The Week in Pictures

This post will be a departure from past ones.  Rather than a narrative with pictures we will just share pictures that depict our past week or so.  Hope you enjoy.

Trellis Bay on Beef Island

Richard and Kay

Hiking on St. John (USVI)

Trellis Bay

Trellis Bay

Its like sticking your head out the window

Trellis Bay

John and Richard on Jost Van Dyke (BVI)

Jost Van Dyke

Above White Bay (JVD)

Road Harbor

Dinner aboard

Great Harbor, Jost Van Dyke

White Bay, JVD

Road Harbor, Tortola

John and Kay

Jost Van Dyke

Jost Van Dyke

John Creelman
Soper's Hole, Tortola

Kay in Soper's Hole, Tortola

Soper's Hole, Tortola

Annaberg Sugar Plantation Ruins
St. John (USVI)

Annaberg Sugar Plantation Ruins
St. John (USVI)

St. John

Leinster Bay
St. John

Enjoying the warm waters

St. John

Dewey, Culibra

Arrived in the BVIs! Yahooo

Were in cat country now!

Soper's Hole Docks

We have much to report.  We put Atalanta “on the hard” for repairs at the Puerto Del Ray Marina in Fajardo, Puerto Rico to address the damage done when we were hit by another boat on New Year's Eve.  Repairs included work on the rudder, carpentry, hull paint and rigging. We also addressed a number of engine issues and made improvements to our standing rigging. The marina provided us with good service and competent repairmen. Atalanta is feelin’ good again.

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We celebrated the wedding of Rachel and Patrick at Sleepy Hollow’s round barn in Huntington, Vermont.  It was a spectacularly beautiful ceremony and celebration and wonderful to be together with old friends and new family.  We have to say (without prejudice) that Rachel looked stunning and Patrick made a handsome groom. Fabulous food, music, company, weather, and venue contributed to a memorable event.  We are so happy for both Rachel and Patrick.

John at Soper's Hole Bar

On the drive to JFK, we were joined by our good friend, John Creelman, for the flight to Puerto Rico.  Atalanta was back in the water and waiting for us upon our arrival. Murray was also waiting for us. He had a wonderful time visiting David, Roslyn and Victoria in San Juan. He is grateful for their care and attention and realizes that not many dogs are fortunate enough to vacation with wonderful folks in a lovely beachfront home. Lucky dog.

Annaberg Sugar Mill
St. Thomas

Annaberg Sugar Mill Ruins

Culebra was our next port.  Culebra’s main (only) town is Dewey at the head of Ensenada Honda.  This is a vibrant small town with shops, supplies, restaurants and much more.  The island is circled by reefs providing great snorkeling and diving.  We snorkeled at several different beaches and enjoyed great food at Mamacita’s and Zaco’s Tacos.  On March 2, we anchored off of Great James Island between St. Thomas and St. John in the US Virgin Islands.  The US and British Virgins are very close to each other.  After exploring a number of coves, beaches and reefs on St. Thomas, we made the short hop over to Soper's Hole (BVI) to begin our adventure in this beautiful part of the world,  We are currently on Tortola, the largest of the BVIs and looking forward to exploring its many ports.  Unfortunately we will be saying goodbye to John on Sunday as he begins his journey back to Vermont.  Why he wants to return to the cold, we’re not sure. 

Richard & Kay

San Juan, Puerto Rico

There have only been two times that we have decided to “stay put” for an extended amount of time.  The first was in Charleston for a month when we were visiting Jason, Amy, Liam, and Ben.  The second is here in San Juan when we will be traveling to Vermont for Pat and Rachel’s wedding.  This has afforded us the opportunity to catch our breath, have the conveniences of a marina, visit with long lost friends, and tour this beautiful island.

After 30 years, Richard reunited with close friend from his D.C. days in the early 70”s.  David has been living here for much of that time and has a lovely wife and daughter.  Together we have had a chance to get together, walk the beaches, tour old San Juan and catch up. 

Old San Juan is a treasure.  Its history is reflected on every corner and at every bend.  The following links provide some great information on this historic city: 

http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/caribbeancities/p/sanjuan.htm

http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/60sanjuan/60sanjuan.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_San_Juan,_Puerto_Rico

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/places/cities-places/old-san-juan/

http://wikitravel.org/en/San_Juan/Old_San_Juan

Old San Juan

While in Vermont, Murray will enjoy life with the Deakin’s in San Juan.  He is looking forward to playing with Victoria, walking the beach, and just relaxing.  

Upon our return, our good friend John Creelman will be joining us for our sail east to the Spanish and then U.S. Virgin Islands.  We are looking forward to exploring Culebra, St. Johns and St. Thomas Islands.

The Deakin's

 

 Stay turned and thanks for following. 

 Richard and Kay

Puerto Rico’s west and south coasts

Since crossing the Mona Passage and heading to PR’s southern coast, we have been much more relaxed with no major passage making in the near future.  Yippee! One might think that being in this part of the world, the weather is always perfect. 

The lighthouse at Cabo Rojo

While this is mostly true, as a sailing vessel we have to be concerned mostly with the wind and seas.  Here we find a level of complexity that requires careful planning and strategy.  The trade winds blow hard and consistently from the east.  Since we are trying to move east at this point, the trades pose a daily challenge.  Bruce Van Sant wrote an excellent book titled “A Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South.” This book proposes specific strategies for easting in the trades such as moving at night when the winds are down and the seas are calm. Winds aside, every day is in the 80’s and the sun always shines. If you’re planning to visit us just pack a bathing suit, snorkel gear, and flip flops!

Easting

We are currently tucked in behind a reef at Gilligan’s Island, protected from the seas in winds that blow at 20 knots all day long.  Richard is searching the island for Ginger and Mary Ann but finding no sign of them.  Tonight we will depart for Salinas (near Ponce) joining two other boats doing the same.  New friends on VisionQuest (Texans) and Walkabout (Vermonters) will meet us off of Ensenada for the all night cruise.  Safely tucked in by 7 AM we will be well out of the new days’ trade winds. 

We are finding Puerto Rico to be a jewel although Kay is still intrigued more by the Dominican Republic.  Unlike the Bahamas, the waters are less clear and turquoise but its community far more prosperous.  Like most places we have been, the locals are welcoming, friendly, and proud of their country.  As a US territory, Puerto Rico has many of the advantages of the mainland.  It has a vital economy, lots of agriculture, good infrastructure (roads, phone, electric, etc.) and a well maintained lateral buoy system for navigation.  The US Coast Guard is present and keeps aids to navigation up to the standard we are accustomed to.  In most countries, buoys are misplaced or nonexistent.

We are looking forward to Fajardo where we will be docking for a few weeks to visit an old friend (David and his family in San Juan), rent a car to tour the countryside, complete boat repairs, and return to VT for Rachel and Pat’s wedding.  Upon returning to PR we are looking forward to visits from friends including John C. and the McKay’s.

Richard and Kay

PS:  Comment section should be available now

Hola from Puerto Rico!

Puerto Plata, DR

Leaving Bahamas after a prolonged weather related stay in Mayaguana, we pushed on to the Dominican Republic.  Our intention was to stop in Turks and Caicos to enjoy their remote and pristine cays.  With some engine difficulties and strong prevailing winds, we decided to make a three-day passage to Luperon, DR.  As we approached Luperon, we realized that we would need yacht services not available there including a mechanic, welder and fuel so we altered course for Puerto Plata.  Ocean

Puerto Plata, DR

 World is both a marina and a resort complete with a casino, swimming pools, and opportunities to swim with dolphins or even tigers. We took a cab ride to the grocery store in downtown Puerto Plata for provisions. The energy here was amazing.  Cars and motorbikes buzzing in and out of traffic like we have never seen with three or four people crowded on one scooter. Kids hanging to handlebars and one person we talked to even reported seeing a live calf strapped to the side of a motorcycle.  Driving in Manhattan is easier but we witnessed no accidents.  The city of Puerto Plata is the second oldest in the DR and was a resting stop for Columbus when he first came to the “new world.”
The poverty and limited resources of the DR are starkly apparent in Puerto Plata.

The DR is a beautiful country that occupies 66% of the island of Hispaniola and is part of the Antilles.  The other 1/3 of the island is Haiti, the poorest country in the hemisphere.  While the two countries share the island, they are different in most ways including language, religion, and standard of living.  Dominican people, if one can generalize, are positive and have great pride in their country. 

While in Puerto Plata, we were able to have some work done on the engine as well as have a damaged rail welded.  The marina’s assistant harbor-master, Eddie, was a great help in facilitating all that we needed.  After three days, we pushed off around 11:00 AM and sailed east to Samana on the eastern coast of the DR.  The Navy immediately appeared along Atalanta for our “check in.”  After boarding our boat they indicated that they expected a gratuity (read bribe).  The DR has passed legislation outlawing these “shakedowns”.  Upon refusing to pay, we were told that would need to inspect our boat. The check in process was intimidating and set a very negative tone for our time in what turned our to be a charming village. We left Samana the next day and again had negative encounters with the military upon trying to complete the check out process. 

Samana, DR

Samana was our launching off point to cross the Mona Passage.  This 120-mile crossing is difficult and can present real challenges to the passagemaking sailboat.  Using Bruce Van Sant’s “The Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South” we employed his 

Thanks Lawrence for being our Guide

recommendation to leave in the early evening and benefit from the calming winds and seas, using the night lee on both sides of the channel.  Once across and in Puerto Rico, we completed the most difficult portion of the journey.  From this point on we will move at a more leisurely pace, spend more time at each destination, and travel during early morning hours for short hops to discover the next beautiful cove, beach or community. 

Richard and Kay
Checking in at customs in
Mayaguaz, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is the first time in months to experience “American-like” conveniences.  Our cell phones work, there is internet access, well stocked grocery stores and the ability to acquire most of what we need.  We are currently in Boqueron on the SW shore.  It is a lovely place that is quiet and peaceful Monday-Thursday and crazy Friday-Saturday.  We are meeting new friends and rejoining others we met along the way.  Our next stops will be along the southern coast of PR as we inch our way toward the east coast.  We will probably leave Atalanta and Murray for 10 days while celebrating Pat and Rachel’s wedding in Vermont. 

Thanks for following

Richard & Kay