Its Been a While

It has been way too long since we have updated our blog, and I have a million excuses why that is, but the bottom line is Google took away my main blogging motivation by not allowing me to monetize my blog after my first post violated the Google rules. As it turns out I'm a terrible blogger if I'm not gonna get paid.

We have been in various parts of Puerto Rico throughout March, and while phone contact is as easy as it is back home, wi-fi has been brutal to locate. I just broke down and paid $50 for a wi fi amp so that we can be hooked up at our present anchorage in Culebrita, PR. I am also working on installing BackTrack 5.2 which will allow me to hack into peoples WEP and WPA secured routers....but downloading this 2.6GB file on island web, and learning the code it may be a while till I am a successful hacker.

So we just kinda plugged along the south coast of Puerto Rico, which features an odd combination of reefs and mangroves. Unfortunately the reefs aren't much more than a navigational hazard, but the mangroves around this island have some decent tarpon fishing.

Laura's parents spent a week with us here in Culebra, starting their trip with a nice upwind beat from Fajardo in 20kn of breeze with 5' seas. No biggie for us, but not the greatest weather for first time sailors. The first couple of days in Culebra also featured a minor gale with lots of rain to make things feel more welcoming.

So I just spent 3 hrs uploading 12 pics and don't feel like typing any more... so Ill try and add captions to tell the story.

 Laura on Green Beach, Vieques, PR with a cool shell. We didn't keep the shell as it had a live animal, and we try not to kill things we dont want to eat.

 This is the nicest shell we have come across this far, Im pretty sure its some sort of Conch, you can see the animal inside.

 The fort guarding the Port of San Juan with its beautiful cemetery. Old San Juan is like NOLA's French Quarter with hills, no trash and everything perfectly restored. Unfortunately it replaces NOLA's good food and bars with clothing and jewelry stores which I guess tourists like more. (who the hell goes on vacation or travels thousands of miles to shop at a clothes store?)

 View of the Mountains at El Yunce rain forest.

Laura with her parents on day one of their visit.

 Its been a long day of travel, and we are on the last leg, dinghy ride to the boat at Isleta, Fajardo, PR.

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 How the Puerto Rican's do yellowtail snapper, its delicious, but theres a restaurant in Key West that does it better.

 Mr. Beck caught a nice 60lb tarpon in the anchorage at Culebra on a ballyhoo. Unfortunately when I grabbed the line to get him to pose for pics the swivel I had rigged busted. (We have had some weird stuff break on us: oil cooler corroded, alternator bolt sheared off in block, generator exhaust broke off at flange, swivel parted while fishing).

 A nice beach on Culebra with a view of Luis Pena Island. Off of this beach the locals had made some artificial reef, and the sea turtles were everywhere. The locals wanted us to believe that this was the best snorkeling in the Caribbean, well its not, but it was nice.

I bitch a lot about our boat, and both of us frequently want more room, or to have something laid out better. But then our friend put it in perspective for us as hes cruising on a beautiful Bristol Channel Cutter 26', which is tiny down below.

Greetings from Santo Domingo

Here's a quick shot of us in front of the Cathedral at Santo Domingo.

Pigeon.  Over there.

Had a great trip into the bustling city, ate the Dominican Flag (chicken, rice, and beans), drank some Presidente, and took an overcrowded bus.  More boat work tomorrow, then leaving for Puerto Rico Saturday (weather permitting).

Was your car stolen in Miami?  It probably ended up in this auto parts district.

Hey! No sleeping on watch!

Entrance to the first city in the New World.  To the left is the house of Columbus family.

No baseball fields nearby?  Have a game on the historic fort.  Anything over the ammunition house is a home run.

Bahamas to DR

Its been a while since we have had a decent internet connection, and we have been having a hard time getting enough time to write much on the blog. It truly is amazing how much of our time is consumed keeping the boat working, there is no rest from maintenance and repairs.

I planned a slightly alternative route to what is typical of most cruisers. My intent was to take advantage of the trade winds and sail from Great Inagua, Bahamas through the windward passage around Haiti to the Domincan Republic. I had been led to believe that in the lee of Hispanola the winds would be light and variable and calm making for a pleasant trip up the coast. Well this plan backfired on me a bit.

We left Clarence town, Long Island for an overnight sail to Great Inagua. The wind had been cranking at over 25kn for days but was supposed to lay down for a while to make the trip a bit smoother. We had a bumpy but uneventful trip to Great Inagua. I had hoped to launch the dinghy and go ashore to find the Flamingos that Inagua is known for. However upon arrival we found that Inagua really doesnt have a protected anchorage near town when the wind is cranking. We moved over to Man Of War Bay and prepped for our trip to the Dom. Rep. Man of War bay was unique, the water is well over 100' deep all the way to within 300' of the beach where it quickly shoals. In the shoals there are numerous coral heads, and had I had more energy I would have likely found awsome snorkeling in 20' of water.
       The weather was predicted to lay down to 15-20 for a few days and I intended to use this window to have a nice sail through the windward passage. We departed Inagua in the evening with with cranking at 25kn, but I expected it to lay down shortly as the sun set. This did not happen, instead it built to a steady 30 with gusts over. Laura wasnt feeling well, and slept down below while I hugged one of the winches as we roared along with a steady pile of blue water across the decks all night, it was wet and unpleasant at best. It has been a while since I have sailed any distance offshore, and these waves were by far the biggest I could find in my memory. In the morning the wind laid down as we turned westward through the windward passage.

As we approached Haiti's cape we had several small sail boats approach us. We were still 30 miles from shore and these guys were just cruising around. At first I thought it was pretty cool and harmless, but then got concerned when one of them headed right for us. I thought no problem we can outsail this boat, nope, their little boat easily caught up to us. Apparently the just wanted a look, so they stared with wide white eyes and sailed on.

As we rounded the cape the wind died. We spent the next few days with winds between 0 and 35kn making brutally slow progress along the rugged coast of Haiti. This was tough going, no ports for refuge and huge confused seas. We finally made it to Punta Aghuilas in the DR. we collapsed once the anchor was down at 11pm, and slept till the next afternoon. Upon waking up there was a guy fishing from his panga next to the boat. Suddenly Laura shouts the guy has a big fish. We watch as this guy hand lines a decent size sailfish into his boat. I was amazed, this guy caught a sail in 40' of water in the anchorage.

We planned to relax for another night, but the wind clocked around and soon the anchorage had 3' waves in it, no rest for us. We pulled anchor and set off for another brutally slow rough upwind trip to Barahona where we could clear customs.

Internet is slow...more updates soon

The Invitations!

Happy February Everyone!!

Yes, I’m sorry to say that Matt has been doing most of the posting lately.  I’ve been busy with a few other things, and it seems there is no shortage of work to do around here.  It probably sounds spoiled but truly, keeping such a tiny space clean and cooking in a tiny space is a challenge.  I can say that thanks to great help from Matt’s Mom before we left, and fellow cruisers we met along the way, I’ve perfected several very tasty recipes.  I’ve yet to get to the stage like my mom, where she just nonchalantly throws something together at the last minute and it comes out awesome every time.   Check back with me in another month. 

Speaking of months, it has been exactly a month since we set out on our own.  We’ve tested the boat, and we’ve tested ourselves.  We’re working to get ourselves somewhere warmer.  Unlike most cruisers, we’ll be taking a different route to the Dominican Republic.  We intend to follow the windward passage AROUND (not stopping in) Haiti and to the south side of the DR.  From there we will continue east along the south side of Puerto Rico and then on to Saint Thomas.  From then on during the trip is the most ideal time to have visitors.  The windward and leeward islands are fairly developed and popular, and there are land activities as well as water activities.  The best part about Saint Thomas is that flights are usually through San Juan, Puerto Rico, and so US citizens do not need a passport since these are all territories of the USA. 

That all being said, flights in March and April (from Philadelphia) to the area seem to be about $500 pp, which is not very cheap, but is the greatest cost anyone would incur.  The resort Alice In Red is free, and meals are served family style.  Reservations can be made via email, sailandfish@gmail.com

I have to make a short disclaimer that living on a boat is not like living in a hotel room, it is a bit like camping and not for everyone.  We do not have unlimited fresh water, and we (Matt)  literally carries every ounce of water to the boat himself in jerry jugs, and it can sometimes cost upwards of 50 cents a gallon.  So, showers are once-a-day navy style on deck in your bathing suit.  We don’t have TV, phone, or internet, but we can usually find some when ashore.  We do, however, have the greatest sunrises and sunsets, unlimited snorkeling, fishing, hiking, exploring, and enough beer, wine, and rum for daily happy hours.  Guests aboard Alice in Red will have their own cabin with a full-size bunk.  Expect not to bring anything but a FEW pairs of clothes with you.  Mostly you’ll be in your bathing suit all day, all you need is clean underwear for the night, a pair of flip-flops and sneakers for hiking (absolutely nothing that even resembles a high heel).  We have everything else you need, except your toothbrush.  If you bring all of your own toiletries, or multiple purses, hair dryers or irons, you’ll be sleeping with it because we quite simply don’t have room for it.  We already have all that stuff, you just use ours.  Also worth noting, our medical kit is complete with EVERYTHING over-the-counter AND prescription that might be necessary in the case of an emergency (or more likely slight hangover).    

           

So, if you think you can “rough it” for a week with us, you might find the simple life quite nice.  It’s a great way to see a place without the costs of lodging and meals, and of course, free tours with great guides.  If you think you really want to come visit us on the boat, but staying on the boat in a Marina is better for you, we can look into that.  Both Matt and I sincerely appreciated all the encouragement we received, in having the plan and getting all the hard work and preparations done. 

We very, very, very much hope you’ll take us up on this sincere invitation to visit us and share in this once-in-a-lifetime trip.  

Georgetown, Exumas

Overlooking the anchorages at Georgetown from the top of the monument

George Town is the cruising capital of the Bahamas, and is also known as chicken harbor. Why it became such a popular spot I really cannot understand. There really is no protected anchorage accessible by anything other than very shallow draft boats, the water is generally murky and choppy. However the grocery store is excellent, and fresh water is free. We had planned to spend a few days here catching up on email and doing some boat chores as well as restocking the fridge. However our stay got extended when I went to change the engine oil and discovered some salt deposits running down the engine block. I traced the salt deposits back to the raw water oil cooler which appeared to be leaking around its end cap. Well that didn’t look too bad, I figured Id just pull the cap off and repair or replace the seal. When the cap came off it was a different scenario. 

Not Good.

The sealing surface had corroded very badly and was pitted nearly 1/8” from what I could see with it still installed. In attempt to repair I picked at the pits a bit and scraped loose debris away, and then used JB Water Weld to try and seal the end cap back on. A 10Pm test run indicated that I had made the problem worse, now it wasn’t just salt water leaking, but also oil. I knew this would suck. First thing Monday morning we went ashore to look up where I could buy another oil cooler, and how I would have to ship it to George Town. Fortunately the Volvo dealer in the US had one in stock and was able to overnight it to an air freight company that leaves FL for George Town every Wednesday. So by noon Thursday I had my part in hand, and had it back on the engine by 3pm. Not too bad for being out in the Bahamas, although the cost of $1500 really sucked and will cut out any fun shore excursions we may have wanted in the future.

                Fortunately while waiting on parts in George Town we made some friends on other boats and shared some dinners and drinks and had 2 great fires on the beach. On Saturday the 28 of January we finally got out of George Town and buddy boated on over to Long Island with Jaime and Channing of Bokeelia, FL.

Great to meet such nice people!

 The trip was an awesome calm water sail with just enough wind to keep our fat boat on the move. Unfortunately we didn’t catch any fish. But once we dropped the anchor off of Hog Cay we set out to some surrounding rock patches in hunt of lobster. About 2 hours later Jaime and Channing had scored 2 nice sized lobster and 1 slipper lobster, and I got us 1 larger lobster that fed Laura and I for 2 meals.

                We took a morning dinghy ride in hunt of blue holes and bone fish up Joe’s Sound. We located 2 blue holes, and saw a few bones in passing. Later on we moved a few miles and anchored off of Cape Santa Maria. Here we took a little hike up to the monument for Columbus. Reportedly the Santa Maria ran aground on this cape while Columbus was exploring the new world. I spent a few hours snorkeling the awesome rock and reef formations off of the cape, but only came back with some pictures of 6 spotted eagle rays which fallowed me for quite a while. Back in the anchorage a tiny sail boat had anchored next to us, and I felt compelled to go see what was up. On board this boat which was no longer than 22’ was a German fellow. I began chatting with him, and soon learned that he had departed Germany several years ago, crossed the Atlantic, sailed up the east coast, through the Hudson and back down the Mississippi and Ten Tomb rivers to the Gulf Coast. He was stopping for the night before setting off to Great Inagua and the on to Panama. This tiny boat, the man and his stories easily qualify as the wackiest and most adventurous sailor/ human I have come across.

The Columbus Monument off Cape Santa Maria, named after the ship which ran around on the shallow reef just below.

A school of Spotted Eagle Rays off Cape Santa Maria.

Very graceful creatures.

                Long Island seems like a wonderful place, and like Andros Island we hope to return here one day to enjoy the peaceful and bountiful waters. There are tons of reefs, bays, and estuaries that need further exploring, but for now our plan is to get south, and we have a weather window to make use of. Tonights big decision while eating Lobster Alfredo will be whether or not to shoot straight for Great Inagua and then on to the Dominican Rep, or if we should enjoy some more of Long/ Crooked/ Acklins Islands.

Exumas

The Exumas:

The islands sure have gotten developed since I was here as a kid, but they are still just as beautiful. Unfortunately they are crowded too, but that may just be a result of the time of year we are here. This does leave me scratching my head as we have nightly temps in the 60’s which make it hard to get excited to go for a leisurely snorkel, why would anyone come here at the coldest time of the year? As I am writing this we are anchored at Big Majors Spot (Staniel Cay). When we were as kids I only recall a few boats around us, but right now we are surrounded by at least 20 boats here, another half dozen at Sampson Cay, and more yet at Staniel itself. There have been at least 2 mega yachts over 100’ at each place we drop the hook (proof the rich keep getting richer).

                Other noteworthy observations: the beach with the once friendly pigs at Big Majors is no longer safe to land a dinghy. There are now upwards of 5 pigs guarding this beach who will greet you all the way out in the anchorage. One pig swam to the boat today, at least 300 yards. When we attempted to land on the beach a squeeling 300lb+ heffer promptly boarded our inflatable and began gnawing on Laura’s (who was screaming bloody murder) arm. I , trying to contain my laughter, forced the large pig off of our craft and promptly left the beach.

Other Exuma observations: powerboats account for probably 25% of boats we see cruising. Canadians make up the vast majority of flags we see, apparently Americans can only afford huge yachts or nothing. Traveling the Exuma banks is similar to boat traffic in the FL ICW, powerboats will pass with huge wakes within 20’ of your boat, even though land is barely in sight. Sailors don’t have a clue who gives right of way. The days of electronic nav makes everyone follow the same waypoints and therefore creates crowded lanes. Every sarcastic thing I have read in magazines, cruising guides and the internet regarding crowd effect of anchorages, and bad VHF use has been true…the Exumas at this time of year are way too much like the overcrowded FL waterways with people whom you wonder how they made it here. I look forward to non peak season in this area. Laura has observed that she waves to everyone, and no one waves back. She says hi to everyone, and they just stare, and that the cruising community is not a bunch of friendly folks like she read online.