The Long Haul

Well the last couple of weeks have started to blur together and we had to read the last blog to figure out where we left off. We stayed in Southside Marina in Provodinciales in the Turks for two nights and rested up and met a nice couple that have stopped cruising and have started managing the small marina. Because they were cruisers they have really catered the marina facilities to cruisers with internet, laundry, shower, etc. Simon runs a net on the VHF radio every morning providing weather forecasts and information for newly arrived boats. Very helpful and we recommend this marina to anybody putting into the island. We had drinks on their boat one night and went out with them to the Conch Shack the next night with Menno sitting in the back bed of their beat up pick up truck.

We left the marina on a Saturday morning for the outer islands to the east, Ambergris and Big Sand. We made Ambergris just before nightfall and anchored very close into a coral reef. The next morning at day break we picked our way through the reef and faced pounding seas on the other side as the sea tried to make its way through the narrow opening in the reef. Once clear we faced 15-20 knot winds and 6 foot seas that were almost right on the nose. Consequently we tacked back and forth towards Big Sand Cay, our jump off point to the Dominican Republic. The seas smooth out a bit during the day and we made Big Sand by two in the afternoon. We got off the boat and landed on a beach with what we estimated was a 30 degree slope. We wrestled the dinghy up the slope waiting for each wave to push it higher.

We left there at sundown and headed for the DR. Eighty eight miles of open ocean. The weather was pretty good but we still had the wind almost on the nose and had to motor sail the whole way. As we approached the DR the mountains were visible from 25 or more miles away even though it was still dark. As we got a little closer the seas calmed completely due to land effect where the breezes come off the land and counter effect the easterly winds that dominate in the Caribbean.

We pulled into the marina at Oceanworld at 0900 and fueled and received a berth. While we were both tired after napping in the cockpit while the other steered, there was so much to see that we explored. We found a little restaurant run by two Canadians just outside the marina and had a great supper there. The next couple of days we toured Puerto Plata and lounged by a huge pool that we had to ourselves.

On a Wednesday night we waited for the land effect breezes to take over the easterly trade winds and left Oceanworld. Well we were greeted by water we estimate at 8-10 foot rollers that bounced us around until we could clear of the shallower water near shore. We were off for Puerto Rico. Once clear of the rougher water we wanted to put up the main sail, however, the bouncing around had caused our halyard to wrap around another line at the mast and we only could use the jib. In the morning light we saw what had happened and after a little cursing and bouncing around on deck the halyard was freed. During the night we kept hearing two other boats on the radio and we finally contacted them. They were about an hour behind us so we had a little more comfort that we weren’t the only ones out there. By late morning we decided we needed a break and put into what almost looked like a fjord on the northeast tip of the DR.

We re-grouped there on one of the most spectacular sceneries we have ever seen. The other two boats also put in there however we decided to leave before they did. We were on the go again to cross the Mona Passage between the DR and Puerto Rico. This passage can be a nasty one and the distance we had to cover was about 130 miles. Weather cooperated and we made the Puerto Rico coast just after nightfall and anchored at Mayaguez, a seaport on the west side of the island. We tried to get hold of US Customs the next day because PR is a US protectorate and only finally managed to check in at the end of the afternoon on Saturday. The next morning we motored south for about 10 miles to Boqueron, a well know anchorage for cruising boats. Of course on the way down we caught a fish for supper and had it cleaned before entering the anchorage.

Looking back, we left Georgetown, Exuma exactly 12 days before arriving in PR. During that time we were laid up in the T & C for 2 days and Oceanworld for another 2 days. So in 8 days we covered over 500 miles, many of those at night. From here on in we slow down and enjoy the wonderful little bays and reefs of the islands as we will very slowly move east and south over the next couple of months.