Voyage 2010: Chapter 4

29 Mar 2011, Charlotte Amalie, 18 20.262 N/ 064 55.83 W

Last week, we left Coral Bay and headed for Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas. Trip was uneventful as it was only 22 nm and the trades were out of the east. Swells were minimal. We anchored in the harbor at 1130 in 18 ft. We are told that the city was originally built by the Danes and the USA bought the Virghin Islands brefore WWI.

The next day we dingy-ed for Crown Bay to get a new washdown pump. Crown Bay marina was a nice marina but their dinghy dock was awful. It was harder to get out of the dinghy dock area than to get into it. Some had to struggle for 10-15 minutes to escape. When we returned to the boat, Bob immediately start the installation. Then the nice people from the harbor asked us to move as we and a dozen other boats were restricting the ferry boats. After we were assured that the bottom was sand (no washdown pump installed), we dutifully moved.

The following day, we took our laundry to the Washboard then headed for Hooters for lunch. Bob actually watched CNN more than the girls working there. Food was good, news was bad (beginning of Japanese earthquake and tsunami), but life was comfortable for us. After Hooters, we returned to Grande Harbour marina to get fuel and water. While their dinghy dock was not bad, their method of dealing with dinghies was awful and dangerous. Management would not permit you to walk on thei docks so you had to dinghy to a fuel dock which was 2 meters above the water. There was nothing to stop the dinghies from getting sucked under these concrete docks. We survived but it was not fun. Next time we will bring our megayacht.

Next day was Bob's birthday and were going exploring ;so we started by dinghy-ing to Frenchman's Marina. The young lady who greeted us was very nice and gave us local knowledge of the area. However, the owner of the facility was apparently not so nice. We had to pay USD 5.00 for the dinghy dock but did not entitle us to the use of any of the facilities. Afterwards we walked to Crown Bay (to avoid their dinghy dock), did some shopping then headed for downtown on the local taxi for USD 1.00. That night we went to Fat Turtle'sfor Bob's birthday dinner. We had a great waitress named Molly that made the meal a delight.

We read about the so-called '99 Steps' and our mission was to find it. We dinghied to town and tied up on the concrete wharf near the Coast Guard area. This was the nicest dinghy dock here. Armed with a pamphet we got in the Danish district, where we finally found the steps. We hiked up the steps while the 'girls' sat in the shade and chatted. Didn't seem right. Poor Bob was seeing his life before him as he hiked up the 99 (really 103) steps.

Wow. What a great view of the harbour. Can you find Jule in there? We waked down the 99 steps which was much easier. All of the la-de-da stores in the Danish district closed at 1330. Good! No more shopping. We will leave tomorrow and head for Culebra in the Spanish Virgin Islands. Hoever, we spent a last happy hour at Fat Turtle's where sadly Molly was not working that night. We said goodbye to Wolfgang and Denise with the sadness that we would probably not see them again, but that is another story.

We left at 0817 right after a sea plane left the Frenchman's area. During cruise ship days, these sea planes land dozens of times a day. Ann is always worried that one is going to land on us when we are in the dinghy. Weather was settled and the course to Culebra was uncomplicated. Wind and seas were quite a bit heavier than predicted. A squall laid on our heads much of the way there. We were lazy and did not put up main or mizzen (only jib) and we paid by experiencing quite a bit of roll.

24 Mar 2011, Culebra to Cabo Rojo, 17 56.67 N/ 067 12.01 W

Ten days ago, we arrived in Culebra at 1230 hours and anchored behind Cayo Pirata. Anchorage was not bad in 7-8 ft. This was our first Spanish language landfall so we were not sure what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised about the folks in Culebra. We have two places to land the dinghy; the town dock and the Dinghy Dock Restaurant.

One of the landmarks is a smart looking lift bridge that has not worked for decades. However, it was recently reconditioned and is a handsome historic landmark. It is a shame it doesn't work as it would be neat to see it lift. All of the guide books talk about it. The bridge crosses over a canal that links Bahia Ensenada Honda with the Atlantic Ocean.

Ah, the Dinghy Dock Restaurant (DDR), the cruisers refuge. It has an acceptable dinghy dock that all can use but it would be helpful to have a stern anchor. In fact, your dinghy would benefit from an stern anchor in any of the docks. Wind is always on the wrong direction. Our first tie up to DDR was eventful. We tied up, had breakfast, then went to tour the town. When we got back our dinghy was tied up in a different cleat. Turns out the dinghy tried to escape but some folks in the restaurant rescued it. We thanked them a lot.

Happy hour at the DDR is always an experience. Whether it be the unfriendly Germans, the talkative liveaboards, or the Wayne-like guy with the long hair. We enjoyed talking to 'Wayne'. He was not a cruiser but a frequent visitor to Culebra. He calls Israel home. And then there is the bartender. She is a senior lady who does not appreciate bar humor. She makes great drinks but don't get on her wrong side.

There is this lady (Island Lady) who runs a little stand on the south side of the bridge. She has nice stuff in her portable store. We bought a ton of hot sauce from her and some trinkets for the grandkids. She was a great source of local knowledge on the island. We did walk the town for tee shirts; Chinese food, and stuff. The people were friendly and language was not much of a problem as most knew enough English to talk to us. Sadly our Spanish was totally wanting.

Not sure that Sammy Jane liked Culebra. She would stare out to the town to listen to the roosters, goats, and cows. Not sure she ever heard a cow before. Tomorrow we will leave and travel the Southern coast of Puerto Rico. We hope to be in Salinas in a couple days and eventually arrive in Cabo Rojo for our Mona Passage crossing.

A week ago, we left Culebra at 0620 for Puerta Patillas as an overnight stop to Salinas. We experienced light winds and not so light seas. We discovered lots of floats for fishing pots so we had to be alert for most of the trip. Ann got her fill of dolphins as they greeted the boat and crew with a 10 minute show. Ann was in dolphin heaven. We tucked in behind the reef at Patillas for a nice comfortable anchorage.

The night was clear in Patillas and the moon provided a nice backdrop to the town. If we can move fast enough, we may have a bit of a moon for the Mona Passage crossing. The next morning we left Patillas on our way to Salinas. Conditions were still a bit light but there was a strong SE swell. So of course we rolled. This leg was 47 nm so we received a broad view of the Puerto Rican coast. The south coast is beautiful!

We arrived in Salinas four days ago. The guides say it is a bit tricky getting into the harbor but is marked in the skinny places. We anchored in 8 ft. with good swing room. We headed for the marina to see what we could see. The marina is quite nice but you can not buy showers. What is that all about? They have a nice restaurant and snack bar and the folks in the office are very friendly but no shower.

The town of Playa Salinas does not mirror very closely the reports from the cruise guides (Van Sant and Pavlidis). The economy may not have been to kind to Salinas. Many of the businesses mentioned in the guides no longer exist. Playa Salinas is mostly a weekend marine retreat for the local population. The people are very friendly and the courtesy is reflected on the water.

We rented a car from Sydney (a small KIA) and decided to indulge ourselves with a Walmart and Sam's Club visit. We traveled on Route 52 and headed for Santa Isabel where we found Walmart. Yes, their signs were in Spanish and English. Then we headed for Sam's Club in Ponce. We hoped for our favorite cheese and wine. We could not find it! We found a Home Depot and asked Joseph (the greeter) if he knew the way to Sam's. He was most helpful and his guidance brought us to the door of Sam's. Not bad. Of course Bob had a pizza and Ann had a hot dog, just like at home. We headed back to Salinas later and enjoyed the great views of the surrounding landscape.

The next day we headed back in town to check out the local restaurants. Everything was closed. What is this all about? Apparently most of the stores close on Monday. In fact many of the tiendas close Monday through Wednesday. Sorry we did not go into Drake's. Looked like a challenge.

The anchorage here in Salinas is quite wonderful. It is protected with little risk of dinghy butt. We noticed a French boat drag their anchor badly when they were playing with their jib. As they were near to us, we decided that maybe we should move. At our new location, we saw SV Drifter, a boat we buddied up with at Sint Maarten. We dingyed over and said hi. We promised to get together before we left.

And so we did. The next day, we met Mike and Karen at the marina's snack bar. We chatted about the town, our voyages, and our plans. They are hoping to head for Guatemala unless they have to spend too much time in Puerto Rico. Later that day, they invited us aboard Drifter for Happy Hour. They have a fine boat, a '68 Columbia, which they have kept in wonderful shape. Enjoyed the visit!

The next day we headed for "Gilligan's Island", located in the Bahia de Guanica. As usual, winds on the southern coast of Puerto Rico were anywhere from 5-15 knots from the East. Swell was 6' with 2-3' wind waves. A bit rolly. We arrived at Guanica around 1630 and anchored in 7 ft of water. The reef that protects the eastern side of the Bay eliminated any roll from the swells. Not bad.

Today, we left for Cabo Rojo which marks the SW corner of Puerto Rico. Weather was the same so we continued our motorsailing to the Cabo. It was not long before we saw the cliffs and lighthouse that marks 'Rojo'. The SE swell was a bit more than previous days so we were a bit worried that the anchorage might be a bit rolly.

As we entered the Bahia, the waves and swell did diminish. We would experience a bit of roll, but nothing that was uncomfortable. Small fishing boats and the lighthouse made us welcome in a 7 ft. anchorage. The water was crystal clear and we could see the anchor and its chain. The night was beautiful and we were ready for the Mona Passage. On a sadder note, poor Ann has turned the big '60' here in this beautiful bay.