Free Clinic	Motoconcho

Cascada del Limon

Anchored at Los Haitises

Park entrance	One of the many caves

Bummer!

After arrival I went ashore to check in with the local authorities.  At the Comandancia office a young man was there trying to get a departure dispacho and was very upset, it seems that new procedures were just put into effect and now everyone had to sail back to Puerto Plata to get a dispacho (hum)?  I explained that I had just left Puerto Plata and they said nothing about this new procedure, oh well, I am not going to worry about it today.  The Comandancia was just shrugging his shoulders to the young man.   I presented our dispacho papers from Puerto Plata to the officer and left.  Later that afternoon I saw the Comandancia in town and introduced him to Carol.  I also handed him a small amount of pesos and asked if he would be able to get the dispacho issue worked out before we left.  He nodded accordingly and said no problem.   A lot of the government people here (Luperon) are at what is considered a hard ship post and they do not receive funds to travel back and forth to their homes and families.   Naturally gratuities are rewarded with attentive service.

We were happy to meet up with Tom and Pat from Lonestar.  We had met in Daytona last October.   Lonestar came down the island chain the traditional method by island hopping through the Bahamas.   It is always nice to see familiar faces and we were able to exchange notes about each others trip. 

Carol and I joined in on the weekly Wednesday night dinner and movie.  About 30 people met at the local dock at 6:00PM and were transported by various cars and trucks to a nice little restaurant up town for a fish dinner and a viewing of The Queen.  The restaurant was open air with thatched roof and had a video projector for the after dinner movie.  It actually got cool in the evening and wished I had worn long sleeves.  Both the meal and movie were excellent.  The entire night’s event, including drinks, came to a whopping total of $18 (for 2).  You know why they like this place?

Walking into Luperon from the Pier

 

The next morning we were invited into town for breakfast at Capt Steve’s place by Barbara and Hale from Vandermer of the Sea.  We met this couple back in Cap Cana Marina.   Barb and Hale are from Maryland and are heading back home before the hurricane season.  Since we are traveling in the same direction and relatively same pace we have bumped into each other within a day or two at each stop.  The breakfast was large and good.

I got a call from the Marcus (Kite Board sail maker) telling me the sail was ready and he would deliver it Friday afternoon.  Now I have to figure out how to get the $650 cash to pay Marcus.  The owner of Steve’s told me there was an ATM in town but sometimes it just ate cards, isn’t that just dandy.  I figured that I could make a small withdraw and if that works go for the rest.  All went well at the ATM so I stopped at Steve’s for a beer on the way home.   Bang, as soon as I finished that beer I start to feel nauseous.  Oh great.  I got back to the boat about 3:00 and plopped into bed with cramps and nausea until the next morning.

Thursday I got on the internet and explored the symptoms and self diagnosed my problem as something referred to as “travelers diarrhea” (common illness in third world countries).  The drug of choice was and antibiotic called ciprofloxacin.  After a morning tea it was off to the Farmacia for some cipro.  Not much action the rest of the day.

Friday I am feeling a little better, still about 50%.

Marcus showed up with the mended sail, it looks pretty good.  I have promised Carol that we will take the sucker down any time the winds get above 15 knots.  I don’t want to tear this thing again, it gets too expensive.

Tom and Pat came over this afternoon and we swapped some books and DVDs.  We have decided to leave at 0400 tomorrow if I am feeling better.  To bed early.

Saturday I am up at 0330 and feeling up to getting underway.  By 0400 we have the anchor up and are slowly maneuvering through the small harbor avoiding mud banks and other sail boats.   Lucky for us our GPS chart plotter has a track history function that shows graphically how we came into the harbor so in the dark we can just follow the electronic path in reverse to avoid the entrance reefs. 

There is no wind for the first 3 hours and we are motoring directly to Great Sand Cay in the Turk Islands (80 miles).  Last nights forecast called for light trade winds and calm seas, excellent for us.  I should have known better, when the wind comes up it is from the west, go figure.  It seems that a low pressure trough has developed over the Turks and Caicos Islands and that is causing a counter clockwise wind gradient.  The wind continues to move around until it is from the northwest, just where we want to go, again ugh!  We ended up motor sailing the entire 80 miles to Sand Cay to get there just after dark.  I hate going into strange anchorages after dark as you can’t see the reefs.   Fortunately there were some other sailboats here and they gave us some good guidance on where to set the anchor.  

Sunday after sunrise we could see that Great Sand Cay is gorgeous.  The cay is about ½ mile long by 100 yards wide and is deserted except for iguanas and lizards.  We are anchored about 100 yards off the beach in crystal clear water.  There are two other boats here from Luperon and waiting for the winds to shift   before moving on the Caicos Islands. 

Monday morning everyone at Great Sand Cay gets underway for the 23 mile run to South Caicos.  The wind is blowing 20 to 25 knots from the northeast and we are close hauled clipping along in 6 to 8 foot seas at 8 knots.   It is a quick trip and our anchor to anchor time is less than 3 hours. 

The water is so clear here that as we are approaching South Caicos harbor we can see bottom 60 feet below the boat.   This is the cleanest water we have seen anywhere on our trip.  The sand provides good holding and the geographical lay of the land provides calm water in spite of the high winds.  
 

We got the boat cleaned up and head to town to clear in.  The procedure here is that customs and immigration will meet you at the local grocery store near the town dock.  On our way back to the boat we able to buy 10 small lobster tails and immediately pigged out with a late lunch.   Later that afternoon a gentleman on the boat behind us gave us a couple of fresh tuna steaks.  The food supply is looking good, now for some conch.   Now for a good nights sleep.

Monday after breakfast we went ashore to buy some gas for the outboard and wonder around town.  There is a power outage today so the gas pumps arn’t working.  We walked around talking with the friendly local folks and found that everything (about 5 little stores) was closed because of the power outage.  Returning to the boat we spent the afternoon doing various maintenance chores, engine oil change, defrost the refrigerator, making water, and changing linens.  For dinner we enjoyed lightly seared tuna (given to us last night).   Tomorrow morning we will get underway across the Caicos Banks for Providenciales.

 Tuesday, March 13^th – We left early this morning to cross the Caicos Banks for Providenciales. The Caicos Banks is a 60 nm-wide, near-circular reef fringed atoll. The water depths on the Bank run from around 20 feet to near zero. Much of the Bank remains un-surveyed and for navigation you need your eyes and good sunlight to spot coral heads and shallow reefs. The water is crystal clear and the clouds tend to stay over the land area.

Crossing the Caicos Bank

We motored out of South Caicos harbor at 0730. Once clear of the harbor we unfurled the jib in 25 knots on northeast winds for the 3 mile downwind ride around Long Cay before turning northwest on to the Banks. The 42 foot sloop Wildchild left a few minutes before us and is leading the way which made the initial portion of the trip a little easier. After we rounded Long Cay we had brisk winds and the seas were relatively mild because of the islands to the north. Once established on the northwest heading I was able to hoist up a small portion of the main sail and pick our speed up to a respectable 8 knots taking over the lead for the last 30 miles. Dodging the reefs was pretty easy as we had good sunlight and clear skies. There was only one section, of about 3 miles, where we were constantly zigzagging in and out or coral heads and mini reefs. For most of the trip it was a straight 45 nm run for our intended stop at Sapodilla Bay. The Caicos passage was one of the most enjoyable and memorable sails we have made.

Jo Jo

The Caicos Islands are home to a very unique Dolphin that has voluntarily chosen to interact with humans. Since 1980 the dolphin affectionately named Jo Jo has been hanging around the Provo area and is a commonly seen circling anchored and/or sailing vessel’s and interacting with the local divers. It is easy to identify Jo Jo by the way he sticks his head out of the water and gives you a good once over. About 10 miles from Sapodilla we were greeted by the lone Jo Jo while he gave us a head shot and circled the boat 3 times during a 10 minute stay. After he felt the greeting was sufficient he turned and swam back towards Wildchild for a similar greeting. This was very KEWL.

We arrived at the lovely Sapodilla Bay by 4:00. Sapodilla is a great anchorage in clear water and the sand bottom provides excellent holding. It has a beautiful beach surrounded by private homes. The only downside is that the anchorage is 5 miles from any type of services and for transportation one must either walk or rent a car. One of the boats anchored next to us was returning a rental car the next morning and offered me a ride to the Budget Rental Car office by the airport.

Provisions from car to dinghy to boat

When renting a car we left the car on the pubic beach and dinghy back and forth to the boat. When done for the day you leave the car on the beach and return to the boat by dinghy. We found some really good shopping and provisioning with everything you could find in the states only about 30% higher. Hey, if you haven’t seen some of this stuff for 5 months you really don’t care about the price. We also found a nice book shop to replenish our reading supply (KEWL). Our plans are to leave for Mayaguana tomorrow morning.

Carol and I found a nice restaurant and sampled the local Bloody Mary mixes, beer (Turks Head), and island seafood and conch, gooood. After the lunch and shopping it was back to the beach to transfer our provisions from the car, to dinghy, and to the boat. When I returned the car later that day I was able to give another cruiser a ride to the budget Office, the trend continues.

Friday, March 16^th – We left as early as possible for Mayaguana (0730) as we need some daylight to pick our way through reefs before getting to open ocean about 11 miles to the west. It’s another great day to sail, the winds are southeast at 10 to 15 knots. I tentatively hoist our repaired spinnaker up (first real test) and are moving along at a comfortable 6 to 7 knots. So far so good, I am a little nervous about how much stress the repaired sail can stand, but it is looking good. This turns out not to be a problem today as the winds eventually die down to less than 10 knots and we are having trouble keeping the sails filled (bummer). It’s starting to get late in the afternoon and we still have 12 miles to go before getting to the narrow cut in the reef at Mayaguana so we start both engines to move us along a 6 knots. Just as the boat starts to pick up speed, BAM, we get a hit on one of the two fishing lines out. A very large Bull Dolphin jumps and takes off. The reel is just spinning and 300 yards of line are gone in a minute. We almost lost all the line before he slowed down. For the next 45 minutes I am pumping and grinding to reel in the big guy. By the time we finally got the gaff into the dolphin I am whipped and the fish is all but dead. This is the largest fish I can remember catching. We dumped some alcohol down his throat and tied a rope through his gills and proceeded the final hour to the reef.

52" Mahi

Coming through the small ‘S’ curve cut in the reef was a tricky affair. Carol took the helm and I on the coach roof trying to spot the coral heads. We had an audience of 4 other catamarans watching our maneuvers through he rocks, they must think us crazy to be doing this at this time of day (6:00). Thankfully it is daylight savings time, I have some good Polaroid’s, and a navigation system that worked well.

It took me almost an hour to clean the fish and wash the blood off the boat. The fish was an impressive 52 inches long and weighed and estimated 40 pounds. We ended up with about 20 pounds of filets. Carol quickly got busy making a large pot of fish chowder. For dinner, you guessed it, baked mahi in parchment paper with fresh herbs from our garden. And you will never guess what we had for breakfast the next morning.

Saturday morning Carol and I went ashore looking for the customs folks. Although we found the customs and immigration offices they were closed (it is Saturday). We asked one of the residents where we could find an official and he directed us to the Island’s local commissioner. We walked to his house and he greeted us on his front porch. The commissioner explained that the regular hours were Monday through Friday and anything else would be $75 overtime in addition to the normal $300 for a Bahamas cruising permit, wow that’s expensive. We decided to wait until Monday, or go to another island, before checking in. We went back to the boat and enjoyed some swimming and a quiet day of reading and writing.

That evening Vandermer of the Sea arrived and Barbara and Hale joined us for some great fish chowder.

Mayaguana is far enough north that it is impacted by an occasional cold front, such as one that will be arriving tonight. Normally when a cold front moves through the wind will move in a clockwise pattern and shifts around from the normal trades (east) to the south, then west, then north, before returning to the east. Depending on how fast the front is moving the process can take between 18 to 36 hours. This is a pretty big front and the winds by Monday and Tuesday are forecast to be up to 25 knots and may impact our departure to the Acklin Islands. I will continue to download forecasts every 12 hours to pick a good window before leaving.

Rainshower over Mayagauna

Last night Barbara from Vandermer offered to prepare diner tonight so we gave her about 5 pounds of fish for the meal. Barbara made a delicious coconut curry sauce served over two types or rice.

From the forecasts the weather will not be improving for the next week. There is a stalled trough just north of Puerto Rico, a big high pressure system in the North Atlantic and the strong cold fronts coming from the US that is keeping the status quo. The winds will remain from the northeast a constant 20 to 25 knots. The seas remain high and uncomfortable. Our current anchorage in Abraham Bay is comfortable but windy.

Monday we were able to get through customs and immigration to get checked in.

Mayaguana is kind of a bust, there is nothing here. Also we are getting bored waiting for a weather window. In the afternoon we move around to Start Point on the west side of the island for better protection from the wind. That afternoon I am able to get a good nap and decide to take of for Crooked Island at 6:00PM. The sail will be about 80 miles and should be downwind all the way. Boy was this a bad decision, we got hammered all night and it turned cold. I am bundled up with long sleeve short, jacket and wool hat. I hoped we haven’t moved too far north too soon.

Cold and windy morning sunrise just north of Crooked Island

Although the forecast called for 20 knot winds during the evening we encountered a constant 25 wind and gusts up to 33, too much. Fortunately we only used the head sail and I was able to reef it to two thirds. By daybreak we decided to continue on to the leeward side of Long Island, where the rest of the sailing will be in the cover of the island. The last 20 miles of the sail were in 30 knot winds and 15 foot seas, and oh yes sunshine. We dropped anchor at 1:00PM behind South Point Long Island after 19 hours of sailing in rough seas. A Bloody Mary and GREAT cheeseburger hit the spot. Carol and I took a nap until 6:00 and went back to bed at 8:00 and slept all night. Happy Anniversary, we have been married 42 years today, March 20^th 2007.

South Point, Long Island

Tuesday we are refreshed and ready to go. I tuned into the 0630 weather forecast and find no change, still high winds and seas will continue until next week. The good news for us is that we can benefit from the wind and under some coverage from the island lee the seas will remain a relatively flat at only 2 to 3 foot short chop. After breakfast we get underway by 0800 to work our way north towards Stella Marias Resort & Marina on the north end of Long Island.

The water on the south end of Long Island is very shallow and is not navigable until you get about 15 miles west of the coast. From that point you can turn north and sail in 7 to 10 feet of water though the Exuma Sound. This sailing is very much like that experienced on the Caicos Banks. The clouds over the banks are beautiful and reflect the emerald green of the water. We had a pleasant sail up to the night’s anchorage at Blains Bluff.

Thursday the wind is still blowing 25 knots (getting tired of this). This morning we timed our departure for an arrival at Stella Maris at high tide. The 3 mile channel to the marina through the flats has only 4’ of water during low tide and we draw 4.6’ so we need a high tide to get in. At 1200 we are securely tied up and we spend the next hour cleaning and washing the boat. The resort is having a cocktail party, band, and BBQ so we sign up for a belated anniversary celebration.

“Long” is quite likely the best description of this Island. Long Island is 76 miles long and 4 miles wide at its greatest breadth and stretches from the southern Exumas and Exuma Sound to the deep Crooked Island Passage. On Friday we rented a car and did some exploring. There is only one main route and it is in pretty good condition. You don’t see many tourists here as there are only a couple of resorts and the main activities are bonefish and tarpon fishing on the flats and skin diving. We did run into another sailing couple we met in Provo that stopped on the windward side of the island and were stuck waiting for the wind to calm before they could leave the windward harbor.

Saturday morning we left at high tide for Georgetown Exuma.