South Caicos - General Info
Description:
South Caicos, one of the smallest islands in the Turks and Caicos archipelago, is known for excellent scuba diving, deep sea fishing, and bone fishing. The island supports a huge range of sealife from sharks, eagle rays and loggerhead turtle to the smallest organisms in the spectacular coral reefs. This eight square miles of coral rock is a quiet community of approximately 1200 friendly people with an interesting history and intriguing scenery worth exploring.
Cockburn Harbour (not to be confused with Cockburn Town on Grand Turk) is the principal settlement and capital of South Caicos, but is a sleepy little town. The South Caicos Regatta is held here every May to commemorate a visit by the Queen of England in 1966.
The town and harbor are located in the south of the island.
Position:
21°29.62’N,71°32.20’W (dock)
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Related to following destinations: South Caicos, Turks & Caicos
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We arrived early Monday morning and were unable to reach anyone on the radio or phone. At 9 all crew went to the Harbor office (on the dilapidated government dock) which told us to go directly to Customs and Immigration. Their offices are now co-located with the Dept. of Motor Vehicles in a new building (note only sign on the building currently is for the DMV). Staff were very friendly and helpful using our Sailclear application to process all forms. $50 to Customs; $15 to immigration. Same process and fees when we checked out later that week.
Dove Cay is an easy dinghy ride and good snorkel. Bottom around the anchorage was littered with sand dollars and star sea urchin husks. Six Hills Cay was an interesting snorkel, but the currents were very strong when we were there. Too rolly to stay long.
Seaside Market had basic provisions and allowed us to toss our one bag of trash. Dinner at the cafe across the street was good (conch and red snapper). The dinghy dock there is convenient and the fishermen friendly.
Cleared in at South Caicos on 20 February 2023 after a Saturday late arrival from Dominican Republic. The actual clearance process differed from every website or book I’d read including the TCI government website.
SailClear must be used to document arrival ahead of time (new since 1 February). We were unable to reach anybody by radio or phone over the weekend for instructions including Provo Radio. On Monday morning, I reached a customs official on +1 649-338-6232 who instructed me to report to the Port Captain’s office at the Government dock and await customs and immigration officials, who would drive over to meet me We were at anchor and the officials were ok with my arriving by dinghy. Arriving sailors should not walk to the customs building, I was told. All crew should report in person to the immigration officer in the port.
Customs were a long time arriving (nearly two hours) but everyone was very friendly. They were all adapting to the recent adoption of the SailClear system and the requirement to meet sailors at the spartan port office. I was charged $50 for the clearance process.
Channel lights are IALA-B, located on the tops of the two rock islands marking the edge of the channel. Currently, the green is missing its cover, so flashes white, while the red is still functioning properly. Internet can be found at Seaview Market, where they will let you log on briefly to check weather, e-mails, etc. Also, if you need water, ask the Seaview staff who can arrange a truck to deliver to the dock: minimum order is 55 gal drum, and is better to arrange the day before you need it delivered.
Travis and Joanne
s/v Calico Jack
SFS (School for Field studies) on the island is very welcoming to sailing visitors (the director, Heidi, is also a long term sailor). We arrived in November 2013 and were invited to join the group for meals etc and had a chance to spend with the academic and the student population.
They do marine research for 13-week student programs, catch and tag sharks in the harbor, etc. They also do a LOT to keep locals appraised of their studies, and do lots of evenings where they invite locals from different parts of the community to join them at the institute. They also generously allowed us access to their wifi when we visited, and shared tips for good snorkel sights, etc.
We absolutely recommend that you visit, for us aboard Begonia, this was the highlight of our South Caicos island visit.
We had older charts and guidebooks for this area.. all indicating that the harbor entrance lights were due (over due) to change system from IALA-A to IALA-B. We arrived in day light and were unable to confirm, however at night it was clear that the north entrance light is currently broken, and the south entrance light is (supposed to be green) is simply glowing white. Please be aware for any sailors arriving at night!