Times of the Islands Summer 2022

We are surprised to see we are not alone; two local
fishermen are collecting conch from the shallows. The
Ambergris boat leaves us and we exchange hellos with
the fishermen. We set up camp for the night. There are
few bugs here so we dine under the stars without issue.
Sleep comes far too easy!
Day eleven
Breakfast on an uninhabited island is magical, and we
are just finishing packing up when our next support
boat arrives. Compared to yesterday, we have a relatively
“short” day over to West Caicos. We will skirt the edge of
the Caicos Banks, then cut in across the “shallows.”
The journey is quite uneventful with low swells and
only flying fish for company. We can see the sand bottom
some 30 feet down, so this is much more comfortable
then the 7,000-foot deep Turks Passage.
We confer where to land. I recall there is an old boat
slip on the eastern side of the island and as we get closer,
we send the support boat ahead to check. Unfortunately,
it’s no longer usable so we have to make our way around
and in late afternoon we are met by Alex at the dock in
West Caicos. Alex packs our kit and we camp for the night
on the beach. He produces a bottle of red wine and we
cook dinner and sleep to the sounds of the surf.
Day twelve
Alex will be boat support captain today on our last leg
back to Providenciales. It’s a few miles from the dock to
the tip of West Caicos, so he tows our rowboat a little
way—no point in rowing the same section twice!
The currents are against us for the 11-mile crossing
but the swells are low. As we near Sapodilla Bay, we are
met by Morgan Luker again, this time on a kayak. She
tells us a crowd is awaiting our arrival.
Mandy and I dig in deep with the last of our energy,
“Never again!,” we mutter to each other. But the pain is
soothed away as we hear crowds cheering just before the
bow digs into the soft sandy beach. We have done it!
The press, supporters, volunteers, and HE Governor
Nigel Dakin greet us and are all in good spirits, as are we
as Mandy, Fraser and I recount the stories of our adventure
to everyone. After, Morgan loads our trusty rowboat
onto her truck and the three of us, along with the governor
and a handful of supporters, make the final walk back
to the Bight Park where it all began. We are welcomed
with a feast supplied by Adam Twigg of The Source, and
it’s quite surreal having world-class food after ten days of
camping fare.
As the party winds down and we say our farewells, I
chat briefly to Mandy as we both hobble and limp over to
our waiting cars. We look at each other, both sunburnt,
exhausted, and near-broken. “Same time next year?” I say.
“Of course!” she replies. a
If you would like to take part in the event this year,
please email info2022fsfg@gmail.com. Special thanks
goes out to: TCI Red Cross, Provo Road Runners, The
Hartling Group, The Agency, Sherlock Walkin, HAB Group,
Amanyara, and all the supporters and volunteers. See
you in October 2022!
Times of the Islands Summer 2022 51