The winter musings have come true

We nurtured their soul and found a happiness 

We shed the cloak of routine and control

And accept the the rain and wind as partners who may or may not feel like dancing 
Our direction is determined by greater powers now

However the intention remains.
There is a new reliance between us

We share the joy and and travails of our dreams

This new journey transforms us

At day’s end , when the day glow fades we embrace satisfaction 
Success is now measured differently

At a distance we see where we have come

We are present in the moments and have met the future
The world appears smaller and less complex

We appreciate the simplicity of this life at each novel setting

And accept the diversity
We feel a richness in the beauty of a new world

And we are humbled in it’s vastness 

We docked , cleaned and locked up the Lost Loon in Rivera Sens , SudAncrage Marina in Guadeloupe on a dark, rainy Tuesday morning. We were headed for a ‘vacation’ from our new life aboard to the US for a wedding. 
We have not left the boat for more than 8 hours since our boarding in November, so this was new. We took a taxi ride to Point-A-Pitre airport headed for Ft Lauderdale. The wedding would be in South Carolina , but we had some work to do before the weekend. Wait! I forgot to mention.. the first HOT shower in months. Upon our arrival at the marina, we (I mostly) was excited for a real shower, unlimited hot water, coming from a fixed shower head in a private setting. You see, for the last 4 months most of our bathing ( no…ALL of our bathing) has been done on the transom of the boat in a bathing suit, in tepid water (process being, jump in, soap up, and then rinse with the least amount of fresh water) …..unless in the unlikely event we are THE only ones in the anchorage and then…we’ll you get it. Privacy is a luxury when it comes to bathing on the back of the boat. Now if you are flying the flag of France or Germany, it is commonplace to bare all regardless of the company in the vicinity. Oui! Nudity is common on the back of these boats in the Caribbean.

We had an uneventful departure from Guadeloupe, as we were told leaving a sailboat could be problematic, but we had a round trip return ticket. As we flew eastward from the West Indies, we could see below all of the beautiful islands we passed on our way down. What took us 4 months to accomplish we were able to now cover in less than 4 hours!  Passing over the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Mona Passage, Turks and Caicos, the Exumas in the Bahamas and finally the Gulf Stream Crossing , the exact Thorny Patch to Windward,we recounted the events and boats we met along the way. 
When we departed the US on the boat, we also left our family Suburban in Georgia with all the leftovers we decided not to bring on this journey. We had parked the vehicle at the Marina where we left, covered with a tarp, waiting for our eventual return to the states and likely Wisconsin. We had planned on taking the car to North Carolina where our daughter had bought a new house, and hopefully leave it in her hands for another month. During the flight and as we left the rental car garage in Ft Lauderdale we prayed the Suburban would start. We had considered this might not be just a “pick up and go”. 

The day was hot and sunny and the marina yard was scented with warm pine needles as we pulled in and uncovered the vehicle. As we opened the door, the dome lights went on indicating an intact battery! Yeah, (did we dare smile with the least bit of joy?) we turned the key just twice and she was running. We were excited to get on the road for North Carolina another 6-7 hour drive. This is when the accident happened….I got in the driver’s seat to pull out of the parking spot and the brakes felt a bit mushy. I was reminded that likely they need to build up pressure. I was able to stop short of a tree and quickly got out asking Mike to give it a try. As he turned the wheel put it in reverse and then in drive the world turned into a slow motion movie…..as he couldn’t stop the car going less than 1 mile per hour I watched as that 2 ton vehicle made contact with our rental car’s left bumper. The plastic caved in easily and the rear taillight cracked as the Suburban came to a stop…thankfully! There were no words….had we just hit our rental vehicle with our own car? Why on earth were there no brakes? What’s this going to cost us? All questions going through our heads. Only explications murmured. Still dazed we opened the hood to see some brake fluid in the reservoir but then looked below the body and watched as this same fluid ran out onto the ground like a kid pouring syrup on his pancakes. 
We were now positioned in the middle of the entry road to the marina and blocking the parking lot and needed to get this moved so we could head out and figure who could perform some repairs. With Mike in the drivers seat and me with a huge block of wood…oh and the damaged rental, yeah,  pulled way out of reach. Mike inched the car back and forth with me ready to throw a chock block under a wheel. We achieved our goal of getting the car back into a parking spot ( without hitting other cars!!). We took a moment to go through clothes we had left to retrieve for the wedding and were off to talk with a car repair company in St Marys. They would eventually tow the car and find that there were several areas where the brake fluid was escaping. 

Out on the highway, doing 75 mph, to get to NC we had the sudden realization that however we damaged the rental car it pales in comparison to what could have been had the brakes failed on the highway. Still gives me shivers.

Our next job was to notify our insurance company and Thrift rentals of the ‘incident’. “Oh yes that’s right”, I replied, ” we hit the rental with our own personal vehicle”. I tried to avoid the entire story as much as possible. I think my insurance agent commented that she hoped it would be a better day. So, now in addition to the $1000 in repairs on the Suburban for the brake system ,which DID NOT TAKE A SCRATCH, we had a $500 deductible due. This is because the insurance company treated ” the incident” as if we hit our own car. In reality, had we hit any one of the other parked cars in the lot we would not have to pay a deductible. Just our luck I guess….this little ” vacay ” from Lost Loon was already proving to bust our sailing budget for the month. 

We continued on to North Carolina amidst traffic we had not seen in months. We also came to notice more than ever the highways littered with billboards. We were so used to an unobstructed view of the flat ocean. Traffic lights seemed longer and congested byways were frustrating. We will admit that shopping at Publix that evening was a treat. All the products were visible in English and we found a lot of our favorite and familiar products. We appreciated hearing English as a primary language. One takes for granted many of these things in our everyday living. 

The best part of our trip, I’ll admit was seeing the kids again. Chris and Jenni are expecting in June and we have sadly missed a lot of the pregnancy, that has been thankfully uneventful. We did see Kelsey’s new home as well as our second grand puppy!! I also got to see my mom and brother whom I haven’t seen since last August. We spent some beach time and relaxing time during the weekend. The wedding of Jo and Jordie Bellairs was beautiful. We like no tomorrow these few days. The ceremony took place in a small chapel on the grounds of Palmetto Bluff as well as the grande celebration afterward. It was a terrific trip, despite ‘the accident’.

We finished the trip with a few stops in Ft Lauderdale for boat parts. We found everything we needed in 3 stops. Our flight , amazingly was on time, and we were actually 30 minutes ahead of schedule upon descent. I am finishing this blog as we see Guadeloupe come into view below the plane. We are back ‘home’ on Lost Loon in a short time, unpacking, and excited for the next 6 weeks of travel until we take the boat out in Grenada and head back to Wisconsin. 

Sorry no pics…. c’est la vie!

I have more on Guadeloupe…..just wanted to keep everyone up to date….Ciao! 

New waters …en route to Guadeloupe

The South East Caribbean is divided into the Leeward islands (north part of the chain) and the Windward islands (south part of the chain). “leeward” is a term used to indicate the direction the wind is blowing to and “windward “the direction from which the wind is blowing. So in early times, sailors coming from Grenada to Martinique (the windwards) north called the islands that they were easily blown north to as the Leewards (Anguilla “an-goo-la “to Dominica “dom-in-eek-a”).

 

These are all new waters for us now. We have graduated from the BVI “line of sight” sailing to waters that may require some respectful navigation. The weather and wind are different here as the islands take on a much larger shape…that of volcanoes! And we are hopeful that we will now be sailing on a reach of some type rather than straight into the wind, as we have been for nearly 3 months. (That’s stretching it, we did have 3 or 4 days where it wasn’t right into the wind. And, BTW you cant sail into the wind…that’s why they invented tacking or moving the boat off the wind to the left or right , about 30 degrees, to catch enough wind to propel the boat forward. It works great, but it’s a zigzag pattern that chews up time and miles. Its lots of fun if you don’t have a cold front on your tail or a line of squalls headed in your direction. There will be a test on this….ha ha ). Anyway, we have made it as far as Guadeloupe now! We have been here since March 1.

 

ST. JOHN, US VIRGIN ISLANDS

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

On the way to Guadeloupe, after racing through the BVI’s we made what we thought was one last overnight sail to Simpson Bay on Sint Maarten (the Dutch side). This is the only island in the Caribbean with 2 separate nationalities. There is the Dutch side and a French side, aka Saint Martin (prounounced “sa ma tah) separated by a small waterway and a couple of bridges. We anchored in the Western part of the island in a nice location near the city. We were able to take the dinghy under the bridge and get to other parts of the island or even the French side. The island is famous in this part of the world for the Heineken Cup sailboat race. This is a several class race takes place the first week of March. We were there to watch the boats out practicing and the town getting ready, but didn’t stay for the race, but we did have lunch at the Sint Maarten Yacht Club.

 

FRENCH SIDE OF ST. MARTIN!

 

Let There Be Light

There are 2 or 3 very well stocked marine stores on the island and we used this opportunity to purchase new LED bulbs for our light fixtures. Energy management is top priority on the sailboat. Since we are anchored out and not connected to power every night, we must rely on the battery bank for powering our lights, electronics, recharging phones, computers, and ipads. We spent a few nights early in the trip just turning on individual components just to see how much energy they require. We found the lights are the greatest drain on the battery. The solution was to switch from incandescent to LEDs. They are preciously expensive items anywhere, but they have literally revolutionized our nights. We are now sitting in light after sunset not worrying about the amps we are using with the incandescent bulbs. We can run several lights and only use 1-2 amps, where as before we were eating up 5-7 amps of battery storage at night. We have only 2 other electrical components running all night: the refrig/freezer and anchor light (which is LED already). We are able to store quite a bit of energy with the solar and wind generators, but without the LEDs we were using it up in a heartbeat. Oh one other great new addition to Lost Loon is a Lucy light. This is the neatest solar powered light. It inflates to the size of a small coffee can and will stay lit for 5-6 hours if fully charged during the day. We leave it on in the evening if we go to shore for the night and when on board take it from the cockpit to the dining table in the salon during the night ……and some nights don’t even burn one of those expensive LEDs!!

While on Sint Maarten we took time to relax. We have made tracks on this trip, lingering little and needed a few days to settle. We made a trip to some potential snorkeling grounds on the French side of the island, to find that the winds and waves were just too active to have clear water. We found a nice resort that had a great beach that overlooked the anchorage, and we spent a few afternoons swimming here.

RELAXING IN SINT MAARTEN

We also took time to sail on some pretty wonderful waters. There is a volcanic island just 15 miles to the South of Sint Maarten called Saba. It stands off in the distant towering 3085 ft from sea level. Unfortunately, the waters around this island are very deep (however poor for snorkeling, but awesome for diving we hear) and anchoring in all but very calm conditions is impossible, so we decided to sail by the island, saving the overnight anchoring for another day.

SABA

We headed out on a clear morning and had a perfect sail south, as we made a 10 mile approach we decided to head northeast to some islands just off St Barthelemy, Il Fourchue, known for snorkeling. We had lunch in a quite rolly and windy anchorage, but the clarity of the water was incredible. No beach here either, and the landscape was quite barren and dry. We had concerns about staying here for those reasons as well as knowledge of a cold front headed very far south, due to hit the following morning. It was predicted to bring heavy squalls with high winds moving from the East to the South, around to the West and then North. (this is called clocking..winds move like the hands of a clock and rarely do they make a 360 unless there is some pretty significant weather system). It poses a problem for boats on the ocean as well as those at anchor because unless very well protected in a good bay or lagoon one must prepare for a rough ride. It was a beautiful day, how could such a storm be on the horizon. We had not seen cold front weather since Luperon…several hundred miles to the east. We decided that we would return to Simpson bay and ride it our there if we had to. We sailed (no motor this day) for over 8 hours in perfect seas and moderate breeze. We returned to our previous location to anchor, setting out plenty of chain to hold us if we made the 360. We monitored the location of the other boats noting their proximity should we all begin to move, we figured we were well set. We even had time to head to our little beach spot for sunset, grab a few provisions, for we decided that we would return to St Barthelemy when the weather calmed the following day.

One o’clock in the morning, the winds picked up and we made our first move from the East to the South. The rains were moderate and seas had also picked up. As we got up to close hatches we watched lightening in the North, something we had not seen since the Bahamas. By 2 AM we were seeing sustained winds at 18-20 and intermittent rain showers. By 4:30 in the morning we had moved to facing the West, continuing to clock, and with the action of the wind and seas we felt as if we were in a washing machine. The sea state was confused, with winds that change direction at high speeds, waves seemed to be coming from all directions. We were awake in shifts, tired and also worried about the other boats out there losing their hold. We watched 3 other boats at a distance just motoring around as we assumed they had lost hold. They did not have a choice but to slowly motor at a safe distance until morning when the light made it safer and easier to put down an anchor. We spent the night in shifts again, not unlike the nights making passage between islands! By morning light boats were moving in all directions and we were very close to another sailboat. We continued to rock violently. However, once the rains subsided by 11AM we were pulling up the anchor and heading for St Barth’s. We figured the seas might be and were rough for a while, but we didn’t feel comfortable sitting at anchorage bobbing up and down, swinging side to side for another day.

GOVERNORS HARBOR

We were able to safely arrive in secluded Governors Harbor on the South side of St Barth’s on a windy but sunny Monday afternoon. We had arranged to meet up with our friends on Desderata, who had contacted us on the VHF indicating calm conditions. We were definitely in search of a quiet anchorage after a hectic night and did. We pulled into beautiful crystal clear blue waters where you could literally see the sand bottom at 25 ft. It was warm and flat and perfect for an afternoon swim. We were surrounded by mountains that dropped off into craggy clifts to the waters surface, only a few houses were visible in the daylight on the hillsides, but they were like Christmas lights by nightfall.

Next up…St Barthelemy, a true French island!

 

 

Bonjour from Guadeloupe and the French West Indies!!! Some catching up to do!


We have come full circle as some would say. …..Arrival in the Virgin Islands ON OUR OWN BOAT!!! Our journey has now taken us 1500 nautical miles since our departure from Georgia in late November. We still have several hundred miles and more than 3 months travel ahead of us but we have made it to familiar sailing grounds, and the place where we first built the dream AND where we first met Lost Loon.
 Four years ago, Mike and I first chartered a 34 ft Beneteau Cyclades on our own for a week. I remember that as the honeymoon of our sailing career. We were ” charter folk” then. We flew down from the cold Midwest in mid-February for our winter vacation. Our luggage packed with the formidable cruising garb and food! Yes we learned early on that food is expensive here. ( BTW we are still eating food we froze from Wisconsin… this winter) We made the rounds in the British Virgin Islands for 7 days, sailing some, diving a lot, and trying to find that relaxed rhythm of the sea. We came home with nocturnal musings to buy a boat and sail there from the US. Fast forward another 2 years and we are in full pursuit of that dream. Spending our free time reading, engaging in active conversations about various sailboat configurations ( of which, by the way are endless! But there are a few which are made for cruising life). We had made our list of “needs” , “wants” and “likes” on a boat. We had arrived in St Thomas on a rainy day in anticipation of a week of catamaran sailing with 6 other friends. This very boat that we now call “home” was sitting in Charlotte Amalie harbor. The coincidence was uncanny. We had discussed the boat with the broker and he arranged for us to meet the owners and see the boat. They happened to be moving the boat from Grenada back to the US to sell it. We were wide eyed with excitement over the excellent condition she was in, but in our minds knew we must continue to look, and that we did. But we always came back in comparing the condition and cruising set up with this boat….We sit here in that same harbor quite literally in amazement of those events and how our life has changed since that fateful rainy day
It’s been a great day up to now….
That is a phrase I received after greeting a local fisherman on the docks at Red Hook the other day. It was a bright sunny hot day, he was sitting in the shade to keep cool. I chuckled as he said it so confident and kindly. I guess you could take that many ways. I prefer to believe he was just saying that life was good, whatever it brings. Someone might think he was pessimistic about what the day could bring. I have to admit that each day we have been on this journey has been great. We wake up in calm waters after a great nights sleep on the water. And we have sailed by some incredibly beautiful islands from a vantage point that is not visible to the usual traveler. ( ok…some not so restful nights…more on that soon). We have the good fortune to be able to follow this dream. 

Our sail from the Spanish Virgin Islands was perfect. We left Culebra after spending time on coral reefs ready to move along. We decided that since Jeff, our close sailing friend ( who had accompany us on 2 previous BVI vacations) was along we would make the obligatory first stop in Jost Van Dyke, and Foxy’s bar. There are many beach bars in the islands, but few have the settled reggae feel as Foxy’s. They also make a pretty good “painkiller”, drink of the BVI’s. It is THE drink of the Virgin Islands!! Ok, ok the recipe…. and you can’t just make one glass you need to make a pitcher of them. One large can of pineapple juice, one can of Coco Lopez cream of coconut, splash of orange juice, appropriate amount of dark rum to taste ( many …er , um well you know who you are….prefer Pusser’s .. it’s made here in the BVI’s!). The final ingredient is the most important….topped with freshly grated nutmeg! Yeah, I know all about the calories….but after a long days beautiful sail, putting sails up, moving them in, staysail out then in, repositioning the boom to ease or tighten the main, recoiling lines for the 100th time,( just to let them out again), rigging a preventer, reducing sail for a squall, flaking the main back in its home on the boom, setting anchor, diving to check the anchor, and finally deploying the dinghy…..we are ready for a few delicious liquid calories. And when in Rome? We had done all that on our trip to Jost and made our way to the bar. It was a quiet afternoon, as the height of the charter season was just getting underway. So familiar faces like Foxy come easy amongst the few we met ashore.

After enjoying some evening beach music and dancing we headed back to the boat. Upon leaving, we thought it was a joke when Jeff, who had been with us a week now, said ” where did you put the dinghy?”. Ha ha we laughed and walked further to the dinghy dock, where … it was gone. Terror struck, we searched up and down the dock. ( All these 10 ft rubber rafter tend to look alike in the dark, it had to be here. We couldn’t believe that we locked our precious means of transportation and it was taken. ( It was a great day…. up to now!) I remembered the friends who had their motor stolen recently, told us they began walking the beach to find their motorless dinghy. I kept saying, “no way this is happening,”….And Just 100 ft or less walking the beach here was ” Little AB”, ( AB is the manufacturer of the dinghy…the letters are written on the side ( like all the hundreds you see on docks here and she’s actually average size a decent 9 ft in length…as dinghies go) beached and totally intact. Nothing missing, just sleeping there as the water quietly lapped up onto the sand. We never figured it out. The lock was gone, but the secure wire intact. And the motor as well still perched on the stern. ( now this is the theft-proof motor we bought from Sebastian on One Life in the Bahamas. The bolts were broken off, and in order to remove from the transom Mike has to use some pretty heavy duty wrenches, it’s not just inscrew it and lift it off…maybe too much trouble for the motor thieves?) Or had the lock not caught and she just came loose? Did some kind soul then just nudge her to shore for us to find? , or did she just lazily find her way waiting for us to return? Lesson learned: double check the lock and also tie the painter line to the dock for extra measure. You can bet she was locked up tight on the davits that night. 

On our way to return Jeff to St Thomas, we made anchor at St James island and enjoyed more reef snorkeling. We stopped at Christmas Cove. It was a perfect overnight stop before going into busy Charlotte Amalie harbor. There were many boats likely with the same idea. We found pleasure in our favorite game …guess the boat. Since we are not close enough to see the manufacturer name ( and a lot of boats don’t have ) we look at the hull shape, sail configuration, (1,2 or 3 masts!), the location of the cockpit, and number of headsails. Not unlike the old family road trip games we used to play. This also stimulates further discussion on preferences and the other game “On my next boat I’ll have….”. 
Finally arriving in Charlotte Amalie we were greeted by the typical sights and sounds of the big city….enormous cruise ships, sailing vessels and motor yachts of the rich and famous, street sounds, and almost continuous airplanes overhead, taking visitors into and out of paradise. So we stay just long enough to grab some wifi and re-provision ( need beer and some veggies…. ok so the rum is cheap here too!) On previous trips through here we have been restricted to staying in the BVI as the charter company didn’t allow us to check out of the BVI and into the US VI. So we have sailed past St. John and St Thomas with envy of more beautiful beaches and anchorages. This is our time. We can now go wherever we please as long as we make the customs stops. 

We leave St Thomas for St John. This island was deemed National Park in xXXX. So there is little in the way of development and resorts are few. Our first stop was to be Cruz Bay, but as we motored closer we noticed little wiggle room for our liking. We headed to close-by Caneel Bay. As there is little residential building, the first impression is lush green mountainsides that rise steeply from the ocean. We found a nice spot not far from the beach and took our first mooring of the trip. This is a buoy attached to the seabed where you tie a line to the bow rather than anchor. Being national park waters, the idea is to preserve the ocean floor from the damage of anchors dragging on sand and grasses or coral that are home for all sea creatures. The island is know for its beautiful beaches and hiking trails. And for the second time on this journey I noticed the sound of birds along the hillside. It was a happy sound, cheerily greeting us to an overnight stay.We first began our morning with a trip to check out laundry facilities and look for a SUP paddle. You see, 3 days previous we found one afloat, lost and looking for a home, sans paddle. We put a call out on the VHF announcing our recovery of someone’s treasure but the owner was not located., or rather the owner didn’t locate us? Little did we know it would be easier to find the same exact propane selenoid ( gas control unit for propane tank, which went out last week) for the boat than it would be to procure even a used SUP paddle. This was waterworld….where are all the paddles????  
We spent 4 days exploring St. John. That arrival day we hopped a 2$ bus that took us to the other side of the island on a mountainous sightseeing ride, hiked a trail along Honeymoon beach, and did locate the self-service laundry. Our bus ride took us to a Coral Bay and back. There were only a few stops, just to pick up passengers alongside the road stops. There would have been several photo ops had we been in our own vehicle, but we enjoyed the ride and met a man who lived there. He told us of old military ruins used in years gone by that stood atop these mountains, quite secure in its location and an excellent vantage point to monitor for intruders . As we rounded a corner at the peak of our little journey, we could make out many of the surrounding islands. He also informed us about great spots to visit. He was excited to share the information as we were appreciative. From some of the overlooks we passed, looking close you could imagine the huge volcanic craters that once existed now covered with outlying water across the panorama. Subsequent days we hiked to sugar can ruins, where we also walked to the plantation owners residence almost to the clouds. We read snippets and heard about the slaves harvesting the cane plants on the mountainside and the labor intensive work of making molasses or rum. The buildings they created out of stone and coral. You can see the coral in the walls. They also used the brick ballast from old ships to build structure into the doorways. It was amazing that these structures were built well above sea level, not an easy task to transport these materials.
Trunk Bay was a spectacular day stop and our favorite spot on the island. The beach is white sand against the turquoise Bahamas-like water with vast mountain backdrop. We had a great snorkel here , a designated snorkel trail. There were even underwater signs directing the swimmer. Being a well-known beach it was very crowded with other land based vacationers. There were only 3 boat moorings here and we got lucky picking one up that day. We have this one on the list for a return visit.
We would move back to the BVI in preparation for our trip further down the Caribbean chain of islands, but didn’t spend much time as we had seemingly exhausted ourselves here in previous years. Following a stop in Spanish Wells on Virgin Gorda to clear into and out of the islands we anchored in Leverick Bay. A wonderful bay on the north end of Virgin Gorda, rimmed by Mosquito and Necker Islands…owned by Branson of Virgin Air. He has some incredibly beautiful homes perched on the mountain tops of these islands. There is a non-pretentious marina there that will let you use their pool and showers ( however long awaited, the showers were only luke warm, but they were freshwater in abundance, something we don’t have the luxury of aboard). This is also the location for the famous pirate show Michael Beans. He is a former Michigan native that now lives in the islands and performs a great song and comedy routine as a pirate. When we were there Monday night it was THE biggest audience we had seen at one of his shows. There were rows upon rows of dinghies at the dock from all over the bay and anchorages. We had watched that day as a whole set of new vessels anchored and moored in that bay,just for the show.People dress as pirates and he does a conch blowing contest, sings a few songs with interspersed pirate or beach jokes…..
Before leaving this location we had the fortunate opportunity to dive on a great reef. It’s called the Invisibles. It is just off Necker island and is usually best in the summertime or when conditions are very settled. Well we woke up one morning with no wind and settled seas. We made a quick decision to take the boat out and make the dive. Aside from some pretty strong current, it was beautiful. We saw an array of reef fishes, structure that stood some 20-30 ft off the ocean floor, and vibrant coral of many types. Quite a treat for us as we had always wanted to make this dive in the previous years, but due to conditions were unable. 
As we sail away from the British Virgin Islands thru the night ( maybe our last overnight sail) to new waters of the Caribbean, I stay awake on my navigation shift by writing this blog ( and watching for traffic, managing the sails and navigating our course with the help of the autopilot) with hopes of finding wifi to get it posted in a timely manner. We will be making arrival in Sint Maarten. 
So best laid plans… we didn’t get this uploaded in Sint Maarten .

Our next try will be either St Barths or Guadeloupe. 

Sailing toward the country from the west one can see the island for miles. It first appears as a shadow or maybe a mirage from interrupted sleep. As the sun begins to demonstrate her presence in the sky the mountains seem to take shape and finally the colors of the topography begin to develop. How amazing it is to see only blue water for a few days, then land. We now notice the brightly colored homes and establishments….a hint of Caribbean. The pink, yellow and aqua homes dot the green background with some right down to the clear blue water.We arrived in Boqueron on Saturday January 21 after leaving Thursday morning from Luperon. We had been reading all about this passage for months and it is supposed challenging weather coming across the open waters of the Mona Passage. With a settled window we got lucky and motor sailed the first several hours and then quietly sailed our last night out under a sliver of a moon, without wind or storms ( as it quite often can be).
Boqueron is a beautiful seaside village in the southwest of Puerto Rico. This was landfall. The anchorage is very large just off the almost 1 mile palm studded beach.We celebrated our arrival with a big breakfast and “sailor’s  morning nap “after a few sleepless nights. We went ashore in the afternoon and met our other traveling companions (3 other sailboats we made the passage with) for a celebratory beer. Mike and I walked to find hardware store for dinghy adhesive…we have a patch that wants to give us trouble and no more glue. We had a local guy give us a lift about a 1/2 mile out, he wanted to wait and take us back to the dock, but we felt after being on the boat for nearly 3 days straight we could use the exercise. No glue to be found, but nice walk.

Dinner was at a restaurant called Galloways. This is the cruisers hang out. It’s a simple open air bar and restaurant situated right on the water. When we mentioned to the owner we had all made our first Mona Passage crossing and she gave us all a round of drinks. By this time we are pretty sure these are the nicest people. We stayed the following day, resting, watched a little football, and spent time  restoring order to the boat after a few nights sail. A few beach walks and just another beautiful sunset for the books.

We made progress the next week to the south of Puerto Rico to La Parguera , and Ponce, and Las Salinas. The mountains along that shoreline look as if we could be sailing through Colorado foothills. We watched the clouds form high in the mountains, and distant rain showers cover the inland. In Ponce, we took a taxi to the center of the city to see the old firehouse and several historical buildings.  We had not found wifi since leaving Luperon and when we stopped, assuming we could find it at the little coffee bistro, (after buying a round of caffeinated beverages) found their wifi was NOT working. ( this seems to be a trend on this adventure……unreliable wifi spots…certainly makes you appreciate some of the comforts of ‘home’ ..wherever that may be)  A little bit more city Ponce was, than we have been used to since Puerta Plata. While on the south coast, anchored in a quaint marina in Salinas, we took a group field trip to El Yunque, The rainforest. There were 3 other boats cruising the same path that we became great friends with, and so we shared a couple of car rentals and headed”  norte “. The land here was set aside by Roosevelt and we were thankful for his foresight. It is a great drive up into the deeply canopied forest. We parked and walked about 1/2 mile up and down to a cool waterfall. There were many people there …..some swimming  in the fresh waters. Along the walk there are stands of enormous bamboo, lush trees, hibiscus, and we were taken over by the aroma of wild ginger. 

From Salinas as well we picked up our friend Jeff From San Juan for a week with us on Lost Loon. We made stops at the WalMart, hardware store and we were actually too late for Old San Juan, but as we drove through we realized we should have planned the entire day here. It is cobblestone streets and colorful tightly woven storefronts that would transport you to a European village. It will be on our list next year. 

Leaving Salinas we made anchor in Ensenada Bay, and visited the village of Esperanza briefly to get ice and wifi. We saw wild horses on the beach and through town.  We were very careful to watch our dinghy in this place. We had heard of another boat, catamaran , actually from Bayfield WI that had the motor stolen off the dinghy 3 nights before. And they told us later when we met up in Culebra that 4 others had been stolen in a weeks time. This is a bad problem down here.  Thieves look for motors, they really don’t want the boats, but will take them. So every night we hoist ours and lock it to the davit on the back of the boat. It is our lifeline to shore, one cannot anchor out and not have transportation to land and services you need. 

We made our way to the Spanish Virgin island of Vieques, then Culebra. These are as beautiful as the anticipated British Virgin Islands. Mountains out of the sea. We enjoyed snorkeling, getting conch ( trial and error learning how to crack and extract the meat sea an afternoon education) and lobster. We had 2 great sail days before we landed in Culebra, the town anchorage near Dewey. We sailed in 17-20 knot winds on the beam with full job, staysail and main. Lost Loon showed us she could scoot along pretty well at 7.2 knots if given the right conditions. (Kinda like those racehorses with a solid track and great jockey!).  We met up with cruising acquaintances at the Dinghy Dock Bar and restaurant, witnessed  a man arrive from his boat with his cat on a leash, visited an empty nude beach and had a great day of snorkeling………….yes I did say nude beach. We took the dinghy to the beach sign and read about the turtle habitat. There was an unofficial sign pasted on the placard saying “nude beach”, but since it was deserted we will never know. It was then we noticed numerous little plastic red flags on the beach. They were numbered and had width and depth measurements written on them. We figured they were marking the turtle nests. The information sign talked all about turtle habitats in the bays on that particular side of the island. There were corals and reef formations that appeared to be beautiful for diving or snorkeling off that beach. So we left deciding to retrieve our gear .  We were treated on our return to a spotted eagle ray that soared in and out of the water 3 times right ahead of the dinghy! Before returning with the gear, we stopped in a local dive shop to ask about diving and snorkeling. We were told that the likely reason the nude beach was deserted was that they were marking and removing unexploded ordinance (military term for…..BOMBS!!) from navy practice 25-30 yrs ago. Well….not turtle nests at ALL. Those little flags were marking practice bombs 2-5 ft below the sand we had been walking on.  It would figure that they would wait until we arrived to begin cleaning them up. In fact, we later read about how the entire island is littered with these. However outdated, there are cautions everywhere saying that although outdated, could hold potential harm. Would put a new meaning to clearing your ears underwater should one of those go off!! The day was a great snorkel, too little time to arrange a dive. Most of the coral, in so many types was within 10-15 ft of the surface and a good number of reef fishes to watch as well. That would finish up our Puerto Rico visit. Next stop will be the real Virgin Islands……St Thomas, St John, Jost Van Dyke!

Well thanks for stopping by..Leave me comments, I love to hear from everyone..I have more pics, but limited bandwidth to upload…its all good Mon! Have a great day, be thankful for each one. 

So after 9 days of residence in Luperon Dominican Republic, we had finally waited for our weather window to Puerto Rico. We had also received our part for our wind generator we had been awaiting from Spain.We had tasted quite a bit of the food and culture in the DR and ready to move along. We had met 3 other cruising boats also ready to make the journey. We all had dinner the night before to discuss the travel route and have the last Presidentes ( beers). We retired that evening early with plans to check out of the country the next morning. 

In order to comply with the country’s immigration laws we needed to present ourselves to all the same authorities as we did upon arrival. We would get papers that we would have if we needed to stop at another port in the DR before Puerto Rico. We were assured they would be in their offices at 0730 in the morning. We were up early to ready and prep the boat for the passage that we had estimated to be 2 days and 2 nights to Boqueron, PR. We arrived at the defunct dock at 0800 and proceeded through the offices. We were required to now pay $20 US to get our paperwork to leave. Following which we needed to present ourselves to the Commadante of the Navy to receive the exit paper, the despacho. . Since the bridge was out and the Navy without a boat ( yes! Believe it), we needed to walk to the office in a roundabout way, down the street, across another bridge, and up the hill to complete papers and retrieve the officials to take them to our boats. A beautiful location on top of a hill overlooking the harbor we presented our paperwork. The officials are dressed in army fatigues, no weapons, though. They do not speak a lick of English, but thry try to pronounce all the names on the passports, and we all laugh together. You are careful at what you say, lest you may be questioned about your readiness to leave. When all the boats had completed the process the Commadante and his assistant proceeded to take all 6 of us in 2 trips back to the dock, riding 3 on a scooter! We had 2 dinghies to transport them to each boat. You see,  it is his responsibility to see that we leave the harbor, and it is a requirement that we leave within the hour. ( the question is…. how would he even know we left without being able to check the harbor….sans boat??) Mike had the lucky job to move him from boat to boat to receive his approval. It is customary to present a gift, so we gave the crew 3 cokes for their effort. I waved them goodbye as they snapped my photo with the name of the boat and Mike drove them away. By the time Mike had returned them to the Luperon dock and then back to the boat I had 75% of the anchor chain retrieved and washed meticulously…( remember the filth? I had cleaned thick greasy muck from the chain links…thanks to the seawater wash-down pump on the bow…. it has been invaluable!)). The Engine was started and electronics were ready, but I couldn’t pull up the anchor. The windlass pulled with its might and stalled out against a stuck anchor right below the boat. I hear Mike yell, “just pull it up ” as we watch the 3 other boats in our informal rally exit the harbor. Were we stuck on a rock? What was holding it down there? I politely ask Mike to come forward as I laid on the windlass again.  As the boat moved forward it seemed to be slowly raising, to reveal a mess of an anchor covered in a rats nest of thick and narrow ropes. The anchor itself was barely visible. I quickly retrieved a sturdy knife by which Mike cut us loose. We had managed to tangle ourselves in numerous feet of old moorings at the bottom of the harbor. No telling how many there are. We had read stories of Christopher Columbus coming to this port to retrieve the Santa Maria after it was stolen from him at Bahia Isabela just west of this location……Could these be old anchor ropes from that many years gone by? It was fun to wonder who had used the ropes in the past.

With the anchor cleaned and now stowed we began our slow progress out the harbor, almost on time. We set sail in the cleaner open waters of the Atlantic to the east. Our first day was with variable winds and we made headway along the north coast of the DR. It was beautiful scenery as we passed enormous cliffs rising out of the water and big harbors along the way. As the tail-gunners,  we had a clear view of all 3 ships sailing before us in the clear water and blue skies. 

As we rounded the  east end of the DR and headed into the open waters of the Mona Passage, it was late evening. It is known that the weather coming across the passage can be challenging. At the end of a warm day, the heat moves off Puerto Rico east to the passage and as it hits the moist air storms and squalls develop. We are thankful for none ( just as forecasted). The moon did not breach the horizon until 12AM. It brought light to the water and the environment around the boat. We sailed through the night with our 3 hour shifts. At dawn we had sun and less wind. We made contact with the other boats and determined their location. There was about 24 hours left of our transit. We rested during the day, fished, and passed the time reading about our destination, Puerto Rico. We looked forward to a new location, different foods, and different culture…..plus cleaner waters and better dinghy docks!!

Our second night presented us with great sailing winds. We reflected on the warnings for challenging weather on this passage and couldn’t believe our luck. We had what Van Sant refers to as ” unlikely event you have settled weather for the Mona”. With the water trickling behind the stern we cruised at times close to 6-7 knots. For ur boat that is excellence. We carry a lot of fuel and water, designated as a long range cruising vessel, so we tend to be slower than some other boats. By morning light we could make out a glimmer of a coastline, Land Ho! We began to sense the odor of land and vegetatio the closer we approached.

By 1030 AM we had anchored in waters of glass at Boqueron, PR. A long crescent beach lined with palms greeted us. We made a celebratory breakfast and then just one phone call to clear into US territory very uneventfully. Our rally of four vessels met that afternoon to celebrate the beautiful, safe and uneventful crossing the Mona Passage. We were now half way to our destination in Grenada. Our sailing trips now would be smaller day or early pre-dawn trips from island to island working our way only a little more east, and eventually a south rhumb line.

Come on back….. Puerto Rico is a blast!!! 

It is amazing to come across flat water all night and wake to mountains in the distance. By 0730 we could make out the north coast of the Dominican Republic with its massive topography. We were used to the flats of the Bahamas and so this was rewarding. As we travelled closer we could see the lush tropical landscape that covers the island. After a motorsail from Turks and Caicos, we managed to arrive by noon in Luperon.

Upon entering the protected waters of the Bahia de Luperon, we made landfall ( literally we  briefly  touched that muck bottom on our way in!). We found a spot to anchor in this quiet harbor.  Surrounded by mangroves but with towering hills and mountains as backdrop, this place is considered one of the best storm and hurricane holes in the Caribbean. We needed to be here for the next cold front and North wind. We were surprised by the number of resident boats that were on moorings here. And all sorts of vessels (let just say some just needed more love than others to get them out to the open water).

After squaring things away on the boat, we took off looking to check in. Upon arrival, at the infamous dinghy dock from #€£¥!! We encountered several official looking  gentlemen sitting by a couple of trailer-offices. We asked about checking in and looking at their watches mumbled something like ” not today , return tomorrow” in Spanish. Through hand signals and smiles however we were allowed to venture into town, despite our quarantine status. It was Sunday and there was very little open, but we were able to get our bearings on el banco, el supermercado, and a few restaurantes we might like to try.

We met other cruisers in town who told us about a nice restaurant /bar at a little marina in the harbor. We made our stop there after visiting Luperon and had our first taste of the national beer Presidente. How good it felt to relax after a long day and overnight in some challenging waters. 

We did return for the clearing in process on Monday. We paid our entrance fees to Immigration, Agriculture, and  Customs was a freebie, and were told Port Authority would be available on Tuesday. The final task was to await the arrival to the boat by the Commadancia of the Navy. He was the official one to declare us clear to boringly touristas. There was only one problem, he didn’t have a boat. What? We said politely with furrowed brow. The Commander of the Navy for Luperon doesn’t have a boat to visit the boats coming into his harbor?  Well isn’t that a bit of irony. With further explanation, we were directed to an office across the river and up the hill where we might find him, but the bridge was out. So it was suggested that we walk through town, turn left,  cross the bridge and make another left onto a dirt road and up the hill or we could just wait until someone else brought him out to the boat. We opted for the latter. 

We found the ATM  as the banco was still closed due to holiday. OK so the exchange is 46 pesos to the US dollar. Which means, although 500 pesos sounds like a lot it is only $10.So after a few withdrawals we finally heave enough money for a light lunch. We stopped at Jeff’s French cafe and ordered a pizza and couple of Presidentes and partake of the free WIFI. We were happy to have arrived and looking forward to enjoying some different culture. We had been told that the folks of this city are so kind, and of course we welcomed the first person to approach us speaking English offering to help us with any of our needs during our visit. He looked quite prepared for the day with a huge umbrella. We asked about a road map we could use if we decided to take a motorbike into the country. So this kind individual said ” come with me to my house and we can get it” ( little children are told not to speak to strangers for a reason….” come here little children, want to see my big fat oven?” In the pouring rain we walked 4-5 blocks, finally glad when he pointed and said ” there is my house”. We managed to duck out of the rain into a carport sort of outside patio. He was dry but the cuffs of his jeans….did I mention he did not share the umbrella…leaving Mike and I soaked to the skin. He offered a chair, as I politely sat I felt the degree of dampness in my clothes and quickly stood, hoping that I would drip dry faster. He introduced his mother and sister, told his mother to make us coffee and took out a set of cards which had very worn pictures on them of beach and sunset scenes. He said “they are hand painted t shirts, for 10$ which I will get for you tomorrow… please pick one. “. I was polite and said NO I don’t need a t shirt today. Unfortunately he didn’t find a map, but we thanked him for his effort and would find him of we had any needs. We knew that we had other contacts in Luperon for just about any needs. We were approached at the boat day 1 by both ‘ handy Andy’ and ‘Poppo’ in their meager fishing / supply boats letting us know that they had services. They could get water, fuel, essential supplies (beer), wash the boat, clean the prop, etc. Handy Andy was a very likable guy who told us ” you want just one egg?  I’ll bring it out to you”. They would stop by about every other day if they saw us on deck and ask if ” is ok?” Meaning did we need anything.  We did take him up on fresh water fill for our tanks. He also sent Domingo, his right hand man to clean our prop the day before we left Luperon.

Most days we woke to Chris Parker weather reports hoping for a weather opportunity to sail to Puerto Rico , the next island on our way through the Greater Antilles into the Leeward and Windward islands of the Caribbean.  We spent a few mornings with coffee in hand just taking in the beautiful mountains ape of the Dominican we had from the cockpit. Several mornings we awoke to rain showers that lasted on and off during the morning hours. There were usually tasks to get done: re -arranging the supplies, cleaning the stainless, working on managing our email, finances with limited internet access and fixing something. Wind and waves are hard in this home of ours. It’s well built but things take a beating and we are continuously maintaining the systems. We did have the need for another part to be sent to us for our wind generator. The company was in Portugal and they agreed to send us a new unit until we arrived in the US to return the broken unit, for the price of shipping! Our only problem was that none of the major shipping companies came to Luperon, but they did to Puerto Plata, just a 30 min drive east.  Day 4 Luperon we find ourselves taking a motor scooter, NOT a motorcycle 30 miles off the coast through the coastal mountains to Puerto Plata to find a company that will accept shipping. We thought it would be an adventure and great sightseeing tour. We were warned to watch out for the trucks. We later learned the highest cause of death of Gringos in DR is driving motor scooter!!! We got to see some of the landscape that was used in the movie Jurassic Park. The route was littered with several fruit and vegetable road stands. We arrived in rain to Puerto Plata admits thousands of motor scooters driving well over reasonable speed. We stopped a few times, negotiated the language to finally find a Fed Ex office. We took time for lunch and returned on the same back country roads for Luperon…..in the rain.

We did a few hikes locally to beautiful beaches on the Atlantic, found an abandoned resort, walked alongside dairy cows and mules roaming the roadsides. We hiked along the cliffs of the DR to watch blow holes, enormous crashing waves, and find caves carved into the island. In order to obtain WIFI, we found a small bar/ restaurant that would accommodate our needs. It was convenient to ride the dinghy less than 5 minutes to this destination, order a few Presidente beers and log on. We were usually accompanied by several other cruisers doing the same. We got to know 4 other boats anchored up ther also waiting for weather to proceed to Puerto Rico. Our evenings consisted of in depth discussions of the weather we needed to make the Mona Passage crossing to Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic, which  is not usually an easy task. We had spent a lot of our prep time int the last year loooking at approaches to making the 250 mile crossing. It can be fraught with currents, cross winds, rain and high winded squalls, all of which certainly add to the adventure, but also the peril. We had seen a window of VERY calm weather coming up and  all 4 boats ready to go.  We decided that the day following the retrieval of our wind generator part and provisioning in Puerto Plata ( via automobile) would be departure day. There was excitement that night before as we gathered for pizza and libations to discuss the journey. We needed to check out of the country first thing in the morning to get leaving papers……..we hoped that would be easy. 

Hang in there….Luperon departure and Mona Passage is next, what an adventure!

It’s one of my shifts during our 48 hour sail from the west shore of Long Island in the Bahamas to the country of Turks and Caicos. We left at 0830 and sailed through the night. We have night sailed before, but on this one it is different. We continue a slow and steady progression farther East and South to reach the Caribbean Sea and its chain of tropical islands. Tonight we are blessed with clear skies and a waxing moon that came up mid day which always means that at some point thought the night it will get very dark as she sets, before the light of day reappears. There is a long cast of moonlight on the water leading from the starboard aft. Its shape changes with the movement of the undulating swells which you can clearly see with all the ambient light. We know these liquid souls are like small hills of water that move around the earth as remnants of old storms 100s and 1000s of miles away. (Thank goodness!) It is like looking at a barren field that stretches endlessly. 

We saw the last of “terra firma” passing Mayaguana Island at dusk tonite and will not view land until morning. Tonight there is no boat traffic. ( We usually see 1-2 tankers, cruise ships, or barges on an overnight sail…the reason for keeping at least one person on watch, besides to monitor the navigation). We are in a part of the North Atlantic Sea in the very SE part of the Bahamas that is not a main route for commerce. There are stars which seem muted by the bright light of the moon, but they soon show their extreme radiance after the moon sets and this turns the night into a literary a ‘starry starry night”. The air is moist and the winds are very light. The sails were taken down at sunset today because the were just like sheets in the breeze, flapping and flailing refusing to fill with the lightest of wind. We must run the engine tonight , however, to propel us on to the next port by morning. It will be those hours we use to aid daylight navigation through shallow waters strewn with coral heads. So admidst the drone of the diesel there is the rush of water heard from the stern. It is quite mesmerizing in the cockpit as the gentle rock and roll of the boat moving over the swells through the water incites the slightest bit of somnolence. (Quite unlike the previous night with 12-17 knot winds where we were cruising at 6 knots over 3-4 ft swells at times.) The radio is also quiet as we are out of range from many boats and most civilization.

My watch duties are simple tonight. The navigation is straight forward as there is little wind or current to set us off course. A cup of tea is a welcome bonus and an easy task under theses mild conditions. We are fortunate to have state of the art electronics and chart screens to help safely carve our journey through these waters whatever the conditions. We read about each destination and the stories of ships or other craft trying to find their way only to end up on the rocks or sand, so we maintain a careful watch however advanced our gadgetry.

As my shift is ending the moon is moving off to the horizon, the reflection on the ocean water becomes narrower and almost takes on an orange tint, until the moon sets. The multitude of stars overhead now become visible and share their own light into the night. As I scan the horizon there is less and less distinction between land and sea. The eyes strain to make some perception of depth out of the liquid landscape. I can pick out a hint of light in the distance as we make the distant approach to our next landing. The almost unreal sparkling fluorescence of the bioluminescence is now evident as Lost Loon makes her wake and disturbs the water. There is comfort even in the dark, knowing that only 6 hours will elapse until the light will begin to fill in from the East as we make arrival in Providenciales, Caicos. 

Thank you for reading! 

Leave me comments, questions…advice. Love hearing from everyone!

Next post….Life in Luperon!!