We settled into a nice anchorage off Green Beach on the Western Shore of Isla de Vieques.  The island is about 21 miles long and 3.5 miles wide at its middle region.  The place is quite laid back and a far cry from its bigger cousin Puerto Rico.  Green Beach is a quiet place and only 7.5 miles from Fajardo, Puerto Rico.  Carol and I spent 2 lovely days just relaxing and reading.

Green Beach

The Trades are still blowing strong and are forecasted to increase to 25  knots (this really means 30 knots) for the next couple of days.  Our Daughter Barbara is coming for a visit this weekend so we decide to spend some time at Puerto del Rey Marina, just south of Fajardo.

Puerto del Rey boasts being the largest marina in the Caribbean with more than 1,000 slips.  It is very impressive and clean.  The docks are all concrete and well maintained.  The marina is so large that they have a free 24 hour golf cart pick up service from your slip to the main complex, cool.  We were assigned a double wide slip with finger pier on either side.  Additionally there were line handlers available when we arrived.

Puerto del Rey Marina

The trip over from Green Breach was quite windy, when is this going to settle down?  When I lowered the main one of the sail bag lines broke and the port side of the sail bag flopped to the deck sending the main all over the port side of the boat, what a mess, particularly in high winds.  Fortunately Carol acted quickly and found some line to secure the sails.  Another break is that we did not have an audience to view the mess (avoided the embarrassment, yea).

This says it all

It’s so nice here we decide to spend the week and get some chores done while we wait for Barb.  We rented a car for shopping and exploring.  I found another Sam’s Club and convinced Carol we needed to upgrade our TV to a Flat Panel 19 inch High Definition set (she’s just humoring me). 

We picked up Barb at San Juan airport on April 4^th.  Barbara brought down a replacement Laptop PC, new Canon G9 camera (my trusty Power Shot S3 bit the dust), our tax documents, and some mail and parts for Charles and Giselle (Wild Ride).

We had hoped to be able to take Barb sailing but the winds are still blowing that relentless 25 to 30 knots from the east, bummer.  We ended up just hanging at Puerto del Rey and enjoying her company.  We took a day trip to El Yunque, the only tropical rain forest in the US Park Service.  El Yunque is beautiful and a must see.  The park covers more than 28,000 acres and has 28 miles of trails through tall tree canopies and winding by magnificent water falls and streams.  Oh yes be sure to bring the rain coat and plastic bags for the cameras.

Barb left on Monday so Carol and I headed over to Isla Palominos (5 miles northeast of Puerto del Rey).  The island is private and leased by the El Conquistador Resort across the Bahia de Fajardo to the west.  The resort does not have a beach so they use the island for their guests.  The resort runs a large catamaran motor vessel to the island every 30 minutes from 0900 to 1800 every day.  The Puerto Rican Department of Natural Resources has been good enough to set out a dozen mooring balls for visitors. We spend 3 quiet days enjoying the beach and watching the tourists (watch us?).

Isla Palominos

On Friday we headed back to Puerto del Rey as my brother and his wife Carol will be flying in on Saturday.

We rented a car and drove into San Juan to meet Ollie and Carol on Saturday night.  Their flight was a little late so while we were waiting we visited the San Juan Airport drive through Wendy’s window.  This is a first for me, an airport with drive through fast food.  We got a couple of Wendy’s Caesar Salads and ate dinner while waiting outside passenger pickup.

Ollie and Carol found us without any difficulty and filled our trunk with luggage (some of which was more boat parts).

We stayed at Puerto del Rey the next day finishing up some boat projects which was really a distraction so we could hang around and watch the final day of the Master’s Golf Tournament.

Puerto Rican Sunset

The next day we sailed over to Culebra.  Note I said sailed, I am very tired of motoring against these trades and determined to sail no matter what the time cost.  The 15 mile trip took us 5 hours of tacking, but burned zero fuel (at last!).

Recent Culebra history had the island transferred to US Navy control in 1903.  The Navy, in its infinite wisdom, decided that the island’s main town, named Pueblo Viejo, needed to be relocated and name changed to Dewey, after a famous Admiral.  Well some of the inhabitants complained about the move and it provided a hardship for 2 local fishermen.  So the navy built a canal and installed a large lift bridge to accommodate the 2 fishermen for access to both sides of the island. 

That evening we enjoyed dinner at Mamacitas.

The next day it was a pleasant day sail over to the Culebra’s sister island Isla de Culebrita.  The Island is a national park and wild life refuge and closes at 6:00.  It very nice stop for cruisers as you have the place to yourself in the evening, not that there is much traffic in the daytime.  On the north side of the island is a beautiful circular white sand beach.  We picked up a mooring for the evening and enjoyed the quiet serenity.

Culabrita

The next day we are up early for the trip to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.  It is a delightful day and the wind is enough south of east to make the trip to Jost Van Dyke in one tack, so the plan changes and BVI here we come.

Once we get settled in to Little Harbor I quickly dinghy ashore to clear customs and get busy with a tour of the island beach bars. 

How many times have you been with someone that just doesn’t know what they want to order at the bar?  My brother and I strolled into Foxie’s where I order a Painkiller, the bar tender asks my brother what he will have and gets the typical, I haven’t decided.  Without missing a beat the bar keep responds we don’t have that one (ha).  I quickly asked if he any of those I don’t knows.  We enjoyed a laugh then settled back and for a fun evening of being in paradise.

Main Street Jost Van Dyke

The next day we sailed the quick 5 miles over to the beautiful Cane Garden Bay.  One of our favorite places in the BVI is Quito Rymers place where there is always good music, dancing, and a fun crowd.  After a few pain killers even the shy and reserved can be seen swaying on the dance floor to that magical Reggae beat.

I must of spent too much time partying to keep notes but I know I really enjoyed the Loose Mongoose at Trellis Bay, the Bitter End Yacht Club, Virgin Gorda, the Baths, and Pusser’s at Soper’s Hole.

The Baths, Virgin Gorda, BVI

Wednesday we checked out of the BVI and checked in the US at St. Johns.  The US Customs and Boarder Protection (CBP) has a convenient dock at Cruise Bay that you can tie up to while doing the formalities, cool.  I was surprised to learn that this year they have started charging for using the dock (last year it was free).  After a quick check in I was presented a $22 bill (.60 a foot) for the 20 minute usage.  Well I guess we need to find a way to pay for this war, ha.

We spent Thursday night anchored in Charlotte Amalie Harbor.  To our surprise we discovered that it is Carnival time in St. Thomas.  Until 0300 in the morning we watched the celebrations and listened to the music.  Although we were anchored a half mile from the activities the boat actually vibrated from the base coming from the bands.  The next day I spotted the music source, 3 tractor trailer beds each with 20 X 6 feet by 3 feet speakers, WOW.  We are all still a little tone deaf but will recover.

Entering Charlotte Amalie Harbor, St. Thomas

Ollie and Carol had no luck in finding a hotel for their last night in St. Thomas because of Carnival, however, we were able to get a slip at the Crown Bay Marina near downtown at a rate of $2.63 per foot with a 40 minimum, kind of makes you feel like you are back in the states.  The Marina is first rate with excellent services and about a mile from downtown Charlotte Amalie. 

Friday April 25, 2008.  We ate breakfast at Tickles, the dockside restaurant at Crown Bay Marina.  Ollie and Carol are getting a cab to the airport this morning at 0900.  The Marina has a very good chandlery and I was able to find a suitable replacement for the head facet that broke last month. 

Carol and I spent the rest of the morning tiding things up, giving the boat a final freshwater wash down and getting ready for the next passage.  We departed Crown Bay at 1100 for Culebra, where we will stage for a morning departure for the 400 mile trip to the Caicos Islands.

The winds are very light today and unusually out of the south.  It is a pleasant slow sail to Culebra.  We anchored off the town of Dewey, eat dinner, and watched a movie before retiring early.

The next morning we are up and ready to go by 0630.  I have trouble starting the port engine.  I replace the Raycor fuel filter and she starts right up.  The weather looks good, somewhat light conditions from the northeast, but hey, we are in no rush.  We have the sails up within 2 minutes of departure and are slowly riding the swells out into the deep water.  We set a course of 315 degrees so as to stay northeast of the Silver and Navidad Banks south of Grand Turk.  The wind is kind today and picks up to 12 knots by noon.  We have sunshine and light following seas, life is good. 

After dinner I baked some brownies.  There is nothing like chocolate on those night watches.  Our plan is to share the watches witch mainly is looking out for other boat traffic.  If we do spot other ships and it looks like they will get within 2 miles we establish contact and determine if one of us needs to move.  With the new AIS systems and radar most all of the guesswork is taken out of the equation.  I can’t say enough about what a useful tool the AIS systems have become.  All the big ships are required to broadcast their data and we usually can pick up their signal 25 miles away. 

Carol and I have no fixed schedule, it just depends on how the other is feeling and we spell each at random times.  Many times when on watch with no traffic in radar, AIS, or visual sight I will set an alarm for 30 minutes and cat nap between scanning the horizon and the electronics.  These little naps combined with a couple of 2 or 3 hours naps during the day seem to tide me over quite nicely.

The winds picked up to 20 knots overnight and we made a 145 miles for the first day.  This morning Carol got a little queasy while taking a shower (small room and a lot of rocking and rolling).  The winds are still blowing 20 knots and we are making good time. 

Early in the morning we picked up traffic on the AIS.  The boat is an ocean going tug towing a 500 foot barge filled with 3 layers of shipping containers.  The tug is heading for Jacksonville and traveling at 10 knots.  Since we are traveling at 8 knots it took him 4 hours from the time we spotted him on AIS to overtake us and he remained in sight for another 4 hours after passing us.

500' Container Barge	Ocean Going Tug

This evening as the sun started setting the wind has picked up to 20 plus knots and the seas are getting larger to the 8 foot range so we decide to reef up and slow down a little for a more comfortable ride. 

Also it has been overcast most of the day and we are not getting much power from the solar panels making it necessary to run the engines for an hour to help with battery charging.

It was a quick night and we made 178 nm in the last 24 hours.  With only 60 miles to Great Sand and past the shallow banks we turn more of a westerly direction.  Carol is feeling better and back to eating again.  

We drop anchor at Big Sand Cay and settle in for a windy night.  The next morning it is still overcast and windy so we decide to just head for Provo for a quick rest then on to Rum Cay.  After we crossed over the Caicos Passage and were entering the Caicos Banks I called Wild Ride on the VHF to see if they were in hailing distance.  Charles immediately answered and as it turns out was only 15 miles ahead of us en route to Provo, cool it will be fun to finally hook up with them again.  

We entered the Banks just south of Long Cay where I spotted several fishing boats diving for conch.  I dropped sails and motored over inquiring if they had any lobster or conch to sell.  As luck would have it we enjoyed a lobster lunch and now have a dozen conchs in the refrigerator.

By mid morning the sun was shining, the seas were flat, and with 10 knots of wind from behind the spinnaker worked its magic moving us along at 6 knots.  What a day.

We arrived at Sapodilla Bay at 2000 and dropped the hook behind Wild Ride.  We were too tired for any social activities so just baked some brownies, drank some red wine, listened to the gentle patter of rain, and went to bed.

Since we did not check into the Turks and Caicos Islands we had planned to just make Provo and overnight stop and then proceed on for another overnighter to Rum Cay.  After checking on the advance weather forecast it became oblivious that Wednesday would be good light conditions, but the evening weather was quickly turning sour with forecast 20 knot winds and high seas making the last half of the trip kind of rough.  Carol prefers not to sail at night so when she does I try to make it as comfortable as possible.  An alternate plan was discussed to sail west to Castle Island on the Southern Tip of Acklin Island.  Once we get to Acklin we should be able to explore the leeward side of the Island while those 20 knot north easterlies blow themselves out over the next 3 days.  We discussed the idea with Charles and Giselle, and as always they are up for it.  It is cool to be back together.

Heading out Sandbore Channel, Provo, Turks & Caicos Islands

Our little 2 boat convoy left Sapodilla at 1030 and hoisted spinnakers for the gentle trip out the Sandbore Channel, what a pretty sight.  Initially the wind is very light and shifting in direction so we are using one motor to push us towards our destination.  By early afternoon the winds have shifted to northeast and we are a sailboat again.  It is delightful to be underway sitting on the front trampoline, sipping a cold one, and watching the sun setting slowly on the western horizon.

The winds start to pick up as the darkness sets in.  Our boat speed quickly picks up from a gentle 6 knots to 8.  The boat is traveling too fast, as we want to stay close together for this trip.  Additionally, in the darkness the seas are becoming lumpy and waves are starting to crash against the bottom bridge deck making loud noises.  I put in a reef in the main and the jib and we are back to 7 knots.  However, the seas and wind are not to be deterred and continue to build and by 2200 we are back to 8 knots and we have pulled almost a mile ahead of Wild Ride.  I put in the second reef in both main and jib and get us back to 7 knots.  The slower speed quiets the boat and makes for a much comfortable ride.  Over the next couple of hours Wild Ride slowly catches up and passes us.

By sunrise the Castle Island is in sight.  We have arrived too early to find a way into the harbor through the reefs.  The wind is blowing 20 to 25 knots making the only semi-sheltered anchorage another 8 miles north along the leeward side of Acklins, bummer.  Castle Island is one of those light wind conditions stops, we will have to pass.

Tom's Health Drink

By 0900 we drop anchor at Salinas Point.  After straightening up the boat we fixed some breakfast burritos, drank a Bloody Mary, and went to bed, say good night Dick.

That evening we had dinner with Charles and Giselle and compared notes on each other’s recent adventures.

The next morning we let the wind determine the day’s destination.  Lets see a close haul or beat again the wind to make Landrill Point on the north end of Crooked Island, or a beam reach to the southern point of Long Island, dah.  We enjoyed an exhilarating romp across the Crooked Island passage and averaged just over 8 knots from anchor to anchor. 

I recently lightened the load on the front of the boat and it has it made a tremendous difference.  We removed the extra 20 gallons of diesel fuel in the front rope locker.  Additionally, we have two 300 liter water tanks that carry a lot of weight (water @ 7.5 pounds per gallon).  We have decided that while on passages to only use one of the tanks and eliminate the extra 700 pounds of water.  The bows are noticeably higher and in heavy seas stay up out of the water.  The lighter bows help the boat accelerate faster and stay on top of the waves.

On Saturday we made our final run to the Exuma’s, the day’s destination is another 50 mile run to Hog Cay Cut.  The cut is a tricky place as you need to time the coming and going with high tide and current.  The entrance channel is very shallow, tight, and has a stretch of reef that only carries 3 feet of water at low tide.  The morning wind is already kicking up to 20 plus knots, so we start with a reef in the main sail.  Fortunately the wind/waves are slightly behind the beam and this is the optimum angel of sail for our catamaran.  The wind continues to build and soon it’s 25 with gusts to 30, so we reef the main down two notches and take one in the jib.  We are still slipping along at better than 8.5 knots.  We arrived at the cut two hours before high tide and decided to give it a try.  The tide was really ripping against us and we had to use engine power to keep our momentum as we bumped along the bottom through the cut. 

The anchorage on the other side of the cut was untenable with high waves and current so we headed northwest to Pigeon Cay.

Wild Ride was right behind us and caught a tuna earlier in the passage.  Charles offered up the fish and we agreed to cook.  It didn’t take Carol long to respond to that request, Tuna tonight, you bet ya!  Charles did an excellent job of bleeding the fish so it was nice and fresh.  While Carol made a tomato basil sauce for some sautéed tuna filet’s I prepared some tuna slices that we seared for an appetizer.  What a great finish to the day.

Sunday, April 4^rd we gently drifted under head sail the 7 miles to Georgetown.  At the peak in the cruising season G Town hosts anywhere fro 400 to 500 boats.  Most of the cruisers have already left for points north, it was very strange to sail in and anchor off Volley Ball Beach with only 25 other boats in sight.  We dropped anchor and met Charles and Giselle at the Chat N Chill for burgers and beer.  

Some Days A Diamond has covered about 800 miles in the last 8 days and we are ready to slow down and enjoy the Exuma’s.  We plan to head north visiting some of those quiet and serene anchorages.  We will pick up some provisions in G Town then head up to Emerald Bay Marina for a fresh water rinse (boat), do some laundry, and plan the final legs of this year’s trip.

What was that old saying from Cheers, “it is always nice to go some place where they know your name”.  It seems that everyone at Emerald Bay Marina remembered us (or at least acted that way).  They have raised the bar for marina standards, very clean, free laundry, and polite folks.  We went out for pizza and enjoyed the evening with Charles and Giselle. 

We left the next afternoon and anchored 10 miles north at Pigeon Cay.  It was such a beautiful secluded spot we took our beach chairs ashore and enjoyed sundowners while watching for that ever elusive green flash, not tonight. 

Solitude off Bitter Guana Cay

On our way north we stopped at Little Farmers and Staniel Cay.  While at Staniel we heard on the radio that Warderwick Wells was having a party on Saturday, so naturally we headed that way.  The Park was celebrating their 50 year anniversary and hosting a party with burgers and beer, Cool Beans.

It is funny about discovering how close we are all connected (6 degrees of separation).  We talked with a gentleman in his mid 70’s that used to work for my uncles company in New York (50 years ago), and stranger still it turns out that I knew his father and mother and and actually sailed with his father 42 years earlier.  We also met a gentleman that works in Miami but lives in a neighboring community of ours in Ormond Beach.
After 3 days at Warderwick Wells we moved north to Shroud Cay.  The next morning we got a call from Wild Ride as they passed about 3 miles west of us as they were heading for Allen’s Cay.

View of Exuma Sound from Camp Driftwood, Shroud Cay

The next day as we were pulling into Allen’s Cay Wild Ride was leaving heading for Nassau.  Since the wind/weather looked excellent for a beam reach we decided to tag along.  Half way to Nassau the winds decreased and swung to the stern.  We were able to fly the spinnaker for a couple of hours until the wind just died. 

We anchored right in the heart of Nassau Harbor.  I had heard that you had to be cautious because the bottom was littered with junk.  This was not the case as the water was very clear (could see the bottom) and the holding was good.  There is a strong current and the boats will generally swing with the current and not the winds. 

The next day we picked up a few supplies and a last trip to the liquor store to take advantage of those good Bahamian prices.  We left about 1100 for the sail to Chub Cay.  

The next morning we topped off the tanks at Chub Cay with 25 gallons of fuel.  In the last 3 weeks we have covered more than 900 miles and only burned 25 gallons, not bad, particularly since we are paying almost $6 per gallon here.

Saturday, May 17^th we sailed up to Little Harbor Cay for anchorage and dinner.  There is not much at Little Harbor.  Evidently back in the 30’s it was a hopping place until the primary industry of sponging went bust with a blight.  Virtually everyone left except the Darville family.  Now the Darville’s have a little restaurant called Flo’s (the mom).  Since we were here we considered it a must stop.   

Flo's Place at Little Harbor, nothing else on the Island

 

The next morning we are navigating around the shoals on the Berry Banks and stumbled upon a pristine anchorage centered in the middle of Devil’s, Saddleback, White, and Hoffman’s Cay’s.  There is no less than 7 gorgeous beaches within a ½ mile of the anchorage. 

What an excellent stop for our last anchorage before heading home.  The winds are still from the west and we are able to dinghy to the east shore beaches for shelling and collecting sea glass (glass found on beaches along oceans or large  lakes that has been tumbled and smoothed by the water and sand, creating small pieces of smooth, frosted glass).  We also spent some time exploring the mangroves of Hoffman’s Cay.

White Cay

On Tuesday morning we departed our pleasant little anchorage for Cape Canaveral.  The winds are blowing 10 knots from the southwest and seas are relatively calm.  We headed north along the eastern Berries.  Once we rounded Great Harbor Cay we turned northwest heading directly for Cape Canaveral.  The trip took us 30 hours and we were able to drop the hook on the east coast of Florida just south to the entrance of Port of Canaveral.  Last year we joined the Customs and Boarder Protection (CBP) Local Boater Option (LBO) and that allowed us to check back into the US with just a phone call, very nice. 

The next morning we were underway early for the last leg to Ponce Inlet.  There was virtually no wind so we motored the last 50 ocean miles with flat seas. 

Until next year, Ciao.