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!!