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)
Read and Post Related Comments
If you have information for this section, or feedback on businesses used, please let us know at editor@noonsite.com. We also welcome new information about businesses you have used (see Related Businesses).
Next Section: Profile: Clearance
Related to following destinations: South Caicos, Turks & Caicos
Port Navigation
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE_5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.comMain Ports - Turks & Caicos
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE_5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.com
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!