January 31, 2007

Isla de Muertos

On Monday – January 22. The smell of breakfast was wafting through the Esperanza harbor and enticed us ashore for breakfast at one of the small waterfront hotels. Afterwards we walked into town. It was hard to determine where the town is located as Esperanza is actually just a small community of houses interspersed with some very small business such as tiny restaurants and a grocery store.

After our walk we up’d anchor and headed for Green Beach on the west side of Viequez. As we rounded the western tip of the island we were exposed to heavy northern winds kicking up to 25 knots. Also a northerly wave swell made this an uncomfortable anchorage.

The next morning it was actually cool (69 degrees) and both Carol and I are in long sleeve shirts (burrrr). The skies are overcast and the beach doesn’t look very inviting. We have been reading about Cayo Santiago (Monkey Island), about 10 miles to the west, and decide to check it out. The island has been a research facility since the 30’s. There are no people on the island, just monkeys. We anchored off shore and ate lunch. Although we could hear the monkeys there were no sightings. Additionally the island was not very pretty and no beaches to speak of. I should have figured out earlier that if the island was nice the government would have given the monkeys boot and turned the place into a resort.
 

Cayo Santiago - Monkey Island (PR background)

We have been on the boat now for almost 3 months and have been thinking about taking an onshore break by finding a marina and possibly getting a hotel room for a couple of days. Additionally we could do some land touring. Since Monkey Island turned into a bust we found what looked like the perfect place, Palmas del Mar.

We hoisted sail and set off the 3 miles to Palmas del Mar only to find the harbor under construction and no place to berth or even anchor. This was really disappointing; it’s turning out to be a bad day at each turn (bummer). Oh well, we got out the charts and found an anchorage about 15 miles away at Puerto Patillas. The little town is tucked in behind a substantial reef on the south side of PR. It is very difficult to navigate around here late in the day because it is almost impossible to spot all the reefs and it is not wise to overly rely on the electronic charts as the positions can be off by as much as 100 feet.

We dropped anchor behind Patillas at 5:00 pm and spent a peaceful evening.

Downwind under Jib power

On the south shore of Puerto Rico the wind pattern is pretty consistent. During the day the trades are strong and from the east as soon as you get off-shore. During the evening, when the land cools, the wind shifts near the island and will come from down from the mountains (north). In the morning the wind is generally still and later when the land heats up the trades resume back from the east. Vessels heading west have a pleasant down wind sail, and if you are not in a hurry (like us) it is very comfortable with just putting out the head sail or spinnaker.

Wednesday - The next day we departed early for Salinas. Salinas is a beautiful well protected anchorage surrounded by mangroves, houses, a marina, and a couple of restaurants. It is a very peaceful harbor and I noticed no one locks their boat or dinghy (good sign). Prices here are very good. We can get a cheeseburger and fries for $3.00. During happy hour beer is a buck and mixed drinks 2. The only thing missing is wifi, however I am able to use the cell phone as a modem (kind of slow, but…).

Salinas	Salinas Marina

We spent 2 days in Salinas just relaxing and catching up on eating out.

While in St. Maarten I saw a neat 2 person kayak with a glass bottom. Many of the anchorages and reefs in the Caribbean have very clear water and the views are spectacular. To be able to kayak over the reefs with a glass bottom is super cool. After some searching on the internet I found the manufacture (Ontario, Canada) but unfortunately they do not have a distributor in PR. After several calls back and forth we purchase the kayak and arrange for shipping to PR with an expected arrival within 1 week.

Some good news, we found a marina in Ponce, PR that can handle the beam of our catamaran and have made reservations for 3 days. Also this looks like a good place to hang around until the kayak arrives. Ponce is the island’s second largest city and is the only marina that can accommodate our boat width.

View of Ponce from Coffin Island

Friday - On our slow sail to Ponce, we were about 5 miles off-shore, and flagged down a small 20 boat with local divers and asked if he had any fish or lobster to sell. As luck would have it we purchased a lobster for $8 and immediately diverted to Isla Caja de Muertos (known as Coffin Island to the locals) for a lunch stop. Coffin Island looks like a coffin from a distance (hence it’s name) and is a big tourist attraction from Ponce. We found one of those little secluded Caribbean beaches on the leeward side and dropped the hook 50 feet from a white sandy beach. After a fresh lobster salad Carol and I swam ashore to our own private beach (no one in sight for miles). Later in the afternoon we sailed over to the Ponce Yacht & Fishing Club. The yacht club is beautiful with new docks and about 40 acres of private property. The faculties include a snack bar, showers, pool, and fine restaurant. Also the city of Ponce provides free wifi access almost everywhere. (KEWL).

Ponce Yacht & Fishing Club

The club is located directly across from an area known as La Guancha. La Guancha is a weekend gathering place for families. The public area has a boardwalk that meanders between stalls selling local foods while musicians and actors provide the sidewalk entertainment. The only downside is they go all out until about 2:00 on the weekends.

The yacht clubs feels right and we decide to stay for a week.

Saturday – Carol and I spend the morning giving the boat a good cleaning and scrub down. Afterwards I am off to get a rental car. In the afternoon we found a Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart. After 3 months of cruising Wal-Mart is a special event. That evening Carol and I wondered through La Guancha and ate foods we never heard of. The people here are so friendly and it feels very safe.

Sunday – We drove 90 miles to Puerto Del Rey on the east coast to the annual Puerto Rican Boat Show. Wow what a bust, there was only 1 sailboat and that was a 58 Catamaran charter boat, everything else was outboards and power boats. When you look around Puerto Rico probably 90 of the sail boats are cruisers or just passing through. Anyway it was a nice drive and they have good roads.

Ponce has been a very pleasant surprise. It is Puerto Rico’s second largest city and has many historical sites. We have driven downtown several times and enjoy the large park in the center of the city. On Monday we took a trolley tour of the city’s tourist sites and got ourselves acclimated to the roads and sites we want to visit. One of those cool areas was the retired firefighter’s houses. In 1907 there was a big fire in downtown and the volunteer firefighters saved the city. In appreciation the city built 7 houses and gave them to the firefighters. Every year after the city built another home (until 1960) and held a lottery among the firefighters and gave the winner a home. The houses are passed down through the generations with the only stipulation that they must be painted red and black to match the fire station.

View of Ponce to the south	Downtown Ponce	Castle overlooking Ponce

Tuesday – Carol and I toured a mansion on the hill overlooking Ponce. The mansion was the home of the family that produced Don Q Rum. The home was built in the early 1900’s and typical Spanish architecture. Tuesday evening we entertained some other cruisers who were heading eastbound and were kind enough to share their experiences with us.

I talked with the shipping line here in PR about the kayak. The good news is that it is leaving Jacksonville by ship today and will be here Friday. Then the shipment must be cleared by customs and will not be available for delivery or pick up until next Tuesday or Wednesday. Rather than drive the 100 miles to San Juan we will have the shipper deliver to the yacht club. If I were back in the states I would probably be upset about the delay, but here there is no rush, tomorrow, or next week will be fine.

Where to next? We have talked with several cruisers coming from the Dominican Republic (DR) and all say it is a must to stop there. We will probably be on the south coast of PR for another week or two then over to DR by mid to late February. I will try for another web update before leaving PR

January 22, 2007

Tortugas Bay, Culebrita

St. Thomas to Viequez

The past 10 days have passed quickly. Barbara and Nancy and their good friends Debbie and Michelle arrived on schedule. They caught a taxi to Crown Bay Marina where we picked them up. The next day the girls went shopping in St. Thomas while I relaxed on the boat.

On Tuesday we departed for the Spanish Virgin Islands. Although actually a part of Puerto Rico the Spanish Virgin Islands are a combination of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The people are very friendly and polite.

The western most island is Culebra and that means “snake” in Spanish. I was trying to hide this from Carol as I knew she would never get off the boat. Unfortunately one of the girls was reading the cruising guide aloud and let snake information slip. It took me quite a while to convince Carol that it only meant that the island was shaped like a snake and the snakes had long since disappeared.

Debbie, Michelle, Nancy & Barb

Our first stop was at Isla de Culebrita (little snake). Isla de Culebrita is a wildlife refuge and is one of the most beautiful islands surrounding Culebra. The island is only open during daylight hours and there are no permanent residents. We pulled into Tortuga Bay, a spectacular crescent shaped lagoon ringed by a magnificent white sand beach. We were the only boat, like a private island, very cool. The Puerto Rican Department of Natural Resources have place mooring buoys through out the Spanish Virgin Islands so the boat anchors do not destroy the coral.

The girls were quick to dawn their snorkeling gear and were off exploring within the hour. Carol and I stayed behind and dreamt about some fresh fish and lobster. True to form the girls returned with food (conch). Michelle and I went ashore and cleaned the conch. The evening’s dinner was fresh bruschetta (with our boat grown basil), cracked conch, and salad. Does this get any better?

Trail to the lighthouse

The next morning’s activity was a climb to an abandoned lighthouse atop the hill. The trail was a circuitous route that took about an hour to climb the 305 vertical feet. The view from the top was fabulous. To the west was a clear view of Culebra, to the south the island of Viequez, and to the east St. Thomas. On the way down we stopped by a unique rock formation of pools on the seaward side known as the Jacuzzis.

View of Southeastern Culebra

Jacuzzis

After our hike we sailed the short distance to Culebra. Culebra is a small island only 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. It has been a US possession since 1898 and the government originally specified that the island should be used for their “highest and best use”. In 1903 the Navy decided that the main (and only) town needed to be relocated closer to the sea shore (enlarged their practice bombing range). A couple of the local fisherman bitched about the move because it would be harder for them to get access to the fishing grounds so the Navy built them a lift bridge. The bridge is still part of the main road system, however I doubt it still works (see picture).

Mamacita's on the Lift Bridge Canal

We are now running low on beer (the main drink for some of our guests) and time to replenish. We have been informed that the grocery store does not sell beer and we must go to one of either two local bars by the airport. Our directions are “take your dinghy to the pier about a half mile up the lagoon and just past the baseball field. Walk to the street and turn left for about another half mile to the Happy Landings bar.” This gave the 6 of us an opportunity to get acquainted with the local population and sample the Puerto Rican beer (Medalla). We purchased 3 cases of beer and 5 bags of ice so a taxi back to the dinghy was necessary.

Cruising essentials, beer & ice

While anchoring we received a friendly wave from a neighboring catamaran (Awakening) and they filled us in on some local dining places. One of the recommendations was to eat at Mamacita’s just past the lift bridge. A nice feature was that the restaurant also has their own dinghy dock for the convenience of cruisers. We all enjoyed good meal sampling of fresh seafood.

The next day we sailed around the island to Bahia Tamarindo for some excellent snorkeling. That evening Carol and I met the couple from Awakening at Mamacita’s for a drink and exchange of cruising itineraries. They are also cruising with a dog. Their Poodle is a Champion and is on vacation from competition. Carol really enjoyed talking with Suzi (the dog’s owner) comparing notes on dog breading.

The next day we sailed to Viequez for a little exploration. Until recently the major part of the island was exclusively used for Navy bombing practice. A couple of years ago there were large protests from various groups and the Navy finally relented after about 50 years of bombardment. I was intrigued to see Viequez because of lack of tourism, unexploited and isolated anchorages.

at Happy Landings

After a delightful beam reach in 15 to 20 knot trades we anchored at the desolate Bahia Salina del Sur. There was even a bombed out army tank overlooking the bay entrance. We nestled up to within 300 feet of the shore and dropped anchor. Signs were posted all over the beach about no trespassing and do not touch any un-exploded ordinance (I think we could have figure that one out). Within 30 minutes a couple of men showed up frantically waving and try to contact us on VHF. Their radio was not transmitting, but they were able to hear me. Through some sign language and transmitting on my part, we figured out they wanted us to leave, so off we went. Evidently they were doing bomb disposal work and civilians were not allowed in the area.

We sailed about 5 miles down to Ensenada Honda for another nice anchorage. We were able to anchor just 50’ off the beach and enjoyed a nice evening of solitude.

Bomb demolition experts

The next day while sailing past Puerto Mosquito a couple of kayakers paddled out and flagged us down. If I were in a different place I might think we were being welcomed to a South Pacific atoll. It seems that the two fellows were the same gentlemen that waved us out of Bahia Salina del Sur the day before. We pulled into the cove and anchored and invited the guys in for a beer. They were very apologetic about having to run us off and explained that the Navy was still cleaning up un-exploded ordinance. The bomb disposal folks work 7 to 3:30 Monday through Friday and during those times they do not allow civilians in the area. They gave us some good information about the island and a recommendation for this evening’s restaurant choice.

Our next stop was at the town of Esperanza, the islands second and only other town. The girls and I went ashore to replenish the beer and ice supply and check out the local sites. It was a walk of about a half a mile to the market. Carrying back a case of beer and 3 bags of ice got us a lot of invitations to stop and chat. Barb, Nancy, Debbie, and Michelle went ashore for dinner and brought Carol and I back a nice surf and turf meal.

On Sunday the girls are off back to the states. I made two trips with the dinghy getting everyone and luggage ashore. They were able to get a ride to the local airport and caught a flight to Fajardo (east coast of PR). From there they got a taxi to the San Juan Airport.

Carol and I spent Sunday cleaning and doing general boat maintenance. We will probably spend another few days here and then head over to the south side of Puerto Rico.

Herbs - left to right - basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives, & mint

January 12, 2007

Cane Garden Bay

Here it is January 12^th, the time is flying and I think we may be behind schedule, but not sure? Make any sense? It really is hard to keep tract of time down here.

The Christmas winds are still active and generally keep the weather patterns consistent with a steady 20 knot breeze out of the east. During the non-hurricane season they just put the forecast on a recording. Mostly sunny today with a slight chance of showers, the temperature will reach a high in the low 80’s and night time low drop to the low 70’s. It is just another day in paradise. As Jimmy Buffet says “I just want to live happily ever after….every now and then”

Quito & Carol

We enjoyed a nice downwind sail from Trellis Bay to Cane Garden Bay. We stopped here in 1983 on our very first bareboat charter. At the time, I recall, there were only 3 buildings on the beach and 2 were restaurants. If you wanted to have dinner ashore you had order your meal by 1:00 so they could travel to town and buy the necessary preparations. At the time there were no docks so it was necessary to beach your dinghy to get ashore. It was fun watching people come ashore in the evening, dressed in nice clothing, trying to bring the dinghy ashore without getting drenched. Cane Garden Bay was and still is post card picture material. Over the years it has grown and still is beautiful.

In 1991 we visited Cane Garden Bay again with our good friend Dave Selleck. A young singer named Quito Ryhmer just opened a new restaurant and installed a dinghy dock. Quito is an excellent entertainer and is very popular with the locals. In 2004 we ran into Quito at the Annapolis Boat Show where he was performing at the Marriot hotel and for the Sunsail Owners Party. So naturally a stop at Quito’s for diner was a must.  We have very fond memories of Cane Garden Bay (picture on home page).

Ritz Carlton Cat at White Bay

Our next stop was to White Bay on the island of Jost Van Dyke with an interim stop at Great Harbor to check with BVI Immigration to get an extension on our visa (behind schedule). There is a cool bar on the beach named Foxy’s and I think the local law requires us to stop there for a few drinks before you are allowed to leave. Naturally we had to comply and ended up spending the night in the harbor listening to the reggae beat until about 2:00am.

White Bay is another gorgeous beach. There are so many beautiful places here that when someone asks us which one is our favorite I just have to respond…”where ever we are at the time is our favorite.”

We left White Beach on Sunday and had a great sail over to St. John, USVI. Every time we get ready to leave Carol always asks “how long will this take?” I have now wised up about my trip estimations and generally add a couple of hours to the time so that when we show up early I can claim it was because of my great sailing technique. On this particular sail we were on a beam reach (perfect conditions for us) and I over-estimated our time big time. I think Carol is now wise to me as the 5 mile sail only took 35 minutes.

Trunk Bay, St. John

North side of St. John The place on the right is really a private residence - WOW

We cleared back into US waters at Cruise Bay, St. John. For the next 4 to 6 weeks we will be in US territorial waters from St. John, St. Thomas, and Puerto Rico. Fancy is very happy because she is allowed ashore in the US terriorties.

We spent the next couple of nights on the south side of St. John anchored in Rendezvous Bay. We literally had the bay to ourselves.

Ship passing in the night - Rendezvous Bay

Next stop was to Red Hook on the east end of St. Thomas. We got a berth at American Yacht Harbor to for a couple of nights. I find it a nice change of pace to tie up once every few weeks. It gives us the opportunity to give the boat a good fresh water scub down and re-provision our meats and vegetables. Additonally, the port side alternator was not charging the batteries so I had the opportunity to learn more about the electrical system on the boat. I checked the output directly from the alternator and found the proper voltage being out put at the alternator. I was able to finally trace the problem to a faulty relay switch in the engine compartment. Luckily these relays are relative cheap (under $10) and it was an easy fix. It seems that every month there is a maintenance issue, so I am hoping that takes care of January. Additonally, during my routine engine checks I found a water pump belt on its last legs and was able to replace the belt while at the dock. Generally speaking critical things will break on boats just when you need them the most, like when you are maneuvering or at 3:00am in dark and windy seas.

We will pick up Barb and Nancy on this Sunday afternoon and spend the next week exploring the Spanish Virgin Islands. The next update will probably in Puerto Rico.

North Side of Tortola

It has been a great 6 weeks in St Maarten and it is time to move on. The auto pilot is finally fixed. The most frustrating situation on the pilot repair was waiting for the “overnight” shipment to arrive. The Europeans evidently have a different definition of “overnight” as it actually took 15 days from the time the factory delivered the unit until we received it in SXM. Reminds me of the Airbus 380 project, Ha!

The time spent in St Maarten has been very enjoyable. The people on both the French and Dutch side are very friendly. The shopping is superb. The food is wonderful and reasonably priced. The weather has continued to be a little windy but the temperature is just right. It stays a comfortable low 80’s in the daytime and low 70’s at night.

Santa in SXM

We spent Christmas anchored off a nice resort on the French side. We actually saw Santa fly bye on skies.

Friday, 29 December - Carol and I took the boat out for a sea trail on the auto pilot (25 knot winds and heavy seas) and everything worked perfectly. We checked with the Herb (weather guru) and he suggested a midnight departure with thoughts of the wind dissipating to 15 knots. I wanted to make this comfortable for Carol as this will be our first overnight passage with just the two of us. After the shakedown we anchored off Marigot and had an early dinner. I tried to grab a couple hours sleep before leaving SXM. I read for a while but was unable to get any sleep. I got up at 8:00, turned on the coffee and talked Carol into leaving early between the rain showers.

By 8:30 with fresh coffee in hand we were underway. The winds were still blowing 20 knots from the stern quarter and our initial sail configuration was double reefed main and full jib. We were expecting following seas and a nice three quarter moon to help guide our way. Departing Marigot harbor was very pleasant I am thinking about adding more sail (a guy thing), but I must keep reminding myself that comfort is the priority and luckily decide to wait on the sail change. Once we get about 5 miles offshore and out from under the influence of the mountains the winds kick back up to 25 knots with the seas running 8 to 10. The boat is cruising at 7 knots under present sail configuration. After a couple of hours Carol is not feeling very well, I think this is the first time I can remember her ever not feeling well. It must be something that we ate because by midnight I am also feeling a little queasy. My remedy is stay our in the wind and keep an eye on the horizon. By 0100 I am back to normal. Carol sleeps in the salon most of the night.

We have seen more night time ship traffic on this run then the entire trip down from Florida. Between 0100 and 0400 there were 14 vessels within 4 miles of our position traveling in both directions. The radar is a great help on these night time passages as distances can be very deceiving in the dark.

The moon stayed with us until it set about 0400. After moon set the stars came out in all their glory and provided sufficient light to be able to look out around the boat a 100 yards. Our old friends the Big Dipper is pointing to Polaris (North Star). Looking directly south it always a treat in this part of the hemisphere to see the Southern Cross with Hadar and Rigel Kent glowing just off to the east. These are my favorite star groups as it is always a confirmation of your direction at night.

At about 0430 I got a scare and was snapped out of my star gazing hypnotic trance (or maybe starting to doze off) by a big splash and commotion 10 feet off our port side. After a couple more big splashes I realized that we had been joined by a pod of dolphin jumping around the boat. It was cool watching their playful antics. There was a small trace of phosphorous in the water and you could see the dolphin swishing around coming and going to and from the boat. It always nice to have nature’s entertainment while underway, not to mention the wake up call to a sleepy skipper, thanks Flipper!

Sunrise between SXM and Virgin Gorda

As soon as the sun came up Virgin Gorda was in sight. We rounded the southern tip of the island passing by the world famous Baths. The Baths are a really cool spot. There is an unusual formation of large granite boulders. The sea washes in between the huge rocks and form cool little grottos where shafts of light play upon the water creating a dramatic effect. People snorkel between the rocks that look like tunnels leading into hidden caverns.

The Baths

Passing the Baths we head for Spanish Town to clear customs. Carol is back in top shape and we both gain our ground legs on the walk to Customs and Immigration. After a quick check in we sail the 5 miles over to Trellis Bay where there will be a large New Years Eve party Sunday night.

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) are the bareboat charter capital of the Caribbean. The Islands are the ideal sailing location because of the geography and physical makeup. The big favorites for sailors are the constant trade winds, numerous sheltered harbors, white sandy beaches, clear warm water, and generally calm seas between those closely spaced islands. It is soooo nice here, some come and never leave.

My thought on going to Trellis Bay early was to arrive the day before of the big News Years Eve bash and get one of those good moorings early because the bay only accommodates about 50 boats. Well it seems that about 75 other boats had the same idea. With all the mooring balls occupied we were lucky to find some shallow water (less than 5 feet) and anchor near the beach. The rest of the afternoon Carol and I were entertained by watching other boats coming into the Bay searching for that ideal spot, or any spot. At last count we are in the company of at least 116 other partiers (boats).

On Sunday afternoon New Years Eve activities are underway on the beach. The harbor is jammed, and sailors are still finding those tight spots to squeeze into and drop anchor. It is getting so tight everyone is starting to put out fenders in case boats bump into each other.

Trllis Bay Anchorage

A view towards Marina Cay - across the channel from Trellis Bay

Carol and I went ashore to have a couple drinks, get something to eat, and people watch. We stopped at the Trellis Bay café for a meal and listened to the band. Everything at the café was on the honor system, help yourself to drinks and order your meal. When you are finished you go to the cash register and tell them how much you consumed (drinks), what you ate, and she adds up the bill. It is refreshing to have such and open and honest atmosphere.

Fireworks at Trellis Bay

At midnight we ended up back on the boat watching a nice fireworks display just 100 yards in front of where we are anchored. It has been a very nice year and we have a lot to be thankful for. Every now and then I still have to pinch myself, “is this real, out here living the dream”.

New Years Day all the charter boats start leaving early, they have schedules to keep and places to see. It is relaxing to just sit and watch the world go by. Entertainment comes easy here whether it is watching the birds dive for food, the fish jumping, or other boats coming and going. On the boat we seem to live moment by moment and are just observers of the universe, today life is GOOD.

On Monday afternoon I am feeling a little guilty and decide to do some boat work. Some small barnacles that are starting to appear along the hull and keels. We up anchor and find a spot closer to the beach where I can stand and scrape barnacles. They (barnacles) actually come off pretty easy while they are still small. I spent about an hour on Monday afternoon and an hour Tuesday morning scraping and cleaning the hulls. I might check into getting the boat hauled in Puerto Rico and have the bottom painted. Also time to change the water maker filter. The instructions for cleaning old filters is to tie a rope around it and drag behind the boat for a couple of hours (how simple is that).

Close to the Beach	Close to the Beach 2

On Tuesday we are heading over to Cane Garden Bay on the north side of Tortola. The Bay is another beautiful anchorage that offers a nice palm fringed beach with a lot of eating and drinking opportunities.

We got some good news from Barbara that she and Nancy will be joining us in mid January for a week.

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