Puerto Rico South Coast

We left La Parguera on the afternoon of May 1 to be outside the reefs for a nighttime departure for points east.  Our plan was to go to a little island that has been nicknamed Gilligan’s Island because it resembles the one from the old TV series.  We bypassed that because it was close and we had great weather for sailing.  We continued to Ponce but got separated from Dream Walker because we sail much slower.  They went on to an island off the south coast called Caja de Muertos.  We arrived in Ponce at about 10:30 AM just as the showers kicked in.  Time for a nap!!

            Next day, we got our bicycles down and went to the fuel dock at the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club for dinghy gas.  While we were waiting on the attendant, a lady came out of her catamaran at the dock and struck up a conversation with me.  She gave me directions to all the places that we wanted to go for a major shopping excursion.  In the course of our discussion, she decided that she would just take her rental car and haul us all over town for our spending spree.  It was GREAT!  Tanya was so kind and patient with all the shopping we needed to do.  We went to Sam’s Club, Santiago Cash & Carry, Auto Zone, and Pueblo grocery store.  I was in heaven!  We didn’t go to Wal-Mart (the only store I missed).  She and her husband leave their boat here full time and they live in Canada.  They hope to retire and cruise in a couple more years.  They have a beautiful Catamaran.  To repay the debt, we had them over last night for a Low Country Boil (like we had in the Carolinas last summer).

            Saturday, we were finally joined by Kolibrie and Celtic Rover.  They have been having problems with clogged fuel filters so they hope to stay here and get that taken care of.  We first met these characters back in Turks and Caicos.  Their problems make me feel grateful that our only big trouble was a stolen dinghy motor.  I’m still not ecstatic about the new one (still learning it’s idiosyncrasies) but it beats rowing!  In fact, there is a whole group of boats all going the same direction as us that we keep seeing along the way. 

            On Sunday, we left Ponce for points east.  We sailed and motor sailed to Salinas.  There in the anchorage were several boats that we have come to know through this trip.  After taking Roxy to shore, we were visited by multiple cruisers that we know.  Early Monday, we left again heading east.  About noon, we anchored at Puerta Patilla.  We had entertained thoughts of going farther but the tradewinds showed us different!  Time to return to the proven methods of Bruce Van Zant – author of Passages South The Thornless Path to Windward.  It is THE guide that most of us have been using during our travels down here.  The anchorage is quite rolly so we will probably be on the move again as soon as the winds die down (sometime after dark). 

            We had decided we wanted to go to Fajardo but after Darrell thought about it, they probably wouldn’t have the items we want to purchase and we don’t want to wait a week or more for them to order them.  We will see which direction the wind is blowing in a few hours and decide where we want to go. 

            Well, turning the corner of PR made making Fajardo possible.  We called the West Marine there to be sure they had the main items we needed.  We took a slip at Puerto Del Rey – a nice marina there.  A short taxi ride to West Marine and a few hundred dollars later, we were ready to go!  We got the eastern Caribbean upgrade for our chartplotter – nice not to have to look at the paper charts all the time while at the helm. 

            That afternoon, we departed for Isla Palomino.  A beautiful little island only about 4-6 miles east of Fajardo.  EARLY the next morning, we headed east again for Culebra.  A few squalls kinda kicked our butts on the way here but we made it in about 8 hours.  The bay is full of great anchorages and some former cruising friends of ours (Jack and Sue) rode out a Cat 5 hurricane (Hugo) here many years ago.  Anyway, this is the Spanish Virgin Islands and we have met some cruisers who have been coming back here for about ten years.  We are not sure where we will spend hurricane season here or farther south but we are very much looking forward to a reunion soon with our friends Kelly and Stephen (St. John USVI).  If she was really serious about dog sitting, we intend to let her so we can fly to TX and see that grandson again.  If she can’t or won’t watch Roxy, we know our brother & sister-in-law:  John and Jenny had a good veterinarian who boards dogs so we don’t have to pay the huge fees to fly Miss Roxy home with us.  At any rate, we have almost reached our “destination” – now what?!?!?!

Puerto Rico Explorers

Alibi underway to La Parguera

We left Boqueron on Thursday at 3 AM to make a smooth passage around the SW corner of Puerto Rico.  The trip went very well until the last hour – then we started doing the Puerto Rico Two-Step:  two steps forward and one step back!  We made it just as the trade winds were beginning to get cranked up.  The people of PR are so nice!  We went looking for the pharmacy the other day and got rides both going and coming back.  The ride coming back was a very interesting local – introduced us to half the town!  He is a boat captain, retired USAF, and has rental properties in La Parguera.  Antonio (nickname Splendid 24/7) was a hoot! 

We have been traveling with a boat named Dream Walker a 36 ft Islander.  Stan and Elizabeth are the couple on board.  We went snorkeling here (looking for dinner) and enjoyed the reefs.  We have enjoyed meals on their boat and ours.  Roxy is sure enjoying their company – their dog died on this trip (Staniel Cay) and they have a lot of loving to give her, LOL. 

We are hoping that a boat named Celtic Rover can catch up to us.  We met Bruce and Jan first in the Turks and Caicos area and have traveled with them off and on.  They sail a 41 ft Morgan.  Both boats are good travel companions because they sail at approximately the same speed as we do.  We sure are enjoying having a dinghy motor back again! 

We are trying to get to Salinas, PR by the first week of May to rejoin with another boat we were traveling with, Azaya.  They have gone ahead to Virgin Gorda in the BVI’s to put their boat on the hard and return home to Alaska for a few months.  I’m not sure if Mother Nature is going to cooperate with our deadline.  The trade winds have increased to the 20+ knot range and we’re not sure if we want to battle the increased waves that go with that much wind.

Hopefully, the next stop or the one after that holds a lot of shopping opportunities.  Ponce is the second largest city in Puerto Rico and has all the stores that we are used to in the US for major provisioning stops.  I could use a Wal-Mart shopping spree and Darrell has a list for NAPA or some marine/auto parts type place.  I will say, though that we have done really well with the stores that we purchased before we left.  AND it has been fun trying new things along the way.  I would like to find a market that has local fruits and vegetables though because mangoes and avocadoes are supposed to be plentiful here.

Sunset at Los Haitises Park

     Well, we finally made it across the Mona Passage!!  We left a week to the day after we had planned to cross. It was a long, tiring trip. We traveled for more than 32 hours and made 159 nautical miles. We decided to enter Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (port of entry for Customs). A few miles out (when the phone got a signal) I tried to call Don & Janice from Plane to Sea. They were at the dock in Mayaguez, still. We docked, cleared Customs by telephone and were visiting when another couple came walking toward us. I thought it was someone that THEY knew since they had been there for a week. I was wrong, it was Tim & Chelyn Shaw (Zephyrus) from Key Largo - worked at Quiescence dive shop!  Such a small world!!  They were working on a live aboard dive vessel (Spree) docked there.     
     We spent the weekend trying to locate the mast of P2S but never found it. We snorkeled and Darrell used up 2 tanks of air trying to find it. We did retrieve a bicycle that  Had fallen off at the dock.     
     We didn't get to visit the park near Samana like we wanted without a dinghy motor. In fact, there is a four legged passenger on board whose name was MUD for a few days!  We walked her twice at the marina and she wouldn't go. We rowed to shore at the park - no small trip, I might add - and she wouldn't go!  We were about 2/3 of the way across the Mona and she was miserable, I was tired and grouchy from sleep deprivation. I put her in her crate and she went to howling - she pooped about 3 days worth and floated the memory foam mattress (read now ruined) after many hours of pleading and coaxing for her to GO!    

The Dinghy has a Motor again!

     But back to the dinghy motor..... We put out feelers everywhere we stopped for a motor!  Nearly every stop held SOME promise of getting one. We went to the marine store here in Boqueron and Joshua made several phone calls - it was looking grim!  I had just told a fellow cruiser that we would probably not find one until Fajardo (opposite coast of PR).  Joshua called this morning and he HAD one!!  It is a 2002 Mercury 10HP two stroke!  We bought it after some bargaining to what I consider a good price!!  We are mobile again!!!!!

Alibi Blog entered by Jim Fagan

I still like the name of this blog – My Alibi

This is my 2nd annual Alibi for spring break!

I had a great time last year on Alibi in the Bahamas. At the end of last year’s trip I joked with Darrell and Ann and told them that I would be back. I was very excited this year when I was invited to spend my spring break with them again on Alibi in the Exumas.

I emailed with Darrell and Ann to discuss possible arrival and departure dates as well as a meeting place with them. We researched a couple of different places. Georgetown, Exuma was the best place to meet. Georgetown is great because there are direct flights there from Miami and it is very easy to get a taxi from the airport to the town dock at Exuma Market. I arrived in Georgetown on March 17.

I enjoyed looking out the window on the short flight from Miami to Exuma. I was impressed by the visibility in the water below – I could see the bottom. On Alibi -- I told Darrell and Ann about being able to see the bottom of the ocean from the plane high above. Darrell explained to me that the water on the Great Bahama Bank is shallow averaging about 15 feet. He told me about sailing across the bank.

The airport at Exuma is very small. There is just one short runway and no taxi ways. The plane parks on a tarmac outside the terminal. I was excited to be there. I was one of the first passengers to clear customs (I actually walked around some people on the tarmac to be near the front of the line). I got in a taxi and met Darrell, Ann and Roxy at Exuma Market.

Their dinghy was docked at a dock behind Exuma Market. Ann mentioned that the dinghy bow thruster had not sounded the same since my departure last year. I made some adjustments to the bow thruster and we got under weigh. (A bow thruster is handy on a dinghy when in tight docking situations or departing the starboard side of Alibi with wind!) We took a dinghy ride across Elizabeth Harbor to the anchorage near Chat ‘N’ Chill where Alibi was anchored. We had an excellent dinner which included fresh mahi cooked on the grill with veggie pouches. We had great dinner conversation catching up and telling a few jokes. I also got a full boat briefing which included a refresher on the location and operation of the safety equipment on the boat.

In the morning we had coffee while listening to the morning weather report and the “cruisers net”. The cruisers net is broadcast via the VHF marine radio every morning. The cruisers net includes local information as well as opportunities for cruisers to share information with each other. I enjoyed listening to the cruisers net each morning.

After breakfast, Ann took Roxy to the beach. Roxy loves her beach time and dinghy rides. While the girls were gone, Darrell and I put on our “Geek Squad” uniforms! I brought some audio cables to help them complete a project on the boat (There are not any Radio Shacks or Best Buys in the Southern Bahamas). They were in the process of connecting the XM satellite receiver on their Garmin Chartplotter and Radar to the stereo system on the boat. Darrell and I connected the cables at one end in the engine room and ran the other end up and behind the nav station and radio console. We soldered the connectors to the ends of the cables and YES it worked! Darrell listened to the NASCAR race via satellite radio.

The next day we took the dinghy to monument beach on Stocking Island and went for a hike. There is a monument at the top of one of the hill. Roxy led the way! She made the hills and trails look very easy to hike. The view at the top was amazing looking out at Great Exuma Island, sailboats and turquoise water. Check out Ann’s current profile pic on facebook. On the way day down we met a couple on the beach who had been camping in a tent. They were off of a boat named “Lord Byron’s Revenge”.

We got on the dinghy and visited a boat named “Sea Dog”. The boat is owned by James and Allison from England. It was fun talking with them and listening to their accents. Allison mentioned that I must be a guest who had recently arrived because I did not have a tan. They invited us to play volleyball at volleyball beach later in the afternoon. There are cruisers volleyball games every afternoon. Everyone is invited. It was fun to watch the games and teams, which consisted of people from several different countries and skill levels. Skill level did not matter in these games – anyone can play. A few puppies even got in on a few plays. Roxy was a great spectator. Although I think she was paying more attention to the beach!

That night we went to a “Rake and Scrape” in Georgetown at Eddies Edgewater Restaurant. A “Rake and Scrape” is a local Bahamian music party. The instruments included a brake disc with a metal bar, a hand saw and a metal bar, a bass guitar and a wash tub. It was fun to hear the local reggae music and see the locals along with the cruisers. We ran into the couple we met on the beach (they remembered Roxy more than us) and the rest of the crew of “Lord Byron’s Revenge”. It was fun hearing about their boat and cruising adventures.

The next morning after breakfast we went out snorkeling to explore so me reefs! Darrell found some cool spots on the chart. The reefs there are close to the shore unlike the reefs in the keys that are offshore. We almost looked like a Navy Seal Team (well not really) cruising in the dinghy in our wetsuits. We went to a shallow reef that was behind a rock formation rising out of the water. There was an awesome water feature on the rocks. Water from the waves on the windward side cascaded down on the lee side. We had fun verbally describing the rock formation and deciding what it looked like. We had some great comparisons. The reef was beautiful. The visibility was also great. I was very impressed by the variety of fish. Darrell and I saw one fish that we used a fish book to identify. It was an ocean trigger fish. I enjoyed watching it swim around the reef. Darrell also got a conch! We checked out a few other spots. Darrell and I demonstrated mastery of water entry and exits from the dinghy. Too bad there is not a certification for “Exumas Dinghy Snorkeler / Explorer”! If you ever have the opportunity--ask Darrell to teach you how to do a roll back entry off of the dinghy.

Ann made conch ceviche when we got back to Alibi -- it was very good. We took Roxy to the beach after lunch. Roxy always enjoys playing at the beach! That night was card night at St. Francis Resort. They have a Texas Hold’em Tournament every Tuesday. The tournament is limited to the first 50 to sign up. It sells out quickly every week. We met some other cruisers there.

On Wednesday morning, Darrell and I took the dinghy to Georgetown. We got one of the propane tanks filled and fueled the dinghy. Propane is available at scheduled times. There was a line for propane. While Darrell was in line with the other cruisers, I went to the open air market to pick up a few trip souvenirs. That afternoon we took Roxy to the beach and Darrell played cruisers volleyball. For dinner, we had fresh mahi from the grill. It was also my first time trying lionfish. It was good. The sky was very clear that evening. I enjoyed laying on the deck looking up at the stars. There is very little artificial light in the anchorage, which allows for great star gazing. I actually fell asleep outside.

The next morning on Thursday, we pulled up anchor and motored Alibi across Elizabeth Harbor to Kidd’s Cove near Exuma Market. This was my drop off point for the taxi to the airport. I helped Darrell with filling the water tanks for the boat. I had arranged with a few other cruisers for a taxi share to the airport via the cruisers net. I met the taxi share at Exuma Market and went to the airport. Last year I was bumped off the flight and went back to Alibi. That did not happen this time so I boarded the flight to Miami. I was sad to be leaving.

My trip to the Exumas and time on Alibi was awesome. The trip was very relaxing and we had lots of fun. Some of the trip highlights include: visiting with great friends, excellent meals, drinking coffee in the morning, taking Roxy to the beach, helping with a project on the boat and exploring the islands.

Thank you Darrell, Ann and Roxy for an incredible week on Alibi. It is greatly appreciated!

Random shots

These are random shots from our trip. Darrell playing volleyball in George Town in one. The group at lunch after we went down the waterfalls near Luperon. A view from Monument Hill in George Town. A Mahi-Mahi that we caught near Long Island, Bahamas. The last one is the group we have been traveling with that went to the waterfalls with us - the man on the right is "Handy Andy", our guide from Luperon. Now that I have internet and have figured out again how to post pictures, perhaps I shall show more.

Up date on Caribbean Cruise

We left Luperon in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday afternoon (Apr. 11, 2012).  We had a good weather opportunity to go all the way across the Mona Passage into Puerto Rico. We traveled all night and into Thursday with two other boats:  Azaya and Plane to Sea. They travel much faster than us and we had to use a lot of motor to stay within VHF radio range of them (i.e. more fuel burned).  When we were just off the coast of Samana, we checked our fuel that was left ..... maybe enough to get us there if we backed off the engine some but not much margin for error or problems if we had any on such a long crossing. We tried to hail Azaya on the radio many times but they were out of range and Plane to Sea was ahead of them (we had to have Azaya relay messages from them most of the trip).  We thought we could get fuel in Samana and continue on - in fact, we planned to do that. When we got to the mouth of the bay in the late afternoon after getting fuel, guess what, a storm blew off the coast and we got our butts kicked!  We decided that we didn't have the energy or desire to spend another 24+ hours in THOSE conditions so we tucked our tails and headed back in.  By then, it was getting dark so we had to depend on our night vision - Darrell's is great and mine is improving. We made it back in the bay to a place to anchor but we had trouble setting it.  So, we called the marina where we got fuel earlier. Luckily, they had space and were willing to accept us at such a late hour (long trip in the bay, out, then back in again). At 11 pm we got the boat situated, paperwork completed, and lay down for some much needed sleep. 
     This morning we slept in - woohoo!!  We rarely do that!!  As we were enjoying our coffee, we heard on the radio that Manatee (boat name) was coming in to the marina!  We met them way back at George Town, Great Exuma and were hoping to travel some with them but timing just never worked out. Anyway we are all staying at a VERY nice place just over a year old and prices for slips are good. Who knows, we just might get a chance to sit by the pool or IN the pool. A rarity at marinas for us because a marina visit usually equates with boat repairs usually since at a marina, we have electricity & water & dock space & parts somewhat available. When the weather cooperates, we will head east but that may be as much as a week or more. 
     Anyway, I digress! When Rod (Manatee) had been cleared by the navy, he came by. He had an email forwarded to him telling of an accident last night where Plane to Sea was hit by a freighter. Thank goodness, they are both all right and rescued by the Coast Guard. The sailboat was dismasted and being towed to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. I guess the Lord had other plans for us last night, otherwise we would have been just a few miles behind them!  Praise the Lord they are safe!
     I sit in front of the single washer and dryer with my MOUNTAIN of laundry!  In fact, the dryer just quit and I had to figure out how to get it working again ( the top lock to the electric guts was unlocked already). What i had not figured out yet is that the dryer has no heat and i now have 2 loads of clean, wet clothes - raining off and on all day!!  Life is exciting for us and we are very thankful to God and our family and our country for the chance to live our dream and have these great experiences!
     Unless something real exciting occurs, there might not be an update to the blog until we reach US territorial waters!
     Pray for us to have wisdom, patience, strength, and courage. Hugs!!

   

Caribbean Cruise Continues
    The following was written just before we learned that we had been vandalized last night. Our motor to the dinghy was stolen. Our dinghy was damaged in the process but not too badly to use it. My view of Luperon and Dominican Republic changed overnight - yes pun intended!  


     Traveled overnight to reach Luperon, Dominican Republic. What a sight this mountainous island was in the morning light!  No fish caught on this crossing - rats!
     We were boarded by the port authority then we cleared customs (multiple stops).  This took much of the morning. We then returned to the boat to rest and relax from the 19 hour trip. And yes, we did sail with the gennaker on this night crossing, because the wind was so light. 
     Lush green mountains surround us on the shores. The water is not as clear as the Bahamas water so no beach swimming for Roxy. 
     On Easter Sunday, we went with some other couples to the waterfalls. This was an awesome experience!  Climbing up a mountain then sliding down or jumping into pools of clear river water. It was a great experience!  We have "explored" the town, gone to a beach festival, watched some fast-pitch softball, and eaten out a lot. We have made many new boat friends here and our Spanish is improving rapidly!
     We are all waiting on the chance for weather to allow us to leave. It looks like we will get a chance in the next 2-3 days to move farther east. The next major water crossing is called the Mona Passage (between DR and Puerto Rico). It will take us over 24 hours to make that hop so we wait for the right weather opportunity. 
     We spoke to Kelly and Stephen (made this trip in 2009) the other day. From them we learned that there is much to explore in Puerto Rico, too. We are really looking forward to seeing them in a few more weeks (probably).