Isla de Culebra, Spanish Virgin Islands

Now this is what we’ve been wanting.  We are in Dewey on Isla de Culebra and it’s an adorable town!  It’s Caribbean, in every sense of the word!  It’s colorful, tropical, clean, friendly … it’s perfect!

We dinghied ashore early this morning.  There are several places to tie up your dinghy and it’s supposed to be very secure (no crime).  There is a channel, completely through the middle of the island that goes clear to a harbor on the other side.  Before we headed ashore, we explored the area.  There is a bright red/white drawbridge that connects the two pieces of land.  I guess in reality, they are actually two separate islands but it is referred to as the same place on both sides of the drawbridge.  The water is clear because it comes straight from the ocean and flushes in the tides.  The lagoon in the middle of the channel is adorable, with colorful houses, restaurants, bars, etc. 

After exploring, we tied up at the town dock.  One of the nicest docks we’ve seen since stateside!  It was a cement dock that was very intact.  Nothing like the broken down eyesores we’ve experienced lately that you fear will destroy your dinghy in it’s rubble.

Town itself … also adorable.  Real little supermarkets and everything.  Okay, so maybe my standards have reduced since the US because they are nothing like the Publix back home … but compared to the small shacks with bare shelves that they call supermarkets in the Bahamas, DR and PR … this is quite nice!

There is a ferry dock here also.  The ferry runs between here and Fajardo and there’s also one that runs from here to Isla de Vieques.  That’s the largest of the Spanish Virgin Islands.  If you remember my comments on the ferry dock surroundings in Fajardo and our disappointment that there were no shops, restaurants, bars in the area … this is quite the opposite.  At the Dewey ferry dock, it is what one would expect.  Cute little gift shops, many restaurants, small hotels and bars.  People hung around here because there was something to do.  In Fajardo, you got off the ferry and left the area asap because you were BORED!!!

We shared a personal size pizza for brunch (around 10:30 am).  When you’re cruising, time is really irrelevant.  We do what we want, when we want!  The pizza place was right across from the ferry dock.  We did several chores.  They had free internet.  I didn’t get a chance to send this yet because we had so many other things we needed to accomplish.  We ordered a bunch of stuff (some outboard parts for our broken motor, a replacement turntable tray for the microwave that tried to commit suicide, some parts to boost our WiFi receiving possibilities … it will pick up the WiFi signals from a further range so maybe we can get it on the boat more often, and well … some other stuff).  Carl has graciously agreed to send us our mail and packages so we have had everything shipped to him.  Once we know he’s received it all, we’ll let him know where to send it.  Probably not till St. Thomas because it will take several days before he has everything … and then another several days to get it here!

We bought some fresh veggies from a little local stand and also bought a few groceries.  We really don’t need much and I think with all the groceries we’re doing, we’re ending up with more stocks and not using it as quickly.  But that’s fine too.  Not sure what will be available down the road so we’re taking advantage of whatever we can.

In town, we noticed a lot of places said they are closed on Wednesday.  We’re not sure what we’ll find available tomorrow so maybe it’s a day for snorkeling fun.  They were also closed between 1pm and 3pm today … siesta time!  Instead of being annoyed that they’re closed, we need to accept this concept and take siesta ourselves.  That would be the perfect addition to our cruising lifestyle!

For the past several days, it has been wonderful weather in the morning … bright, sunny, warm … amazing!  But … come the afternoon, the clouds move in and the rain is intermittent.  It never rains for much (minutes really) but enough to make you reconsider what you’re doing and run for shelter.  Okay … so normally this shelter is a local bar where we can sit and have a drink and watch the rain shower … but it’s still a slight inconvenience.

So … pizza for breakfast and we’ve decided on bacon/eggs for dinner.  Mixed up or what??? Neither of us is too hungry and thought this would be a simple meal.  I need to save this update and help Larry.  Tomorrow we will try to send this update and also update Facebook with the latest set of photos.

 

Arrived Isla de Culebra, Spanish Virgin Islands

In case you haven’t noticed, we like to get up early and head out early on our travel days.  This way, we make the majority of the trip before the winds/waves pick up too much.  (at least when you know the wind is going to be on-the-nose) Today was no exception.  We woke at 6am and were underway before 6:30.  We only had about 20 miles or so between Isle de Palominos and Culebra but it was head into the east winds and we wanted to get there before the trade winds got too severe and slowed our progress.  The trip was uneventful.  Larry slept for an hour or so and missed some beautiful scenery.  We followed a chain of small islands/rocks the entire distance.  The waves breaking over them was spectacular.  Really shows the force of the waters out there … but luckily, we were on the protected side and had very nice seas.  Just as we rounded the south tip of Culebra, it was amazing!  You could actually see the hills of St. Thomas in the distance.  We are less than 20 miles from St. Thomas!  So cool!

We rounded the point and entered Ensenada Honda (a protected bay that is about ½ mile wide and 2 miles long).  At the inner tip of the bay is the small town of Dewey.  We haven’t gone ashore yet but this town looks soooo cute.  We’re really looking forward to exploring but I think we will hang and relax on the boat today and head to town tomorrow.

 

Isle de Palominos

What a very nice place.  We slept comfortably.  There was a nice breeze.  And did I forget to mention … we’re in the Spanish Virgin Islands … YIPPIE!!!  This is the first of several in the island chain that leads between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas.

We woke early and were off snorkeling before the crowds arrived.  Snorkeling was nice.  There was a lot of sea life (an eel, turtle, lobster, schools of tangs … etc).  I can see the need for the mooring balls because (except for the beach area) almost the entire coast was a coral reef.  People would have trashed it if anchoring was required.

After snorkeling, we went for a dinghy ride over to another adorable island, just a short distance from Palominos.  It’s a white sand island with one palm tree and a few shrubs.  It took all of 10 minutes to walk around the entire island.  We were just getting back to the dinghy, when these two guys who had been sitting in the sand, approached me.  It turns out, they swam from Palominos (with mask/fins/snorkel) and hadn’t realized how far it was.  Also, since they arrived, the winds had picked up and the water was incredibly rough.  They asked if we could give them a ride back.  I felt sorry for them.  We agreed and the four of us headed back to Palominos.

We got close enough to shore (and in calm waters) and the two guys swam to the beach.  The one guys’ wife was waiting for them and didn’t seem too pleased with how long they had been gone.  But, she got photos of us delivering them safely back so I’m sure we will be talked about as they describe their “rescue”.

We went back to Soulmatie and vegged.  We got out our floaty chairs, tied them to the back of Soulmatie and floated in the warm waters.  The sun was intense so we didn’t spend too much time in the water.  We are trying SOOOOO hard NOT to get sunburnt!  But this has been an amazing relaxing day.  We have found paradise!

With all the fresh air and exercise we finally got today, we had worked up an appetite.  How better to celebrate the Spanish Virgin Islands than with a cold, healthy salad, baked potato and filet mignon!  Awesome meal!  And can’t forget the Puerto Rican Merlot that complimented it so nicely.

BTW … a couple of nights ago, Larry had made BBQ chicken.  It was accompanied with nice warm Swiss Chalet sauce!  Thanks Marg!  Before we left for our adventure, my sister Marg and her husband Roger gave us MANY packages of Swiss Chalet Sauce (from one of my favorite restaurants in Canada).  For you Canadians … it tastes just like in the restaurants!  You’ve gotta try it!

Well, we had some sauce leftover and have been using it on some really great meals.  We made chicken salad sandwiches and added Swiss Chalet sauce … YUM!!!  Tonight, Larry topped his baked potato with it.  He said it was awesome!  One pack goes so far … especially with just the two of us.

Tonight, we watched the sun set over Puerto Rico for the last time.  In the morning, we will head further east.  It was an amazing sunset and the perfect end to a perfect day!

 

Cayo Obispo, Puerto Rico and Isle de Palominos

Our stop in Punta Patillas was very brief.  We arrived yesterday around 2pm and after dinner and a few hours sleep, headed out around midnight.  We didn’t get to do anything in town so, although it looked cute, we can’t really say much about it.

We arrived in Cayo Obispo (an island just outside Fajardo – northeast coast of Puerto Rico) about 8am.  The trip was quite calm, but again a motor-sail.  We can’t wait until we round the island chains and start heading south again.  These eastern routes with eastern trade winds force us to motor constantly!

On the charts, Cayo Obispo and Fajardo look like adorable little places.  There is an arial photo of the area and it looks very picturesque.  And Fajardo has the largest West Marine in Puerto Rico so we figured it’d be a big city.  Reality is another thing.  It was dirty, run down … and they must have been hit by a hurricane recently because I’ve never seen so many wrecked vessels … and some of them were large ships.

We anchored just off Cayo Obispo and once we were settled, we took the dinghy to the marina.  The marina has a ferry that runs from Cayo Obispo to Fajardo.  It costs $5/person to leave the dinghy at the marina and take the ferry to town (return fare). 

Once in town … another disappointment.  There is a huge ferry terminal, with ferries that go to the Spanish Virgin Islands, etc.  BUT … that’s all that was there.  We had figured the waterfront would have little shops, restaurants, etc to attract the tourists from the ferries.  Nope, notta!  There is supposed to be an actual “town” someplace but they wanted $10 for the taxi.  We’re too cheap so headed back to the boat.

Once we were back on Soulmatie, I was uncomfortable with how close we’d anchored to the shallows.  When we anchored, you couldn’t see the shoal.  Now that the tide has dropped, there were rocks above the water … only about 30ft from our boat.  Combine this with the fact that there was a beautiful island offshore about 3.5 miles that was calling to me … and it didn’t take much to convince me to leave this place.

We left Cayo Obispo about 2 pm and were nicely moored at Isle De Palominos by 3pm.  The Department of Nature Resources has installed mooring balls at a lot of the places.  Here, they had MANY and they’re no charge.  We gladly took a mooring ball instead of trying to anchor in 30+ ft. of water.

Wow, what a difference!  We were finally in clear water!  This place was great!  And we weren’t the only ones to think so.  If you’ve ever done Peanut Island in Palm Beach or Boca Lake in Boca Raton … or the many other places along the Florida Coast, you would feel like you were back home.  EVERYONE with access to a boat headed from the east coast of PR to this place on the weekends!  It was completely packed.  You could barely get to the beach because the entire coastline was lined with powerboats.  They use two anchors.  One off the bow … then they back down towards shore and bury another anchor right up on the beach.  This keeps them only a few feet from shore.  And the boats were almost touching, they were so close!  The only difference between this place and say Boca Lake is that those few individuals that feel a need to blare their music so loud that everyone on the entire island can here it, blared Spanish music instead of some annoying rap music like back home.  Annoying still but much nicer.

We sat and watched the sun set as the parade of boats headed back to the mainland.  Surprisingly though, there were quite a few that spent the night.

 

Punta Patillas, Puerto Rico

Woke early this morning to leave the Marina in Ponce for our next leg along the southern coast of Puerto Rico.   Travelled in completely calm seas for a few hours with the weather forecast being “5 to 15 noodles”.   But it eventually increased and increased until it was over treinta noodles.  Okay, so the word for knots is “nudos’, and Larry was constantly wondering why the weather channel on VHF was referring to noodles all the time.   One less word for us (and for you all readers) to learn now.  So we finally decided to stop for the rest of the day here in Punta Patillas, a small oldish-looking beach resort community.

Larry wants people to know what he does while Tracy lounges with a glass of wine, drives the boat, does all the navigation work, keeps house, feeds and cleans up after him, okay, stop, stop!   He does some important stuff too.  Like constantly checking on the readiness/seaworthiness of the boat.   There is always something to do on a sailboat that is 35 years old.  No matter how well maintained and how many new systems you have, there is stuff to monitor, like a hawk.  

Take the power steering system:   It’s a 35 year old hydraulic steering system with a pump in the steering console (behind the wheel) that provides hydraulic pressure to a ram (a hydraulic cylinder) down under the rear cabin’s bed, that’s connected to the rudder.  You turning the wheel, provides the pressure to the fluid and the ram turns the rudder.   But its age is showing and the ram is slightly leaky.  (as anyone older than 35 can attest to – OMG Larry – you didn’t really SAY THAT DID YOU???)   So there are oil “diapers” under the ram to collect any drips and Larry checks them every so often, and changes them.   There is a fluid reservoir that you fill with hydraulic fluid and then pump it up with a bicycle tire air pump to about 20 PSI.   So a few drops of lost fluid does not mean anything bad.  The air pressure in the reservoir just pushes more fluid into the system.    UNTIL you are out of fluid in the reservoir, or OUT OF air pressure.  So, Larry diligently monitors both the fluid and pressure level and keeps track of when he last checked them.  For example, the pressure went from 20 PSI to 10 PSI from 4/4/13 to 4/25/13 (with a lot of use during that period) and got pumped back up again to 22 PSI; reservoir still pretty full.  He also looks at all the fittings, especially the ones he made in December when he cut through the lines to tee-in the new auto-pilot pump; one of the most nerve-wracking jobs he has had to do, never having done hydraulic work in the past.  (Some day he promises to write up all the steps, with pictures, to install an auto-pilot on a boat and save yourself a thousand dollar installation bill.)

That is an example of “routine maintenance” on an old boat.  How many other sailors routinely check, the saltwater intake filters for their engine and generator, the primary fuel/water separator for the engine, all engine hoses and fittings, engine oil, fuel tank (add Biobor), condition of batteries, sails, steering system, bilge pumps, propeller shaft and packing gland, thru-hull fittings, water supply, etc.   It doesn’t take long, so Larry can still be generally lazy, as long as these things, and the “to-do” list stay under control.

So, just in case you are thinking of buying an old boat and sailing away (hmm, sound like someone I know??) make sure you can keep the boat running and safe. We’ll tell you more about the “to-do” list some time later.    Oh, and we have only been out for a couple of months and already odes are being written to us.  We didn’t even have to sink and wait a hundred years like the Edmund Fitzgerald!    Thank you to Carl, and congratulations to him for recovering so quickly from his hip surgery, for the ode below:

Soulmatie, Soulmatie, take me to sea

Away from the hard life, from real-atie

A life on the water, a life without pain

seems more than this land bound soul can attain

The doctors, they tell me, I'll never go

But Soulmatie, Soulmatie, they just don't know…

I've got a new hip, made out of zinc

Some stents and a bag, to full up with drink

Soulmatie, Soulmatie, the things that we'll do

if only Soulmatie, you'll take me with you. 

Thanks Carl, and get your butt out here so we can teach you how to do some of this maintenance, so we can just lounge and drink those tropical drinks with umbrellas … like people envision us doing all day.

Ok, so Larry is not done contributing for the day.  We had awesome Mahi-Mahi picatta again for dinner and he is going to share his recipe.

Mahi-Mahi Picatta

1. Catch a mahi-mahi.  If you buy it, the recipe may not be as good as expected.   If you catch too much of a mahi-mahi for a single meal, it is permissible, though less than ideal, to freeze the excess.   Cut a filet from the fish, cut the skin from the filet.  Put it in plastic with no air if possible and immediately freeze it.  DO NOT RINSE it in fresh water.  Just straight from the fish to the freezer!
2. With about a pound of mahi filet – cut into bite-size cubes, depending upon the size of your mouth, I suppose.
3. roll in about 2 heaping tablespoons of flour, with the following added to the flour: as much garlic powder as you like (who doesn't?) and as much white pepper as you like.
4. cook your favorite carb:  a cup of orzo (we like whole wheat orzo), or a cup of rice, or some other pasta or spetzle, etc….
5. quick-fry the fish nuggets in a couple spoonsful of veggie oil.  Can’t use olive oil cause you want to cook hot and fast and the olive oil will burn, though most of our other cooking uses olive oil.
6. dump the nuggets in a serving bowl and then make the sauce:  about a cup, and a half or so, of white wine (preferable home-made wine from our stock, or you could go buy a really expensive bottle of good white wine and it might suffice).  Anyway, the wine goes into the hot pan to simmer.  Add to that, a quarter to a half cup, depending upon your taste, of lemon juice, and a couple large spoonful of capers with their juice.
7. stir the sauce a bit. Thicken it with the left over flour/garlic/pepper that didn’t stick to the fish nuggets whisked into a half cup of cold water.
8. stir some more.  If not thick enough for you liking, add more flour.  If not lemony enough, add more lemon juice.  If not….., well you get the picture.  You are supposed to taste the sauce, and sip the remaining wine, until all is well.
9. dump the sauce on the fish nuggets.  Drain your pasta/orzo or, well the rice should not need draining….
10. serve the fish on the carbs, with the rest of the wine, or another bottle if you didn’t reserve enough.

Total (and best) elapsed time from filet of the fish to serving of the meal could be as little as 15 minutes.  Though admittedly, we just had our 4^th meal from the fish caught and frozen a week ago.

 

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Woke early this morning to see if the Internet issue was resolved … nope!  This is getting very frustrating!

We had originally planned to leave today but since yesterday was a chore day and we really haven’t even made it into the town of Ponce, we decided we would extend our marina experience for one more day and head to town.  We decided to pedal our bikes.  We’re told it’s too far but google-maps say it’s only about 5 miles.  We’ll see …

We made it to Ponce.  Cute downtown.  It’s a real city!  The ride wasn’t bad at all.  We stopped about ½ way and had Cold Stone ice cream …. That made the trip!!!  We found a little café that has Internet so we are able to send this update.

Our plans from here are to … well ride the bikes back to the marina (of course) … and then early tomorrow morning leave and head further east.  Not sure when we will have Internet again but will try to keep you posted.

Ponce, Puerto Rico

We are still at the marina.  Today, was chore day.  I did 4 loads of laundry while Larry got propane.  When we were at Walmart yesterday, we bought racks to go on the back of our bicycles.  Larry bunge-ed a milk crate on the back of his bike, put the propane bottle into the milk crate and peddled himself to the propane station (near the Cash and Carry).  After he put the propane on deck, he went back out (on his bike) to the Cash and Carry.  There were a few things we saw yesterday that we wanted but didn’t pick up because our cart was full.  He got priorities like rum, wine, amaretto, beer, etc.

Now, with laundry done and the boat nicely stocked, we needed a break.  I’m taking a few minutes and writing up the last couple of days and will try to get this sent today.  We also have some nice photos of our kayaking experience that I will try to upload.  The connection here is intermittent.  Earlier, it was working wonderfully.  Now, for the last 2 hours, it simply says … Internet unavailable, try again later.  URGH!!!

BTW … I checked our email this morning and their was an email from Alex and Elana (strangers to us).  However, they found bottle #8 … first bottle discovered!  Don’t know if you recall or not but we’ve been dropping bottles periodically (mostly in the open passages between countries).  The note inside explains a little about our experience, when/where we dropped it and a request that they email a few people to let them know it was discovered.  We’ve also asked them to send the original note to our granddaughter Riley. 

This is very cool.  We really didn’t know if any of the bottles would be discovered or if they’d just end up as trash on some beach.  Nice to know, one’s been found.  The couple are from Russia.  They were vacationing in the Dominican Republic.  They found the bottle on the beach in Punta Cana.  They sent a nice picture of themselves on the beach, with the note and bottle in-hand.  I’m hoping I can save the photo and post it on Facebook!

I have probably spent 2-3 hours of today just trying to get Internet again.  Every time I try, it simply says “No Internet available, please try again later”.  This is getting very frustrating. 

It is 6:30 and we are giving up on Internet.  We got ready and walked to the boardwalk just outside the marina.  There are a bunch of bars/restaurants and we are treating ourselves to dinner.

Like most other things we’ve read in those damn books, the boardwalk was disappointing.  Both cruising books we have describe this place as a really happening place with crowds of people, lots of music, etc.  It was almost dead tonight and over half of the businesses weren’t even open!  We found a nice little place and had a variety of spanish appetizers and several drinks.  The food was surprising good.  We waited around for a bit but the place never did liven up at all.  Guess they forgot to mention that it only gets rowdy on weekends maybe???

Back on the boat, checked and still no Internet!

Ponce, Puerto Rico

This is one stop where we planned on getting a marina.  We hate marinas but we have several chores to do (shopping/laundry/fuel/water/etc) and being at a marina would be so much simpler.  Luckily, it was only $1.25/ft (about $50/day) for the slip at the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club.  Not bad for such a nice place!

Once we were settled, we got our rolling dock cart and headed to Cash and Carry.  This is a bulk place we’d heard about where you can buy supplies by the case.  We walked forever and really wondered if we’d ever find it.  But when we did, we were not disappointed.  It had everything!  We bought about $120 worth of supplies and then hauled them back to our boat.  Thank God for our new folding dock cart.  It worked amazingly!

We unloaded the supplies onto the boat and headed right back out.  Our “new” cruising guide to Puerto Rico says you can get a taxi from the marina to Walmart for between $4-$5.  Yeah right!  When we said this, they driver just laughed at us.  He said $15!  Well, we really were accumulating quite the list of things we need so we went ahead and paid his fare.

Before Walmart, we went to Wendy’s.  YUM … double cheeseburger and fries!!!  One craving fixed!

Then we went to Home Depot and picked up a few things.  Then Radio Shack.  Then finally, Walmart.  We shopped for about 4 hours total and got some good little finds!

Back on Soulmatie, I was exhausted.  I had only slept from about 9-11 last night and had not closed my eyes since.  During the trip from Bahia Fosforesente to Ponce, Larry had rested most of the way … sleeping a little too.  I sailed us through the night.  Now, it was showing … just completely exhausted!  I went to bed early.

Bahia Fosforesente, Puerto Rico

Woke this morning early and well rested!  We’re in our own little part of heaven here but unfortunately, we are not alone.  As we had dreaded, we are hoarded with those damn No-See-Ums!!!  They came out last night at sunset and we did the rapid shuffle to close up the boat the best possible but those little suckers can get in through the tiniest of an opening.  This morning, they are just as bad.  Larry fogged the boat and it seems a little better.  Gotta put foggers on the list of things to buy in Ponce!

We had a quick breakfast and then headed out.  We were only going a few miles (east) but wanted to make sure we did so before the trade-winds made it uncomfortable.  We were headed for Bahia Fosforesente.  Supposedly, the entire bay glows with bioluminescence (micro organisms that light up in the dark when they’re disturbed … much like fireflies).  I’ve experienced this before on night dives.  A very memorable dive was in the Florida Keys with my good friends Julius Javor and Gord Lemon.   The water was crystal clear and every time you moved in the slightest way, you disturbed the water and it would glow.  It was amazing.  We’d shut our lights off so we could experience this to the extreme.  However, as we pulled into this bay, it was very cloudy water.  Would we really be able to experience this phenomena?  I really hope so because Larry was very excited to see it.

In any case, we would have to wait for dark to see if it was worth the trip or not.  We decided to drop the kayak/paddleboards and enjoy the bay.  The bay was surrounded with mangroves.  There were channels running thru the mangroves.  We used our new kayak seats on our boards and it was really very comfortable.  We rode them as kayaks and toured the area.  The mangroves were beautiful.  As you got closer to the mangroves (even penetrating them through the little streams that formed their way into the cluster), the water cleared.  It wasn’t “tropical” by any means but at least we could make out the bottom!

We kayaked for an couple of hours.  We circled the bay and were at the far side as the winds picked up.  It was such a comfortable paddle to this spot but now we had to go against the wind back to our boat.  Yuck!!!  Larry is so adorable.  He took the line from my kayak and tied it around his waist.  His intent was to tow me all the way back to Soulmatie.  Now … I would have loved to have just sat back and enjoyed the ride … BUT … there was about 25 knots of wind blowing against us (causing a major chop to the water) and I couldn’t just sit back and let Larry shoulder the burden.  I did my best to keep stroke with him as he towed me home.  He was an animal, paddling full strength, non-stop.  Occasionally, I would need to stop and take a break.  Had I not been tied to Larry, I would have lost major progress each time I paused.  BUT … Larry just kept plugging away and kept my momentum going forward! 

Back on the boat, we relaxed.  We laid down about 7 for a “nap” before we woke to head out.  I was almost asleep when at 8pm, another boat came into the bay.  It was a large boat (probably filled with tourists).  They were screaming and yelling and jumping into the water from the top of the boat.  We could see the glow in the water as each person took their turn jumping in.  It was a bright flash.  Looked really cool.

We were finally able to get a couple of hours sleep when the alarm went off at 11:59pm.  We got up, made coffee and took a quick swim ourselves.  Rather disappointing.  The water had a slight glow to it but nothing like I imagined.  I’m sure Larry was disappointed also because he didn’t “play” very long before he got out.  I’m just hoping sometime during our adventure, he will be able to experience the thrill of a GOOD phosperesence bay!

We were underway by about 1am.

La Parguera, Puerto Rico

We woke early (about 4am) and readied the boat to sail away.  We waited until almost 5am for the night darkness to lift a little so we could see our way clear of all the boats.  It was an amazing trip.  It started out with the island lees calming the waters.  We sailed south along the western coast and then rounded Cabo Rojo at the southern most tip.  We weren’t sure what to expect for wind/wave/current as we rounded the cape and entered the waters less protected from the trade winds but it wasn’t bad at all.  As the morning progressed, the waves increased slightly and even though they were probably about 5 foot swells, there was a nice “roll” to them.  I like traveling like this.

When we were about an hour out from our destination, we heard a distress call on the VHF radio.  “Nomad” had run aground and was taking on water.  They gave their co-ordinates and were only a few miles past where we were headed- but over an hour away from us!  It always makes my heart skip a beat when I hear a “Mayday” call.  The guy sounded very close to panic.  His english was broken and difficult to understand AND he didn’t speak spanish.  Not sure what his official language would have been but he struggled to communicate with the Coast Guard to explain his dilemma. 

We listened to the call back and forth.  The coast guard would ask questions but the captain of Nomad could not understand what they were asking.  All he kept saying in response to the questions was … HELP us!  We’re sinking.  At one point he even said in a tone that showed he was giving up, “I think we’re dead”.  The coast guard explained they had a police boat on the way but the poor guy just couldn’t understand.  All I could think of is … that could be us! We’re traveling to foreign lands where we don’t know their language and would be lesss able to communicate than the captain of Nomad.  That’s a VERY scary thought!

There was a lot of chatter on the VHF in spanish (we’re assuming between the coast guard and police) but we couldn’t understand it.  As we approached our destination (only a mile or so from where all this was taking place), Larry called the coast guard on the VHF and inquired on the status.  Do you still need mariner assistance or is the problem resolved?  We were afraid the crew had abandoned ship and were floating in the open seas and if there was anything we could do to help … we would!

They explained the two men from the boat were onshore (and safe).  The boat was in very shallow water and they were working to see what they could do to remove it. 

Great!!!  A major sigh of relief!!!  Still, heartbreaking to think what these poor people went through.  I can’t imagine watching our home fill with water as we sit helplessly by AND then to have to make that decision to abandon ship … it must be devastating!

With this saga behind us, we motored towards our destination.  The entrance is through a tiny cut in the reef and then marked with channel markers as you approach town.  You pass an outer reef, then an inner reef, then small mangrove islands until you’re in the channel where you turn west.  You are just outside another long mangrove area, with breaks every so often to the channel along shore.  We could see the masts on the other side of the mangroves and worked our way to where we thought it was safe to approach thru the mangroves.  The GPS is completely useless here.  It shows no depths and actually showed us traveling on land … even though we were in about 10 feet of water.  Each time we cut through the mangroves, to the inner channel, all the boats would be crowded into one spot (most of them on mooring balls) and the channel’s depth would quickly drop from 10ft to about 4ft (maybe shallower but we always turned before we ran aground.  This did not look like a great place to be.  We continued further west, testing each approach and always finding the same result (the anchorage was over crowded, most were on moorings, AND the waters shallowed quickly outside the area where everyone was congregated).  We were beginning to wonder if we’d find any place suitable to anchor.  We were almost at the end of the mangrove chain and the protected waters.

We slowly entered one more time between two mangrove clusters and to our pleasant surprise, there was not a boat in sight.  There was a nice little bay, about 10 feet of water, very protected by the mangroves, and not a soul in site!  We’d found our new home!!!

 
It was an awesome location.  This is what we search for and can very rarely find.  Solitude!  Granted, with it being the weekend, there was considerable boat traffic with tourists, etc exploring the mangroves but it was a thousand times better than being in a cluster of moored boats and trying to find a safe anchorage.

We lowered the dinghy and joined the cascade of boats exploring the area.  I hope the pictures I took do justice because it really is an awesome area and the ride thru the mangroves was an amazing experience.

The water is warmer but still not “tropical” clear.  We’re told it’s this way the entire coastline of Puerto Rico and that we’ll have to wait until we get to the Spanish Virgin Islands before we experience anything close to “clear” water.  That was a little disappointing to discover but we don’t plan on spending too much time here so we will settle.  We need to go to Ponce for fuel, water, supplies, etc so will probably spend a day or so there.  Then it’s just hopping along the coast until we reach the northeast area.  We will probably spend a few days in that area (and maybe try to get our spare outboard motor fixed) before we begin the real trip of island hopping thru the Caribbean.

We’re getting close … we’re getting anxious.  We just have a few priorities to do in Puerto Rico and then we’re off!

We’re a little unsure how the trip up the east coast of PR will be.  None of the books talk much about it.  There are very few anchorages and only a few marinas (we hate marinas) but might be forced into taking one or two for shelter/rest … depending how the trip will be.  Our plans are to hit Ponce for a couple of days, then onto Salinas (just a one day stop to wait to leave early morning for the next area), then onto Pt Patillas (another quick stop) before we head round the south-eastern tip and up the east coast.  We will probably make it a night time trip (the waters are calmer and you get a bit of the lee of the land) and hopefully, weather permitting, go straight from Pt Patillas to the north-eastern tip near Fajardo.  If traveling is rough, we will stop part way and spend the $’s for a damn marina!  Let’s pray for good weather!

Bouqueron, Puerto Rico

Oh, where does the time go?  It was another absolutely gorgeous morning and made it difficult to get motivated to do much.  We were content in just relaxing and drinking coffee in the cockpit.  We finally did get a little energy and Larry put the clips on the panels I’d made to close up the cockpit.  It was something we were trying to get done before we left Florida but wasn’t about to delay departure for something so insignificant.  They were easy to do remotely, but we just needed the desire to complete the task!

Yesterday, when we were ashore, we met a couple from Holland.  Their names were Wytze and Mia Veltman (boat name SKUA) and they were in their 70’s.  They’d been sailing (all the way from Holland) for the past 13 years!  Very interesting couple.  They were headed to New York City and wanted to be there within a month or so.  Too bad they were headed in the opposite direction.  They had a world of knowledge to share and it would have been nice to have spent more time with them.

Today, they came over to our boat.  We have a bunch of charts, etc that we won’t need anymore and Larry was anxious to see if he could sell/trade them.  Wytze/Mia bought our (3) 2004 Bahamas charts (Near Bahamas, Exumas, Far Bahamas) for $100.  They asked if we would throw in the 2013 Bahamas Cruising Guide.  Now, we don’t really need this anymore but it was a brand new book and we paid about $70 for it back in November!  I would have liked to have gotten more money for it but I am not the negotiator.  Larry turned to me and said, what do you think?  Feeling put on the spot, I said sure, I guess … just throw it in.  STUPID … STUPID … STUPID!!!  They were already buying 3 very old charts for $100 … why throw in a book worth more than ½ of that???  So, what started as a really good deal, ended up not so great but we got rid of 3 old chart books that we really didn’t want hanging around AND a cruising guide that we probably could have easily sold another time AND a really old chart of the New York area (from the late 80’s) all for a total of $110.  Oh well, lesson learned.  Larry now knows not to include me in these negotiation practices … I HOPE!!!

We went into town for dinner and to people watch.  We wanted to see the transformation of Bouqueron into “party central”.  We were extremely disappointed.  There were probably about 4 times the # of people as “normal” but it was far from the atmosphere I expected.  I expected more of a Key West attitude!  Maybe it needed to be a long weekend or something OR maybe the PR idea of a party place is very different from ours?  In any case, we hung for a while but got bored and headed back to the boat. 

Bouqueron, Puerto Rico (continued 04/19/2013)

We spent the afternoon, walking the beach and exploring town a little.  We had planned on going back ashore to experience the Friday night activities by an early evening shower seemed to silence the town.  It seemed pretty quiet ashore.  Instead of heading in, we decided to do a couple of chores.

Larry started the generator so we could make water.  We still had about 50 gallons but now that we’re in a little cleaner water, we need to try to get the capacity back up to almost full.  I decided to do a load of laundry while the generator was running.  I’ve only used the machine that very first time when we tested it.  We’ve done laundry ashore a few times but living in bathing suits, doesn’t make for much laundry.  I do have a few of our lightweight shorts and sailing shirts that I would like to get washed.  I started the load about 5:45.  I checked it several times but it seemed to be taking forever to fill.  I had it on “large load” this time … when I tested it, I only used the “small load” setting.  So ….. I didn’t really know how long it should take to fill.  I wasn’t really thinking about the time period, just that it still wasn’t full.  Finally, it sunk in and we realized there was a problem.  Larry went out on deck and checked.  Yep … all that water was simply going overboard.  It was draining water as quickly as it was filling.  DAMN … all that water sent to sea!  I moved the indicator from “large” to “medium” and the machine started through it’s cycles.

As it cycled thru, I checked it repeatedly.  Then, on the RINSE cycle, I noticed there was only a very small stream of water filling the washer.  Oh shit!!!  Larry confirmed my suspicions, our water tanks were completely empty!  All that water that we originally had PLUS, the water we’d been making for the last hour or so … GONE!!! 

We’re not sure what is wrong with it.  Is it simply it does not work on the Large Load setting or is there a bigger problem?  Once we have our water supply back up, I will try again (monitoring it closely this time!)

We continued making water while we played cribbage.  We have about 20-30 gallons so will need to reserve until our supply is back up.

 

Bouqueron, Puerto Rico

What a picture perfect day!  We woke this morning to the most peaceful anchorage you could imagine.  The water was like glass.  It’s amazing how calm it can be one minute and then horrendous winds the next.  We enjoyed the calm while it lasted.

BTW … finally feeling better … not 100% but very close!

Our plan is to head to town shortly and find internet so I can send this.  More about today to follow in the next update.

BTW ... Larry tested the microwave and it's suicide attempt was unsuccessful.  Glass turntable shattered and sent glass everywhere but other than that, it seems to be working fine.  Yippie!

 

Mayaguez to Bouqueron, Puerto Rico

We arrived Mayaguez around 12:30 am this morning.  It looks like a very big city and all the lights made arrival difficult … impossible to see the channel markers.  Lucky for us … the GPS guided us in!

So much for trying to do things right.  We have two cruising guides to the Puerto Rican coast.  Both books say that Mayaguez is one of the few places you can actually clear in for customs and all boats (whether American or not) need to clear in.  It says a lot of people blow by Mayaguez and head straight to Bouqueron (about 12 miles south along the western coast) and try to clear in from there … being successful for some but others are forced to go back to Mayaguez to clear.  We opted to do it right in the first place and just clear in at Mayaguez.

Yeah, right!  After a very nice (yet short) sleep, we woke and readied for the adventure of clearing into a new port.  We went over to the place described in the books.  It was a very large terminal (where the ferry from the DR comes in).  There was no dock to pull up to, so we tied along the seawall and made the climb to land.  Hard job!  The complex was deserted.  The emblem on the doors said Customs And Border Patrol so we knew we were in the right spot … but the doors were locked.  We climbed back into the dinghy and checked out the coastline more, thinking maybe there was some other place to clear?

We were unsuccessful.

Shit, now what do we do?  Larry had a very good idea.  We called the Coast Guard on VHF radio, and asked if they could assist.  To make a long story short, after about 20 minutes of info back and forth and several calls from them to Customs, they told us to go to that same “deserted” building.  Yeah, right!!!  Finally, we asked if we could sail to Bouqueron and call to clear in.  They put us on hold for a couple of minutes and then said that would be ideal.

So … here we are in Bouqueron.  It was a short but nice trip south.  Started out with 7-8 knots of breeze and ended up pulling into the harbor with gusts topping 40 knots.  Wow, what a change.  But before we were anchored, the winds were back down to about 15 knots … very temperamental!  We sailed thru a colossal downpour on the 12 mile trip to Bouqueron and it cleaned the boat nicely (we needed it badly) … however, by the time we arrived we were covered with salt spray again and need another rinse!

We have already gone ashore to “clear in”.  There was a bar at the end of the dinghy dock and we immediately started talking to these two old cruisers.  Sounds like Bouqueron is a lot like Luperon where people come to visit and never leave.  The guy we were talking to has been here for MANY years.  They were very nice and asked if they could help us find anything.  We explained our problem and said we needed to find a phone to clear in.  The one guy pulled out his cell and called a # he had from his contact list.  He just happened to have the # for the customs office in San Juan.  He called, made sure we had someone we could speak to and handed Larry the phone.

After the typical US bureaucracy and being on hold several times, Larry finally gave them all our information and we received our “Arrival #”.  We were done.

Of course, we had to buy the guy (and his friend) a beer.  Four beers … $5.00.  So … clearing into this (our) country cost us a total of $2.50 in beer!

Bourqueon seems like a nice little town.  We’re told it gets pretty intense on the weekends and is compared to spring break in a lot of places, with all the locals/tourists from everywhere coming to party.  Right now, we’re undecided how long we will stay.  It would be nice to watch the transformation of this picture perfect little town into party-central but we really want to get to the Virgin Islands too.  The water here is better than in Luperon but still not clear like the tropics should be. 

It’s strange.  In my mind, I think of the journey so far as simply a means to an end … a necessary evil to get us to Paradise.  BUT … on the same note, we don’t want to simply blow by everything until we find that PERFECT spot.  We’ll miss too much along the way.  At some point we just need to slow down and enjoy!  Let’s start that right now!

Larry opened a large bottle of wine and we vegged in the cockpit as we watched the sun set behind some ominous thunder clouds.  For dinner, Larry made Mahi Picata over orzo pasta … OMG … totally awesome!!!  Too good … no leftovers.  Mom … you would have loved this!!!  We turned in early and had a very good night’s sleep.

Puerto Rico

I just can’t seem to shake this “thing” I have.  I spent most of the morning in bed while Larry sailed us eastward.  During my down-time, Larry saw a whale!  He said it was awesome.  He’d first spotted it out quite a ways from the boat.  Then, the whale actually came over and checked us out.  Larry got some pictures.  Hope they turned out.  Bummer I missed that experience.

When I finally crawled out of bed, it was a beautiful morning.  The seas were forecasted to be 4-6 foot to begin the day and then building to 5-7 foot by evening.  Most of our experience has been, if they say 4-6, you will be coasting up and down 6-8 foot seas.  You just pray that there is a long period between swells or it is VERY choppy!  Today however, it was quite the opposite.  It seemed rather calm.  There was a slight chop but it did not seem like 4-6 foot seas by any means.  What a pleasant surprise!

By the time I climbed from bed, Larry had the fishing rod over the side and was trolling for dinner.  He’d seen a bunch of tuna jumping awhile back and now he wanted to catch something.  It wasn’t too long before he hooked himself a Mahi Mahi.  It fought hard.  After about 10 minutes of constant fight, Larry had him alongside the boat.  We stunned him with rubbing alcohol so Larry could lift him onto the boat.  Just as he went to gaff him, the fish flipped, freed the hook and took off.  Talk about pissed!  Larry was completely drained from the struggle and he didn’t even have a fish to show for his efforts.

Determined, Larry quickly got the hook back in the water.  We waited and waited but no fish.  Then, we heard that joyous sound as the reel played out continual line.  Larry quickly got out on deck and the battle began.  This was a real fighter and made the previous battle seem like child play but Larry was determined to tire him out until he could get him onboard.  There was no way he was going to loose another one!  After what seemed like a lifetime (and if I felt that way, I can only imagine what Larry was thinking because he was the one doing all the work), I got to experience that precious grin that only comes when Larry has landed himself a Mahi!  It was adorable.  Larry was dripping in sweat, quivering from all the exertion he’d put forth and barely able to catch his breath but then came that “I won” smile of his.  Lying on the deck of our boat, and making it all bloody BTW, was a 44” 15 lb beautiful Mahi.  It was a good day.

Larry cleaned the fish while I sailed.  He got about 7 lbs of meat from that fellow.  Not bad considering he only kept the very best pieces.  We packed it up and put it in the freezer as quickly as we could.  We figure it will be about 7 really nice size meals.  YUM!!!

About 4pm, the weather changed.  The seas grew.  The winds strengthened.  Oh no … were we in for a storm?  We still had over 8 hours before landfall and we didn’t need this right now.  Suddenly, we tossed violently from side to side.  A gigantic wave crashed over the boat.  It put the entire starboard side of our boat underwater and the wave crashed completely over the bimini.  There was a horrendous THUD!!!  What the hell was that???  I went below to check.  Damn, our microwave was suddenly on its side on the floor.  How the hell did that happen?  It sits back on a counter that has a fiddle on it (that’s a piece of wood that extends upward along the edge of the counter so things CAN’T slide off).  Our microwave had a mind of it’s own and jumped to it’s death!  Actually, the glass turntable inside smashed but the microwave’s interior light still worked.  We will have to see if it is still functional or if it will need to be replaced.

So … what started out as a beautiful day has turned into some pretty rough seas.  We passed Isla Dececheco about 8pm and should be in Mayaquez, Puerto Rico by midnight-ish.  We are both tired but hanging in there.  We will clear customs in the morning (hopefully after a really good night’s sleep).  I will try to get something out tomorrow so all know we arrived safely.

Wish us luck in anchoring in the dark, in a strange harbor that they actually list as “poor holding”.  URGH … here we go again.  Damn, I so much wanted a good night’s sleep too.

Punta Macao

On our last bit of energy, we pulled into Punta Macao at 9am.  Exhaustion is an understatement for how we were feeling.  Since we left Luperon, on Saturday evening, I have had maybe 3-4 hours sleep.  Larry did a little better (since he can sleep underway) but he is also the one who is doing 90% of the physical work (hauling sails, going on-deck enroute to fix things, etc).  With only sugar fixes to keep him going, he was burnt!

Please God, let our anchor hold.  I said a little prayer.  I knew even with how horrible I felt, Larry was considerably worse.  He would not have the energy to continually try to set/re-set the anchor. 

First time we dropped it, he realized we were over hard bottom.  From the amazingly beautiful sandy beach, we knew there had to be a sandy bottom somewhere.  We circled the cove a bit and found a very nice sandy patch.  The anchor did that amazing “tug” as it grabbed hold and the boat spun to counter it.  That’s the feeling I love when anchoring.  You just know it’s dug in!

Punta Macao was a resort area.  The beach was used by the resort and also bussed people in.  Within a few hours of our arrival, it was teaming with tourists.  There was a young couple (complete with tux and white flowing dress) having their pictures taken at the beach … some actually standing in the saltwater!  Her poor dress!  There was also a model shoot taking place onshore.  Carl … Larry says he only took those pictures for you and he wasn’t being a spying pervert.  Should I believe him???

We had taken a brief nap.  The plan was to sleep from about 10am to 1pm and then get up and do the overly needed maintenance we’d discovered over the last couple of days.  #1 priority was to sew our main sail.  A couple of feet from the top, there was a large horizontal tear.  Luckily, it is on a seam and I will be able to repair it easily.  We were only in bed about 1 hour when I realized, if we are going to sew the sail today, we had better do so before the winds pick up too much.  That is a lot of windage to have on deck and try to control while sewing.  I woke up Larry and we got to it.

About 1 ½ hours later, the sail was repaired and back in place.  It turned out there were several smaller tears along the edge that we took the time to fix also.  Eventually, we will need a new sail but the longer we can patch this together, the better.

We spent the afternoon doing various tasks.  I wanted so desperately to swim (the water looked so inviting) but when I asked Larry to join me, he said he didn’t think he’d have the strength to pull himself up the ladder.  Thinking about that aspect, I rejected the idea myself.  Jumping in … that would be the easy part.  Trying to climb back up the ladder when I was exhausted … that’s a whole other story.  Just trying to hold my head up while sitting in the cockpit has become a difficult task!

About mid afternoon, a small boat came up beside us.  It was a guy from the local coast guard and 3 others.  One person stayed in the boat.  The coast guard guy, his interpreter and some other guy  who’s purpose was unclear to us boarded our vessel.  We had to show them all our papers of where we were, where we’re going, passports, etc.  The interpreter gave Larry 2 small necklaces for “good luck”.  You know, they sell them on the beach for about $6/each but he wanted us to have these (no charge) as a token of his friendship.  Of course, if we wanted to give him something to help support his family, he wouldn’t object.  Typical island con!

I told Larry … we need to get a bunch of “crap” like this and next time this happens, we can simply return the gesture (giving them our crap) before they even have a chance to ask for handouts!

Larry gave the two guys a beer (one of those big ones to split) and gave the coast guard guy some water.  They actually asked for money (which we heard they often do) so Larry gave the coast guard guy $4 US.  We just wanted to get them off our boat and they didn’t seem like they would leave without $$$’s.  I don’t think they were too pleased by the amount but when realizing this was all they were going to get, they departed.

We got the weather charts between 2pm and 5pm and then Larry got the off-shore report at 5:30.  Everything was consistent to the prior report.  We were good to cross the Mona Passage!

By 6:30, we had both crashed.  We planned on leaving about 4am and that was going to come quickly.  Of course, Larry slept great.  He actually woke at 3am and was fussing around while I tried to catch those last few minutes of sleep that had evaded me most of the night.  I finally gave up about 3:30.  Larry already had coffee made.  He was feeling great, well rested and even hungry!  Anyone who knows Larry knows he does not eat in the early am.  He needs his “wake up” time before he can even think about food.  Not today.  At 3:30am, he was making corned beef hash and eggs.  It was good (I can usually eat anytime) but I’m still not feeling the best so was having a hard time.  Every time I eat, I get crampy and sick to my tummy still.

We pulled anchor by 4:30 and headed out of Punta Macao.  Of all the places we’ve been in the Dominican Republic, this was the prettiest and I wish we could have spent more time here.  However, that desire wasn’t great enough to want to delay our leaving.  We had a good weather window and we were going to use it!

Escondido, Dominican Republic

After leaving Rio San Juan about 11pm and sailing through the night, we arrived in Escondido at 9am.  This was a beautiful little cove, with sandy beach and locals fishing from their dugout canoes but again, we were both too exhausted to appreciate it.  Larry slept a few hours during the night but even with the utter fatigue I was feeling, I could not sleep.  Again, holding was shit!  As we waited to see if the anchor would finally hold on the 3^rd attempt, we watched as the local fishermen did their work for the day.  A group of about 5 men came along side our boat.  Four guys rowed the boat and one guy stood on the bow and gave directions.  They waved as they passed but were obviously on a mission.  Then we noticed, they towed a long line (actually, many lines all attached together) behind their boat.  We visually followed the line to shore and there was one man on shore holding the other end.  We watched as the guys rowed way out into the harbor.  Then they started laying out netting as they rowed across the bay and back into shore.  It was cool to see.  Like something you’d see on National Geographic or something.  Once back on shore, they all got together and dragged the long line in.  It was like Tug-of-War but the sea was the opponent instead of another team.  They pulled and pulled and pulled and eventually, the net was back on shore.  Not sure if/what they caught but it was still cool to watch.  We had laid down for a “nap” and as Larry slept, I watched the GPS (mounted in the bedroom).  Finally, I confirmed we were dragging again.  We decided, screw it, we were leaving.  We pulled anchor and headed out of the bay.  This was about 2pm.  Our original departure time of midnight was put aside and off we went.

This was not an ideal time to leave.  The trade-winds are highest between 3-6pm.  Also, shortly after leaving, we needed to round a cape (a point of land that sticks out further in the ocean than the general land and causes havoc with the wind/waves/current).  Well, we’re quickly learning a lot about weather and currents and the affect this can have on our cruising.  As we rounded the cape, our speed dropped from about 5 knots, down to 2 knots.  We were fighting wicked winds, current and waves … all head on.

We were hoping to be able to follow the coastline and use the lee of the island but the currents were so strong, we didn’t have that option.  For the next MANY hours, we beat into the wind, waves, current at between 1.5 and 2 knots.  URGH!!!  Very Slow.  Damn that anchorage for not having good holding and allowing us to leave at a better time!

It was a very long night!

Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic

We arrived at Rio San Juan about 7am.  Our GPS gives extremely limited data for the north coast of the DR so unfortunately, we were kind of forced to follow “the gentleman’s guide to passages south” for guidance into port.  Of course, we did as the book suggestions and had an early morning arrival.  Again, STUPID!!!  This meant we were headed directly into the rising sun as we tried to navigate the channel.  He suggests two points on shore to use for navigation.  First, he said there are two buildings … sure there were, but they were behind the trees!  Next he says to turn when the river delta is at a bearing of 90 degrees.  Okay … so where is this damn river delta???  Even after viewing the coastline in binoculars, we were unable to find any sign of a river at all!  He also gives lat/long for a recommended anchorage point.  Sure … this point is great if you don’t mind dragging anchor into either the shallow reef you just had to navigate around or the fleet of fishing boats that are anchored within yards of these coordinates.  As soon as we realized the anchor was just dragging along the hard bottom, we pulled and tried someplace else.  It took us 4 attempts until we found a spot where it would grab sand (but by that time, we were almost on the beach)!  It seemed to be holding good so we stayed put.  A quote from Larry … I was going to say this place has shit for holding but shit would probably be pretty good holding … so, this place has petrified shit for holding! 

By the time we were finally settled on the hook, it was about 10am.  We crashed, as we were both thoroughly exhausted.  Larry slept pretty well but (as always), I feared of dragging up on the beach so sleep evaded me.

We got up for a bit and fussed around the boat, getting another couples of hours of “rest” and then pulled anchor at 11pm.  Onto our next destination.

BTW … still feeling shitty (no pun intended).  I still have severe cramping and the “d” word.  Larry has mild cramping and very much “d”.  I’ve been trying to force him to eat to keep up his strength.  Me, on the other hand, food just give me nausea and crampy.  I’d rather do without.