCLUSIONS THAN ANY 

OTHER RESORTS IN THE WORLD

VOTED WORLD’S BEST 

ALL-INCLUSIVE FAMILY RESORTS 

BEACHES ® 

Turks & Caicos, the last of the true exotics, includes absolutely everything you could think of for the ultimate 

family vacation. A thrilling 45,000 square-foot waterpark with 10 water slides and a surf simulator. Fabulous land and 

water sports including unlimited waterskiing and scuba diving*. PADI even named Beaches Resorts one of the top 

fi ve dive operations in the Western Hemisphere. Superb Gourmet Discovery Dining at 21 restaurants, and 14 bars 

serving unlimited premium spirits for adults. Authentic island entertainment for everyone. Cool hangouts for teens 

and Sesame Street ® fun and games for the kids. Complimentary accredited nannies for all ages, all day and into 

the night. Beautifully appointed family-sized rooms, suites, and villas, some even with butler service. Take a closer look 

at Beaches Turks & Caicos and see why we continue to enjoy an unparalleled record of award-winning success. 

beaches.com • 1-888-BEACHES • or call your Travel Professional 

*Visit www.beaches.com/disclaimers/btctimesoftheislandswinter2015 or call 1-800-BEACHES for important terms and conditions.

from the editor 

MARTA MORTON–WWW.HARBOURCLUBVILLAS.COM 

Marta Morton struck photographic gold again with this amazing shot of a group of flamingos on Salt Cay. With the help of Candy Herwin, she 

discovered this flock in an area called North Creek, just past Government House. 

Got Yer Back 

I remember a time, probably a dozen years ago, when a vicious hurricane was headed towards the Turks & Caicos 

Islands. At the last minute it swerved northward, narrowing missing the country. The Weather Channel reporter 

quipped, “There must be some praying folks out there.” I think there were. I’ve long believed that the backbone of 

the TCI’s remarkable good fortune and progress are the humble, generous, hopeful women and men who daily call 

upon God for their families, friends, community, government and country, with simple, faith-filled prayers. 

These thoughts came to mind when I read Ocean Country, a book excerpted within this issue. With a concept 

conceived in the TCI, the book will serve as a powerful call to action for the future of our planet. The same intention 

for positive change echoes in our story about the TCSPCA, which has been working to bring a “voice to those who 

cannot speak.” And somehow, in spite of the terrors our world sprouts, there are many young people of the TCI 

who are doing amazing things. Meet Mario Rigby, who will be crossing Africa by foot with the intention of sharing 

his journey to inspire others. Or Shane Jones, who took a passion for wine and turned it into a prestigious career. 

Or Wellington Williams, whose determination and entrepreneurship are breaking ground in the world of crafts and 

jewelry. And the folks who work for DEMA, the School for Field Studies, and the National Museum, who regularly 

use their skills to conserve TCI’s natural and cultural resources. This cornucopia of encouragement says to me that 

Someone’s “got our back.” 

Kathy Borsuk, Editor 

timespub@tciway.tc • (649) 946-4788 

10 www.timespub.tc

Visit 

THE CAICOS CONCH FARM 

WE GROW 

CONCH & FISH 

Monday - Friday: 9am - 4pm 

Saturday: 9am - 2.30pm 

Closed: Sundays 

Adults $12.00 

Children $10.00 

Leeward Highway, Leeward, Providenciales 

Phone: (649) 946-5330

I do. 

Say “I do” to a Free * Wedding. 

We do. 

Share your love with the ones you love. 

WEDDING & 

HONEYMOON 

BEACHES ® 

FREE BEAUTIFUL 

BEGINNINGS 

WEDDING WITH 

A THREE- 

NIGHT STAY 

* 

OR MORE! 

INVITE FAMILY & 

FRIENDS AND THE 

HONEYMOON IS 

FREE*, TOO! 

BESPOKE 

Weddings 

Beaches Resorts also 

offers a fully customizable 

destination wedding, 

where you can have all 

the romantic touches of a 

traditional wedding in the 

most spectacular settings in 

the Caribbean. Plan every 

moment from the location 

and color palette to the 

cake and music. 

It’s the day you’ve dreamt of your entire life, a day you pictured sharing with the people who mean 

the most to you. At Beaches Resorts, your dream comes true…and keeps going on even after you’ve 

exchanged your vows. While you enjoy the honeymoon of a lifetime, your guests get their own 

incredible vacation. And with more included at Beaches, you can do it all—every land and water 

sport under the sun, Gourmet Discovery Dining at up to 21 restaurants, spacious and luxurious 

Together Nest Suites for you and the family. Of course, you can even choose to do nothing at all. 

With more quality inclusions than any other resorts in the world, it’s a celebration everyone can enjoy.

More to do. 

Absolutely everything’s included for your honeymoon. 

PLUS SPECIAL HONEYMOON TOUCHES INCLUDE*: 

A BUBBLY WELCOME A bottle of chilled sparkling wine elegantly 

arranged in your room upon arrival to toast your future. 

A ROMANTIC GESTURE A special turndown service that includes 

flower petals on your bed on the first evening of your honeymoon. 

WAKE UP TO WEDDED BLISS Delight in a delivery of fresh flowers 

and a decadent breakfast in bed one morning of your choice. 

R e s o r t 

s 

by Sandals 

TURKS & CAICOS • JAMAICA 

beaches.com/weddingmoons • 1-877-BEACHES • or call your Travel Professional 

*Visit www.beaches.com/disclaimers/bchtimesoftheislandswinter2015 or call 1-800-BEACHES for important terms and conditions.

SAMSARA IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR 

VACATION RENTAL AT www.SAMSARATCI.com 

RASHAWDESIGNS.com 

TIMES 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Kathy Borsuk 

OF THE 

ISLANDS 

ADVERTISING MANAGER 

Claire Parrish 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Amy Avenant, Kathi Barrington, Kathy Borsuk, Marta 

Calosso, John Claydon, Liz Cunningham, Trish Flanagan, 

Heidi Hertler, Sara Kaufman, Dr. Donald H. Keith, 

Kathy Lockhart, Morgan Luker, B Naqqi Manco, 

Peter Marshall, Zahrya Musgrove, Claire Parrish, Pat Saxton, 

Dr. Sam Slattery, Sherlin Williams, Lily Zhao. 

Love your home 

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS 

Amy Avenant, Jim Budd, Marta Calosso, John Claydon, 

Charlie Costello, Trish Flanagan, David Gallardo–World of 

Oceans, Shane Jones, Kathy Lockhart, Davidson Louis, 

Peter Marshall, Marta Morton, Claire Parrish, 

Paradise Photography, Eva Ramey, Eric F. Salamanca, 

Pat Saxton, School for Field Studies, TCNM Collection, 

TCSPCA, Windward Media, Wine & Spirit Education Trust. 

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS 

Wavey Line Publishing 

PRINTING 

Franklin-Dodd Communications, Hialeah, FL 

AWARD-WINNING CUSTOM HOME DESIGN 

Award-winning architecture firm RA Shaw Designs 

has created some of the most sophisticated and 

technologically advanced luxury properties 

in the Caribbean. Recently voted 

“The Best Architecture & Design 

Company of the Year” 

for the second consecutive year by Caribbean 

World Magazine, our team specializes in creating 

a unique sense of place by integrating building 

techniques and architectural details with the 

surrounding culture so that you too can 

love your home. 

Times of the Islands ISSN 1017-6853 is 

published quarterly by Times Publications Ltd. 

Copyright © 2016 by Times Publications Ltd. All rights reserved 

under Universal and Pan American Copyright Conventions. 

No part of this publication may be 

reproduced without written permission. 

Subscriptions $28/year; $32/year for 

non-U.S. mailing addresses 

Submissions We welcome submission of articles or photography, but 

assume no responsibility for care and return of unsolicited material. 

Return postage must accompany material if it is to be returned. In no 

event shall any writer or photographer subject this magazine to any 

claim for holding fees or damage charges on unsolicited material. 

While every care has been taken in the compilation and reproduction of 

information contained herein to ensure correctness, such information is 

subject to change without notice. The publisher accepts no 

responsibility for such alterations or for typographical or other errors. 

Business Office 

Times Publications Ltd., P.O. Box 234, 

Lucille Lightbourne Building #1, 

Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI 

Tel/Fax 649 946 4788 

Advertising 649 231 7527 

E-mail timespub@tciway.tc 

Web: www.timespub.tc 

To learn more, visit us online or call 1.649.941.4394 

14 www.timespub.tc

getting to know 

JIM BUDD 

Grand Turk native Shane Jones was the “Red Shirt” for the Loire table at the 2015 

Decanter World Wine Awards. 

From Grand Turk to Grand Cru 

Meet wine expert Shane Jones. 

By Trish Flanagan 

We’re being chauffeured through the crimson, gold, and russet vineyards of the Champagne region in 

France. Think New England fall foliage on a smaller scale. Autumn here is a glorious blaze of multi-coloured 

fields, as the meticulously pruned vines die off after harvest. I’m in the company of Grand Turk native and 

wine expert Shane Jones. He’s the holder of the prized Moet and Chandon scholarship for top marks in the 

sparkling wines’ exam of his diploma. A trip to two of the world’s top Champagne houses is his reward. So 

how did this Turks & Caicos Islander find himself in the rarefied world of wine expertise? 

Times of the Islands Winter 2015/16 15

Born in Grand Turk in 1978 to Hattie Francis and 

William Jones, Shane enjoyed a happy childhood in 

Overback, where his mother ran a small sweet and rum 

shop. He went on to H.J. Robinson High School where he 

came into his own. In fact his time there led to his first 

introduction to Europe. “I was part of the debating team 

and I played clarinet in the marching band. I was also a 

member of the scouts and travelled to the World Scout 

Jamboree in Holland in 1995,” he recalls. 

Always top of the class, he became Valedictorian. But 

his ambitions weren’t clear. “I didn’t have a strong career 

path as I was able to do a lots of things. My father wanted 

me to be a lawyer but I wasn’t interested. Instead I took a 

gap year and worked at Radio Turks & Caicos.” 

He may then have been unclear about his future 

career, but what’s obvious now is his extensive knowledge 

of wines. We’re at the splendid 18th century house, 

Le Trianon at Éparnay, with Yumi Laforge, Moet and 

Chandon’s Maison Ambassador. Originally the home of 

the Moet family, and then the Chandon family, the house 

hosted Napoleon Bonaparte on several occasions. After 

an aperitif of the world’s most popular Champagne, 

Moet’s Brut Imperial, in a beautifully decorated and mirrored 

salon, we’re guided to the library for lunch. Yumi 

and Shane begin an intense discussion of the merits of 

three rosé Champagnes which will accompany our food. 

It’s a long way from the library of the University of 

the West Indies in Barbados, from where Shane graduated 

in 1999 with a joint Economics/Accounting 

Honours Degree. Returning to Grand Turk he joined the 

Department of Economics and Statistics. “It was a broadbased 

experience focusing on project management, 

helping departments budget for major capital projects 

and preparing submissions for EU, UN, and Caricom funding.” 

After only a year he was approached to head up the 

Land Registry, where as Registrar of Lands he oversaw the 

transfer of all properties, registration of charges, collection 

of stamp duties, and fees. 

He brings the same attention to detail from that job 

to his new role. Shane has a particular interest in rosé 

or pink Champagne, whose popularity is increasing, 

although it’s still not taken seriously by many professionals. 

“Traditionally it was seen as a trivial drink for giggling 

girls, but if it’s aged impeccably and matched properly it 

can stand up to serious food,” he emphasises. 

The rosé Champagnes to complement lunch are from 

1985, 1999, and 2006. Shane explains the difference to 

me. “The younger ones are more accessible to unexperienced 

palates beause the black fruit notes are obvious 

From top: Shane Jones is enjoying lunch at Moet and Chandon’s Le 

Trianon residence. The gardens at Le Trianon are shown below. The 

trip is part of Shane’s Moet & Chandon scholarship that he won from 

the Wine & Spirits Education Trust. 

— plum, blackberries, and dark cherries. The older ones 

are more complex, and the terminology changes. For 

example, flavours may be described in “game” terms. It’s 

more difficult to assess, especially if people are unfamil- 

TRISH FLANAGAN SHANE JONES WINE & SPIRIT EDUCATION TRUST 

16 www.timespub.tc

iar with shooting wild fowl, and hanging it to intensify the 

flavour,” he explains. 

It wasn’t a straight transition from Registrar to wine 

educator. In 2003 Shane took a postgraduate course in 

property valuations in the UK. As a high achiever, Cass 

Business School (part of London City University) was his 

first choice. “It was the leading institution in the area, and 

I felt that the education would be a way of building on 

the practical experience. The plan was to go back to the 

Turks & Caicos.” 

However the plan changed after two years in London, 

when he realised that he had the opportunity to add international 

experience to his CV. He worked for a number of 

property companies, advising international clients on luxury 

property investments in the Caribbean, France, and 

Croatia. Travelling through Europe he had the opportunity 

to visit vineyards and taste wine. 

But his first experience of wine bore no resemblance 

to our tastings at Le Trianon. “It was some time in the 

1980s and it would have been a fruit wine, or a gallon 

container of an American brand like Gallo or Paul Mason. 

I can’t remember my first taste of wine or how old I was 

at the time, or even that I was immediately taken by it.” 

He only started to take wine seriously when he was work- 

Is opening its 

MIDDLE SCHOOL 

Now Enrolling for 

September 2016 

Our mission is to provide a world 

class international education that 

prepares students to be world 

citizens and lifelong learners 

in the twenty-first century. 

Please contact us for further information. 

(649) 941 5186 . info@precioustreasuresschool.com 

www.precioustreasuresschool.com 


Here, Shane is shown “nosing” a glass of wine. When smelling a wine, 

the taster dips their nose into the upper portion of the wine glass and 

breathes in the aromas coming off of the wine. 

ing in the city of London in 2007. Bishopsgate Institute 

offered an introductory course, which he took during his 

Friday lunch breaks. 

His passion is obvious as he and Yumi discuss the 

finer points of the Champagne and food pairings at lunch. 

According to Shane the intensity of the wine matches the 

food perfectly, and the savoury flavours are drawn out. 

The 2006 is served with red mullet; the black truffle ravioli 

blends beautifully with the 1985 vintage; and the 1999 

is paired with the lamb, which has been slow-cooked for 

seven hours. Shane’s mother, the late Miss Hattie, a great 

cook, was famed for her buds and rice, and souse. He 

understands and appreciates good food. 

His ease with his subject is down to a combination 

of experience and knowledge. In January 2012 Shane 

signed up for his first professional wine course, the Level 

3 Certificate in Wines and Spirits at the Wines and Spirits 

Education Trust (WSET), a leading global provider of wine 

education. “I learned how to taste properly, to match 

food and wine. The main focus was an introduction to the 

world’s major wine regions. We tasted everything from 

around the world,” he says. 

He passed with distinction and won the top scholarship 

— the Vintners’ Bursary — which awarded him a 

travel bursary to visit any wine region of his choice. He 

spent ten days in the Ahr Valley, Germany to increase his 

understanding of Pinot Noir wine. 

The diploma was the next step and was more challenging. 

“It was about being more critical. You form an 

opinion and have to defend it. It helps to understand 

wine’s quality and authenticity. There’s more independent 

study, attending trade events, and reading trade 

publications. You have to know what’s happening in the 

marketplace to prepare you for understanding the business 

better.” Shane achieved a Merit in the diploma — the 

first Turks Islander to hold such a qualification. He also 

won the Moet and Chandon scholarship, which is what 

has brought us to France. 

The WSET qualification has opened up lots of career 

options for him. Diploma-holders work in the offices 

of wine importers and manage portfolios of producers 

from around the world, ensuring representation in leading 

bars and restaurants. They also work as journalists, 

brand ambassadors, marketers, and auctioneers in auction 

house like Christie’s. 

To build up his knowledge and experience, Shane 

worked in wine retail at Oddbins, one of the largest high 

street wine retailers in the UK, Decanter magazine (the 

only UK consumer wine magazine), and various annual 

fine wine encounters. He has hosted tastings at the multinational 

British retailer, Marks and Spencer, and he also 

spent time at Vinopolis, the consumer wine destination 

in London, providing memorable consumer experiences, 

like matching chocolate or cheese with wine. One of his 

career highlights was hosting Champagne master classes 

on the iconic tourist destination, the London Eye. He’d 

recommend it to anyone living in, or visiting London. 

“It’s about enjoying an amazing drink while looking at an 

amazing city. Whenever I hosted it I just felt really lucky.” 

Through the wide range of work experiences he 

discovered his real passion was education. Wine is a subject 

he loves — he wants to get people to enjoy it also. 

“Teaching brings people together from different backgrounds 

who want to understand a little bit more about 

this fantastic drink. It’s great to see people go on a journey 

and enjoy it. You feel so good when people take a 

shine to the subject.” 

Shane takes a particular shine to sparkling wines. “I 

bought my first case of Champagne in Grand Turk over 

15 years ago — I knew I liked it but it was years later 

that I made the effort to understand it better. The bubbles 

make it stand apart from anything else and it can 

be many different things — Champagne, cava, prosecco. 

I love the taste of it.” He enjoys quizzing winemaker, 

Pierre Casenave, at the Veuve Cliquot house in Rheims, 

about the technicalities of blending red and white wines 

for the perfect rosé composition. Afterwards we compare 

non-vintage and 2004 Veuve rosé Champagnes under 

the guidance of the charming Hospitality Manager and 

Ambassador Maison, Camille Berdin. 

18 www.timespub.tc

POC15-Times of the Island 3 7-16 x 6 3-8 Ad FNL 111215.pdf 1 15-11- 

Our tours of the cellars in the Moet and Veuve houses 

are an insight into the journey a bottle of wine takes to 

maturity. Moet’s cellars, the largest in the region, were 

carved out in the 17th and 18th centuries. They’re over 

17 miles long. It’s a romantic experience to walk through, 

and imagine the various processes being done by candlelight, 

before electrification. “I like to think of all the 

delicious Champagne being stored in waiting. It’s like a 

caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. The yeast sediment 

is removed, it’s bottled and labelled. The bottle 

then takes off as an adult to be enjoyed in another part 

of the world,” Shane enthuses. 

For someone who’s new to wine he recommends 

sparkling wines because that’s what he loves. But he’s 

quick to point out that everyone has a different reaction 

to wine when they taste it. Shane’s most memorable 

reaction was to a Dom Perignon 1996 Champagne, at a 

Decanter magazine fine wine experience. “It was exhilarating 

and very overwhelming but so pleasurable. I can 

still taste the intensity of the wine. If I think of that wine 

I can taste it.” Dom Perignon is the Benedictine monk 

remembered in legend as the father of Champagne. We 

enjoy a glass of a 2006 Dom Perignon vintage, after the 

Moet cellar tour. 

So how would he like to bring his knowledge and 

experience to the Turks & Caicos? He says the wine scene 

is much better than when he was young, especially with 

people travelling more widely. But he’d still like to educate 

people to see how a local dish can be improved 

with wine. He’d also to train people directly involved in 

offering wine to others to do it in a better way, a more 

enthusiastic way. “It’s about educating customers and 

staff — from opening a bottle of wine to having the confidence 

to encourage a diner to be more adventurous, 

and then that customer stepping outside their comfort 

zone when ordering.” 

As we leave the Champagne region behind, I feel I’ve 

been given the confidence to be a little more adventurous 

in my taste. I’ve been lucky to be taken on a journey of 

discovery with such a skilled and passionate wine expert 

as Shane. I also like to imagine that many of the bottles 

of Champagne we saw in those French cellars will take 

flight, and be enjoyed in the Turks & Caicos Islands. a 

Shane Jones’ wine experiences are available in London, 

UK and the Turks & Caicos. They include private and corporate 

tastings, introductory courses, workshops, and 

intensive training sessions. He may be contacted by email 

at shanedj@hotmail.com or on Twitter - @shane_d_jones 

C 

M 

Y 

CM 

MY 

CY 

CMY 

K 

EXPERIENCE TOTAL 

TRANSFORMATION 

REVIVE AND RESTORE WITH RESULTS-ORIENTED SPA THERAPIES 

facials | massage | nails | waxing | thai stretch 

FIND YOUR CORE IN OUR AWARD-WINNING FITNESS CLASSES 

Core Fusion | barre | barre+cardio | yoga 

Yoga | power | flow | chill 

Visit exhalespa.com to begin your journey. 

Grace Bay Beach, Providenciales, Turks + Caicos 

649.941.7555 | exhalespa.com | gansevoorttc.com 


what’s new 

CLAIRE PARRISH 

Opposite page: Amber Hall, Miss Teen Turks & Caicos 2015, models a selection of Wellington Williams’ original creations. 

Above: This is Wellington Williams in his downtown Provo workshop, where he lets loose his creativity! 

A Turks & Caicos Original 

Wellington Williams creates unique jewelry inspired by the sea. 

By Zahrya Musgrove ~ Photos By Davidson Louis 

It’s not always easy being a young man or woman trying to get a business started in the Turks & Caicos 

Islands. Besides a good idea and business plan, you need money . . . contacts . . . influence . . . time. That’s 

why we’re so impressed with 19 year old Wellington Williams. Not only is his handmade jewelry elegant and 

creative, reflecting the beauty of the country’s seas, but he has a determination that spreads to the horizon! 


POC13-Times of the Island 3 7-16 x 6 3-8 Ad2 FNL.pdf 1 13-11-12 10:50 AM 

C 

M 

Y 

CM 

MY 

CY 

CMY 

K 

Harbour Club Villas 

Turtle Tail Drive, Providenciales 

Six one-bedroom villas. 

Dive operators at our dock 

Bonefishing in the lake. 

Fabulous beaches nearby. 

Ideal for couples or groups. 

Trip Advisor 

Travellers’ Choice 

Awards Winner 

E: harbourclub@tciway.tc 

T: 1 649 941 5748 

See our website 

for details 

www.HARBOURCLUBVILLAS.com 

Wellington Williams began his journey of becoming 

an entrepreneur at the very young age of eleven. It all 

started at Clement Howell High School in Providenciales 

when he began to sell Rastafarian jewelry to his fellow 

students. He quickly noticed that this was a very profitable 

business. From then on, he took it on as a passion. 

After graduation, he went to the TCI Community College 

to study Hotel Management. From there, he began 

his own business called Exclusive Accessories.co by Wellington 

Williams. Now he sells his work weekly at the Island 

Fish Fry and caters to fourteen different hotels and 

stores, including the Grand Turk cruise ship centre. 

Wellington said he picked the name Exclusive Accessories.co 

by Wellington Williams because his products 

are exclusive and he wanted a name that was unique. 

He choose jewelry-making as a business because it is 

something that he enjoys doing and it makes a profit. 

When asked about how he makes his jewelry, he was a bit 

close-mouthed, saying that it is a secret! But he did tell 

me what he uses: real starfish, sand, and seashells, along 

with a special construction liquid and thyme! 

Wellington says the next big project for his company 

is clothing. He wants to make clothing that showcases 

pieces and scenarios of the Turks & Caicos, utilizing such 

objects as the conch shell. In ten years time, Williams 

sees himself as a store owner with a variety of selections 

that will range from spa products, Christmas ornaments, 

clothing, and of course, jewelry. 

Although he currently works as a concierge/guest 

services agent at West Bay Club, Wellington comments, 

“They say it is always better when you work for yourself.” 

“It means that you don’t have to follow company rules, 

wear a uniform, work by a clock, and you are not getting 

the same salary every two weeks. You are the one cutting 

the checks, you keep all the profits for yourself, you decide 

your attire, and work on your own time. You are in 

control of what you do.” 

He told me that one of his biggest challenges was 

when he asked to join a jewelry-making company in the 

Young Enterprise program, but he was turned down by 

the owners. At the time he thought it was a bad thing 

but now he sees that without that decision, he may never 

have started his own company. A boost to his confidence 

came when the company that he did join won “Company 

of the Year” honors. He now thanks the people who 

turned him down because it spurred him towards becoming 

a successful entrepreneur. 

Wellington said that he still faced the challenge of 

getting people to let him sell his product in their stores 

22 www.timespub.tc

BH_TimesofIsland2015.qxp_BH_timesisland 11/16/15 13:17 Page 2 

e x e c u t i v e c h e f 

c r i s t i a n r e bol l edo 

kitch en 2 18 

W W W . B E A C H H O U S E T C I . C O M 

6 4 9 . 9 4 6 . 5 8 0 0 

This sampling of Exclusive Accessories by Wellington Williams shows 

the fine craftsmanship and strong marine influence. 

and boutiques. He explained, “People were not willing to 

take a chance on me.” He was competing against other 

jewelry-makers as well as “Made in China” products. He 

expressed his concern that tourists would rather buy ten 

$3 bracelets to take home rather than one $30 bracelet. 

He overcame this challenge by advertising his product 

better. He also reassured buyers and store owners 

that, although his products may be slightly more expensive, 

they are of a better quality and therefore worth 

every dollar. Their uniqueness and appeal comes from 

being handmade in the Turks & Caicos Islands. 

After all of his trial and error he now sees that everything 

happened for a reason and that it has all worked 

out for the best. He wants to tell young and upcoming 

entrepreneurs to never give up because in the end there 

is a reward for all of your hard work. a 

Zahrya Musgrove is a fourteen year old student of the 

British West Indies Collegiate. Her dream is to go into 

a career field, such as journalism, where she can be a 

brave and confident voice expressing thoughts in the 

form of the written word on current issues. 

THE 

CAKE 

LADY 

Cakes & 

cupcakes 

for special 

occasions 

Call Adele on 231-1898 • See The Cake Lady on 


green pages 

newsletter of the department of environment & maritime affairs 

head office: church folly, grand turk, tel 649 946 2801 • fax 649 946 1895 

• astwood street, south caicos, tel 649 946 3306 • fax 946 3710 

• national environmental centre, lower bight road, providenciales 

parks division, tel 649 941 5122 • fax 649 946 4793 

fisheries division, tel 649 946 4017 • fax 649 946 4793 

email environment@gov.tc or dema.tci@gmail.com • web www.environment.tc 

The Spiny lobster uses reef structure for habitat as part of their adult phase. 

No Place Like Home 

South Caicos is the base for monitoring the Spiny lobster. 

By Kathy Lockhart, M.S., Lily Zhao and Heidi Hertler, Ph.D., 

School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies 

“Beautiful by Nature” has defined the Turks & Caicos Islands for many years. While pristine coral reefs, 

abundant megafauna, and a unique cultural heritage may be the first beauties that come to mind, one 

should not overlook local fisheries that provide economic stability and community cohesion. In fact, 

beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, as many persons would agree that the Panulirus argus (spiny 

lobster) is not the most attractive organism to look at, but is one of the most economically sought species 

in the TCI. The country’s three main commercial fisheries include: spiny lobster, queen conch, and 

fin-fish. Each of these fisheries is supported by the diverse marine environment surrounding the TCI 

including sand flats, mangrove forest, sea grass beds, and fringing reefs. 

24 www.timespub.tc

green pages newsletter of the department of environment & maritime affairs 

South Caicos (coined the “Big South” during its reign 

as the epicenter of TCI’s salt industry), is the fishing capital 

of the Turks & Caicos Islands. In recent history, conch 

and lobster have replaced salt as the economic driver 

of South Caicos. Seventy percent of the population is 

involved in the commercial fisheries and either directly or 

indirectly depends upon them for their livelihood. 

The spiny lobster is a crustacean (a group of organisms 

with segmented bodies and exoskeletons which they 

must molt to grow) that lives in the shallow clear waters of 

the Turks & Caicos Banks. The lobster has been used as a 

source of protein since the time of the Lucayans, the TCI’s 

first indigenous people, as early as 750 A.D. The importance 

of this species to the economy has grown as both 

tourism and international trade, particularly with regards 

to the United States. 

Fishing methods have developed over the years with 

more sophisticated techniques and preservation of final 

products. In the mid-1950s, the spiny lobster were captured 

with “bully nets” or the “toss”, which snared the 

lobster and pulled them from their dens. Fishermen then 

threw the lobster into a waiting vessel. Today, fishermen 

free-dive with mask, fins, and snorkel to depths of more 

than 40 feet and “hook” lobster, then return to the boat 

and continue the tradition of throwing the catch into the 

waiting vessel. These free-diving activities now account for 

approximately 95% of the fishing activity for the species, 

with traps and artificial habitats making up the remaining 

5%. 

The commercial lobster industry has grown since the 

1970s with the introduction of freezer technology and 

more advanced preservation techniques. With an ever 

increasing local tourism market, spiny lobsters are being 

sought for not only the export market, but local cuisine. It 

is now that the need for sustainable stocks is most important 

for economy and the preservation of the species. 

The TCI Department of Environment and Maritime 

Affairs (DEMA) monitor the species and the commercial 

landings, as the fishery does not belong to only the 

TCI. As with many species, spiny lobsters practice larval 

dispersal. As the eggs of the spiny lobster are released 

From top: The spiny lobster is commercially landed at the processing 

facility on South Caicos. 

This map shows the dispersal of spiny lobster larvae in the Caribbean 

region. 

This is a diagram of the life cycle for the spiny lobster. 

EVA RAMEY WWW.1YACHTUS.COM INSTITUTE OF MARINE RESEARCH 



and transformed into transparent larvae, they are carried 

hundreds of miles in ocean currents. For example, it is 

possible that lobsters landed in the Bahamas originally 

hatched in Turks & Caicos waters. Countries wishing to 

monitor local stocks must determine what stocks they will 

consider local or “home.” 

Although spiny lobster stock assessments and factors 

affecting recruitment success have been studied elsewhere 

in the Caribbean, resource management plans are 

most successful when local human and ecological pressures 

have been taken into consideration. For example, 

the growth rate and frequency of molt for spiny lobster 

are dependent upon water temperature, food availability, 

and other environmental factors that change depending 

on location. Including these parameters in a monitoring 

program help to understand the success (and sometimes 

failure) of a stock. 

With most of the commercial catch being landed on 

South Caicos, an opportunity exists to monitor this species 

more closely. So in the early 1990s, DEMA (previously 

Department of Environment and Coastal Resources DECR) 

increased its monitoring of individual lobster at the commercial 

landing sites in South Caicos. 

As with many small nations, resources are often limited 

and as part of an ongoing collaboration between 

the School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource 

Studies (SFS CMRS) and DEMA, the school has been able 

to provide assistance with data collection. In 2014, CMRS 

offered their assistance to consistently collect valuable 

information that may help to describe what is happening 

with the local spiny lobster stock and assist the stakeholders 

with open discussions about the fishery. Several 

South Caicos commercial processors and fishermen have 

volunteered to work in collaboration with SFS to gather 

information. 

SFS CMRS staff and students visit local processing 

facilities where they take multiple samples of lobster. 

DEMA, given the mandate of natural resource protection 

and management, became accountable for collection 

and monitoring this species and has more than 35 years 

of continuous commercial catch data. Commercial landings 

have oscillated over the years with highs in 2006 

(446.4 MT) to lows of 160.1 MT in 2008, with an average 

of 279.2 MT over the past ten years. Stakeholders, fishermen, 

processors, and government officials are aware 

that catch data do not provide enough information on the 

status and sustainability of the species. Catch per Unit 

Effort (CPUE) not only accounts for weight, but effort put 

forth by fisher to capture the product (boat-days). CPUE 

provides a more accurate indication on the status of the 

species with regards to the amount of effort placed on the 

species. CPUE has risen and fallen, but the overall trend 

for the past ten years is declining. 

SFS staff and students both measure and weigh samples of the spiny 

lobster at processing facilities in South Caicos. 

KATHY LOCKHART 

26 www.timespub.tc


As each vessel enters the weighing station, a sub-sample 

of the catch is collected. Each individual is weighed, 

measured by carapace length, and sex, sexual maturity, 

molting stage, and reproductive stage are determined. 

Fishers are asked where they captured most of their 

product and at what depth. The data is provided to all 

stakeholders. This in turns acts like a “springboard” for 

open discussions between TCI Government, fishers and 

processing operators. 

In addition to assisting DEMA with commercial catch 

information on the spiny lobster, SFS has also monitored 

juvenile recruitment that is independent of commercial 

catches. After extensive evaluation, one site near South 

Caicos was selected for the study. Here, ten juvenile 

lobster “condos” have been deployed since 2008 and 

monitored for numbers of juveniles to recruit to these 

condos. The habitat for this location is that of Larencia 

sp., an alga in which juvenile lobsters find safety from 

predators and an available supply of food. 

Once a month, SFS CMRS staff and students visit the 

“condos” and collect all juvenile lobster. Individuals are 

measured for carapace length, sex, and stage of molting. 

These lobsters are then released to continue their growth 

and progression into the fishery. This information can 

be used with commercial catch data for comparison and 

potential predictions of future commercial catches. 

Fishing industries are often prime illustrations of the 

universal push-and-pull between economic and preservation 

interests. While maintaining this delicate balance 

is still difficult for the TCI spiny lobster, South Caicos 

stakeholders have assembled the collaboration needed to 

monitor, predict, and thereby mitigate potential declines 

in spiny lobster stock and recruitment levels. Continued 

collaboration between economic and ecological interests 

will lead to mutually beneficial marine management 

strategies for TCI fisheries. With increasing stakeholder 

involvement, DEMA guidance, and research support from 

the School for Field Studies, we can be proactive to protect 

these economically important species. a 

The School for Field Studies (SFS) is a US-based academic 

institution that provides multidisciplinary, field-based 

environmental study abroad opportunities to undergraduate 

university students. Each SFS program (nine in total) 

highlights a different region of the world, with its own 

distinct cultural and ecological characteristics and unique 

From top: SFS interns collect juvenile lobsters from “condos,” measure 

them as part of faculty’s ongoing research, then release them 

back into the sea. 

environmental challenges. Faculty and students at the SFS 

CMRS on South Caicos work in close cooperation with local 

partners including the TCI’s Department of Environment 

and Maritime Affairs (DEMA), TCReef Inc. (www.tcreef. 

org), and local fishermen and processing plants to protect 

and enhance the management of the island’s coral reefs 

and other marine resources. To learn more, go to www. 

fieldstudies.org/tci. a 

KATHY LOCKHART EVA RAMEY SCHOOL FOR FIELD STUDIES 



Green Living in the TCI: 

15 steps you can adopt to make a change! 

By Amy Avenant, DEMA Environment Outreach Coordinator 

“Green Living.” We hear the term thrown around on television, 

radio, and social media sites, but what exactly 

does it mean and how can you start “living green?” In 

laymen’s terms, living green and sustainably means 

creating a lifestyle that works with nature and does 

no long-term or irreversible damage to any part of 

the environmental web. This is the ideal, but do not 

be discouraged! Here are 15 small steps that you can 

incorporate into your everyday life that will make a 

world of difference to Planet Earth: 

• Stop the junk mail 

Sure, we don’t have an extensive postal system in the 

TCI, but if given the choice, opt for electronic bills and 

pay your utilities online. Fortis TCI offers a convenient 

online bill payment service, which both allows you to 

avoid long queues and to save paper (www.fortistci. 

com/bill-payment). 

• Give up bottled water 

Disposable plastic water bottles are not meant for multiple 

uses. A plastic bottle made from #1 polyethylene 

terephthalate (PET) is fine for a single use, but reuse 

can lead to bacterial growth and leaching of dangerous 

chemicals. Apart from the health risk, bottled water is 

expensive! Make use of the water dispensers dotted 

around the Islands to refill one or five gallon bottles, 

store water in recycled glass bottles in the fridge, and 

never leave home without your reusable water bottle. 

(Metal is usually best.) And while you’re at it, drink your 

beverages without the unnecessary plastic straw. 

• Reduce your waste 

Reducing the amount of waste you bring in and the 

amount of trash that goes to the landfill is an important 

part of any green lifestyle. But there’s a lot more to it 

than just recycling plastic or throwing your trash in a 

bin. Make a composting pile in your backyard — one 

that allows for the natural decomposition of organic 

waste without having it rot in the depths of the landfill. 

Re-use and recycle when and where you can: glass bottles, 

tin cans and plastic containers can all be re-used 

Green living is easy in the TCI! You just need to get going. 

or recycled to have a completely new use. Don’t forget to 

take your re-usable shopping bags to the grocery store! 

• Conserve Energy 

Don’t leave your door wide open while the A/C is running. 

Unplug appliances not in use. Switch lights off when not 

in the room. Make use of eco-friendly light bulbs and 

use rechargeable batteries. These are just a few tips that 

could assist you with saving energy and reducing utilities 

bills. The Internet is filled with energy-saving tips, 

just remember to switch your computer off when you are 

done! 

• Conserve water 

An estimated 50% of all household water usage is wasted. 

It goes down the drain while we wait for it to warm up or 

evaporates more quickly than it needs to. In an era when 

our fresh water supply is diminishing due to pollution 

and drought, it’s important to conserve all the water we 

can, as well as learn about and put to use greywater recycling 

practices. Re-use your laundry water on your lawn 

or to wash your car; close the tap while you brush your 

teeth; limit your shower time — it really boils down (pardon 

the pun) to using water consciously. 

• Green your transportation 

Bicycling, walking, or carpooling are the best ways to 

commute sustainably. Inflating your car tires, driving 

slower, and combining trips will all help you save gas 

28 www.timespub.tc


when driving is necessary. And for long trips, purchase 

carbon offsets which invest your money into alternative 

energies. 

• Go chemical-free 

Forego toxic chemicals such as chlorine and choose 

sustainable options when cleaning your home or gardening 

(vinegar is a great base for most natural cleaning 

agents). You’ll not only limit disposable containers and 

save money, you’ll create a healthy living environment 

for your family at the same time. 

• Green your personal care 

Simplify your personal care with natural products: 

bicarbonate of soda can be used to make toothpaste 

and deodorant when mixed with some essential oils. 

Take sink baths to reduce water, use organic products 

or no products at all, opt for an easy to manage haircut. 

Also remember that healthy food leads to healthy skin 

and body. 

• Raise healthy, eco-conscious children 

Okay, let’s zoom out to some bigger choices we can 

make. Raising our kids to be healthy and aware of the 

environment is crucial. Model with your actions and 

talk about the choices you make. Don’t nag or lecture, 

but instead make it interesting and interactive. The 

Department of Environment & Maritime Affairs arranges 

frequent clean-ups and environmental awareness programs/competitions 

that kids can get involved in. 

• Support locally-owned businesses 

Small businesses are more likely to support other 

businesses within the community, care for their 

environment, and conduct business in an environmentally-responsible 

way. They also work harder for your 

business, contribute more to charitable causes, create 

more jobs, limit outsourcing, and keep money circulating 

within a community, among many other things. 

reasons why green living matters with the myriad of 

resources on the internet and in libraries. The National 

Environmental Centre, at DEMA, is a great resource to 

educate yourself on the natural environment of the TCI. 

• Educate others (gently) 

The biggest influence you can have on others is through 

your actions and your attitude. Be open and honest 

about your choices, but without judgment. Don’t push 

the matter, just let your example be inspiration and 

keep the lines of communication open so that friends 

or family will have a seasoned pro to turn to when they 

are looking for ways to go green. 

• Build a strong community 

We live within a very disconnected culture, even on our 

tiny islands. Make time to care for yourself and find 

enjoyment in your life. Make talking and laughing with 

loved ones a priority. Volunteer and help those in need. 

Be a part of your community. And rediscover the wonders 

of the world by enjoying nature walks, planting 

trees, organizing neighbourhood clean-ups, learning 

about the native plant and bird species, all as ways to 

go green. 

• Contact your representatives 

Email or call your community representative or district 

commissioner and ask them what your community is 

doing to go green. Remain in contact with them, attend 

public consultation meetings, and vote with your conscience 

instead of your party line. 

• Invest in carbon offsets 

Even the greenest lifestyle still has an impact. Lessen 

yours by switching to solar energy or investing in carbon 

offsets. The money you spend to go solar soon 

pays itself back in rebates and monthly refunds and 

purchasing these credits will be invested into alternative 

energies or other sustainable ventures. 

• Continue to educate yourself 

As you’re practicing these ways to go green you’ll 

likely spark a lot of conversations. Get familiar with the 

So now you have no excuse! Kick-start your green 

life with these 15 easy tips and, don’t forget: when in 

doubt, pop into DEMA for some advice! a 



This juvenile Nassau grouper is showing typical behavior of remaining stationary in a rock ledge as snorkelers or divers swim by. 

The Iconic Nassau Grouper 

Regionally endangered, locally abundant 

Story & Photos by John Claydon, PhD & Marta Calosso, MS, MA — TCI Nassau Grouper Project leaders 

Go on any SCUBA dive or snorkel trip in the Turks & Caicos Islands and you would be very unlucky not to 

see a Nassau grouper or two. It is no exaggeration to say that there is nowhere else in the world where 

you encounter this species so frequently. When they see you from a distance, they usually remain quite 

stationary except to turn their heads to track your movement as you swim by. Often they can be curious, 

and they may approach divers — however, this is typically a sign that the fish is accustomed to being fed 

which should not be encouraged. 

30 www.timespub.tc


It is also quite easy to find them on a dinner plate: 

many restaurants will offer this locally caught fish, usually 

listed simply as “grouper” on the menu. We take this 

for granted, but in some other countries Nassau groupers 

have become so rare that it is illegal to catch them. In fact, 

the species is considered endangered by the International 

Union for the Conservation of Nature, the organisation 

tasked with assessing species’ risks of extinction. 

Nassau grouper is usually considered to be a coral 

reef fish, but that is a little misleading. When grouper 

spawn, eggs are released high above the substratum; 

eggs then hatch into larvae and spend about forty days 

in the water column drifting offshore and potentially dispersing 

long distances in the currents. Eventually, once 

they have grown about an inch long and become capable 

swimmers, larvae are ready to swim back to shallow areas 

and settle, but typically the habitats they choose are not 

reefs, but seagrass or algal areas. 

In the TCI, early juvenile Nassau grouper often use 

discarded conch shells and “blowout” ledges — the shelter 

formed by exposed roots and rhizomes in seagrass 

beds. After spending about a year in their early juvenile 

habitats, Nassau grouper migrate to shallow patch reefs, 

and then to deeper reefs, where they become reproductively 

mature at four to eight years of age. While some reef 

fishes breed year-round, Nassau grouper has a very short 

spawning season of two to three months only, which in 

the TCI runs from December to the end of February and 

synchronises with a phase of the moon. Nassau grouper 

breeding can be spectacular: they form aggregations 

of thousands (reportedly up to one hundred thousand) 

with individuals capable of migrating over sixty miles to 

spawn at the same location year after year. 

Unfortunately, the demise of Nassau grouper 

throughout the region is directly linked to fishing spawning 

aggregations. Large numbers of big fish found at the 

same time and place each year are attractive targets for 

fishers, but such fishing has rarely been sustainable, and 

sometimes an aggregation of tens of thousands can be 

“fished out” in a few years. When this happens, the local 

population crashes, the fishery is no longer viable, and 

your chances of seeing one on a dive are close to zero. 

From top right: Nassau grouper are common fare in TCI. Here, they 

are shown at the fishing dock in South Caicos. 

Renowned local fisherman and free-diver Conrad Kennedy displays 

his impressive catch of Nassau grouper in South Caicos. 

Early juvenile Nassau groupers commonly shelter in discarded conch 

shells. 



Even worse, there are few signs of populations recovering. 

Fortunately, the TCI has been quite lucky compared 

to rest of the region: commercial and export fisheries 

have focused on lobster and conch, and although most 

fishers know about the aggregations, they do not fish 

them much. The single most effective management 

strategy is to prevent such fishing, and although the 

pressure is currently low, it does appear to be growing. 

Consequently, as a proactive measure, Nassau grouper 

will be protected during their breeding season (December 

1 to February 28) through Amendments to the Fisheries 

Protection Ordinance introduced earlier this year. During 

this closed season, Nassau grouper will be off-limits to 

fishers and off the menu in restaurants, in much the same 

way as the closed season for spiny lobster. 

The social and ecological dynamics of the Nassau 

grouper fishery and the species’ ecology in the TCI is 

the focus of an ongoing research collaboration between 

DEMA, the Reef Environmental Education Foundation, 

Oregon State University, and Scripps Institution of 

Oceanography, UC San Diego. Our goals are to better 

understand the complex dynamics of the Nassau grouper 

fishery in the TCI and to document the status of spawning 

aggregations and the stocks in general, so that the 

TCI can continue to enjoy its unique status where fishers 

can still catch groupers, tourists can still see them in the 

water, and everyone can enjoy eating them. 

The project was initiated in 2014 through a grant 

from The Flagship Species Fund, Fauna and Flora 

International which enabled us to spend three months 

all over the TCI conducting interviews with fishers and 

various stakeholders, monitoring dock landings, collecting 

biological samples, and tagging Nassau groupers on 

SCUBA. We are very grateful for the support provided 

by Big Blue Unlimited, The School for Field Studies, MV 

Glen Ellen, and a friend of the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund. 

Special thanks go to the community of South Caicos. a 

From top left: Dr. Scott Heppell, Marta Calosso, and Dr. John Claydon 

stand ready to tag Nassau grouper on SCUBA with Big Blue Unlimited. 

Dr. John Claydon collects biological samples from a mature Nassau 

grouper at Caicos Fisheries Ltd. processing plant in South Caicos. 

Marta Calosso interviews former DEMA Fisheries Officer Christopher 

Hall about historical changes in the fisheries. 

32 www.timespub.tc


This juvenile White Ibis was spotted feeding in a pond in Wheeland in Providenciales. 

ERIC F. SALAMANCA 

Birding in Paradise 

New guidebook series highlights birdwatching hotspots. 

By B Naqqi Manco 

For birdwatchers, eco-tourists, and independent travellers, there is a new source of help in finding 

one’s way around the Turks & Caicos Islands. Since much of the tourism in TCI is beach-related, it can 

prove a challenge to locate sites of interest away from the coasts. Exploring the family islands outside 

Providenciales also has some difficulties when one is not familiar with the geography and the hidden 

wonders of these special islands, since signage remains largely lacking. 



The Birding in Paradise series features five booklets 

focusing on Providenciales, Grand Turk, Salt Cay, South 

Caicos, and North and Middle Caicos (combined). The 

booklets feature accurate aerial photography maps with 

driving directions to birding sites, and walking directions 

for those that involve foot access. Also outlined 

are travel and ground logistics for visiting other sites of 

interest including support facilities and contact numbers. 

Introductions to the history, geology, and culture of the 

Islands round out the general appeal of the booklets. 

Full-colour photos of birds likely to be seen at various 

sites fulfil the purpose of field guide, and other wildlife 

is featured in detail as well. A comprehensive driving 

tour of each island, to cover all sites available, is fully 

described in detail with distances noted. 

Visitors can feel confident in exploration of the 

Islands on their own with the appropriate island booklet 

in hand. This was the aim of the authors, who have 

worked closely with various conservation bodies in TCI 

for nearly twenty years. The booklets were produced 

through a partnership of the Turks & Caicos National 

Museum Foundation and the United Kingdom Overseas 

Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF), a federation 

of conservation bodies across all the UK Territories, 

together with supporting ones in Britain. In-kind support 

also came from the TCI Government’s Department 

of Environment & Maritime Affairs and the ecotourism 

sector. 

Following the release of the booklets, a brilliant 

response came from our neighbours to the north, where 

accomplished Bahamas birder Tony White stated, “TCI is 

. . . often overlooked as a birding destination, but it has 

a variety of easily seen Caribbean specialties (It is the 

only place outside Cuba where you can see the Cuban 

Crow.) and a comfortable, well-developed infrastructure 

. . . a new series . . . Birding in Paradise . . . together 

cover all the accessible islands in the territory. They are 

excellent and could be used as prototypes for guides to 

other Caribbean islands. I have birded on islands covered 

by three of the five booklets. The new guides cover all the 

birding sites I know and more. I look forward to visiting 

the remaining islands and new sites on the islands I have 

already visited. These books will make my birding much 

easier and more successful.” 

34 www.timespub.tc


Further accolades came when the booklets were 

presented in various international fora, including the 

UKOTCF’s “Sustaining Partnerships” conservation conference 

in Gibraltar in July 2015. Conservation partners 

from Montserrat were so impressed when they saw 

the books on publication that they asked for one for 

Montserrat that UKOTCF has just published! 

Copies of each of the books are available at $10 each 

from the TC National Museum on both Provo and Grand 

Turk, Unicorn Books, and several other outlets. For those 

who want to buy a downloadable pdf version for their 

tablet or computer (and for printed copies to be sent 

to other countries), go to www.ukotcf.org/birding-in- 

Turks-and-Caicos/birding-in-turks-and-caicos.cfm. 

UKOTCF has worked in support of many local partners 

in TCI for about twenty years. These books were 

designed in consultation with local businesspeople, conservationists 

and educators, to help expand the types 

of tourism and extend the season, while protecting the 

natural environment, and to provide an information and 

education resource for local residents. a 


DAVID GALLARDO–WORLD OF OCEANS

feature 

Opposite page: This shot of the coral reefs surrounding the Turks & Caicos reminds us of why we need to care about our oceans. 

Above: Ocean Country author Liz Cunningham takes a look at a sea turtle hatchling being cared for by Eiglys Trejo during one of Liz’s many 

visits to the Turks & Caicos Islands. Her “turtle encounter” is described in the book. 

Ocean Country 

Quest to save the seas starts in the Turks & Caicos Islands 

Excerpts By Liz Cunningham 

Liz Cunningham’s new book, Ocean Country holds a special place in my heart. The focus of the book is 

how people around the world are practicing “hope in action,” and why it’s time for all of us to join them. 

It describe’s Liz’s two year global journey to discover how communities and individuals are fighting to 

save the marine world that every living being depends on. 

I met Liz four years ago when she was on her first trip back to the Turks & Caicos Islands since 1991 

— a visit which spurred the creation of this groundbreaking book. Liz contributed a beautiful, lyrical 

piece entitled “Simple Truths” for the Fall 2011 issue of Times of the Islands, along with a second piece, 

“A Mosaic of Life” for the Winter 2012/13 issue. We’ve kept in touch, and I am honored to have witnessed 

the conception and birth of Ocean Country. I hope the excerpts printed here encourage you to read the 

entire book: it is an adventure story, poetic meditation, and, most importantly, a call to action. 

Kathy Borsuk 


In this excerpt from Chapter 1, “Beauty,” Liz is 

returning to the Turks & Caicos Islands “the place 

where I’d fallen in love with the undersea world,” after 

spending 12 years recovering from a kayak accident 

and other health problems. 

The next day, our boat motored to the Northwest 

Point—nicknamed “the Point”—where the violet blue of 

the Atlantic trench almost touches the island. The number 

of buildings slowly thinned until there was practically 

no sign of civilization, and the shoreline was just a narrow 

slice of green jungle. A tern hovered above the bow. 

A school of flying fish darted across the water’s surface. 

My dive buddy that day was a woman from Paris. She 

explained to me in broken English that she would need a 

few moments in the water to get used to her gear, as she 

had not been diving for several months. “I will need the 

moment,” she said, “to recover my sensations.” 

I smiled. Who could have said it better? 

After jumping in the water and finding our equilibrium 

as “weightless aquatic mammals,” we swam to what 

was called the “wall,” where the reef descended to the 

continental shelf. Then, with a long outbreath, we sank 

in silence into that luminous, deep blue. 

Once we were a hundred or so feet deep, something 

changed, as if we’d let go of terra firma and its last 

vestigial remnant, the water’s surface, and abandoned 

ourselves to the open, watery realm. Its sensations were 

at once foreign and yet hauntingly familiar; it seemed to 

wake profound, archaic memories. 

We descended through a narrow, vertical corridor of 

coral like the fluted vault of a cathedral. It was filled with 

thousands of tiny silvery fish—silversides. The beauty 

was overwhelming. For a moment, my body felt like a 

tuning fork; the beauty was so resonant that it reverberated 

through my breath and bones. 

As we descended, the life of the reef changed every 

ten feet or so, the shape of the coral becoming wider until, 

at close to 130 feet, they were wide platters, expanding 

to collect as much light as possible, like solar panels, in 

the darkening depths. 

To the east, the ocean went on for thousands of 

miles—next stop, North Africa. Just the open sea and the 

life for which it was home. We hovered weightless over a 

large knob of plate coral. Below us were thousands of feet 

of water. The reef wall receded with undulating arcs that 

reminded me of pen-and-ink Chinese landscapes in which 

mountains fade in successive layers into almost infinite 

distances. With each curve, the coral wall became more 

opaque, but seemed to go on forever. 

A small dot appeared in the blue depths to the east. 

It got larger. It had fins, thick ones. Now I saw a roundish 

head and wide paddle-shaped front fins propelling 

an oval shell with the grace of a long-distance swimmer. 

It was nearly two yards long, with a short, stubby tail—a 

female green sea turtle. Migrating thousands of miles, 

they always return to the beach where they were born to 

lay their eggs. 

We followed her up to shallower waters and lingered 

at about sixty feet as she slowly ascended to the surface 

to take a breath, her body a silhouette in the bright blue 

waters. 

Each coral head was covered with clusters of fish 

nibbling and chasing and darting in and out of intricate 

tunnels and archways. A mosaic of shapes flashed in the 

distance. It was a school of horse-eye jacks. As we got 

closer, they did look horse-eyed, their eyes bulging out of 

their silvery bodies. Every few minutes the school would 

quiver and reorchestrate itself into a new shimmering 

shape. 

The beauty of the undersea world was not just the 

beauty of seeing, it was also being seen. Hovering in 

38 www.timespub.tc

the midst of the jacks, with their alert but calm gazes, I 

sensed them allowing me to just be in their midst. 

There were damselfish and grunts and snapper. 

Gobies. Octopuses. Angelfish. Trunkfish. Pufferfish. 

Butterflyfish. Trumpetfish. There was no way to grasp it 

all. 

At the end of our dive, we ascended slowly to about 

fifteen feet and floated peacefully near the boat. We 

would stay there for a little over three minutes, doing 

what’s called a “safety stop.” A grouper with puffy cheeks 

and bulging round eyes hovered beneath the boat. The 

water was dotted with hundreds of yellow grunts. My 

whole body was smiling. Diving opened up so many unexpected 

worlds for me, not just the ocean, but also my own 

body and how my breath was connected to the world as 

a whole. 

Six months later, Liz returns to the Turks & Caicos 

Islands. On this visit, she hopes to spend some time 

writing and painting, in the hopes of using the “tools 

of my trade” in service of ocean conservation. It was 

42 days into the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion 

in the Gulf of Mexico and the resulting oil spill. Liz, 

like most people, was reeling with the staggering 

implications of the spill to both the local environment 

of the Gulf Coast and the world’s oceans as a whole. 

The following are a series of excerpts from Chapter 2, 

“A Body Within a Body.” 

As the plane flew south, my eyes went back and forth 

between a newspaper and the blue-green swirls of water 

and lace-like strips of land that formed the Bahamian 

archipelago. The newspaper had photos from the oil 

spill that were so disheartening that I had almost put the 

newspaper in a trash can in Miami. 

I turned the pages slowly and allowed the images to 

reach out to me: a sea bird mired in oil, its beak and eyes 

barely visible; a dead sea turtle suffocated in a wetland 

blackened by oil; the hands of a Louisiana coastal zone 

director, holding up a handful of oil that dripped in long 

elastic strands. The oil was as thick as rubber cement. 

A flight attendant swished by, grabbing the last 

cups before landing. The plane made a gentle arc over 

the islands, which sparkled like silvery-green sardines in 

the turquoise sea. Just before the plane touched down 

in Providenciales, a flock of birds took flight over Chalk 

Sound. The water glistened through the flutter of their 

wings. I sighed. I was so happy to be back. It felt like I was 

breaking a fast. 


Liz travels to the School for Field Studies field station 

in South Caicos, where she is met by Lizzie, an intern 

there, and Eva, one of the professors. 

The next day we motored out to Long Cay. The outboard 

carved a path through radiant turquoise flats that 

stretched as far as we could see. Long Cay was a sliver of 

an island covered with mangroves. The staff wanted to do 

some surveys before bringing their students there. 

As we geared up, I reached for my hood. 

“What are you wearing that for?” Lizzie teased me. 

“It keeps the hair out of my face.” 

Lizzie looked at Eva with a wink. Eva smiled. “Liz, 

this isn’t Club Med.” Lizzie showed me how she wrapped 

a bandana around her head to keep her hair back. “Don’t 

worry, you’ll get there. You’ll be a fish dweeb by the time 

you leave.” 

We hopped into the water. “The mangroves,” Eva 

explained, adjusting her snorkel, “are nurseries for juvenile 

fish. You might see some when you are snorkeling.” 

I’d seen mangroves many times before and thought nothing 

of them; they seemed like scruffy bushes. But now I 

was primed to pay attention. 

The roots of the mangroves arced above the water 

and then descended vertically. The reflections of their 

leaves flickered on the surface, casting a deep-green hue. 

I peered underwater into the labyrinthine root system: 

hundreds of baby fish hovered skittishly. 

It was like a “fish kindergarten” or an incubator—the 

roots formed mazelike bassinets or cradles that protected 

the young fish from larger predators. Those miles of 

milky blue-green flats that the two-prop plane had flown 

over were dense with mangroves and seagrass, nurseries 

for millions of juvenile fish. 

I stood up and pulled my mask off. 

“Nice, huh?” said Lizzie. “The juveniles, they feed on 

plankton until they grow large enough to go out on the 

reef.” 

“And plankton are …?” I didn’t really know what 

plankton was. 

“Organisms that drift in the current. Some are microscopic, 

others are big, like jellyfish.” 

“What kind of fish?” 

Lizzie smiled. The partial list: angelfish, grouper, 

grunts, snapper. 

“Liz!” Eva called out. She was carefully holding a sea 

urchin in her hands. Its spines were sharp. “Just touch it 

very gently.” 

I felt one of the smooth spines quiver. Urchins have 

light-sensitive molecules in their spines, similar to the 

photoreceptors in our eyes. Researchers speculate that 

they may “see”—as in “detect shapes of light”—with the 

whole surface of their body. 

On the way back from Long Cay, we snorkeled at an 

island called HDL just across from the field station. It was 

a striking outcropping of stone. It seemed a contradiction 

that such a beautiful island would be named HDL. But scientists 

do have very dry wits. Maybe HDL was named the 

way a ravishingly beautiful woman named Joanna might 

be nicknamed Joe. 

HDL teemed with juvenile fish too. May and June were 

“juvenile season”—swarms of tiny fish filled the water. 

Sometimes adult fish would circle and nip each other and 

then leave behind a plume of eggs and sperm. After the 

eggs hatch, the new larvae then drift in the currents and 

find safe havens in the mangroves and the seagrass. 

That night, a storm hit South Caicos. It affected Liz 

deeply. 

A blast of wind roared in off the open water, and the 

rain pelted down. 

God, I feel like I’m on another planet. 

The field station’s generator was turned off at night, 

so there were no lights. It was pitch black. At the edge of 

the island we were in the thick of the roaring wind and 

rain and tides. 

But maybe it’s this—that I’m finally feeling this 

planet. 

In the months before, I’d pored over books about the 

ocean. Over 70 percent of the planet’s surface is covered 

by water; 96 percent of all the water on earth is in the 

oceans. The earth is essentially an aquarium-terrarium. 

And the health of the water is in decline. The cultural 

revelation was slow and painful. It is easy to understand a 

pond or a river being poisoned—like the pollutants in the 

Hudson of my childhood. But for many, the ocean seems 

too big to be polluted in the same way. But it’s not, and 

just like goldfish, sea creatures need healthy water to 

survive. And there is no other planet we can race to with 

a siphon to perform an emergency water change. 

The wind whipped up stronger, thrashing through 

coconut trees. I remembered a NASA visualization of the 

currents in the Atlantic, swirls of currents and micro-currents, 

seas and subseas, all intermixing—each body 

of water flowing into its neighbors. And in those seas? 

Countless whales and turtles and sharks and tuna, riding 

the currents—their “second body”—from the Azores 

40 www.timespub.tc

INNOVATION | CONSERVATION | ADVENTURE 

and North Africa to the Caribbean and northward to 

Newfoundland. 

My heart beat and my blood pulsed through my 

arms and hands. A fact was surfacing as a sensation: I 

too was a body within a body. And a body of water at 

that. Our blood is 92 percent water, our brain and muscles, 

75 percent. And all that water moves and moves 

and moves—circulation. That night it was wildly tangible, 

as real as the zipper on my mozi net, as the rain pelting 

down, as the salty wind blowing through like some 

long-forgotten memory of our origins. 

It was a year later, and another trip to the Islands, that 

spurred Liz to her own “call to action,” in the form of 

writing Ocean Country, then traveling to promote the 

book and her message of “hope in action.” In these 

excerpts from Chapter 4, “The Truths of the Islands,” 

Liz goes diving on a Grace Bay site called Boneyard 

and experiences an episode of coral bleaching that 

took place during June 2012, a month which had the 

all-time warmest surface temperatures (of both land 

and sea) for June in the Northern hemisphere. 

PRESENTS 

FEATURING 

STAND UP PADDLEBOARDING | KAYAKING | KITEBOARDING 

SNORKELING | SCUBA DIVING | PRIVATE CHARTERS | BIKING 

 

 

18 

YEARS 

©BLUELINES/p.shearer ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

I sat on the upper deck and remembered this spot 

from the week before. It was a series of deep sand channels, 

densely populated with coral. The finger coral were 

shaped like protruding stubby thumbs, and the large 

staghorn coral like the antlers of a deer. Hence its name, 

Boneyard. 

Each cluster of coral had between twenty and a hundred 

finger coral and staghorn coral colonies, densely 

packed together. It was sometimes hard to even see the 

coral, because the schools of yellow grunts were so thick. 

There were hundreds of parrotfish in all kinds of colors— 

maroon and turquoise with magenta and yellow and deep 

blue markings—as well as damselfish and hamlets and 

grouper and neon-yellow trumpetfish. Turtles. Spotted 

rays. Sharks. As we motored out, I remember thinking 

that the waters of Grace Bay and the Point were the most 

deeply alive place I had ever experienced. 

The boat slowed. One of the divemasters used a long 

pole to moor on to a buoy. “Okay kiddo, get in the water,” 

the divemaster said as he spot-checked my gear. I put the 

heel of my hand to my mask to keep it in place and took 

one long step off the edge of the back of the boat and 

into that world I so deeply cherished. 

I exhaled and sank softly into the water. I closed my 

eyes for a few seconds to just feel the water river along 

my body. 

649 | 946 | 5034 

649 | 231 | 6455 


Jeez, it’s warm. 

I looked at my dive computer: 82 degrees Fahrenheit. 

I turned horizontal as I sank and looked down at the site, 

about forty feet below. 

Where am I? 

It was almost unrecognizable. The sand channels 

were there, but hardly a sign of life. Everywhere the coral 

was white and brown, with green-brown algae growing 

over it. There were a few small clusters of fish and an 

occasional lone fish, looking out of place. The coral had 

bleached. 

I paused at a bed of staghorn coral. The week before, 

it had been filled with so many juvenile parrotfish and 

blue chromis that the water appeared to be filled with 

the “snow” I had described to Lizzie. Tiny brown-andwhite 

damselfish and bright-yellow conies had cautiously 

peered out from the shelter of the staghorn coral’s antler-like 

structure. Small multicolored fish had darted 

mischievously, sometimes chasing each other, or had 

nibbled on a piece of coral, nestled in the safety of its 

tight matrix. 

Now it was barren and whitish-gray, save for one oval 

blue tang that nibbled on the algae overgrowth. The other 

divers and I searched fruitlessly for a spot that might not 

be so damaged. 

As I moved my fins slowly through the water, it felt 

as if I swam through the ashen remnants of a bombedout 

cathedral. Each spot I remembered being deeply alive 

and illuminated with life. The mosaic of color was gone, 

only a white-brown monotone structure remaining, covered 

with algae. What was once brilliant was now muted 

and withered; what had shimmered was now grayed out; 

iridescent, now bleak and barren. 

How could this happen in less than a week’s time? 

The devastation was unmistakable. We swam through 

a landscape of millions upon millions of near-microscopic 

animals, ailing and dead, unable to support the multitude 

of life forms they once did. I paused at a yard-wide knob 

of brain coral. The week before, small black-and-white 

gobies had sped across its Aztec-like patterns. Next to it 

had been some bright magenta sea fans. A large school 

of yellow-and-silvery-white schoolmaster fish had hovered 

there. 

The schoolmasters were gone. The sea fans were tattered, 

with a blackish overgrowth. Almost all of the brain 

coral was covered with algae. A small portion of the coral’s 

zigzag structure was visible, but it was a dark brown 

and white. 

A French physician watched as I took a photograph of 

the brain coral. He looked at me with moribund eyes and 

then slowly ran his index finger across his throat from ear 

to ear, mimicking the slice of a guillotine. I opened the 

palms of my hands as if to say, “I’m not sure.” 

Before getting back on the boat, I keep looking down 

to the reef. I still couldn’t quite believe it. It was incomprehensible. 

The next day, John Walch, from the Reef Ball 

Foundation, and local marine ecologist Marsha Pardee 

explain to Liz the bleaching phemonmenon. 

Bleaching happens when the coral, reacting to environmental 

stresses, expels beneficial algae, with which it 

has a symbiotic relationship. “The coral basically gets sick 

and throws up the algae,” John said, “just like when a person 

is ill and expels the contents of his or her stomach.” 

This type of algae is different from the type that 

feeds on nutrient runoff and damages coral. The coral 

gets its nourishment from this algae’s ability to make 

energy from light, photosynthesis. And it gets its green 

and rose and yellow hues from the algae’s color. When it 

expels the algae, it loses its color and turns white. It can 

survive for a while without the algae, but not too long, 

and not if coral disease and algae overgrowth become 

predominant. 

When coral bleaches, the fish leave, looking for 

healthier terrain. How far they go or where, scientists 

don’t really know. John explained that if the temperature 

change had happened more slowly, in weeks rather 

than two or three days, the coral might have tolerated it. 

“Corals and marine organisms have evolved in the most 

stable environment in the world. They have no built-in 

mechanisms for rapid change. They can take change, 

but if we go too fast, that’s where the problem is.” The 

four-degree spike in temperature in less than a week is 

what the coral couldn’t tolerate. 

Marsha cleared her throat. “Take a cockroach in my 

kitchen. It can go through fifteen different insecticides in 

a year and get used to them all. Coral can’t; they don’t 

have the ability to make that rapid a change.” 

“There’s no silver bullet,” John said. “Everyone wants 

a silver bullet.” Ocean ecosystems are so interconnected; 

you can’t just cordon off a portion and preserve it like a 

pickle in a jar. Saving coral reefs isn’t just about saving 

coral reefs. Their decline is about the quality of our water 

and the air we breathe. The damage I saw was a sign of 

massive destruction around the globe that was devastating 

fisheries, creating extreme droughts and storms, and 

42 www.timespub.tc

CHARLIE COSTELLO 

Liz Cunningham and her husband Charlie spent a week on a boat on the Silver Banks, just south of the Turks & Caicos, where Charlie captured 

this awesome photo of a humpback whale breeching. 

polluting our waterways. The silver bullet would have to 

be a multitude of bullets: stopping overfishing, instituting 

proper sewage treatment, and limiting nutrient runoff 

and carbon dioxide emissions. 

In the Caribbean, scientists had documented an 80 

percent loss of hard coral over the last three decades. 

The problems are so massive and so in need of international 

coordination that paralysis is often the reaction. 

What’s needed? A vast collectivity of changes, equivalent 

to the damage that we’ve been inflicting. The possibility 

of change is in proportion to how many of us are willing 

to act. Think of slavery several hundred years ago. How 

ubiquitous was that? End slavery? A four-thousand-yearold 

tradition that was the very fiber of the economy? An 

elite class’s grip on power? 

Change came about because many people protested 

and voted and signed petitions and lobbied decision makers. 

Not to mention the courageous and steadfast souls 

who refused to be muzzled, risked death and imprisonment, 

and became the voice of generations. “Change,” 

the social-justice activist Tom Hayden wrote, “begins in 

the individual lives of countless people when they no longer 

accept existing conditions as inevitable.” 

DISTRIBUTOR FOR EVINRUDE & MERCURY 

OUTBOARDS, PURSUIT WORLD CLASS CAT, 

SUNDANCE AND BOSTON WHALER BOATS 

Lures and Live Bait 

Marine Hardware & Gear 

Fishing Gear & Supplies 

Marine Paints & Varnish 

Marine Batteries 

Sebago Docksiders 

& Sperry Topsiders Shoes 

BLUE HILLS ROAD 

PROVIDENCIALES 

TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS, B.W.I. 

PHONE: 649-946-4411 

FAX: 649-946-4945 


Thank you to all of the following supporters of 

Tradewinds Radio FM104.5... 

Skipper’s Taxi, Majestic Taxis, Barranco Taxi, 

Delancy Taxi, Pablo’s Taxi, Discovery Taxi, 

Handfield Taxi, Norman & Son’s, 

Black Diamond Taxi, Gregory Taxi, Blue Cab 

Taxi, Patterson J Kennedy Taxi, Presidential 

Taxi, Shell Taxi, Spring Taxi, Gloria’s Taxi, 

Allied Taxi, Avis, Payless Car Rental, Dollar, 

Hertz, KKNTs, Rent a Buggy, Quality Car 

Rental, Scooter Bobs, Tropical Auto Rental, 

Dive Provo, Mama’s, Caicos Adventures, 

Bugaloos, Sand and Sea Tours, Thalasso Spa, 

Mervco... we couldn’t bring people the Sound 

of the Tropics without you. 

If you have a strong product for visitors 

Juan Martinez Fall and 15 remake_Layout want to get 1 in 8/24/15 on the 11:38 act... AM Page 1 

Call Claire at 431 7527 

or email claire@tradewindsradio.com 

PHONE: 

2 4 1 . 3 2 9 7 

2 4 4 . 9 0 9 0 

3 4 4 . 9 4 0 3 

2 4 4 . 6 1 9 1 

SOUTH DOCK 

ROAD, PROVO 

Some of the most important tasks for ocean conservation 

would be to convince decision makers to do 

something about climate change, overfishing, and water 

quality. Of course, that pressure is often rebuffed with, 

“Oh now, that’s going to be really complicated! And the 

economic fallout would be devastating.” Just like a slave 

owner thinking how complicated it would be to run a 

plantation without slave labor. Okay, it’s complicated. 

But more complicated than arctic oil drilling or fracking 

or fishing boats that drag 55-mile-long drift nets at sea? 

The rest of Ocean Country details Liz’s research on 

the California coast, Sulawesi and West Papua, France 

and the Mediterranean Sea. She documents the work 

of many people who are rescuing the life of the seas 

and affecting real change — one small step at a time. 

Ocean Country closes with a trip to the Silver Banks 

just south of the Turks & Caicos that Liz shared with 

her husband Charlie. Here, thousands of humpback 

whales breed and give birth every winter before 

migrating north to feed in the summer. 

Toward the end of the day, we cautiously approached 

a mother and calf. The driver deftly maneuvered the boat 

as we timed their breaths. Then they surfaced together 

once more, exhaled with muffled bursts, and descended 

like a submarine and its companion submersible. 

“Okay,” said Gene. “Let’s give this a try.” 

We slipped into the water. The mother was resting 

motionless at about sixty feet, and the calf had nuzzled 

itself right beneath her chin with the sleepy-eyed, softmouthed 

expression of a baby in a cradle. The water was 

suffused with peacefulness and an unthinkable energy I 

was at a loss to name. 

Every few minutes, the calf stirred and rose, as if 

swimming in its sleep, outstretching its newborn fins in 

slow motion to propel itself to the surface and take a 

breath. Then it sank, tiptoeing back to bed in a trance-like 

slumber, and tucked itself under its mother’s chin. 

We floated like a loose-knit blob of jellyfish, gawking 

silently. There was just an hour or so of daylight left; the 

light cast angular, silvery threads through the darkening, 

violet-blue water. Once again the calf raised its head and 

slipped out from under its mother’s chin. But this time it 

seemed to wake out of its slumber. 

As it rose, it turned vertically in the water, revealing 

the soft-looking pleats beneath its throat and belly. 

“When a whale turns its belly toward you,” Gene had told 

44 www.timespub.tc

us, “it’s actually positioning itself so it can see you with 

both eyes.” The calf spread its fins, took a breath of air, 

and began to swim horizontally, bobbing just below the 

surface. The mother started to rise, steady as a slow-moving 

barge. 

They both inched toward me, side by side, and eyed 

us curiously. Soon their heads were just a few feet away. 

The calf wobbled in the sea surge, its fins spread like 

the wings of a fledging sparrow. Right behind it was the 

mother’s long head. Her eye, big as an apple, was filled 

with steady confidence and warmth. 

“Bury me here,” I mused. “When I die, bring my ashes 

to a moment like this and scatter them.” 

My god! I’ve never thought that before! What’s got 

me by the throat? 

It was so clear it seemed silly that I hadn’t seen it 

before. That unthinkable energy that I was at a loss to 

name? It was power. Unthinkably massive power married 

to … kindness. Forty tons of constant, attentive, steadfast 

care. 

“Mummy” could break our necks with a casual flick of 

one of her fins. Our boat, half her size, wouldn’t survive 

a breach on top of it. 

But what was she doing? Gently approaching, careful 

that her fins didn’t hit anyone, and slowly, as if trying 

not to startle us. Soon she would migrate north, navigate 

threats of ship strikes and fishing-gear entanglement 

and orcas attacking her calf. Despite all the changes in 

the seas that we have wrought, she would guide her calf 

north. She would forge on ahead. 

The calf turned slowly, as if on a spindle, and eyed 

us playfully. The pleats on its belly were unscarred, like 

the porcelain skin of a newborn baby. The mother calmly 

looked on. Our search was over. They were finding us 

now. a 

Liz Cunningham is currently touring to promote the book 

and raise awareness on climate change and water quality. 

Twenty-one percent of royalties will be given to the 

New England Aquarium’s Marine Conservation Action 

Fund (MCAF), which aims to protect and promote ocean 

biodiversity through funding of small-scale, time-sensitive, 

community-based programs. 

The book is available on-island at the Unicorn 

Bookstore, through Amazon.com, and more than likely, 

at your favorite bookstore or library. For more information 

or to order the book, visit http://lizcunningham.net/ 

ocean_country_the_book/. 

Book review 

Okay, I admit it. It’s really a treat to be able to read 

a book about a place you have lived and to be able to 

count among your friends most of the people described 

within the pages. I am also fortunate to know and have 

dived with the author after we met to discuss ways in 

which she could help support the Turks & Caicos Reef 

Fund. 

Not many people would change their way of thinking, 

doing, and being to try and save the very thing that 

nearly killed them. Especially when that something is as 

all-encompassing as our oceans. This is not a simple 

“save the dog that bit me” exercise. Ocean Country is 

Liz Cunningham’s very personal journey which begins 

with a near fatal kayaking accident, her revisiting the 

scene, and her overcoming her fear of the ocean. 

Instead, she dives headfirst — quite literally — into just 

how poorly humanity is treating our planet and how 

this behavior is killing the very thing that is responsible 

for life on Earth. It is a travelogue of sorts detailing her 

journey across the globe to observe and record firsthand 

what mankind has done to its home. 

Liz has a remarkable clarity of style which makes 

the book very easy reading, and a delightful read at 

that —considering the topic. It is an intensely personal 

story and she brings you into her head from the very 

first page. She compares her reluctance, acceptance, 

and ultimate enthusiasm to write Ocean Country with 

her first experience driving a motor bike. What this has 

to do with ocean conservation is not too clear until Liz 

connects the dots for you and the analogy is brilliant. 

Liz has clearly researched her facts and figures, and 

presents them, not in a dull regurgitation of numbers 

way, but to drive the point home with such clarity as 

to make the reader stop and take note. Thirty-six percent 

of the Federal fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico were 

closed after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. How awful. 

That’s over eighty-six thousand square miles of ocean. 

Yeah, that’s a lot of ocean. Then she hits it home: That’s 

an area the size of Minnesota. Whoa! That’s huge! 

What should have been a depressing book about the 

horrible way humans have mistreated our planet and 

seem hell-bent to destroy our oceans is anything but. 

Liz’s unbridled passion is clearly obvious and leaves 

the reader thinking that there IS light at the end of the 

tunnel. And it doesn’t have to be a train. It’s hope. 

David Stone, co-founder, Turks & Caicos Reef Fund 


feature 

Opposite page: “King” is a severely injured dog that was rescued by the TCSPCA and recovered under the professional care of Pampered Paws. 

King was literally skin and bone, with a huge swelling on his front right leg, when the TCSPCA rescued him from the streets of downtown 

Provo. Look at this beautiful dog today. 

Above: Donna Doran, owner of Pampered Paws, and TCSPCA Director Susan Blehr (with a recently rescued potcake) stand next to the TCSPCA 

“animal bus,” generously donated by Provo resident Larry Costa, parked outside the office and clinic at Suzie Turn Plaza in Providenciales. 

A Voice for Those Who 

Cannot Speak 

TCSPCA has helped animals and their owners for nearly twenty years. 

The Turks & Caicos Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TCSPCA) is the oldest established 

animal welfare organization in the country. There is no veterinary service on any of our islands except 

Providenciales, which is why the not-for-profit group is literally a necessity-of-life for the animals with 

whom we co-exist in the Turks & Caicos. 

TCSPCA mobile clinics, held one to three times a year on each of the sister islands, are the only time 

most animals receive any medical care. The office and clinic on Providenciales have been providing services 

to all the animals of Providenciales since August 2008. But long before that, the TCSPCA was helping 

animals and their owners. 

By Kathi Barrington ~ Photos Courtesy TCSPCA 


And it’s not just dogs and cats that benefit. The original 

SPCA was founded in Grand Turk by Tom Saunders 

on January 5, 1998, to address the welfare of roaming 

cattle, donkeys, and horses. These animals are still monitored 

and often helped by the TCSPCA today. In 2014 

the two traditional animal-accessible wells on Grand Turk 

were cleaned out and the troughs rebuilt, once again providing 

water to roaming animals, thanks to the TCSPCA, 

funds from the Donkey Sanctuary, UK and help from the 

Department of Agriculture. The TCSPCA on Provo has 

rescued and treated donkeys, goats, horses, pelicans, flamingoes, 

snakes, and geckoes as well as countless dogs 

and cats, and once, a manatee. 

Staffed by a handful of volunteers and funded solely 

through private donations and fund-raising, the TCSPCA 

has made a significant difference to all animals in the TCI 

for over 15 years. TCSPCA volunteers have earned the 

trust of residents, the admiration and support of tourists 

and off-island animal welfare organizations, and the 

respect of the government. 

TCSPCA’s first director and co-founder Beth Vankeep 

remembers when the Provo group was solidified as a 

working team. She called it the perfect storm. A pack of 

wild dogs on the airport runway had prevented the newto-Providenciales 

American Airlines flight from landing. 

Not good. Add to that the “60 Minutes” reporter who was 

chased down “magical” Grace Bay Beach and bitten by a 

feral dog, and District Commissioner for Providencales 

Kingsley Been receiving daily nuisance dog reports from 

residents and hoteliers. Something had to happen. 

In September 2000, the TCSPCA was invited to the 

first meeting of the TCI Government’s newly formed 

Feral Dog Committee. Several months later, the government 

contracted the TCSPCA to carry out its Feral Dog 

Programme, with a humane trapping program designed 

by TCSPCA and endorsed by the Committee. With government 

funding behind them and Beth Veenkamp as the 

newly hired TCSPCA project manager, the small group got 

the ball rolling. 

The TCSPCA, with the help of Pegasus, a not for profit 

animal welfare foundation, brought in professional help. 

Owner of Wildlife Veterinary Resources (WVR) in Montana 

Dr. Mark Johnson and his team flew to Providenciales 

in August 2001 to help convince government that the 

exploding wild dog problem had to be handled on many 

levels. Teach owners to be responsible and caring. Trap 

and humanely euthanize un-owned dogs. Spay or neuter 

pets. (A female dog comes into heat twice each year and 

can have a litter of up to 12 puppies. Do the math.) Draft, 

From top: It is not only cats and dogs that are helped by the TCSPCA. 

Percy the Pelican was rescued and rehabilitated, along with countless 

donkeys being monitored and helped in the Salt Islands today. 


48 www.timespub.tc

pass, and enforce animal control legislation. Mark’s WVR 

team trained TCSPCA volunteers how, where, and why to 

set traps and most importantly, trained local residents 

Oliver Ferguson and Alco Williams to carry on the program. 

For three years the TCSPCA administered the 

Programme and succeeded in humanely euthanising over 

2,000 un-owned dogs as well as spaying/neutering over 

800 dogs and cats. 

Weeks prior to setting traps, TCSPCA volunteers went 

yard to yard, handing out blue dog collars to people for 

their pets. They explained that any collared animal caught 

in a trap would be spayed or neutered and returned to its 

yard. Radio and newspaper ads also explained the massive 

project. Nobody wanted to accidentally kill an owned 

dog. 

During the initial “Kick Start” phase of the program 

in 2001, Islanders rallied to this effort. Volunteers 

appeared as if by magic to help implement the trapping. 

The Graceway IGA provided meat scraps and bones to 

bait the traps. When volunteers quickly learned our wild 

dogs don’t “do” raw, Animal Control Officer Alco Williams 

cooked the scraps of raw meat bait. In three weeks the 

Johnson team and TCSPCA volunteers trapped nearly 

500 dogs; 293 were humanely euthanized and 182 were 

spayed or neutered by Wooding Veterinary Services. 

Beth ran the organization out of a rented guest apartment 

at Madeline and Terry Erskine’s. She told me they 

filled the place and the backyard with puppies and dogs 

during and after the trapping program. The Erskine’s two 

rescued horses, Hero and Cowboy, watched over this 

motley crew. The imported trapping team fell in love with 

our potcakes, and several took pups home with them to 

the USA. Thus began the TCPSCA’s off-island adoption 

programme. Today it is simple and easy to adopt a potcake 

or potcat. More than 200 animals start new lives in 

the USA or Canada each year. 

By this time the organization had formed a Board of 

Directors, under the presidency of Kingsley Been, whose 

mandate was to ensure all animals in the TCI were cared 

for and free from abuse. Two of the original Board, Peggy 

Perkins and Barbara Young, are still active directors 

today. 

In the height of the choreographed chaos of trapping, 

spaying, and neutering, Beth discovered she was 

pregnant. In April 2002 she returned to Canada with her 

husband. Before she left, she convinced volunteer Susan 

Blehr to take over the helm as director of the TCSPCA. 

The changing of the guard was simple. Beth handed 

The longest established legal practice 

in the Turks & Caicos Islands 

Real Estate Investments 

& Property Development 

Immigration, Residency 

& Business Licensing 

Company & Commercial Law 

Trusts & Estate Planning 

Banking & Insurance 

1 Caribbean Place, P.O. Box 97 

Leeward Highway, Providenciales 

Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI 

Ph: 649 946 4344 • Fax: 649 946 4564 

E-Mail: dempsey@tciway.tc 

Cockburn House, P.O. Box 70 

Market Street, Grand Turk 

Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI 

Ph: 649 946 2245 • Fax: 649 946 2758 

E-Mail: ffdlawco@tciway.tc 


to Susan the cell phone and the computer. Susan recalls 

that the very next day she was fostering a litter of eight 

puppies on her back deck. She’d never owned a dog in her 

life and her cat was not amused by the intruders. Today 

she and her husband, Bob-the-Dog-Whisperer Blehr, have 

a pack. Each was once considered unadoptable. 

Susan, with Bob at her back, ran the TCSPCA from 

home until 2003. An experienced manager and networker, 

she and volunteers set up foster homes for 

puppies and kittens. Louise Henderson was hired as the 

TCSPCA educational officer to go into all the schools to 

talk about caring, responsible pet ownership and the 

importance of vaccinations and spay/neuter. The TCSPCA 

worked with government to draft legislation to protect 

animals and people. They continued to encourage people 

to have their pets sterilized and worked tirelessly picking 

up animals, delivering them for free surgery, and then 

returning them home. The number of dog attacks and 

calls about nuisance dogs abated dramatically. 

In 2003 the TCSPCA secured a small office upstairs in 

Suzie Turn Plaza, which made Susan’s home life slightly 

less chaotic. Then in 2004, after the government decided 

to take the Feral Dog Programme in-house, the TCSPCA 

went into fundraising mode and the Just for Fun Dog 

Show (the first of which was held in 2002 in the Graceway 

IGA parking lot,) became a vital source of revenue to continue 

to pay for the free spay/neuter programme. 

When the feral dog population exploded again in 

2004, government reached out to contract the TCSPCA 

again, to bring Mark Johnson’s team back to trap and 

euthanize or spay/neuter dogs, as temporary, stop-gap 

measures to control animals in areas frequented by tourists. 

Without consistent funding, the TCSPCA was finding 

it difficult to subsidize their spay/neuter/vaccination program 

for the river of Islanders who wanted to do the right 

thing for their pets. Although the TCSPCA received donations 

from supporters and funds from resident Heather 

Forbes’ Potcake Foundation, they realized that they simply 

could not continue paying for veterinary services. 

However, another perfect storm was brewing. In 

2007 an outbreak of the deadly canine distemper virus 

swept the island. The TCSPCA reacted swiftly, obtaining 

thousands of donated vials of the vaccination against the 

terrible disease. Anyone who had ever administered a 

subcutaneous injection was enlisted to go door to door 

in the communities to administer the vaccination to pets 

in yards and homes. One of the volunteers was a retired 

veterinarian, Dr. Rich Sefcik. 

Several pets did succumb to distemper, but many 

more did not. And Dr. Sefcik, who had bought a house 

on Provo in 2004 and retired to the island with his wife 

Jan, offered to perform spays and neuters, part-time, for 

the TCSPCA as a volunteer vet. However, they would need 

a clinic to perform the surgeries and care for the animals 

before and after the procedure. 

Enter Annie Notley. She and her husband Simon 

were visiting Provo and heard of the TCSPCA. After meetings 

and consults with Susan, she donated $35,000 to 

the organization to secure a small spay/neuter clinic. 

Fortunately, there was a vacant room for rent at Suzie 

Turn Plaza so Dr. Rich designed and equipped the clinic, 

and in August 2008 he performed the first surgery in the 

new clinic. 

This photo of Annie Notley and Dr. Rich Sefcik was taken on the day 

of the first surgery in the new TCSPCA clinic in August 2008. 

Five mornings a week, for almost five years, Dr. Rich 

advised and reassured pet owners. He spayed or neutered 

almost 3,000 dogs and cats. His quiet confidence 

and wicked sense of humour made it easy for a diverse 

group of volunteers to happily work with him. Owners 

and their pets responded positively to him. In short, he 

was a Godsend. 

With Dr. Rich in situ, the TCSPCA was able to realize 

one of their most important goals — to take veterinary 

care to all of the Turks & Caicos Islands. In 2010 the 

TCSPCA team packed their eight-year-old animal bus with 

everything they needed to perform surgeries and wellness 

checks, and shipped the van to Sandy Point, North 

Caicos. They then drove to Blue Horizon Resort on Middle 

Caicos, where they set up the surgery in a warehouse 

space there. 

Since then, the TCSPCA has held clinics on all the out 

50 www.timespub.tc

islands and Grand Turk. The goal is to hold two clinics a 

year on each island during the breeding seasons. 

Another milestone was the re-launching of a Grand 

Turk chapter of the TCSPCA in 2011, which then held its 

first spay/neuter clinic that August. The Grand Turk volunteers 

run a shop in the cruise ship center to raise funds 

and they sell basic animal care supplies to pet owners. 

Years of hard work, community outreach, and most 

importantly, education by the TCSPCA paid off in large 

numbers of pet owners bringing their animals to the Suzy 

Turn clinic for vaccinations, heart worm preventatives, 

and affordable spay or neuter surgeries. The word was 

out — being a responsible pet owner made everyone’s 

life easier and better. And then the axe fell again. Dr. Rich 

and Jan decided to return to the United States. They sold 

their home and said an emotional good-bye in May 2013. 

Besides losing dear friends, the TCSPCA faced a crisis 

—no veterinary care. Would the clinic/shop survive? Once 

again Blehr rose to the challenge. She found veterinary 

groups which travel across the world to provide veterinary 

care to places where no care is available. 

During the first clinic after Dr. Rich had gone, held 

on Provo in October 2013, Dr. Jessica Braun and vet tech 

Kristine Bucholz performed 134 spay or neuter surgeries 

in five days. Since then, the TCSPCA has held more than 

a dozen clinics, covering all the islands. During the most 

recent clinic in November, Dr. Meghann Vollmer Kruck, of 

Kindest Cut in Minnesota, and two of her vet techs performed 

107 surgeries in five days. Dr. Kruck will be back 

for a month in late spring 2016. 

For fifteen years, the TCSPCA has worked with the the 

TCI residents through day to day community outreach on 

each island, in each village, and reliable, non-judgmental, 

affordable services to pet owners in their yards, homes, 

or at the Suzie Turn clinic. They are supported by many 

island businesses, organizations, and resorts. 

Pampered Paws, the TCI’s only boarding, grooming, 

and training facility has provided runs for TCSPCA 

pups since 2002. Each year owner Donna Doran and her 

wonderful staff provide “room and board,” medical care, 

training, and loads of TLC to hundreds of pups and older 

dogs, many who are in truly terrible physical and emotional 

condition when they arrive. 

Lew Handfield Shipping and interCaribbean Airways 

have been providing discounted or free transportation 

to the organization from the early days. TCI First 

Insurance insures the animal bus at no charge. Heather 

Forbes’ Potcake Foundation raises funds each year for 

the TCSPCA. Provo residents John Thomas and Jessica 


From top: Dr. Meghann Vollmer Kruck, of Kindest Cut in Minnesota, 

regularly holds spay/neuter clinic in the Islands. 

The annual TCSPCA dog show is community-centered and very popular. 

The judges (shown here) don’t take their job TOO seriously. 

The author’s dog, MottLee and husband Mike were winners of “Looks 

Most Like Owner.” 

Kyle have recently come on scene, establishing Potcake 

Project, a non-for-profit organization that provides funds 

to rescue, rehab, and re-home older potcakes. They also 

pay visiting vet teams’ airfare. 

Long Bay homeowner Larry Costa learned that the 

TCSPCA urgently needed to replace their 13-year-old “animal 

bus.” He found, bought, and shipped a new E-250 

Extended Cargo Van to Provo in January 2015. The van 

was inaugurated in April when it was shipped to North 

Caicos for a mobile clinic there. 

TCSPCA fundraisers are community centered and 

hugely popular: The calendar, begun in 2005, features 

loving portraits of rescued animals from across these 

islands; the annual “Just for Fun” Dog Show, under the 

tent provided by Turtle Cove Marina; the now famous 

Beach Bonfire BBQ hosted by Kissing Fish Catering at Bay 

Bistro’s beachfront restaurant and the Christmas Fair with 

Santa’s Grotto. All are put on by the volunteers and local 

businesses. Donations from residents and tourists are 

their other source of funds. 

Director Susan Blehr knows that the organization has 

made a huge difference to the lives and well being of 

thousands of animals and to pet owners on every island. 

The community outreach programmes and the affordable 

spay/neuter/vaccination clinics on the sister islands have 

achieved an obvious, quantifiable decrease in unwanted, 


52 www.timespub.tc

This is one of Pampered Paws’s obedience classes. The last dog on the right, with Pampered Paws’s owner Donna Doran, is Legend, an older 

potcake rescued from the Beaches roundabout. He came to the TCSPCA in horrific condition, and he’d never been touched by a human hand. 

He became a super, people-oriented, lover of a dog. It is wonderful what loving care at Pampered Paws can do. 

PROVIDENT LIMITED 

Developing commercial and residential 

properties since 1966 

Most experienced, 

most knowledgeable, and 

with the largest inventory 

of LAND AVAILABLE 

for sale on 

Providenciales 

Properties available in: 

Turtle Cove • Turtle Tail 

Grace Bay • Long Bay 

Ocean/Beach Front 

Ocean View • Canal 

Call Bengt Soderqvist 

Ph: 649 946-4303 Fax: 649 946-4326 Email: provident@tciway.tc 

P.O. Box 594, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos 

15150 Golden Point Lane, Wellington, FL USA 33414 

ALSO: 

Commercial Areas 

Marinas 

Hotels • Condos 

Private Homes 


Kathryn is a founding member of 

Turks and Caicos Real Estate 

Association formed in 2000. She 

was instrumental in writing and 

implementing the manual for the 

Association as well as Rules and 

Regulations for the membership. 

In 2007 she was voted the first 

TCREA Ambassador by her peers. In 2009/10 she was part of a 

Team that wrote the first Training Manual for TCREA; all new 

members are required to complete the course and final exam 

before being accepted as full members of the Association. She 

served as President of the Association for five years (2008- 

2013), as well as serving on many TCREA committees, some of 

which she still serves. 

Kathryn started her real estate career in Cayman Islands where 

she worked for ERA for a number of years until her move to 

TCI ERA Coralie Properties Ltd in 2000; she was brought to 

implement the ERA system and manage the operation for the 

newly franchised Coralie Properties. Over the years Kathryn 

has become an active partner shareholder and Director of ERA 

Coralie Properties Ltd., as well as being a successful sales 

associate, consistently being in the top ten. 

A background in interior design and retail fit well with a real 

estate career; working well with people, high standard of 

professionalism, integrity and quality service. Kathryn has 

many repeat customers as well as a strong referral network. 

If you want to learn about real estate in Turks & Caicos give 

Kathryn a call, she will be pleased to meet you and help with 

your real estate needs, wants, dreams... 

Tel: 649 231 2329 

Email: krbrown@era.tc 

Web: www.eraturksandcaicos.com 

Kathryn 

Brown 

ERA Coralie Properties Ltd. 

unowned animals. The goal that every animal has a home 

is doable on the sister islands. Their stray dog populations 

and their owned animal figures, compared to Provo, 

are small. The target — to get 70% of the animals spayed 

or neutered — is realistic. That’s the magic number 

required to achieve decreasing populations, rather than 

an increasing number of animals each year. 

However, that is not the case on Providenciales. Well 

documented research by experts in animal population 

control have shown that no amount of spay/neuters 

will affect the large, roaming dog population on Provo. 

The cold hard fact is that unless one ownerless dog is 

rendered incapable of reproducing for each pet that is 

spayed or neutered, animal control efforts will fail. 

Without an organized, humane, compassionate, trapping/euthanization 

programme on this island, for at least 

a year, the feral dog population will continue to increase. 

Sadly, many of our native potcakes will die of starvation 

or dehydration, disease, or car accidents. But many more 

will survive, and they will bear more puppies. 

For now, Director Blehr focuses on the many accomplishments 

of the TCSPCA: the spaying or neutering of 

more than 5,000 dogs; the adoptions, on and off-island, 

of more than 1,000 potcakes and potcats; the rescue and 

rehab of older animals, often in appalling, heart breaking 

condition, that have evoked the sympathy and support 

of residents and visitors. Unintended animal cruelty by 

owners, due to insufficient education about things like 

ear and tail cropping, are now rare. The TCSPCA has 

clearly seen that the majority of animal owners here want 

to do the right thing for their pets, and they know they 

can come to the TCSPCA for help, no matter what. That’s 

what the TCSPCA is all about. 

Susan wanted the last word in this article: “Without 

our volunteers, there would be no TCSPCA. They are 

always there, always willing, and always caring. I have 

learned from them, as I hope they have from me, and 

together we try our best to live our motto: Be the voice 

for those who cannot speak.” a 

If you support the TCSPCA, you are helping all the animals 

of the country, making it a better place for the animals, 

all residents, and visitors. Please visit www.tcspca.com 

or contact us at tcscpa@tciway.tc. You can also follow us 

on FaceBook for the latest happenings. 

54 www.timespub.tc

ADVERTISEMENT 

3 Positive Forces Set to Reward 

Property Investors Greatly In 2016 

Greg McNally first started working as 

a young lawyer in Turks and Caicos (TCI) 

more than 23 years ago. As a founding 

partner of what was once one of the 

largest law firms on Provo, he quickly 

became a fixture of the local business 

scene, playing a part in numerous high 

profile developments including The 

Sands Resort, Northwest Point Resort 

and The Island Club on Grace Bay Road. 

And although he’s enjoyed much 

success from the development of 

TCI over the past few decades, he believes 

the trends are pointing to a new 

renaissance in local investment. 

“It’s all about the trends.,” says Mc- 

Nally. “Wealthier Canadian and American 

travellers who stopped coming 

after the financial crash are now returning, 

pushing up the prices on the rental market. That’s causing 

certain vacationers to look closely at the property market, pushing 

up sale prices. And then there’s a whole new audience from 

Asia and South America entering the TCI market for the first time. 

Investors who get in early should benefit greatly.“ 

North Americans Are Returning in Big Numbers 

Prior to 2008, Turks and Caicos was very popular for North 

American travellers, especially from East Coast financial centres 

like New York and Toronto. But with the recession came a dramatic 

pullback that hit TCI hard as the jet setters sharply reduced 

spending. 

According to McNally, that has now changed. “As wealthy Canadians 

and Americans return, they are choosing to rent. This 

has caused the rental market to explode. In the past year, my investment 

penthouse in Grace Bay has been booked out almost 

solid - even during off-season. It’s been quite lucrative.” 

The result? It is pushing some wealthy renters into buying. 

Growing Property Market to Push Up Prices 

Properties like this 4,000 sq. ft. villa are set to appreciate greatly thanks to three powerful trends. 

“The guys out of Toronto and New York are smart. They see 

that spending $20,000 for a two week rental isn’t the best use of 

money. So they’re looking closely at the property market again.” 

In McNally’s mind, this will soon lead to appreciation in certain 

types of property the affluent jet setters want. In fact, his 

latest venture, Caya Private Residences, is set to help smart vacationers 

capitalize on this trend. “I spotted an opportunity to help 

these investors turn their rental expense into a real asset with 

high potential for long-term capital appreciation.” 

Whole New Markets Increase Demand 

But arguably the most important trend in McNally’s eyes is 

the attraction of Asians and South Americans to TCI. 

“The people buying and building here are much different 

than when I first started years ago. Back then, it was mostly 

wealthy finance folks from the US and Canada. Now we’ve seen 

different groups starting to take a real interest and invest real 

money. This is the most exciting long term positive force for TCI.” 

For example, Marriott has announced a project in the famous 

beach area of Grace Bay. According to McNally, “What most 

people don’t know is that the project is backed by a group of 

Venezuelans. Their economy, as with many in the area that relied 

on commodities, is in rough shape. They are looking to diversify 

and are bringing serious money to the area.” 

How to Capitalize on these Trends 

If you’re interested in learning how you too could benefit 

from these trends, McNally is offering a free investment guide to 

qualified investors. You’ll discover how to buy TCI property for as 

much as 20% under market rate. 

Call 1-888-534-9021 

(or internationally: +1-416-900-3522)

feature 

Opposite page: The two-mile stretch of beach along Pine Cay’s north shore is indeed “one of the Caribbean’s last great untrammeled beaches.” 

Above: This is an aerial view of Pine Cay as you approach from the east. The air strip neatly bisects the island. 

Treasuring Pine Cay 

The evolution of a private island community. 

By Sara Kaufman, Manager, Forbes, Forbes & Forbes Realty Ltd. 


Just as the true Caribbean pine is a tree unique to the Turks & Caicos, Pine Cay is one of the country’s 

special treasures. Not only is it a rare stronghold of this endangered tree, but Pine Cay has a fascinating 

history and a promising future. Since 1960 it has been a focus for development, and fifty years later it 

stands apart as a bright and refreshing option for those wishing to indulge in true Caribbean relaxation! 


Pine Cay is a beautiful 800 acre private island 

tucked among the Caicos Cays, with a 2,800-foot 

airstrip, sheltered marina, and boutique hotel, that 

is home to an exclusive membership community. 

Amazingly, it was settled in the 1970s when the Turks 

& Caicos Islands were totally unknown, with no regular 

transport of any kind in and out of the country, or 

even between the various islands. Some of the original 

owners on Pine Cay actually sailed in local sloops from 

South Caicos—the international airport and TCI port of 

entry at that time—to get to their property! 

Until the 1990s, the entire country was an obscure 

pinpoint on the global map, scarcely noticed even 

within the Caribbean. Only about 7,000 local residents 

populated the seven inhabited islands, with no tourist 

industry or other businesses in place. The 1970s 

were the heyday of aviation pioneers—private pilots 

and low-budget airlines exploring remote nooks and 

crannies throughout the Caribbean to find unspoiled 

paradise. Both pilots and passengers were eager to live 

in the sun and create a special home for themselves. 

Early pioneers on Pine Cay relished the isolation 

and tranquility of the island, along with the incredible 

fishing, despite the many inconveniences. The challenge 

of getting to the island was part of the fun and 

adventure. The development of Pine Cay underwent 

changes in concept, owners, and developers during 

the 1970s as the reality of creating a private island 

resort became more evident. These early concepts 

ranged from a high density resort island of over 400 

lots, with commercial sections, fly-in capacity, and 

a major hotel compound to a very exclusive retreat 

island for a small private group of families championing 

privacy. 

The hardy folk who purchased property on Pine 

Cay in the early days of its development included business 

tycoons, European royalty, and various eccentrics 

who together worked hard over many years to combine 

the land, concepts, and investors into a feasible 

plan. The solution adopted was to set up a home owners’ 

association with a serious set of rules to protect 

and preserve the island. As a result, Pine Cay is the 

longest established private member community in the 

Caribbean and stands firmly on the original goals in 

a world of change. Some rules survive to this day. For 

instance, only indigenous plants are allowed and no 

private pools, to conserve the precious freshwater lens 

underground. Cars are not allowed — only electric golf 

carts—to reduce noise and pollution. Yet in acknowledgment 

of the modern world, the ban on telephones 

and TV has been lifted! 

Building in Turks & Caicos Islands, especially forty 

years ago, was a great challenge as the country had 

little infrastructure, all materials had to be shipped 

to Pine Cay, and workers, supervisors, and technical 

advisors had to be brought over as well. Despite this 

logistical nightmare, members slowly built their family 

homes and a secure private marina, completed a safe 

airstrip, and created a boutique hotel with gourmet 

restaurant. 

Fishing–bonefishing in this case–is still a popular pastime in the shimmering flats off Pine Cay’s southern shores. 

58 www.timespub.tc

Peaceful freshwater ponds dot the Pine Cay landscape; this one is quite close to the ocean shore. 

The Pine Cay Homeowners Association is a very 

active and hands-on member group, keeping the 

vision of Pine Cay moving forward successfully while 

retaining the magic that drew them all to the island. 

The Meridian Club has achieved well-deserved 

fame over the years, attracting stellar reviews for the 

“old style Caribbean” appeal of the hotel, the peace 

and privacy to be enjoyed, the attentive and friendly 

local staff, and the natural beauty surrounding it. The 

Meridian Club is a small and intimate resort with only 

thirteen rooms, directly on the glorious beach with private 

patios and superb dining. Villas are also for rent 

on the island. Visit www.meridanclub.com to find out 

more and book your Pine Cay experience. 

The Meridian Club’s pool/patio area is steps from the glorious beach. 


Clockwise from top left: Pine Cay’s arrival dock welcomes guests arriving by boat from the Leeward dock in Provo. Guests on Pine Cay are 

provided hobie cat sailboats and kayaks to explore the surrounding waters. There is a 2,800 foot airstrip for members’ private planes. In spite 

of the modern airstrip, this homey sign welcomes you. 

60 www.timespub.tc

Accolades from famous travel writers extoll: 

• “A delightful air of natural simplicity and barefoot 

informality characterizes this enchanting escapist 

gem where sophisticated island purists unwind along 

one of the Caribbean’s last great untrammeled 

beaches.” Hideaway Report 

• “Mind-altering tranquility, as well as delicious 

food, an attentive staff, and a perfect two-mile long 

beach . . . The atmosphere here is old-money casual: 

men are asked to wear collared shirts to dinner, but 

shoes are optional.” Expedia Travels magazine 

This unique capital asset is jointly owned by the 

Pine Cay members, and in essence The Meridian Club 

hotel has become the members’ country club for lunch, 

the pool, the bar, the office conveniences and for elegant 

evening dining. The beauty of the turquoise sea 

floods your eyes as you sit on the pool deck under 

a tiki palmtop shade, savouring a delectable meal— 

amazement indeed that this is available three hours 

from New York City! The accessibility of the Turks & 

Caicos Islands is a huge factor in the growing popularity 

of this destination, and yet Pine Cay remains calm 

and untouched, unhurried, a rare treasure. 

Admittedly, the image of Pine Cay over the years 

was of a spartan, rustic, even snobbish private island 

espousing a minimalist lifestyle and cherishing privacy 

with fervor. Today, a beautiful boutique resort 

and intriguing member families share their pristine 

island and welcome visitors. The fishing, snorkeling, 

kiteboarding, sailing, kayaking, biking, nature trails, 

and fabulous beaches all offer splendid ways to spend 

your days on Pine Cay. The members come from many 

walks of life, creating a warm and eclectic community 

that desired a retreat and respected environmental 

ethics to ensure a pristine future. Now, early members, 

second-generation members, and new members 

from the USA, Canada, France, England, Germany, and 

Switzerland share the same love and vision for Pine 

Cay. 

Along with the natural environment, members 

esteem Pine Cay’s social environment. The staff are 

predominantly from nearby islands such as North 

Caicos, and many have worked at Pine Cay for most 

of their adult lives, building strong friendships with 

member-families over the years. Pine Cay members 

have set a very high standard for educating the staff 

and supporting local heritage and traditional culture. 

Formally, the Pine Cay Foundation was set up as a 

charity organization to work across the Turks & Caicos 

Forbes, Forbes & Forbes, Ltd. 

Properties for Sale on Pine Cay 

Orchid Point - Three bedroom beachhouse, huge views 

 

Sandcastle - 

 

SandDollar Point - 

 

On the Pond - 

 

On the Channel - 

 

Pine Cay Realty Services cell: 1-649-231-4884 

www.pinecayrealty.com info@pinecayrealty.com 


30Years 

Assisting domestic and international clients for over 30 years 

Tel + 1 649 946 4602 • Fax + 1 649 946 4848 

Email reception@savory-co.com • Website www.savory-co.com 

Islands offering support for literacy, schools, computers, 

and scholarships. The original science fair held on 

Pine Cay for promising young students was a trailblazing 

success and became a touchstone for foundation 

goals. 

Slowly change has come to Pine Cay—gracefully, 

step by step—to complete a makeover across 

the island. The daily challenges of the early days are 

gone as the attentive staff makes sure every need is 

met, both for hotel guests and homeowners. In the 

past five years, The Meridian Club has seen a total 

refresh to the pool, patio deck, and hotel rooms, with 

new outdoor dining pavilions, an open lobby office 

and shop, with the outdoor tennis courts resurfaced, 

and a family beach picnic area completed. The island 

power supply and infrastructure has been newly laid 

and vastly increased, with solar hot water installation 

totally functional. 

The marina has been updated with a fleet of 

Parker vessels acquired for transport to and from 

Providenciales, and a bonefishing boat, snorkeling 

excursion pontoon boat, and Kingfisher deep sea craft 

ready to explore all the best fishing and snorkeling 

spots. A full service marina is maintained, with boat 

slips for vessels up to 30 feet in length. Near the airstrip, 

covered boat storage is available off season and 

mechanics are on hand to ensure your boat is always 

ready to go. 

A fabulous beachfront home was completed in 

late 2014 and extensive modernizations and expansion 

projects have been completed on many of the 

older cottages. The original homes built on Pine Cay 

typically included 1,200 to 1,500 square feet of living 

space, and were mostly wooden pod designs raised on 

pilings, with small kitchens (as most often members 

ate together at the Meridian Club!) The most recent 

home built is almost 4,000 square feet, an attractive 

two story design with open plan, infinity-view living 

room. 

The evolution of Pine Cay has led to the current 

complementarity of the tiny (yet magnificent) boutique 

resort hotel and the intriguing (yet slightly eccentric) 

membership community of homeowners who amicably 

share the island. This is a unique development, 

whereby 600 acres and all capital assets are under 

shared ownership, yet members hold their own properties 

under separate title. Decisions for the island are 

taken together at the PCHA’s annual general meeting, 

with many owners on island to actively engage in the 

62 www.timespub.tc

Seaquester, Pine Cay 

Twenty-five years ago, the owners of this hidden gem sought a large shoreline property on a tranquil beach with warm turquoise waters offering 

serenity. With 500 feet of frontage and 5.6 acres, this home site is perfect for expanding the family compound or in its current form as a lovingly 

maintained 2 bedroom island retreat with interior space totaling 1,200 sq. ft. and over 600 sq. ft. wrap around private terrace complemented on 

the exterior areas by thoughtful indigenous-style landscaping and resident lime trees. Offered fully furnished, it has been updated throughout and 

is in move-in condition. 

Offered at $3,200,000 | turksandcaicosSIR.com | MLS# 1500103 

Dee Agingu 

t 649.946.4474 c 649.231.3534 

dee@tcsothebysrealty.com 

Nina Siegenthaler 

t 649.946.4474 c 649.231.0707 

nina@tcsothebysrealty.com 

Koala Run, Pine Cay 

Koala Run is a meticulously maintained home with 300’ of frontage on the Channel with 1,750 SF of indoor living space, including three bedrooms 

and three bathrooms, as well as, 1,000 SF of private terrace and raised viewing platform for the outdoor living we all crave here on the islands. 

On entering Koala Run, your body and mind immediately relaxes to match the peace and tranquility of the spectacular turquoise ocean views. 

Each of the three bedrooms plus the open plan living/dining/kitchen areas all enjoy water views. The home is offered fully furnished and equipped 

as a turn-key home including inflatable 6 person Dinghy with new engine, 2 bicycles, 3 kayaks with safety equipment, 2 golf carts, and fishing gear. 

Imelda Burke 

t 649.946.4474 c 649.242.1241 

imelda@tcsothebysrealty.com 

Offered at $1,049,000 

turksandcaicosSIR.com 

MLS# 1500675 


This aerial shot shows the lovely curve of Pine Cay’s beach. 

discussion. Christmas and Easter vacations bring most 

families to the island, opening doors to friendships 

that last generations and span continents. 

The security of your investment in property 

on Pine Cay is grounded in the limited membership 

devoted to assuring long term protection of this pristine 

natural island. In context of Turks & Caicos Islands 

real estate, Pine Cay has held its value well. While purchasing 

property on Pine Cay entails membership in the 

community and the associated financial obligations, it 

also secures long term investment value—ownership 

within an 800 acre private Caribbean island, with 600 

acres of open space, is a rare treasure. The amenities 

and staff of The Meridian Club are a very positive factor 

in the long term investment value of property. 

Come to visit Pine Cay to experience it for yourself—its 

charm will astound you. In uncertain times, 

well-placed property has always been a solid investment 

choice and when you walk the sparkling beach 

along the turquoise shoreline in quiet seclusion, you 

will realize the true value is priceless. 

Homes and properties for sale on Pine Cay range 

from a woodland interior lot of five acres offered at 

$395,000 to the ultimate 14 acre beachfront estate 

with small cottage and space for a new modern home 

offered at $8.2 million. Vacant land, older cottages, 

and renovated homes are all available at a wide range 

of prices. Joining the membership community is a process 

quite different to a normal real estate purchase, 

yet it reflects the unique “lifestyle” on offer. Meeting 

many members and visiting the island often ensures 

mutual compatibility and keeps Pine Cay in the hands of a like-minded group of families with agreed goals. It 

is a long term decision for your family through generations, and a remarkable chance to preserve this unique 

island paradise. a 

Sara Kaufman moved to the Turks & Caicos Islands in 1994 after fifteen years in Europe as a top management 

consultant. She lives in Middle Caicos and was one of the original developers 

of the Blue Horizon Resort. Sara writes frequent articles and e-newsletters 

featuring real estate information about Turks & Caicos published internationally. 

As manager of Forbes, Forbes & Forbes Ltd., a company created to sell 

real estate “Go Beyond Provo,” Sara began a dedicated property sales program 

for Pine Cay in 2005 and has sold most of the properties on island 

since that time. The company offers full real estate services both for members 

selling their properties on island and as buyers-representative for persons 

wishing to investigate property and membership opportunities on Pine Cay. 

Visit www.pinecayrealty.com for island information and current property 

listings available through Forbes, Forbes & Forbes Ltd. Contact Sara at 

info@pinecayrealty.com or call (649) 231-4884. 

64 www.timespub.tc

astrolabe 

newsletter of the Turks & Caicos National Museum 

front street, p.o. box 188, grand turk, turks & caicos islands, bwi 

tel 649 946 2160 • fax 649 946 2160 • email info@tcmuseum.org • web www.tcmuseum.org 

A marine archaeologist examines the exposed hull remains of the wreck thought to be the slave ship Trouvadore, one of the Museum’s 

“unfinished stories.” 

Fill in the Blanks 

By Dr. Donald H. Keith, President, Turks & Caicos National Museum Foundation 

This issue of the Astrolabe contains two good examples of the “two-way street” type of articles we like to publish. On 

one hand they offer entertaining and instructive stories stemming from research conducted by historians, archaeologists, 

archival researchers, and other authorities. On the other hand they acknowledge that the stories are often not 

complete, that pieces of the puzzle are still missing, and encourage readers to get involved and help fill in the blanks. 

The story of the slave ship Trouvadore is one that should by now be familiar to our readers. The Museum has 

been piecing it together for the last 22 years and we’re still at it. In the “Unfinished Story” interview on the next 

page, filmmakers Richard Coberly and Veronica Veerkamp talk about what you can do to help us finish “The Search 

for Trouvadore” documentary, and why the film is a critical part of the research. 

Another example of a two-way street approach is Peter Marshall’s article. I recently discovered that Peter, a 

colleague for at least 35 years, has a unique and extensive collection of stamps, postcards, envelopes, and even 

“Ham” radio QSL cards from the TCI. When he learned of our common interest in these Islands, he was kind enough 

to share images of items in his collection as well as his perceptions about their significance. His study of the postal 

history of the TCI has raised questions that he hopes local knowledge can answer. 

Sherlin Williams’ article about Neal Coverley, Grand Turk’s turn of the century “postcard man,” is a nice complement 

to Peter’s, revealing another aspect of postal history from the perspective of the postcard producer! 

With hurricane season safely behind us and the “High Season” fast approaching, the Museum is gearing up 

with new exhibits, new merchandise in the shop, and new educational programs for students on Grand Turk and 

Providenciales. a 


astrolabe newsletter of the Turks & Caicos National Museum 

Videographer Fujio Watanabe shoots surface operations off East Caicos. 

An Unfinished Story 

Trouvadore documentary is over 13 years in the making. 

By Dr. Donald H. Keith ~ Photos By Windward Media 

Prologue: In 1993 Museum Founder Grethe Seim and Dr. Donald Keith discovered a document in the 

Smithsonian Institution that set off a large-scale, long-term research project: the amazing but true story 

of the slave ship Trouvadore. The Astrolabe has carried articles and updates following this project for 

more than a decade, and it continues to this day. In all probability it will continue for decades. 

Now what the project needs most is exposure. Not only exposure to the public, but also to other 

researchers in other lands with access to other records and resources that could help us find the missing 

pieces. 

66 www.timespub.tc


Story. The best way to accomplish that is with a documentary 

video. In the 21st century the video medium is 

what we turn to first for entertainment, to find the answer 

to a question, or get a message out. 

Recent publicity about discoveries of possible slave 

shipwrecks in South Africa, the Florida Keys, and the 

Bahamas have generated more public awareness of the 

part slave ships played in the African Diaspora. Richard 

Coberly (RC) and Veronica Veerkamp (VV) are documentary 

producers with Windward Media in Houston, Texas, 

who have been researching and filming the Museum’s 

Search for Trouvadore Project from the beginning. 

In a recent interview with Museum Director Pat 

Saxton, they explained how the Trouvadore documentary 

film project came about and what it’s going to take to 

make it a reality. 

Q: When did you first get the idea to make a documentary 

about the Trouvadore story? 

A: VV: I think it started in the late 1990s when we went to 

interview Dr. Toni Carrell at Ships of Discovery in Corpus 

Christi. We were doing a documentary film on the discovery 

and excavation of La Belle, a ship French explorer La 

Salle lost off the coast of Texas in 1686. Dr. Carrell was 

one of the archaeologists working on the project at the 

time. She mentioned her colleagues had recently discovered 

the story of a long-forgotten slave ship in the TCI 

that might be even more enthralling, and that they were 

planning to look for it. 

Q: And that was the Trouvadore? 

A: VV: Yes, although that’s just one of the ways it’s 

spelled in in the dispatches between Grand Turk and 

Nassau, “Trovadore,” “Traubadore,” “Travadore,” 

“Troubadour,” etc. Its identity and basic information were 

murky because the trans-Atlantic slave trade had been 

banned by that time. Secrecy was paramount, so ships 

involved in the trade worked hard to hide or disguise 

their origins, ownership, and identities. They changed 

names frequently and often carried multiple captains, 

logs, and sets of papers to support different registrations 

and nationalities. 

Q: When did you actually start shooting for the film? 

A: RC: We started shooting in TCI in 2002, but the first 

expedition footage was shot in 2004, so we’ve been at it 

for about 13 years, on and off. 

From top: Interviewees Veronica Veerkamp and Richard Coberly of 

Windward Media share their thoughts on making a documentary 

about the slave ship Trouvadore. 

Shooting a documentary isn’t cheap, particularly when it involves 

filming not only on and under the water, but above it as well! 



Q: Did you ever have any tense moments 

shooting out in the field? 

A: VV: No, not really what you could call tense. 

Anxious perhaps. 

RC: Well, there was the time when we had 

to make a night crossing of the Turks Island 

Passage with three 15-foot skiffs and Hurricane 

Francis coming in. Then the government sent 

all non-residents out until the storm passed. 

Of course we had to pack all our camera gear 

and fly home, then return after three days to 

resume shooting. Given all the gear we require, 

that was quite a chore, but certainly better than 

the alternative. 

VV: Oh yeah, and there was the time that 

we were looking for a safe overnight anchorage 

and the Caicos Explorer got “embayed” in 

Jacksonville Cut in a minefield of coral heads 

just under the surface. The whole expedition 

could have ended right then and there if the 

Captain had made a single false move. 

RC: Then the time two of the team members 

flipped the ship’s dingy while attempting to 

establish a safe passage over the reef. That one 

really had the potential for disaster. We lost 

some equipment, but amazingly no one was 

injured! 

VV: Don’t forget the “Mag Boys” from Southeast 

Archaeological Research. Not only did their magnetometer 

get attacked by a barracuda, but the first day out on 

the survey, they drowned their computer. Fortunately one 

of our camera operators had a laptop to loan them for the 

duration of the survey. 

Q: How long did the field work take? 

A: VV: It took years! After a couple of reconnaissance 

trips to East Caicos, which is uninhabited, it was clear 

that we would all have to work off a ship. So in 2004, 

2006, and 2008, we chartered the live-aboard dive boat 

Turks & Caicos Explorer to serve as our “mother ship”. 

Anchored outside the reef off Breezy Point, we filmed as 

they searched the whole north coast of East Caicos, which 

was known to be littered with shipwreck material. 

Q: So, when did they actually discover the Trouvadore? 

A: RC: Well, that’s kind of a funny story. When we 

From top: The reef that guards the site had to be crossed twice each day—not 

always with success! 

All elements of the project were filmed, including this attempt to repair a 

drowned laptop computer. 

returned to East Caicos after Hurricane Francis in 2004, 

one of the team members who was dodging coral heads 

while being towed behind a small boat spotted “something 

that didn’t look right.” Divers were dispatched 

immediately to check it out, and after a cursory examination 

they realized it was the remains of an old wooden 

ship. At the time, we thought it was an excellent candidate 

for being the remains of Trouvadore, but we called it 

the “Black Rock Wreck” because of its location. It took two 

more expeditions to fully examine the site, and eliminate 

all the other possibilities. 

Q: What did you think the first time you saw the Black 

Rock Wreck underwater? 

A: RC: There wasn’t much to see at first, just a pile of 

seaweed-encrusted rocks—the ballast stones that every 

wooden sailing ship carried in its belly. It took weeks of 

excavation before you could clearly see the hull structure 

which had been buried in the sand. 

68 www.timespub.tc


Q: Just to play the Devil’s Advocate, how do you know 

it was the right ship? 

A: VV: Well, there was no “smoking gun” like a big brass 

ship’s bell with “Slave Ship Trouvadore” written on it— 

that only happens in the movies! This was more of a 

Sherlock Holmes type of investigation. According to the 

archeologists, this was the only wreck on the North coast 

of East Caicos that had the right location, artifacts, and 

construction characteristics. 

Q. What’s the suspected connection between the 

Trouvadore and modern-day Turks & Caicos Islanders? 

A: RC: We know from the records that 196 Africans 

onboard Trouvadore survived the wrecking at Breezy 

Point. They were rescued and freed by British authorities, 

and after a short “apprenticeship” in local trades, were 

given small plots of Crown land in the Caicos Islands to 

live on and farm. We believe the area they settled is now 

known as Bambarra on Middle Caicos, and their descendants 

live there to this day. 

be compared with these African databases to find out 

exactly where their ancestors came from. 

Q: Let’s talk about the film. What happened when the 

announcement was made about the discovery of the 

Trouvadore in 2008? 

A: RC: It went all over the world. Someone called excitedly 

one morning to ask if I had seen the news articles 

about it on the Internet. I was amazed at the international 

interest, even in China. There were nearly 100 articles in 

multiple languages, with tens of millions of hits! 

VV: Of course, we thought with all that interest it should 

be a shoo-in to get funding for the documentary, but 

interest does not always translate into underwriting. 

Q: How sure can you be sure that there is a connection 

between Trouvadore, Bambara in Africa, and 

Bambarra on Middle Caicos? 

A: VV: Well, what constitutes proof? There’s the similar 

place names, to start with. The first Africans in the Caicos 

Islands came down from Georgia and Florida after the US 

War of Independence in the 1790s. It’s unlikely that they 

would have retained the memory of place names or language 

families in Africa—but the people on Trouvadore 

could have. 

We also have local oral tradition. For example, former 

TCI Director of Culture David Bowen spent time as a boy 

with his great-grandmother in Bambarra, and he recalls 

her talking about her grandmother coming from a slave 

ship wreck. 

Q: What about DNA studies? Couldn’t they help 

resolve the origin of the people of Bambarra? 

A: VV: Absolutely! Modern medical science has provided 

all of us with a way—which until now was impossible—to 

establish incontrovertible connections with our origins 

and distant relatives. Because humanity originated in 

Africa, a tremendous amount of DNA research has been 

done there and now huge databases exist. DNA samples 

from Africans living on this side of the Atlantic can 

Capt. Jean-Francois Chabot shoots the wreck site underwater. 

Q: What does a documentary like this cost to produce 

and how long does it take? 

A: RC: Documentary production isn’t a one-step process. 

Every element requires funding of different amounts and 

at different times, especially when you have to follow the 

process of the archaeology and research. After the actual 

expedition shooting is done, the rest of the story must 

be written and filmed, edited, and distributed. These are 

the things that truly cost the most, and can range from 

$200,000 to more than $1,000,000, depending on how 

the film is structured. In the case of the Trouvadore project, 

all the elements after the expeditions have yet to be 

funded and filmed. 

Q: Why is it so important to make a documentary film 

about the Trouvadore story? Hasn’t it already been 

told? 



Search for Trouvadore Project 

To view videos about the Search for Trouvadore 

Project, go to: 

http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-videos/trouvadore-story-deliverance 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDIM37Xf3dE 

For more information or to contribute to the production 

of the Trouvadore documentary contact: 

In the Turks & Caicos: 

Patricia P. Saxton, Director 

Turks & Caicos National Museum Foundation 

pat.saxton@tcmuseum.org 

649-946-2160 

VOI: 505-216-1795 •Cell: 649-231-1891 

For US taxpayers, your support is tax deductible 

when made through the Friends of the Turks & 

Caicos National Museum Foundation: 

Dr. Donald H. Keith, President 

Friends of the Turks & Caicos National Museum 

Foundation 

39 Condesa Road 

Santa Fe, NM, 87508 

dhkeith@shipsofdiscovery.org 

Cell: 361-779-3861 • Office: 505-466-2240 

Among the scores of people involved in the research, excavation, and 

filming of the “Search for Trouvadore” is this team of archaeologists, 

videographers, and crew members of the Turks & Caicos Explorer 

during the 2008 season. 

A: RC: Documentary films typically reach the largest possible 

audience, more than any other medium, including 

magazines, books, or any of the other “traditional” ways 

of getting the word out. And it isn’t just getting the word 

out, it’s what the word is. It isn’t just one story . . . it’s 

many stories. 

Q: And how do you intend to tell the Trouvadore 

story? 

A: RC: Recently there has been increasing interest in 

“slave ship archeology” but very few documentaries have 

been made on the subject. People are surprised to learn 

that only a handful have ever been found and studied, 

and Trouvadore is the first to actually be carrying slaves 

at the time it wrecked. Given the nature of the African 

slave trade, being able to trace anyone’s lineage directly 

back to their ancestral homelands is almost unheard of. 

VV: Of course, many films have been made about the 

infamous “Middle Passage,” and how wrong the institution 

of slavery was in the first place, but the Trouvadore 

story is different. 

70 www.timespub.tc


Q: Different? How do you mean? 

A: VV: It’s the story of a voyage that ended in shipwreck, 

but for the Africans on board it wasn’t a tragedy, it was 

deliverance! British subjects in the Caicos Islands resisted 

the handsome bribes offered by the Spanish captain, and 

reported the wreck to the proper authorities who arrested 

the captain and crew and freed the Africans. 

It’s the story of how an accidental discovery of an 

old letter in the Smithsonian led to a shipwreck with a 

direct connection to the modern-day inhabitants of a tiny 

settlement on Middle Caicos. It tells why museums and 

the artifacts and records they preserve in perpetuity are 

so important: human memory is short and inaccurate. 

Q: So you’ve been working on this for 13 years?! 

Where did the funding come from all that time? 

A: VV: Working closely with the TC National Museum 

and Ships of Discovery, we’ve had a variety of supporters 

over the years. In fact, there’s been a lot of interest and 

support from outside the TCI. We received grants from 

the US National Science Foundation and NOAA, and the 

Dayton, Teddy, and San Francisco Foundations, among 

others. In the TCI we got support from the Hotel & Tourist 

Association, the Tourist Board, the Hartling Group, the 

Krieble Foundation, the TCI Conservation Fund, Mr. John 

M. Frey, and others. 

Q: So what’s next? 

A: RC: Right now we’re working with distributors from 

Australia and Canada to partner with international production 

companies who would participate in funding and 

broadcasting the first class documentary that the “Search 

for Trouvadore” deserves. 

VV: Even before any major funding can come from international 

broadcast partners, the documentary still must 

raise funds to produce both the material for promoting 

the project, and to make sure the quality of the production 

is as high as possible. Even though the Trouvadore 

story is an international one, at its core, it really is about 

the people of the TCI who we hope will continue to support 

the project, and help us finish their story. a 

Museum matters 

Anniversary celebration 

In November 2015, the Turks & Caicos National 

Museum will celebrate the 24th anniversary of the 

day we first opened our doors. We like to think that 

the Museum’s Founder, Mrs. Grethe Seim would 

be proud of what we have accomplished. A glance 

backward over the last five years shows that we have 

come a long way. 

In 2015 we 

received a donation 

from HE Governor 

Beckingham’s 

office for a new 

exhibit showcasing 

a 19th century 

colonial office (at 

left). The Museum closed from September 1–15 so 

we could install that exhibit and upgrade others. The 

John Glenn exhibit now is in a brighter room, with 

new information about the US bases and the men 

who served in TCI. We thank all of the ex-servicemen 

who donated their photos, memorabilia and stories. 

Other new additions are the information boards and 

“windows” into the Salt Industry, featuring a large 

scale model of a salina windmill, photos, and artefacts. 

Neil Saxton and Charles Kesnel worked diligently 

to make sure we opened on September 16. Along the 

way they had the usual surprises: rotten wood, termites 

and crazy electrical wiring. Remodeling a house 

which is itself an almost 200 year old artifact isn’t 

easy. But our small, mighty team of workers overcame 

the obstacles and our new exhibits are wonderful. We 

will be adding plaques naming the past governors 

and premiers along with more photography of the 

Queen’s visits. Also new is that all visitors will now 

receive a guide to the upstairs, explaining the exhibits 

along with a bit of history about Guinep House. 

Everything will be in place for the grand opening 

in mid-November 2015 to kick off our anniversary! 

HE Governor Beckingham will do the honors, and it 

will be an event for members and supporters. a 

Story & Photos By Museum Director Pat Saxton 



A range of early stamps is shown all used together on one postcard in 1927. 

The Original “Snail Mail” 

A glimpse at the postal history of the Turks & Caicos Islands. 

Story & Photos By Peter Marshall 

Many people the world over have never heard of the Turks & Caicos Islands. But among philatelists (a 

posh word for stamp collectors, myself included), the Islands are famous for the colourful, diverse postage 

stamps they issue. 

Until the salt-raking stamps were introduced it was only the postcards that told anything about what 

could be found in these islands. My own interest gradually became more focused on the postcards and 

envelopes themselves, adding to the history of the Islands. I have not found any picture postcard before 

1900. Many, if not most, were sent by visitors, and are more likely to be found abroad, as indeed are 

most stamps and envelopes. 

72 www.timespub.tc


I imagine that few readers of 

the Astrolabe can remember stamps 

much further back than 1967 when 

the Turks Islands celebrated the 

100th Anniversary of their “separation” 

from the Bahamas. Interestingly, 

up to 1900, TCI stamps carried the 

Turks Islands name only and thereafter, 

Turks and Caicos Islands. Before 

1867 there were no stamps but just a 

simple postmark to show that postage 

had been paid. Given the relatively 

small population of the Islands, it 

was almost inevitable that properly 

used stamps would be scarcer than 

those unfranked. As years advanced, 

stamps became more and more 

important as revenue generators for 

the Islands through stamp collectors 

rather than just postal use. 

There were half a dozen other 

issues up until the time of the present 

monarch but less than 15 in total 

in nearly 90 years before then, and 

some of those included stamps for 

events such as coronations, victory, 

etc. 

When did they think of introducing 

the local postage rate of ¼d? 

Perhaps during 1909 when the next 

design, showing a portrait of King 

Edward VII, was issued but without 

that value. The ¼d “cactus” design 

came out the following year. Was it a 

trial overprint or just a bogus stamp? 

Does any reader have an old family 

album with perhaps a letter or card 

tucked away, which was delivered 

with that stamp applied? This is an 

example of where the philatelist 

often has to rely on local knowledge, 

and the longer one does not ask the 

question, the less likely that we will 

know. Can YOU help? 

The customs house produces 

another query for YOU! OHMS cor- 

Some later issues are shown here, including the George V Jubilee, value across which has 

been perforated “SPECIMEN”. 

There is no lack of material to interest the serious philatelist. These early “Provisional” overprint 

issues of 1881 were introduced as a stop-gap to suit the postal rates of 1881 before the 

new stamps were issued in 1882. 

Even from early days, most stamps, pre-paid postcards, and pre-paid envelopes were issued to 

other nations as “samples” with the word “specimen” added, and one or two applied their own 

additional marks (as Portugal applied “Ultramar” to the far right stamp). The lovely “badge of 

the colony” stamps, issued at the turn of the 19th century, also had a provisional overprint 

of ¼d on its ½d value. These have been assumed not to be genuine postal stamps, but I have 

a letter from the late John Challis, a specialist in the study of the TCI, that they were “genuine” 

rather than a philatelic issue. The sending of mail by a particular passing ship is often 

written or stamped on the card or envelope, but the stamp shown on the far left has the “SS 

SEMINOLE” cancelled across the stamp itself. 

This plain pre-stamped card was sent “folded” with a reply card attached, already prepaid, 

which was valid in any country. This, together with that postcard, begins to show there is 

much more to postal history than the individual stamps. Stamps with the badge of the colony 

were significant since these were the first stamps that acknowledge that people inhabit the 

Caicos Islands as well as the Turks Islands. 



Left: Shown here is the back of an envelope sent to Mr. I. Levina in 1939 which had been opened by the wartime censor en route to Montreal. 

Apart from bearing one of two types of the “Cable & Wireless” markings (indifferently applied inverted), it has something like the badge of 

the colony pre-printed on the envelope’s back flap. Or is it a family crest? If so, are any members of the family reading this? 

Right: This OHMS envelope has “Customs House Turks Islands” stamped on it. When was that in use? Does the rubber stamp still exist? 

Above: VP5BF is the call sign that belonged to Ken Penchoen, South Caicos, and was sent to 

the man with whom he had made radio contact. VP5AA was Hamilton Robinson, VP5DC Bud 

(Lorne) Creech, and VP5PH Seth Hodson. 

Left: This is the very characterful card VP 5BB. I wonder whether any of Bert Bethelsen’s relations, 

or those of others, are still present in the Islands? 

respondence was often stamped with an oval marked 

“Postmaster Turks Islands,” usually dated in the centre, 

but the one above has “Customs House Turks Islands.” 

When was that in use (other than the date shown)? Does 

the rubber stamp still exist, perhaps with the postmaster? 

Much more recently (only 50 or so years ago!), 

there was another counterpart to the postcard—ham 

radio cards identifying individually owned, non-commercial 

radio transmitters, by which communication was 

instantaneous, long before the days of the Internet. The 

interest I have in these is that they are from residents 

and thus include people’s names. All ham radios in the 

TCI had call signs beginning with VP5. 

Envelopes to or from the following salt merchants 

are also in my album: Harriott Salt, George Frith, Alfred 

Stubbs, and Neale Coverley. I wonder if relations of those 

who worked there are still resident. And what about Oscar 

Greg, Edward Cameron (Comissioner at Government 

House) or Postmaster T. Lindsay Smith, in the 1920s? 

If YOU should find something similar to any of 

the items mentioned in the article, perhaps lurking at 

the bottom of an old drawer, I would be delighted to 

hear from you. I can either be contacted at my e-mail 

(ar.01177@yahoo.co.uk) or through the Museum (info@ 

tcmuseum.org). Help us reconstruct the postal history of 

the TCI! a 

74 www.timespub.tc


In this popular Edmond Neale Coverley postcard, “Cocoanuts and Guinea Corn,” the child in the foreground is Neal’s oldest son, Litton Flavious 

Boller Coverley. 

Grand Turk’s Postcard Man 

Meet Edmond Neale Coverley. 

By Sherlin Willams ~ Illustrations Turks & Caicos National Museum Collection 

Edmond Neale Coverley was born on Grand Turk to Flavious Coverley, an Englishman, and Olivia Firth, 

a young lady of the wealthy Frith salt merchant clan. Neal, as he was affectionately called, and his wife 

Minimia Elodie Astwood, lived with their children in their two story home on Middle Street, directly behind 

present-day Dots Enterprise. 



Neale became a successful entrepreneur and businessman 

on Grand Turk, participating in a wide range of 

enterprises and acquiring a broad spectrum of skills. He 

owned and operated a store on Front Street, located in 

the building now occupied by the Seventh Day Adventist 

Church, selling a large variety of items ranging from groceries 

to boat anchors! He also did very well buying and 

scrapping wrecked ships. 

At the back of the store Neale had a workshop where 

he made shell products for export, repaired watches, and 

pulled teeth (ouch!). A good example of his ingenuity was 

the windmill he built to power some of his tools. The 

store also contained his photography studio and darkroom—elements 

of the profession that made him famous. 

The fact that Neale was so good and successful at so 

many things shows that he was extraordinarily talented. 

And whilst it’s likely that he was not trained at a photography 

institute as I was, his photography is in every 

respect that of a trained professional photographer. 

Likewise, Neale captured the essence of our salt industry 

era where none other came close. 

Neale was also a bullish entrepreneur. When the government 

was looking for persons interested in a scheme 

to diversity the island’s economy producing cooking oil 

from coconuts, Neale stepped up to the plate and began 

operating a coconut plantation at Little Bluff. The venture 

flourished for a while until it fell prey to a plant disease 

that wiped the trees out. 

Neale was the island’s number one cricket fan. His 

passion for the sport led him to sponsor a cricket team 

that competed with the Police and Cable & Wireless teams. 

His business success and other ventures seemed to enrich 

him spiritually; he was a member of the Anglican Church, 

but regularly visited the Baptist and Methodist churches. 

This was at a time when those denominations were not 

popular amongst Salt Island elites. 

In the wake of the devastating July 1926 hurricanes, 

Neale gave financial assistance to many whose homes 

were damaged or lost their roofs. He passed away the 

next year at age fifty. His tomb is one of the first visitors 

to St. Thomas’s Church will see after entering the main 

gate. 

The Postcard Man 

Neale’s turn of the twentieth century postcards covering a 

This is a photo of Neale “The Postcard Man” and Minimia Coverley. 

Middle: In “Holiday – Grand Turk,” note the photographers in the lower 

left corner, the Victoria Library on the right, and the large mounds of 

salt in the background. 

Bottom: In “Barreling Salt for Export,” note the perfect composition: 

salt, barrels, donkey cart, and ships in background. 

76 www.timespub.tc


In “Lighthouse Grand Turk,” note the man on the walkway at the top 

of the tower with a telescope! 

cross-section of life on Grand Turk have given us some of 

the best memories of the Salt Islands during their heyday. 

Apparently he began making black-and-white and sepia 

tone postcards in the 1890s. His famous “Holiday Grand 

Turk,” “Lighthouse Grand Turk,” “Barrelling Salt,” and 

other postcards indicate that he took his photography to 

a higher level by moving away from sepia tones and into 

the new colour tones. 

Some authors have stated that Neale was the photographer 

for the “Holiday Grand Turk” postcard taken 

on Queen Victoria’s fiftieth birthday or during her Silver 

Jubilee celebration, because the crowd seems to be 

gathering at the Victoria Library on the right side of the 

photograph. My research revealed that Neale was born 

in 1877. Queen Victoria was born in 1819 and ascended 

to the throne in 1837. Her fiftieth birthday celebration 

would have been held in 1869, before Neale was born, 

and her Silver Jubilee would have been in 1887, when 

Neale was age ten. Although it is possible that a tenyear-old 

boy could have accomplished this, I think it was 

highly unlikely. Photographic equipment in those days 

was very expensive and probably beyond the reach of 

such a young man. 

We know the Victoria Library on Grand Turk was built 

over a period of two years and dedicated in her honor in 

1889, when Neale was age twenty-one. The Queen died 

in 1901, when Neale was age twenty-four. Therefore, it 

is only reasonable to conclude that that this great photo 

was taken either at the Library’s official opening or upon 

her death, by which time he would have acquired the 

expertise, experience and equipment. But I’m inclined to 

believe that it was taken in 1901, when the great Queen 

passed away. 

Notice that there are other photographers in the 

photo. These are amateurs. When taking in a large scene 

a professional would always get an elevated perspective, 

as Neale has done here. His postcard titled “Barreling Salt 

for Export” tells me that although he was almost certainly 

self-taught, his work was of professional quality. Looking 

at this picture, it is easy to tell that the mule-cart and 

driver are posed. The ship is in the perfect position. The 

subject, salt, is in the foreground along with salt workers: 

perfect! The only improvement a photographer of today 

might make would be to include a little action. We can do 

so nowadays because we have cameras with high shutter 

speeds capable of freezing action—something not 

available to Neale. That is why this picture appears to be 

unanimated. But its overall qualities are so strong most 

viewers would hardly notice. a 

The author would like to thank the Coverley family and 

friends for their valuable assistance in providing information 

on Mr. Edmond Neale Coverley, especially Mr. 

Carl Coverley, Neale’s grandson, and the late Mr. Oswald 

“King Oz” Francis, friend of the family. 

Join the Museum 

Become a Member and receive a year’s subscription 

to Times of the Islands (which includes Astrolabe), 

free admission to the Museum, and a Members’ 

Discount in the Museum Shop. 

Senior (62+) $35 • Individual $50 

Family/Friend $100 

Sponsor $250• Contributor $500 • Partner $750 

To join*, send name, address, email, and type of 

membership, along with cheque or money order 

payable to “Turks & Caicos National Museum” to: 

Friends of the Turks & Caicos National Museum 

39 Condesa Road 

Santa Fe, NM 87508 USA 

Or, visit: 

www.tcmuseum.org/membership-support/ 

*For U.S. residents, support of the Museum is tax-deductible via 

Friends of the Turks & Caicos National Museum, Attn: Donald H. 

Keith, 39 Condesa Road, Santa Fe NM 87508, our affiliated institution 

and registered 501 (c) (3). 



Museum matters 

Gift shop prepares for the season 

The TCNM team is gearing up for the busy season with 

lots of new gift shop items. Look for our new collection 

of Dune Jewelry, made exclusively for the Museum. 

Sterling silver necklaces, rings, bangles and earrings, 

all with a touch of sand from Governor’s Beach, make 

lovely gifts for someone special. 

Our motto, “Take some history home with you,” 

doesn’t stop there. We have replicas of the salt windmill, 

brass navigational ornaments and handmade 

ornaments filled with sea glass, along with flags and 

handmade magnets. And of course we continue to 

stock baskets from North and Middle Caicos, along with 

handmade dolls dressed in the TCI native costume. 

Our book department is full of enthralling volumes 

on slavery, cuisine, diving, and island living. And don’t 

forget those good children on your list with plush donkeys 

that actually bray, floppy flamingos, pirate books, 

kits to make a “ship in a bottle,” and our famous book 

Where is Simon, Sandy? 

From tasty culinary salts and relaxing bath salts 

produced on Salt Cay to new Christmas ornaments, fabulous 

books, and loads of children’s items—make sure 

you stop at the Guinep House Gift Shop for all of your 

Christmas shopping. 

TCI Speaker of the House Hon. Robert Hall, explained the intricacies 

of government to Children’s Camp participants. 

Children’s summer camp 

This year we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the 

Children’s Club! A huge thank-you to 101.9FM and TCI 

Weekly News for getting the word out about the 2015 

Children’s Summer Camp, which was well attended. 

Educational outings kept our 8–12 year-olds smiling and 

inquiring as we started camp on August 24. With four 

days to see Grand Turk, the campers set out by foot, 

trolley and boat. On the first day they learned about our 

Museum and its Botanical and Cultural Garden. The next 

day, Governor’s wife Jill Beckingham opened her historic 

home at Waterloo for us to visit. Thank you to Island 

Trams for transporting the children to and fro. 

On the third day, we were invited to the House of 

Assembly by Hon. Robert Hall, Speaker of the House, to 

learn all about the TCI Government. On the fourth day 

we walked along Front Street to meet and talk with the 

owners and staff members of various local businesses. 

The kids learned a lot from Grand Turk Divers, Blue Water 

Divers, Turks Head Inn, Osprey Hotel, LIME and finished 

off with cookies from the Coral Café! Weather delayed our 

annual Gibbs Cay outing until September 26, but we had 

a great time. Thanks to Oasis Divers for supplying the 

boat rides! 

The Children’s Camp would not have been a success 

without the assistance of the Museum staff: Fred, Cecile, 

Nikki and Pat, along with DEMA volunteers B Naqqi Manco 

and Katharine Hart. The camp is free and is supported by 

the proceeds from Donna Seim’s book Where is Simon, 

Sandy? This year we have a new manager, Lavena A. 

“Angel” Ben and she brought new and exciting ideas! 

We are looking forward to our Children’s Club Saturday 

Camps starting in October. a 

Story & Photos By Museum Director Pat Saxton 

78 www.timespub.tc

faces and places 

With main sponsorship from The Wine Cellar, Turquoise Distribution, and Crystal Water, event-goers enjoyed a fun Saturday with great company 

and entertainment by Josh Shapiro from New York City and Karen Bizzell from the UK. Pauline Barclay along with Hazel Hegewald and 

their committee worked hard to put a seamless event together with the help of the great staff at Asú Beach Restaurant at the Alexandra Resort. 

Third Annual Ladies Hat Luncheon 

The annual fundraiser was held on November 14, 2015, raising $20,000 for local children’s education. It was 

attended by hat-conscious ladies of the Turks & Caicos Islands, as well as regular visitors. The location was the new 

Asú Beach Restaurant at the Alexandra Resort on Grace Bay Beach. There were fabulous prizes for Best Hat, Most 

Creative Hat, and Wow Factor Ensemble. 

By Claire Parrish ~ Photography Paradise Photography, www.myparadisephoto.com 

Some of the country’s men joined the event taking on roles including “Champagne chaperones,” judges, MC, and DJ. Jewelry designer Margo 

Manhatton flew in from New York City for her second year at the luncheon, donating a piece of her jewelry. 

Debbie Travin of New York’s Resident magazine attended to cover the event, seen above centre with organiser Pauline Barclay. 

Corporate tables, single tickets, along with silent and live auctions, raised the $20,000 for children’s education. Hat judges were presided 

over by the Honourable Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale. Politicians present included the Honourable Akierra Mary Deanne Missick and 

the Honourable Josephine Olivia Connolly. 


Crossing Africa: 

the journey begins 

Visit Turks Kebab restaurant in Provo, 

and you’ll likely find owner Zemar Stingl 

talking about her son Mario Rigby. Not 

only is the 30 year old “Renaissance Man” 

her pride and joy, but he is also walking 

from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, 

Egypt. One gets the sense that Blue 

Hills-born Zemar is sharing the journey 

vicariously with her son as he documents 

the experience on social media. 

Crossing Africa is a once-in-a-lifetime 

expedition to trek across the entire 

African continent by foot and paddle 

boat. It is a rigorous two year journey 

that will cover uncharted terrain through twelve countries 

in Africa. Every moment will be photographed, 

blogged, then made into a documentary. The trek will 

showcase the struggles endured in unforgiving environments 

such as deserts, jungles, and areas of civil unrest. 

Mario promises to share regular updates with readers of 

Times of the Islands as the journey progresses. 

According to Mario, the purpose of his mission is to 

follow the traces of his ancestors in what is a dangerous 

and mysterious terrain. It was an African tradition for 

boys to spend 3 to 5 years alone in the “bush,” learning 

to survive, eventually emerging as men. Mario wants to 

share the raw beauty and keep readers/viewers entertained 

with the unexpected circumstances that he will 

find along the way! 

At the same time, he wants to test the boundaries 

of human capabilities. He believes that with excellent 

planning and day-by-day goal setting, almost anything 

is possible. He says, “The only way to truly know who 

you are is to challenge yourself and push your body and 

mind to breaking points. In such circumstances, your 

true character, strength, and weakness will be revealed. 

This adventure will allow me to see life as it was meant 

to be — free, miraculous, and full of grandeur.” 

At press time, Mario plans to have left Toronto on 

November 24, 2015 to travel to Africa for several weeks 

of training prior to the trek’s official start. He calculates 

that the total distance for the crossing is 12,000 km. 

His intentions are to travel solo, although he welcomes 

anyone who would like to join him for short durations. 

He expects to be sleeping/eating at the welcoming 

homes of strangers, camping in the wild, and staying 

with charitable organizations along the route. 

Over the summer, besides working feverishly on 

expedition preparations ranging from paperwork to 

gear gathering and testing to contacting schools he 

plans to visit along the way, Mario, a personal trainer, 

also trained his eight clients, six days a week. Just prior 

to leaving for Africa, Mario took a training walk from 

Toronto to Montreal in 15 days, covering over 550 km 

and carrying everything he needed in his pack. 

Ask Zemar and she is not surprised at this the latest 

of her son’s goals. He is also an accomplished personal 

trainer, professional model, talented artist, and skilled 

photographer. He is a former semi-pro track and field 

athlete who has represented the TCI in competitions. 

Mario and his brother Travis were born in Grand 

Turk, but lived in Germany as youth. Zemar did move 

back to the TCI with the children, but then emigrated to 

Canada. She recalls that Mario always believed in himself, 

with her encouragement. “I told him to make sure 

he experienced amazing adventures while he is still 

young, before he settles down. And he certainly took 

me up on that advice!” She adds, “He’s been researching 

Africa for years. He wants to be the first Caribbean 

man to accomplish this heroic feat. I am sure he will 

succeed. I plan to meet him in Cairo in 2017!" a 

To help Mario reach his funding goal, visit: 

https://www.gofundme.com/crossingafrica 

To track his progress, visit: 

https://mariorigby.wordpress.com 

80 www.timespub.tc

CONNOLLY KIA MOTORS 

WE LEAD OTHERS FOLLOW! 

You need something new, something designed with you in mind. Something to help you meet the challenges of daily life, 

swiftly and easily. Something that opens up a whole new world of possibilities for work and play, whenever and wherever 

your heart desires. You need something safe and comfortable, yet versatile, dynamic and powerful. Why wait for tomorrow 

when you can be the owner of a Kia today? 

Kia has come a long way in 20 years and continues to set the pace as market leader, surpassing its own records and goals 

with impressive sales accomplishment and increasing brand awareness and loyalty to its customers. 

Connolly Kia Motors is now the exclusive distributor in TCI for Kia automobiles that are rapidly becoming the best in the 

world. At Connolly Kia we want you to drive in style and comfort and luxury, with the right colors inside and outside. 

Since the 2010 World Cup Edition, Kia has become a proud sponsor of the FIFA World Cup. Kia is also a proud sponsor of 

the Australian Open as well as the NBA. We at Connolly Kia Motors continue to actively contribute to worthy causes, sports 

and education here in the Turks and Caicos Islands. WE believe that this kind of support is useful as we seek to further 

deepen our relationships not only with our customers but the community alike, whether through sports or some other worthwhile 

sponsorship. 

Our Motto: We lead others follow! 

Email: Connollymotors@tciway.tc 

DentalSum15_Layout Facebook: Connolly 1 5/25/15 Kia Motors 12:09 PM Page 1 

Come and see us today at Connolly Kia Motors! 

Tropicana Plaza, Leeward Highway 

Providenciales , TCI 

Tel: (649) 946-5300 

World Class Facial 

Aesthetics & Dentistry 

• Botox, Dysport & Facial Fillers 

• Dental Cleaning & Whitening 

• Dental Implants 

• Veneers, Crowns & Bridges 

• Invisalign 

• Oral Surgery 

US & UK qualified with 20+ yrs experience 

For full list of treatments or to book an appointment go to 

www.markosmonddentalclinic.com or call 

(649) 432 3777 


shape up 

Get fit with PaddleFit 

By Morgan Luker, PaddleFit Level 3, 

PaddleFit Performance Specialist, WPA Instructor 

As adventure sports and wellness reach global 

heights, it’s no wonder that fitness is redefining itself 

in these sports and adventures. The Hawaiian-born 

sport of SUP (stand up paddleboarding) has reached an 

all-time participation high and so it’s only natural that 

a fitness program would evolve to enhance the waterperson’s 

lifestyle. And let’s call this PADDLEFIT. 

PaddleFit is a complete SUP and outdoor fitness 

system. The program uses land-based workouts, paddling 

technique, and on-water workouts at its core. The 

workouts are spent outdoors and on the water, taking 

advantage of the natural beauty of the Turks & Caicos 

beautiful seas and shores to enhance the workout 

experience, both physically and mentally. 

SURFside Ocean Academy has had extensive training 

in various SUP training programs, including weeks 

with PaddleFit founder Brody Welte and Californiabased 

EXOS. Their coach, Morgan Luker, has earned 

the accreditation of being the first PaddleFit coach in 

TCI. She also maintains the highest level certification 

being a PaddleFit Level 3 Coach and SUP Performance 

Specialist. 

Classes can be water- or land-based, or a combination 

of the two. All classes offer medium- to 

high-intensity training in a boot camp-style set up and 

often integrate other fitness equipment such as TRX, 

IndoBoard, hurdles, and more. This training is fun, 

challenging, and rewarding. 

Classes are offered at both Grace Bay Club and Blue 

Haven Resort with a SUP Sunday Funday every week at 

Blue Haven on the beach. For more information please 

contact SURFside’s PaddleFit Level 3 Coach and SUP 

Performance Specialist, Morgan Luker. 

In addition to the fitness classes, there are technique 

classes, performance clinics, and ecotours 

available as well. These can be PaddleFit Basic (Intro to 

SUP), technique classes for those looking to increase 

performance and develop proper SUP skill from a 

certified coach, and the ecoSUP Tour. Morgan Luker 

explains, “It’s easy to pick up a stand up paddleboard 

and paddle and just go, but 

it’s best to learn proper 

stroke technique and safety 

in order to maximize your 

enjoyment on the water, and 

minimize injury as well. With 

our PaddleFit classes, our goal is for everyone to have 

fun and be safe!” See you on the water! a 

Morgan Luker is SURFside Ocean Academy’s PaddleFit 

Level 3 Coach and SUP Performance Specialist. She can 

be reached at 649 231 5437 or visit 

surfsideoceanacademy.com. 

82 www.timespub.tc

shape up 

You are what you eat 

By Dr. Sam Slattery 

The old adage, “You are what you eat,” is absolutely 

true. Yet in this era of “Good for you” one day and “Bad 

for you,” the next, how do you know what to eat? Coffee 

is in, now coffee is out. The kaleidoscope of dietary 

advice is as colourful as the packet of candies you 

are apparently not supposed to eat. From Atkin’s low 

carbs, to Paleo’s raw foods, through the exotic olive oil 

tossed Mediterranean diets and the gluten free Wheat 

Belly, the books and their contents meander through a 

chaotic maze of pseudoscience propped up by a cornucopia 

of scientifically unsupported hypotheses. Yet, “No 

smoke without fire,” so let’s see if we can find some 

common sense compromise. 

Clearly some things are true. A quick inspection 

of human teeth suggests a balance between the sharp 

teeth of your pet dog (meat eater) and the flat grinders 

of your pet rabbit (plant eater) indicating a simple truth 

— Homo sapiens is an omnivore. We are designed to eat 

both. An inspection of early human habitats demonstrates 

a clear indication of cooking, the invention that 

allowed us to spread to every corner and possible place 

on the planet. So far, so good, we are adaptable. 

What is also a truth is that high fructose corn syrup 

was not invented until the late 1950s and was not 

added to food until the late 1970s, when the current 

epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension took 

off. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Table sugar consumption 

has been rising steadily since 1820 but not 

weight — that occurred when we were told in 1980 

to cut out fat and the food industry added high fructose 

corn syrup to everything! They also cut out dietary 

fibres, who wants to chew? 

So as you enter the holiday season, here is my very 

simple advice to staying healthy. Turn off the TV and 

throw out the processed junk food and drinks. Buy traditional 

whole foods, purchase a couple of saucepans 

and a sharp knife, grab a bottle of wine to share with 

family and friends, then head to the kitchen to cook 

some good old-fashioned meals whilst having a good 

laugh and sharing the stories of the year. 

And for a New Year’s 

resolution, keep going for 

the whole of 2016. As for 

proportions, 80% fruit and 

vegetables, 10% animal products, 

and 10% grains. Gift 

advice: Michael Pollan’s bestseller, Cooked. Good luck. 

a 

Dr. Sam Slattery has resided in the Turks & Caicos for 

27 years. He trained at St Thomas’s Hospital in London, 

qualifying in 1984. He is the lead physician at Grace 

PP Scholarship:Layout Bay Medical Center 1 5/20/13 which has 11:53 offered AM Page Urgent 1 Care 

and General Practice for 13 years. He was awarded 

his Masters (with Distinction) from London University 

in Gastroenterology and Nutrition in November 2015. 

Please visit our website to see why Provo Primary 

School can make a difference to a child’s life... 

www.provoprimary.com 

We have applications from a number of new students 

requesting financial assistance for the upcoming year. 

We rely on a scholarship fund to be able to help these 

students. 

This year we are reaching out to local business and 

private donators in order to make this difference, and 

help families with hopes of educating their child at our 

great school. 

Call us at: (649) 441 - 5638 

Email: director@provoprimary.com 


about the Islands 

Map provided courtesy Wavey Line Publishing. Their navigation charts and decorative and historic maps of the Turks & Caicos Islands, the 

Bahamas, and Hispaniola are available in shops throughout the Islands. Visit www.waveylinepublishing.com. 

Where we are 

The Turks & Caicos Islands lie some 575 miles southeast 

of Miami — approximately 1 1/2 hours flying time — 

with the Bahamas about 30 miles to the northwest and 

the Dominican Republic some 100 miles to the southeast. 

The country consists of two island groups separated 

by the 22 mile wide Columbus Passage. To the west are 

the Caicos Islands: West Caicos, Providenciales, North 

Caicos, Middle Caicos, East Caicos, and South Caicos. To 

the east are the Turks Islands: Grand Turk and Salt Cay. 

The Turks & Caicos total 166 square miles of land 

area on eight islands and 40 small cays. The country’s 

population is approximately 32,000. 

Getting here 

There are international airports on Grand Turk, North 

Caicos, Providenciales, and South Caicos, with domestic 

airports on all of the islands except East Caicos. 

At this time, all of the major international carriers 

arrive and depart from Providenciales International 

Airport. American Airlines flies three times daily from 

Miami, daily service from Charlotte, and from Philadelphia 

on Saturday and Sunday. JetBlue Airways offers daily service 

from New York/JFK and Fort Lauderdale, and from 

Boston on Saturday. Delta Airlines flies from Atlanta 

daily and New York/JFK on Saturday. United Airlines travels 

from Newark on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and from 

Houston on Saturday. 

West Jet travels from Toronto on Wednesday and 

Saturday. Air Canada offer flights from Toronto on 

84 www.timespub.tc

Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. British Airways travels 

on Wednesday and Sunday from London/Heathrow via 

Antigua. 

Bahamasair flies to Nassau on Thursday and Sunday; 

Inter-caribbean Airways travels on Monday, Wednesday, 

and Friday. Inter-caribbean Airways and Caicos Express 

travels to Haiti daily, while Inter-caribbean Airways flies 

to the Dominican Republic daily (except Wednesday); 

to Jamaica on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, 

and to Puerto Rico on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. 

(Schedules are current as of November 2015 and subject 

to change.) 

Inter-island service is provided by Inter-caribbean 

Airways, Caicos Express Airways, and Global Airways. Sea 

and air freight services operate from Florida. 

Language 

English. 

Time zone 

Eastern Standard Time/Daylight Savings Time observed. 

Currency 

The United States dollar. The Treasury also issues a Turks 

& Caicos crown and quarter. Travellers cheques in U.S. 

dollars are widely accepted and other currency can be 

changed at local banks. American Express, VISA, and 

MasterCard are welcomed at many locations. 

Climate 

The average year-round temperature is 83ºF (28ºC). The 

hottest months are September and October, when the 

temperature can reach 90 to 95ºF (33 to 35ºC). However, 

the consistent easterly trade winds temper the heat and 

keep life comfortable. 

Casual resort and leisure wear is accepted attire for 

daytime; light sweaters or jackets may be necessary on 

some breezy evenings. It’s wise to wear protective clothing 

and a sunhat and use waterproof sunscreen when out 

in the tropical sun. 

Entry requirements 

Passport. A valid onward or return ticket is also required. 

Customs formalities 

Visitors may bring in duty free for their own use one carton 

of cigarettes or cigars, one bottle of liquor or wine, 

and some perfume. The importation of all firearms including 

those charged with compressed air without prior 


about the Islands 

approval in writing from the Commissioner of Police is 

strictly forbidden. Spear guns, Hawaiian slings, controlled 

drugs, and pornography are also illegal. 

Returning residents may bring in $400 worth of 

merchandise per person duty free. A duty of 10% to 

60% is charged on most imported goods along with a 

7% customs processing fee and forms a major source of 

government revenue. 

Transportation 

A valid driver’s license from home is suitable when renting 

vehicles. A government tax of 12% is levied on all 

rental contracts. (Insurance is extra.) Driving is on the 

left-hand side of the road, with traffic flow controlled by 

round-abouts at major junctions. Please don’t drink and 

drive! Taxis are abundant throughout the Islands and 

many resorts offer shuttle service between popular visitor 

areas. Scooter, ATV, and bicycle rentals are also available. 

Telecommunications 

LIME Ltd. provides service on a totally digital 4G network, 

including pre-paid phone cards, pre-paid cellular phones, 

credit card, and calling card options. Broadband Internet 

service, with speeds as fast as 8Mbps, connects the 

Islands to the world. Most resorts offer wireless Internet 

connection and there are several private Internet cafés. 

Digicel operates GSM mobile networks, with a full suite of 

4G service. LIME is the local carrier for CDMA roaming on 

US networks such as Verizon and Sprint. North American 

visitors with GSM cellular handsets and wireless accounts 

with AT&T or Cingular can arrange international roaming. 

Electricity 

120/240 volts, 60 Hz, suitable for all U.S. appliances. 

Departure tax 

US $20 for all persons two years and older, payable in 

cash or traveller’s cheques. It is typically built into the 

cost of your ticket. 

Courier service 

Delivery service is provided by FedEx, with offices on 

Providenciales and Grand Turk, and DHL. UPS service is 

limited to incoming delivery. 

Postal service 

The Post Office and Philatelic Bureau in Providenciales is 

located downtown in Butterfield Square. In Grand Turk, 

the Post Office is on Front Street, with the Philatelic 

Bureau on Church Folly. The Islands are known for their 

varied and colorful stamp issues. 

Media 

Multi-channel satellite television is received from the U.S. 

and Canada and transmitted via cable or over the air. 

Local station WIV-TV broadcasts on Channel 4 and Island 

EyeTV on Channel 5. People’s Television offers 75 digitally 

transmitted television stations, along with local news 

and talk shows on Channel 8. There are also a number of 

local radio stations, magazines, and newspapers. 

Medical services 

There are no endemic tropical diseases in TCI. There are 

large, modern hospitals on Grand Turk and Providenciales. 

Both hospitals offer a full range of services including: 

24/7 emergency room, operating theaters, diagnostic 

imaging, maternity suites, dialysis suites, blood bank, 

physiotherapy, and dentistry. 

In addition, several general practitioners operate in 

the country, and there is a recompression chamber, along 

with a number of private pharmacies. 

Immigration 

A resident’s permit is required to live in the Islands. A 

work permit and business license are also required to 

work and/or establish a business. These are generally 

granted to those offering skills, experience, and qualifications 

not widely available on the Islands. Priority is given 

to enterprises that will provide employment and training 

for T&C Islanders. 

Government/Legal system 

TCI is a British Crown colony. There is a Queen-appointed 

Governor, HE Peter Beckingham. He presides over an executive 

council formed by the elected local government. 

PNP Leader Dr. Rufus Ewing is the country’s premier. 

The legal system is based upon English Common 

Law and administered by a resident Chief Justice, Chief 

Magistrate, and Deputy Magistrates. Judges of the Court 

of Appeal visit the Islands twice a year and there is a final 

Right of Appeal to Her Majesty’s Privy Council in London. 

Taxes 

There are currently no direct taxes on either income 

86 www.timespub.tc

or capital for individuals or companies. There are no 

exchange controls. Indirect taxation comprises customs 

duties and fees, stamp duty, taxes on accommodations, 

restaurants, vehicle rentals, other services and gasoline, 

as well as business license fees and departure taxes. 

Economy 

Historically, TCI’s economy relied on the export of 

salt. Currently, tourism, the offshore finance industry, 

and fishing generate the most private sector income. 

The Islands’ main exports are lobster and conch, with 

the world’s first commercial conch farm operating on 

Providenciales. Practically all consumer goods and foodstuffs 

are imported. 

The Turks & Caicos Islands are recognised as an 

important offshore financial centre, offering services 

such as company formation, offshore insurance, banking, 

trusts, limited partnerships, and limited life companies. 

The Financial Services Commission regulates the industry 

and spearheads the development of offshore legislation. 

People 

Citizens of the Turks & Caicos Islands are termed 

“Belongers” and are primarily descendants of African 

slaves who were brought to the Islands to work on the 

salt ponds and cotton plantations. The country’s large 

expatriate population includes Canadians, Americans, 

Brits and Europeans, along with Haitians, Jamaicans, 

Dominicans, Bahamians, Indians, and Filipinos. 

Churches 

Churches are the center of community life and there 

are many faiths represented in the Islands, including: 

Adventist, Anglican, Assembly of God, Baha’i, 

Baptist, Catholic, Church of God of Prophecy, Episcopal, 

Faith Tabernacle Church of God, Jehovah’s Witnesses, 

Methodist and Pentecostal. Visitors are always welcome. 

Pets 

Incoming pets must have an import permit, veterinary 

health certificate, vaccination certificate, and lab test 

results to be submitted at the port of entry to obtain 

clearance from the TCI Department of Agriculture, Animal 

Health Services. 

National symbols 

The National Bird is the Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). 

The National Plant is Island heather (Limonium 

bahamense) found nowhere else in the world. The 

“Schedule subject to change without prior notice” 


National Tree is the Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea var. 

bahamensis). The National Costume consists of white cotton 

dresses tied at the waist for women and simple shirts 

and loose pants for men, with straw hats. Colors representing 

the various islands are displayed on the sleeves 

and bases. The National Song is “This Land of Ours,” by 

the late Rev. E.C. Howell, PhD. Peas and Hominy (Grits) 

with Dry Conch is revered as symbolic island fare. 

Going green 

TCI Waste Disposal Services currently offers recycling services 

through weekly collection of recyclable aluminum, 

glass, and plastic. The TCI Environmental Club is spearheading 

a campaign to eliminate single-use plastic bags. 

Do your part by using a cloth bag whenever possible. 

Keep TCI “Beautiful by Nature” by not littering! 

Recreation 

Sporting activities are centered around the water. Visitors 

can choose from deep-sea, reef, or bonefishing, sailing, 

glass-bottom boat and semi-sub excursions, windsurfing, 

waterskiing, parasailing, sea kayaking, snorkelling, 

scuba diving, kiteboarding, stand up paddleboarding, 

and beachcombing. Pristine reefs, abundant marine life, 

and excellent visibility make TCI a world-class diving 

destination. Tennis and golf—there is an eighteen hole 

championship course on Providenciales—are also popular. 

The Islands are an ecotourist’s paradise. Visitors can 

enjoy unspoilt wilderness and native flora and fauna in 

thirty-three national parks, nature reserves, sanctuaries, 

and areas of historical interest. The National Trust 

provides trail guides to several hiking trails, as well as 

guided tours of major historical sites. There is an excellent 

national museum on Grand Turk, with a future 

branch planned for Providenciales. A scheduled ferry and 

a selection of tour operators make it easy to take day 

trips to the outer islands. 

Other land-based activities include bicycling, horseback 

riding, and football (soccer). Personal trainers are 

available to motivate you, working out of several fitness 

centres. You will also find a variety of spa and body treatment 

services. 

Nightlife includes local bands playing island music 

at bars and restaurants and some nightclubs. There are 

two casinos on Providenciales, along with many electronic 

gaming parlours. Stargazing is extraordinary! 

Shoppers will find Caribbean paintings, T-shirts, 

sports and beachwear, and locally made handicrafts, 

including straw work and conch crafts. Duty free outlets 

sell liquor, jewellery, watches, perfume, leather goods, 

crystal, china, cameras, electronics, brand-name clothing 

and accessories, along with Cuban cigars. a 

88 www.timespub.tc

where to stay 

Grand Turk 

range of daily rates 

US$ (subject to change) 

number of units 

major credit cards 

restaurant 

bar 

air conditioning 

phone in unit 

television in unit 

kitchen in unit 

laundry service 

pool 

on the beach 

H 

The Arches of Grand Turk – Tel 649 946 2941 190–210 4 • • • • • • • 

Bohio Dive Resort – Tel 649 946 2135 • Web www.bohioresort.com 170–230 16 • • • • • • • • 

Crabtree Apartments – Tel 978 270 1698 • Web www.GrandTurkVacationRental.com 210–250 3 • • • • • • 

Grand Turk Inn – Tel 649 946 2827 • Web www.grandturkinn.com 250–300 5 • • • • • • • 

Island House – Tel 649 946 1519/232 5514 • Web www.islandhouse.tc 110–185 8 • • • • • • • 

Manta House – Tel 649 946 1111 • Web www.grandturk-mantahouse.com 110–130 5 • • • • • • • 

Osprey Beach Hotel – Tel 649 946 2666 • Web www.ospreybeachhotel.com 90–225 37 • • • • • • • • • • 

Salt Raker Inn – Tel 649 946 2260 • Web www.saltrakerinn.com 55–140 13 • • • • • • • 

Solomon Porches Guesthouse – Tel 649 946 2776/241 2937 • Fax 649 946 1984 75–100 3 • • 

White Sands Beach Resort – Tel 649 242 1991 • Web whitesandstci.com 130–150 16 • • • • • • • • • 

Middle Caicos 

H 

Blue Horizon Resort – Tel 649 946 6141 • Web bhresort.com 265–400 7 • • • • • • • • • 

North Caicos 

H 

Bottle Creek Lodge – Tel 649 946 7080 • Web www.bottlecreeklodge.com 155–240 3 • • 

Caicos Beach Condominiums – Tel 649 241 4778/786 338 9264 • Web www.caicosbeachcondos.com 159–299 8 • • • • • • • • 

Cedar Palms Suites – Tel 649 946 7113/649 244 4186 • Web www.oceanbeach.tc 250–300 3 • • • • • • • • • 

Flamingo’s Nest – Tel 649 946 7113/649 244 4186 • Web www.oceanbeach.tc 175–340 2 • • • • • • • • 

Hollywood Beach Suites - Tel 800 551 2256/649 231 1020 • Web www.hollywoodbeachsuites.com 200–235 4 • • • • • • 

JoAnne’s Bed & Breakfast - Tel 649 946 7301 • Web www.turksandcaicos.tc/joannesbnb 80–120 4 • • • • 

Palmetto Villa – Tel 649 946 7113/649 244 4186 • Web www.oceanbeach.tc 225–250 1 • • • • • • • • 

Pelican Beach Hotel - Tel 649 946 7112/877 774 5486 • Web www.pelicanbeach.tc 125–165 14 • • • • • • • • 

Pine Cay 

H 

The Meridian Club Turks & Caicos - Tel 649 946 7758/866 746 3229 • Web www.meridianclub.com 800–1300 13 • • • • • • 

Parrot Cay 

H 

Parrot Cay COMO Resort & Spa - Tel 877 754 0726/649 946 7788 • Web www.parrotcay.como.bz 450–4370 65 • • • • • • • • • • 

Providenciales 

G 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

G H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

Airport Inn - Tel 649 941 3514 • Web www.airportinntci.com. 140 18 • • • • • • • 

The Alexandra Resort & Spa - Tel 800 704 9424/649 946 5807 • Web www.alexandraresort.com 280–420 99 • • • • • • • • • 

The Atrium Resort - Tel 888 592 7885/649 333 0101 • Web www.theatriumresorttci.com 159–410 30 • • • • • • • • 

Amanyara – Tel 866 941 8133/649 941 8133 • Web www.amanresorts.com 1000–2100 73 • • • • • • • • 

Aquamarine Beach Houses - Tel 649 231 4535/905 556 0278 • www.aquamarinebeachhouses.com 200–850 24 • • • • • • • • 

Beaches Resort & Spa - Tel 800-BEACHES/649 946 8000 • Web www.beaches.com 325–390AI 453 • • • • • • • • • 

Beach House Turks & Caicos – Tel 649 946 5800 • Web www.beachchousetci.com 532–638 21 • • • • • • • • • • 

Blue Haven Resort & Marina - Tel 855 832 7667/649 946 9900 • Web www.bluehaventci.com 250–650 51 • • • • • • • • • • 

Caribbean Paradise Inn - Tel 649 946 5020 • Web www.paradise.tc 162–225 17 • • • • • • • • 

Club Med Turkoise - Tel 800 258 2633/649 946 5500 • Web www.clubmed.com 120–225 290 • • • • • • • • • 

Coral Gardens on Grace Bay - Tel 877 746 7800 • Web www.coralgardensongracebay.com 199-449 32 • • • • • • • • • • 

Gansevoort Turks + Caicos – Tel 877 774 3253/649 941 7555 • Web www.gansevoorttc.com 315–720 91 • • • • • • • • • • 

Grace Bay Club - Tel 800 946 5757/649 946 5757 • Web www.gracebayclub.com 650–1750 59 • • • • • • • • • • 

Grace Bay Suites – Tel 649 941 7447 • Web www.GraceBaySuites.com 99–195 24 • • • • • • • • 

Harbour Club Villas - Tel 649 941 5748/305 434 8568 • Web www.harbourclubvillas.com 210–240 6 • • • • • 

Le Vele - Tel 649 941 8800/888 272 4406 • Web www.levele.tc 303–630 22 • • • • • • • • 

La Vista Azul – Tel 649 946 8522/866 519 9618 • Web www.lvaresort.com 215–375 78 • • • • • • • 

Neptune Villas – Tel 649 331 4328 • Web www.neptunevillastci.com 150–400 10 • • • • • • • • • 

Northwest Point Resort • Tel 649 941 5133 • Web www.northwestpointresort.com 196–550 49 • • • • • • • • • • 

Ocean Club Resorts - Tel 800 457 8787/649 946 5461 • Web www.oceanclubresorts.com 180–690 191 • • • • • • • • • • 

The Palms Turks & Caicos – Tel 649 946 8666 • Web thepalmstc.com 595–1700 72 • • • • • • • • • • 

Pelican Nest Villa – Tel 649 342 5731 • Web www.pelicannest.tc 429–857 2 • • • • • • 

Point Grace - Tel 888 682 3705/649 946 5096 • Web www.pointgrace.com 424–1515 27 • • • • • • • • • • 

Ports of Call Resort – Tel 888 678 3483/649 946 8888 • Web www.portsofcallresort.com 135–210 99 • • • • • • • 

Queen Angel Resort – Tel 649 941 8771 • Web www.queenangelresort.com 150–575 56 • • • • • • • • • 


H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

H 

where to stay 

Providenciales (continued) 

Reef Residents at Grace Bay – Tel 800 532 8536 • Web www.reefresidence.com 275-385 24 • • • • • • • 

The Regent Grand – Tel 877 537 3314/649 941 7770 • Web www.TheRegentGrand.com 495–1100 50 • • • • • • • • • 

Royal West Indies Resort – Tel 649 946 5004 • Web www.royalwestindies.com 180–695 92 • • • • • • • • • • 

The Sands at Grace Bay – Tel 877 777 2637/649 946 5199 • Web www.thesandsresort.com 175–675 116 • • • • • • • • • • 

Seven Stars Resort – Tel 866 570 7777/649 941 7777 – Web www.SevenStarsResort.com 365–2400 165 • • • • • • • • • • 

Sibonné – Tel 800 528 1905/649 946 5547 • Web www.Sibonne.com 110–375 29 • • • • • • • • 

The Somerset on Grace Bay – Tel 649 946 5900/877 887 5722 • Web www.TheSomerset.com 350–1300 53 • • • • • • • • • • 

Turtle Cove Inn – Tel 800 887 0477/649 946 4203 • Web www.turtlecoveinn.com 85–180 30 • • • • • • • • 

The Tuscany – Tel 649 941 4667 • Web www.thetuscanygracebay.com 975–1300 30 • • • • • • • • 

The Venetian Grace Bay – Tel 877 277 4793 • Web www.thevenetiangracebay.com 695–1175 27 • • • • • • • • 

Venetian Ridge Villas – Tel 649 341 8045 • Web www.VenetianRidgeVillas.com 99–149 16 • • • • • 

Villa del Mar – Tel 877 238 4058/649 941 5160 • Web www.yourvilladelmar.com 190–440 42 • • • • • • • 

Villa Mani – Tel 649 431 4444 • Web www.villamanitc.com See Web/AE 6 • • • • • • • 

Villa Renaissance - Tel 649 941 5300/877 285 8764 • Web www.villarenaissance.com 295–650 36 • • • • • • • • • 

The Villas at Blue Mountain – Tel 649 941 4255 • Web www.villasatbluemountain.com 1200–2500 3 • • • • • • • • 

West Bay Club – Tel 866 607 4156/649 946 8550 • Web www.TheWestBayClub.com 235–1163 46 • • • • • • • • • • 

Windsong – Tel 649 941 7700/800 WINDSONG • Web www.windsongresort.com 275–925 50 • • • • • • • • • 

The Yacht Club – Tel 649 946 4656 • Web www.yachtclubtci.com 250–350 52 • • • • • • • 

range of daily rates US$ 

(subject to change) 

number of units 

major credit cards 

restaurant 

bar 

air conditioning 

phone in unit 

television in unit 

kitchen in unit 

laundry service 

pool 

on the beach 

Salt Cay 

Castaway – Salt Cay – Tel 772 713 9502 • Web www.castawayonsaltcay.com 175–265 4 • • • • • 

Genesis Beach House – Tel 561 502 0901 • Web www.Genesisbeachhouse.com 1000–1200W 4 • • • • • 

Pirate’s Hideaway B & B – Tel 800 289 5056/649 946 6909 • Web www.saltcay.tc 165–175 4 • • • • • • • 

Salt Cay Beach House – Tel 772 713 9502 • Web www.saltcaybeachhouse.blogspot.com 799W 1 • • • • • • 

Trade Winds Lodge – Tel 649 232 1009 • Web www.tradewinds.tc 925–1325W 5 • • • • • 

Twilight Zone Cottage – Tel 772 713 9502 • Web www.twilightzonecottage.blogspot.com 499W 1 • • • • 

The Villas of Salt Cay – Tel 772 713 9502 • Web www.villasofsaltcay.com 150–475 5 • • • • • • • • 

South Caicos 

East Bay Resort – Tel 844 260 8328/649 232 6444 • Web eastbayresort.com 198–1775 86 • • • • • • • • • • 

South Caicos Ocean & Beach Resort – Tel 877 774 5486/649 946 3219 

Web southcaicos.oceanandbeachresort.com 120–275 24 • • • • • 

H 

G 

Hotel & Tourism Association Member 

Green Globe Certified • Rates (listed for doubles) do not include Government Accommodation Tax and Service Charge 

Contemporary Style with Bermudian Influences 

This centrally located 4 bedroom/3.5 bathroom executive family home and an additional 1 bedroom/1 bathroom nanny suite is 

4,545 square feet of open plan Caribbean living with exceptional breezes from its spectacular 75 feet of elevation. Located on .85 

acres and surrounded by natural trees and vegetation, views of the Island and Ocean beyond can be enjoyed from every room. 

Dee Agingu, Sales Executive 

t. 649.946.4474 c. 649.231.3534 

dee@tcsothebysrealty.com 

Offered at $825,000 turksandcaicosSIR.com MLS# 1300629 

Anna Richardson, Sales Associate 

t. 649.946.4474 c. 649.232.7751 

anna@tcsothebysrealty.com 

90 www.timespub.tc

dining out – providenciales 

Amanyara — Amanyara Resort. Tel: 941-8133. Light gourmet 

cuisine for lunch and dinner with menu changing daily. 

Anacaona — Grace Bay Club. Tel: 946-5050. Elegant beachfront 

dining for lunch and dinner. Gourmet Euro/Caribbean 

cuisine; fine wines. Full bar and lounge. Reservations required. 

Angela’s Top O’ The Cove Deli — Suzie Turn, by NAPA. 

Tel: 946-4694. New York-style delicatessen. Eat-in, carry-out, 

catering. Open daily 6:30 AM to 6 PM; Sunday 7 AM to 2 PM. 

Asú on the Beach — Alexandra Resort. Tel: 946-5807. Casual 

Caribbean and popular international fare. Open daily for breakfast, 

lunch and dinner. Service indoors, poolside and at beach. 

Baci Ristorante — Harbour Towne, Turtle Cove. Tel: 941-3044. 

Waterfront Italian dining. Brick oven pizza. Popular bar. Open 

for lunch Monday to Friday 12 to 2 PM and dinner nightly from 

6 to 10 PM. Closed Sunday. Carry-out available. 

Bay Bistro — Sibonné Beach Hotel. Tel: 946-5396. Oceanfront 

dining featuring creative international cuisine. Open daily 

7 AM to 10 PM. Weekend brunch. Catering and special events. 

Beaches Resort & Spa — The Bight. Tel: 946-8000. 

All-inclusive resort. A variety of restaurants and bars on premises. 

Non-guests can purchase a pass. 

Bella Luna Ristorante — Glass House, Grace Bay Road. Tel: 

946-5214. Fine Italian dining. Full bar and wine cellar. Indoor or 

covered terrace seating above a tropical garden. Open daily for 

dinner from 6 PM. Closed Sunday. Private catering available. 

Big Al’s Island Grill — Salt Mills Plaza. Tel: 941-3797. Wide 

selection of burgers, steaks, salads, and wraps in a diner-like 

setting. Open daily from 11 AM to 10 PM. 

Blue Iguana Grill — Ports of Call. Tel: 339-8741. Fun, casual, 

Caribbean-style restaurant and bar. Serving lunch and dinner 

seven days. 

Bugaloo’s Conch Crawl — Five Cays. Tel: 941-3863. The 

freshest seafood in Provo, conch prepared to order, rum, buckets 

of beer, live local bands. Open daily from 11 AM to 10 PM. 

Cabana Bar & Grille — Ocean Club. Tel: 946-5880 x 1104. 

Casual island fare, pizza, burgers. Open daily from 7 AM to 

9 PM. Tropical cocktails with a spectacular view of the sea. 

Caicos Bakery — Caicos Café Plaza. Authentic French boulangerie. 

Fresh-baked breads, rolls, croissants, muffins, quiche, 

pastries, cakes. Open 7 AM to 4:30 PM daily except Sunday. 

Caicos Café — Caicos Café Plaza. Tel: 946-5278. 

Mediterranean specialties, grilled local seafood. Fine wines, dining 

on the deck. Open 6 PM to 10 PM Monday to Saturday. 

Carambola Grill & Lounge — Airport Inn Plaza. Tel: 946- 

8122. Generous portions of local and international fare at 

moderate prices in a casual atmosphere. Catering available. 

The Caravel Restaurant — Grace Bay Court. Tel: 941-5330. 

Cozy restaurant offering island food with flair; something for 

everyone. Daily happy hour. Open daily 11 AM to 10 PM; Sunday 

5 to 9 PM. 

Chicken Chicken — Times Square, downtown Provo. Fast food, 

fried chicken, native fare. 

Chinson Jade Garden Pastries & Deli — Leeward Highway. 

Tel: 941-3533. Caribbean pastries, fresh bakery and Jamaican 

and Chinese cuisine. Lunch buffet/take-out. Open Monday to 

Saturday, 7 AM to 8 PM; Sunday, 2 PM to 8 PM. 

Chopsticks — Neptune Court. Tel: 333-4040. Fusion of Asian 

cuisines–light, healthy and delicious in a beautiful setting. Take- 

away, delivery, on-site dining. Open daily Noon to 3 PM and 

5:30 to 10:30 PM. Closed Sunday. 

Club Med — Grace Bay Road. Tel: 946-5500. All-inclusive 

resort. Buffet-style dining; live show and disco in the evenings. 

Non-guests can purchase a daily pass. 

Coco Bistro — Grace Bay Road. Tel: 946-5369. Continental 

Caribbean cuisine by Chef Stuart Gray under a canopy of palms. 

Serving dinner nightly from 6 PM. Closed Monday. 

Corner Café — Graceway IGA. Tel: 941-8724. Breakfast sandwiches, 

specialty coffees, soups, salads, gourmet sandwiches 

and desserts. Open Monday to Saturday, 7 AM to 8:30 PM. 

Covered patio dining or take-out. Catering available. 

Coyaba Restaurant — Caribbean Paradise Inn. Tel: 946-5186. 

Contemporary Caribbean gourmet cuisine in a private tropical 

garden setting. Extensive wine list. Dinner nightly from 6 to 10 

PM. Closed Tuesday. Reservations recommended. Catering, special 

events, private chef visits. 

Crackpot Kitchen — The Village at Grace Bay. Tel: 941-3330. 

Experience the Island feel, culture and the best of authentic 

Turks & Caicos and Caribbean cuisines with an International 

twist. Open daily 11 AM to 10 PM. Closed Monday. 

Da Conch Shack & RumBar — Blue Hills. Tel: 946-8877. 

Island-fresh seafood from the ocean to your plate. Covered 

beachfront dining for lunch and dinner daily from 11 AM. 

Danny Buoy’s Irish Pub — Grace Bay Road. Tel: 946-5921. 

Traditional Irish cuisine, standard American pub fare; imported 

draught beers. Open for lunch and dinner daily from 11 AM. 

Happy Hour specials. Large screen TVs for sporting events. 

The Deck — Seven Stars Resort. Tel: 941-7777. All day dining 

and cocktails by the water’s edge. Open daily from Noon to 9:30 

PM. Bonfire buffet on Sunday evenings. Live music nightly. 

Fairways Bar & Grill — Provo Golf Club. Tel: 946-5833. 

Dine overlooking the “greens.” Open to all for lunch Monday 

to Thursday and breakfast from 9 AM on Sunday. Friday Pub 

Nights, Saturday BBQ. 

Fire & Ice — Blue Haven Resort & Marina. Tel: 946-9900. 

Drinks at the Ice Bar, dessert by the fire pits in the Fire Lounge. 

South American-meets-Caribbean flavors and spices. Open daily. 

Fresh Bakery & Bistro — Atrium Resort. Tel: 345-4745. 

Healthy European salads, soups, sandwiches, bakery, pies and 

cakes. Gelato. Open daily 7 AM to 6 PM, closed Sunday. 

Fresh Catch — Salt Mills Plaza. Tel: 243-3167. Authentic native 

cuisine, from seafood to soup. All-you-can-eat seafood buffet on 

Wednesday. Open daily 8 AM to 10 PM. Closed Sunday. 

Garam Masala — Regent Village. Tel: 941-3292. Authentic 

Indian cuisine, including tandoori charcoal-oven specialties. 

Open daily Noon to 3 PM, 5:30 PM to Midnight. Closed Tuesday. 

Giggles Ice Cream & Candy Parlour — Ports of Call & 

Williams Storage. Tel: 941-7370. Cones, sundaes, shakes, 

smoothies, “Gigglers,” ice cream pies and cakes. Pick ‘n’ mix 

candies. Open daily 11 AM to 10 PM. 

Gilley’s Cafe — At the airport. Tel: 946-4472. Burgers, sandwiches, 

local food. Full bar. Open daily 6 AM to 9 PM. 

Grace’s Cottage — Point Grace Resort. Tel: 946-5096. 

Elegant, gourmet Caribbean cuisine showcasing regional foods. 

Extensive wine list. Gazebo seating under the stars or indoor 

dining in a romantic gingerbread cottage. Serving dinner from 6 

PM nightly. Reservations required. Weddings and receptions. 


Greenbean — Harbour Town at Turtle Cove. Tel: 941-2233. 

Internet café, Starbucks® coffee, salads, wraps, pizza, sandwiches, 

fresh bakery. Open daily 6 AM to 4 PM. 

The Grill Rouge — Grace Bay Club. Tel: 946-5050. Casual 

oceanfront poolside bistro, serving international bistro fare. 

Cool cocktails at the swim-up bar. Open 7 AM to 9:30 PM daily. 

Havana Club — Windsong Resort. Tel: 941-7700. Fine wine, 

specialty coffees, decadent desserts, with comedy/magic shows 

on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and music and sports nights. 

Healthy Treats Restaurant & Deli — Touch of Class Plaza, 

Airport Road. Tel: 241-3318. Native Caribbean dishes, fresh 

juices, smoothies. Call to order. 

Hemingways on the Beach — The Sands at Grace Bay. Tel: 

941-8408. Casual beachfront bar and restaurant. Fresh fish, 

pasta, sandwiches, salads and tropical drinks by the pool. 

Oceanfront deck for great sunsets! Open 8 AM to 10 PM daily. 

Hole in the Wall Restaurant & Bar — Williams Plaza, Old 

Airport Road. Tel: 941-4136. Authentic Jamaican/Island cuisine 

where the locals go for jerk chicken. Full bar. Indoor A/C dining 

or outdoors on the deck. Open 7 days from 8 AM. Cash only. 

Island Scoop — Grace Bay Plaza. Tel: 242-8511/243-5051. 

21 flavors of ice cream made locally. Cones, smoothies, blizzards 

and shakes. Open daily, 11 AM to 10 PM. 

The Java Bar — Graceway Gourmet. Tel: 941-5000. Gourmet 

café serving fresh baked desserts, sandwiches and coffee 

delights. Open 7 AM to 8 PM daily. 

Jimmy’s Dive Bar — Ports of Call. Tel: 946-5282. The place for 

steaks, BBQ, booze and breakfast. Open daily, 7 AM to 11 PM, 

(Thursday to Saturday to Midnight); open Sunday at 8 AM. 

Kalooki’s Beach Restaurant & Bar — Blue Hills. Tel: 

332-3388. Caribbean-infused dishes in an oasis-like setting 

overlooking the sea. Open Monday to Saturday, 11 AM to 10 PM; 

Sunday 11 AM to 7 PM. Live music every Friday! 

KItchen 218 — Beach House, Lower Bight Road. Tel: 946-5800. 

Caribbean cuisine with hints of French and Asian fusion and the 

chef’s passion for fresh ingredients. Open 8 AM to 10 PM daily. 

The Landing Bar & Kitchen — Grace Bay Road across from 

Regent Village. Tel: 341-5856. Unique nautical setting for dinner 

under the stars. Cocktails, fire pit. Open daily 5:30 PM to . . . 

Las Brisas — Neptune Villas, Chalk Sound. Tel: 946-5306. 

Mediterranean/Caribbean cuisine with tapas, wine and full bar. 

Terrace, gazebo and inside dining overlooking Chalk Sound. 

Open daily 11 AM to 10 PM. Closed Tuesday. 

Le Bouchon du Village — Regent Village. Tel: 946-5234. A 

taste of Paris in TCI. Sidewalk café with sandwiches, salads, tartines, 

tapas, nightly dinner specials. Open daily 7 AM to 10 PM. 

Closed Sunday. 

Lemon 2 Go Coffee — Ventura House, Grace Bay Road. Tel: 

941-4487. Gourmet coffeehouse. Sandwiches, muffins, cookies, 

croissants, yogurt, salads. Open Monday to Saturday 7:30 AM to 

7 PM, Sunday 9 AM to 1 PM. 

The Lounge — Grace Bay Club. Tel: 946-5050. Decidedly hip 

lounge. Caribbean-infused tapas, martinis, tropical cocktails, 

world music and the finest sunset location in Providenciales. 

Lupo — Regent Village. Tel: 431-5876. Authentic Italian “comfort 

food.” Regional wine list. Dine in or take out ready-made 

gourmet meals. Open daily for lunch and dinner. 

Magnolia Restaurant & Wine Bar — Miramar Resort. Tel: 

941-5108. International cuisine with island flavors, north shore 

views. Open for dinner from 6 to 9:30 PM except Monday. Wine 

bar opens at 4 PM. 

Mango Reef — Turtle Cove. Tel: 946-8200. Old favorites in a 

new location. Fresh local flavors and seafood, homemade desserts. 

Open daily 8 AM to 10 PM. Set price dinner on weekdays. 

Children’s menu. Tie-up to dock at Turtle Cove Marina. 

Melt Ice Cream Parlour — Regent Village. Tel: 432-1234. 

Carefully crafted selection of sumptous and inspired sundaes, 

with coffee, champagne and cocktails for the grown-ups! Open 

Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 10 PM. 

Mother’s Pizza — Downtown Times Square. Tel: 941-4142. 

Best pizza in the Turks & Caicos, available by the slice or the 

island’s biggest “large.” Open daily 11 AM to 9 PM; to 10 PM on 

Friday and Saturday; Noon to 8 PM on Sunday. 

Mr. Groupers — Lower Bight and Airport Road. Tel: 242-6780. 

Serving fresh local seafood straight from the sea. Open daily 10 

AM to 11 PM. 

Noodle Bar + Kitchen — West Bay Club. Tel: 946-8550. 

Delicious rice and noodle dishes and hearty staples with 

uniquely Caribbean flavors and spices. Open for lunch and dinner 

daily to 9:30 PM. 

Opus — Ocean Club Plaza. Tel: 946-5885. Wine • Bar • Grill 

International menu with Caribbean flair. Wine tastings. Serving 

dinner nightly 6 to 10:30 PM. Closed Monday. Indoor/outdoor 

dining. Conference facility, events, catering. 

Parallel23 — The Palms. Tel: 946-8666. Pan-tropical cuisine in 

a setting of casual elegance. Boutique wine list. Al fresco or private 

dining room available. Open for breakfast and dinner daily. 

The Patty Place — Behind Shining Stars; Le Petit Place, Blue 

Hills. Tel: 246-9000. Authentic Jamaican patties and loaves. 18 

flavors of Devon House ice cream. Open daily 9:30 AM to 10 PM. 

Pavilion — The Somerset. Tel: 339-5900. Chef Eric Wood offers 

a global palate, interpreted locally. Lobster tank. Seafood raw 

bar. Open daily for breakfast and dinner; Sunday Brunch. 

Pelican Bay — Royal West Indies Resort. Tel: 941-2365. 

Poolside restaurant and bar with French, Caribbean and Asian 

fare. Breakfast, lunch, dinner daily from 7:30 AM to 10 PM. 

Pizza Pizza — Grace Bay Plaza/Cinema Plaza. Tel: 941- 

8010/941-3577. New York style specialty pizzas. Open daily 

11:30 AM to 9:30 PM, weekends until 10 PM. Free delivery. 

Rickie’s Flamingo Café — Between Ocean Club and Club Med. 

Tel: 244-3231. Local fare and atmosphere right on the beach. 

Best grouper sandwich and rum punch! Don’t miss Curry Fridays 

and Beach BBQ Saturdays. 

Sailing Paradise — Blue Hills. Tel: 344-1914. Casual beachfront 

restaurant and bar. Caribbean fare. Open daily 7 AM to 11 

PM. Sunday brunch and beach party, daily happy hour. 

Salt Bar & Grill — Blue Haven Resort & Marina. Tel: 946-9900. 

Casual dining with outdoor seating overlooking the marina. 

Sandwiches, burgers and salads, classic bar favorites with local 

flair. Open daily from 10 AM to 10 PM. 

Seaside Café — Ocean Club West. Tel: 946-5254. Casual fare, 

burgers, salads, tropical drinks, served with panoramic views of 

the ocean. Open daily from 8 AM to 10 PM. Kid-friendly. 

Seven — Seven Stars Resort. Tel: 339-7777. Elevated contemporary 

cuisine fused with TCI tradition. Open Wednesday to 

Saturday, 5:30 to 9:30 PM. 

72West — The Palms Resort. Tel: 946-8666. Beachside dining 

with a family-friendly, Caribbean-inspired menu. Serving lunch 

daily; dinner seasonally. 

Sharkbite Bar & Grill — Admiral’s Club at Turtle Cove. Tel: 

941-5090. Varied menu. Sports bar/game room with slots. Open 

daily from 11 AM to 2 AM. 

92 www.timespub.tc

Shay Café — Le Vele Plaza. Tel: 331-6349. Offering organic 

coffees and teas, sandwiches, salads and soup, pastries, as well 

as gelato, sorbetto, smoothies, beer and wine. Open daily 7 AM 

to 7 PM. 

Somewhere Café & Lounge — Coral Gardens Resort. Tel: 

941-8260. Casual dining with Tex-Mex flair right on the beach. 

Cocktails, beers, specialty drinks. Open early to late daily. 

Stelle — Gansevoort Turks + Caicos. Tel: 946-5746. Modern 

Mediterranean cuisine featuring fresh fish and seafood. Open 6 

to 10 PM daily, until 2 AM on Friday with DJ. Beach bar and grill 

open for lunch 11:30 AM to 5 PM daily. 

Thai Orchid — The Regent Village. Tel: 946-4491. Authentic 

Thai cuisine; over 60 choices! Dine in or carry out. Open for 

lunch and dinner daily. 

Three Brothers Restaurant — Town Center Mall, Downtown. 

Tel: 232-4736. Seafood and native cuisine. Tuesday night buffet 

dinner. Catering services. Open daily, 7 AM to 10 PM. 

Three Queens Bar & Restaurant — Wheeland. Tel: 243- 

5343. Oldest bar on Provo, serving Jamaican and Native dishes. 

Serving lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday. 

Tiki Hut Island Eatery — New location dockside at Turtle 

Cove Inn. Tel: 941-5341. Imaginative sandwiches, salads, seafood, 

Black Angus beef, pasta, pizzas and fresh fish. Wednesday 

chicken or rib special. Open daily 11 AM to 10 PM. Breakfast on 

weekends. 

Turks Kebab — At Craft Market on Sand Castle Drive. Tel: 431- 

9964. Turkish and Mediterranean fare. Salads, falafel, gyros, 

kebabs, hummus. Open for lunch and dinner. 

Via Veneto — Ports of Call. Tel: 941-2372. Authentic Italian 

dining in a stylish indoor/outdoor venue. Serving lunch from 

11:30 AM to 2 PM; snacks with wine and drinks from 5:30 PM 

and dinner from 7:30 PM daily. Closed on Tuesday. 

The Vix Bar & Grill — Regent Village. Tel: 941-4144. High-end 

cuisine and the finest wines in an inviting ambiance. Open daily 

for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7:30 AM to 10 PM. 

Yoshi’s Japanese Restaurant — The Saltmills. Tel: 941-3374. 

Sushi bar menu plus Wagyu beef, Japanese curries. Open daily 

Noon to 3 PM; 6 to 10 PM. Closed Sunday. 

Zanzi Bar & Tapas Restaurant — Leeward Highway. Tel: 342- 

2472. Sophistication meets class at the new tapas eatery and 

entertainment venue overlooking Grace Bay. 

dining out – north caicos 

Club Titters — Bottle Creek. Tel: 946-7316. Local dishes for 

breakfast, lunch and dinner. Live music weekends. 

Higgs’ Café — Sandy Point Marina. Tel: 242-9426 or 341-9084. 

Local cuisine served daily from 7 AM. 

Last Chance Bar & Grill Club — Bottle Creek. Tel: 232-4141. 

Waterfront dining. American and Caribbean dishes. Open 10:30 

AM for breakfast and lunch; dinner by reservation. 

Pappa Grunt’s Seafood Restaurant — Whitby Plaza. Tel/fax: 

946-7301. Native & American cuisine daily. 

Pelican Beach Hotel — Tel: 946-7112. Well known for native 

conch, lobster, grouper and snapper dishes. 

Silver Palm Restaurant — Whitby. Tel: 946-7113/244-4186. 

Local seafood and international cuisine. Home-baked breads 

and desserts. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Screened patio. 

Super D Café — At airport. Tel: 946-7258. Local dishes. 

dining out – south caicos 

Eastern Inn Restaurant — Stamers Street. Tel: 946-3301. 

Ocean & Beach Resort — Cockburn Harbour. Tel: 946 3219. 

Native cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 

Pond View Restaurant — Tel: 946-3276. Native cuisine. 

dining out – middle caicos 

Daniel’s Restaurant — Conch Bar. Tel: 245-2298/232-6132. 

Local seafood, homemade breads. Open Tuesday to Sunday. Call 

ahead for groups and dinner reservations. 

dining out – grand turk 

Bird Cage Restaurant — Osprey Beach Hotel. Tel: 946-1453. 

Full bar & restaurant. Lunch and dinner daily. 

Guanahani — Bohio Resort. Tel: 946-2135. Gourmet menu of 

French, Italian and Asian influence with a Caribbean twist. Open 

daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

The Inn Restaurant & Bar — Grand Turk Inn. Tel: 431-0466. 

A taste of Asian fusions. Open daily for lunch and dinner. 

Closed on Tuesday. 

Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville — Grand Turk Cruise Center. 

High energy bar and restaurant. Swim-up pool bar and signature 

menu of grilled favorites. 

Sand Bar Restaurant — Manta House Beach. Tel: 946-1111. 

Quinessential beach bar serving local seafood specialties. Open 

for lunch and dinner, Sunday to Friday. 

Secret Garden — Salt Raker Inn. Tel: 946-2260. Local & 

American dishes in a garden courtyard. English breakfast. 

Weekly BBQ and sing-alongs. 

dining out –salt cay 

Coral Reef Bar & Grill — Tel: 232-1009. Breakfast, lunch and 

dinner daily on the beach. Full service bar. 

Pat’s Place — Island-style garden restaurant in historic district. 

Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 

Porter’s Island Thyme — Tel: 242-0325. Gourmet island dining 

in open air dining room. Full bar. a 

Island Auto Rentals & Sales is 

committed to adding value to your 

tropical vacation experience 

by delivering excellent service 

along with secure and reliable 

transportation that will take you 

where you need to go. 

EXCELLENT SERVICE • GREAT VALUE 

SECURE • RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION 

Leeward Palms, Leeward, Providenciales 

Telephone: (649) 246-0395 or 232-0933 or 946-2042 

Email: nevilleadams@hotmail.com or 

philipgibson251@hotmail.com 

Web: islandautorentals.tc 

For Vehicle Rental in 

Grand Turk call 

232 0933 or 946 2042 


classified ads 

SeaSwim change classified:Caicu Naniki classified 8/29/13 10:36 AM Page 1 

JEEPS • VANS • SUVs 

SCOOTERS • BICYCLES 

DEPENDABLE SERVICE 

Economical 5 Day Package 

EASY • FUN • AFFORDABLE 

FREE PICK-UP & DROP-OFF 

Mon to Sat 8-5 and Sun 8-12 

TURTLE COVE MARINA 

946-4684 • Cell Phone: 231-0262 

www.ScooterBobTCI.com 

e-mail: scooterbobs@gmail.com 

“One of the World’s 

Most Gorgeous Swims” - 

The Daily News of Open 

Water Swimming 

SWIM RACING IN BEAUTIFUL, 

TURQUOISE GRACE BAY, 

JULY 2, 2016 

“RACE FOR THE CONCH” 

ECO-SEASWIM - 1 MILE AND 2.4 MILE SWIMS 

(649) 432-5000 

www.ecoseaswim.com 

Community 

Fellowship Centre 

A Life-Changing Experience 

Sunday Divine Worship 9 AM 

Visitors Welcome! 

Tel: 649.941.3484 

Web: cfctci.com 

classified ads . . . 

are an inexpensive way to reach 

Times of the Islands readers, in the 

Turks & Caicos and around the world. 

call 649 232 7527 for information 

Turks & Caicos 

VETERINARY 

ASSOCIATION 

649-946-4353 

Caring for your pet as though 

it were our own since 1981 

subscription form 

TIMES 

OF THE 

ISLANDS 

SAMPLING THE SOUL OF THE TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS 

One year subscription 

$28 U.S. addresses/$32 non-U.S. addresses 

VISIT WWW.TIMESPUB.TC TO VIEW CURRENT ISSUE ON-LINE! 

Name_____________________________________________________ Date ______________ 

Address_______________________________________________________________________ 

City ________________________________ State/Province____________________________ 

Country/Postal Code___________________________________________________________ 

E-mail address (not required)___________________________________________________ 

r New Subscription r Renewal 

r U.S. Cheque/M.O. enclosed 

Mail with payment to: 

Times Publications Ltd., c/o Kathy Borsuk, 

247 Holmes Ave., Clarendon Hills, IL 60514 

Please allow 30 to 60 days for delivery of first issue. 

94 www.timespub.tc

TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS

Island Living 

beyond the extraordinary ... 

Sapodilla Bay Estate 

THE FINEST COLLECTION 

Condominium | Home & Villa | Land 

649.946.4474 | info@tcsothebysrealty.com | turksandcaicosSIR.com 

Venture House, Grace Bay | Resort Locations: Grace Bay Club, The Palms, The Sands 

Sotheby’s International Realty® is a licensed trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. Each office is independently owned and operated.

Times of the Islands Winter 2015-16

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

Delete template?

Save as template ?