We officially departed the Dominican Republic at 0800 on Friday, December 17, 2010. We actually departed the Dominican Republic at 0430 on Sunday, December 19, 2010. The difference is that in the DR the officials are very, very, very strict. They wish to know where you are going, when you intend to depart for there and when you intend to arrive. We knew we were ready to leave but we just didn't know when. So, as we departed the Marina Puerto Bahia with our official Despachio in hand we hung a right and sailed across Bahia de Samana to the National Park on the Bahia de San Lorenzo. While we enjoyed the time we spent in Samana, as well as our tour of the Dominican via auto, the two nights we spent in the park were absolutely wonderful. More on that and the dolphins shortly.
We HIGHLY recommend Samana for anyone coming via water. The town is safe, welcoming and friendly. Although we did not visit Luperon we have conversed with many who have and by comparison we are very pleased that we went directly to Samana, even if it took an extra day at sea.
From Samana Bay we moved to the Marina Puerto Bahia, highly recommended for anyone that wants to leave their boat to tour the island for a few days. We decided that after two months at sea the boat needed a ‘bath’ and the dogs needed air conditioning while we toured the island via car.
We hired a rental car for three days to tour the island so on Monday the 13th, Fabian delivered our car to the marina and we were off. Well, just a few words about that. Fabian needed a ride back to town, so Ed offered to take him; Ed forgot to inform Vicky of his gracious offer. So, Vicky was unaware of Ed's location when two military helicopters began to hover and landed at the marina (more on the helicopters later). As the DR military swarmed over the property Vicky went looking for Ed to no avail and seriously began to wonder if Ed's past had caught up to him and if she should simply slip the dock lines to sail away with the puppies. Fortunately, before she had to act Ed returned and the helicopters departed, sans Ed.
With the entire crew of Boto safe and sound once again, we were off to the north coast (Los Terrenas) to give the girls some quality beach time and to see the sights. With the strong north winds and swell the beaches were not exactly calm, however we had a great day on land and the girls were tired out.
Tuesday the 14th rolled around and Vicky and Ed were up with the sun and off early for the drive to Santo Domingo, the DR's capitol. While a good portion of the DR's roadways are paved, there are still good percentages that rival any pot-holed strewn section of Houston, TX or NYC for that matter. We made it without issue and strolled around the old town taking in the architecture and spirit of the oldest settlement in the Americas. Heading back to Samana late in the day offered us a chance to drive in the dark. REALLY, REALLY, DARK, no street lights. We failed to mention that a majority of the population gets about via small motorbikes. They are the highway/roadway equivalent of gnats; buzzing all about without a care. Finding one inches away from your front bumper as you try to avoid a Mack truck is exciting.
Our last day of automobiling we headed back along the north coast, today with the dogs, to Rio San Juan. A great drive through the country and a wonderful late day meal of Langostino and Paella. Stuffed and tired we headed back to the marina for a nice long sleep. On a side note, in addition to the aforementioned motos buzzing all about, the road is the only passageway so everyone and everything uses it to get around. This means you must also keep an eye out for pedestrians (goes without saying I guess), horses and donkeys (with riders and or cargo), dogs (everywhere), pigs, turkeys, buzzards, chickens (we did see one take a car head on, bounce off, get up and shake it off and keep on walking… tough birds) and lizards. Basically, if you can imagine it you will find it alongside or in the middle of a road in the DR.
Back to the military helicopters. We awoke on Thursday the 16th to a lot of activity around the marina and the soon to open resort. Army, Navy and Secret Service patrolling the property all heavily armed. We were soon told that there was to be a ribbon cutting ceremony that day and that El Presidente Fernandez would be attending to cut the ribbon. We still had to leave the property to return the rental care. So off we went, stopping at the main gate to let them know (them being: The resorts security, the local Polizia, the local military captain, as well as some guys in suits wearing sunglasses with wires in their ears) that we were staying at the marina and had to run a few errands and then return the car and that we would be back. Try communicating all that using the handy dandy tourist Spanish dictionary. We smiled a lot. Off we went soon to return with 20 gallons of diesel in the back of the car for the boat, the marina was out. We smiled and waved, all of the heavily armed folks smiled and waved back as we drove down to the marina. Then it's back out the main gate to return the car. Then back to the main gate with our ride from town. When our new friend Fabian drove us back, no one was smiling and waving, they questioned him as to why he was there and what he wanted. Then they saw us and smiled and waved. Must be the dimples. Back at the boat we cleaned up and put on our Sunday Best and walked amongst the party goers. Initially we were waved into lobby for the ceremony (our snazzy dress must have made us look like guests!) until a rather severe looking woman, with wires sprouting from her ears, pointed at us and told us we had to return to the boat until El Presidente departed. Apparently we are less of a threat in our cruiser attire than when we clean ourselves up. Oh well! Lots of activity and we did assert ourselves by leaving the boat to walk the dogs. We were stopped and told to return to the boat at which time Chula promptly squatted and deposited her daily constitutional in front of the Agent wearing the earphone. We did pick it up, but I think Chula made her point. By the way, if you'll recall from earlier in the missive, we officially left the country the next day, not that Chula had anything to do with our timing.
The park on Bahia de San Lorenzo is quiet and peaceful; we had the entire bay to ourselves, well except for a pod of dolphins. We were able to relax after our touring and visit to some of the caves that had served as homes for the earliest inhabitants of the island. Other than the fishing camps along some of the beaches we were the only people here. We also took our dinghy for a long distance up a river that feeds into the bay. The mangroves and multitude of birds to watch were a delight! The twice daily feeding frenzy of the dolphins provided a lot of entertainment and a reminder that unlike the dolphins one sees at the Sea World shows, these wild dolphins are predators and very accomplished hunters. They are still really cute, even when devouring schools of fish.
Bright and early (not so bright really at 4am) on Sunday the 19th we are off for Puerto Rico, 160nm and 32 hours in front of us. On our way out of Bahia de Samana we encountered what at first glance we took for a cruise ship, however as we approached closer we realized this was simply someone’s private (200 footish) motor yacht. Well, with all the crew they had on board I bet they can't get as comfy cozy as we can on BOTO. While our crossing top PR was uneventful, no flying fish attacks, no murderous fish catches, we once again realized that any weather forecast that foretells of calm seas and fair winds is essentially a lie. We beat our way into 15-20k winds gusting to 25k with 6-8 foot rollers coming from every direction. Of course this only got better as the rain began and kept up right until we made landfall. What the hell, the moon was full and bright and we had no one else on the water (maybe they had a better forecast) to contend with for space. Making landfall in Boquerón, PR we were able to drop the hook in a wonderful, if rocky bay and catch up on our sleep. Then it’s off to check in with the good ole' USofA Customs and Immigration. Well, the laundry is almost done and it’s time to clean up for dinner so more on the PR next time. Until then, Feliz Navidad y Prospero Anoy Feliadad.

99 Hours Under Sail to the Dominican Republic

Weather windows…sometimes you win, sometimes you lose!

We woke up in Fernandez Bay at Cat Island and were planning to make a short leg to Conception Island, spend the night and then on to Rum Cay. Well, the weather man just told us the wind will now shift to the north in the middle of the night instead of the next day. With the wind projected to continue out of the north we needed to scrap the plans to see Conception Island on our way south as there is no protection from a north blow. It did look spectacular through the binoculars though! We made it to Rum Cay with some daylight to spare…which is good because the meandering channel markers, through the coral reefs, don’t light up and are hard enough to see in the daylight!

We turned in early that evening…felt good! The next day we were asked to move our boat to another ‘slip’ as a pretty large motor boat was coming in. They offered to comp us a free night and being ‘cruisers on a budget’ we said, “Sure thing!”. Rum Cay marina could quite possibly be the most dilapidated marina we have seen in the Bahamas but it is a great stop. You get good protection from almost any weather (some surge) and you can fuel up if you have a long trek ahead of you.

The day was spent in preparation. Ed added fuel to the boat and resupplied at the marina. He also changed the engine oil, oil filter and fuel filter. Boats are too small for multiple projects so when Ed was done, I headed to the kitchen to make some clam chowder, corn muffins, chili and cookies for our next few days to the Turks and Caicos Islands.

We are up early and underway. There is a little bit of a swell but the breeze is good and we are actually able to sail most of the day. Around 5pm the winds became light and variable as the cold front started heading toward our direction. The beautiful thing is a diminishing or stalling cold front makes for little wind. Not necessarily a good thing if you want to sail. However, we are first cruisers, then sailors so we decided that rather than be in the Turks and Caicos indefinitely waiting for good weather to cross…let’s motor-sail to the Dominican Republic while it is calm! So, we kept going, and going and going. In all we sailed (and motored!) 99 hours to get to our final destination…all of them pretty darn comfortable.

So, what do you do when you are out there four days in a row? FISH! We needed to make a steady 4.3 knots to make our landfall in the Dominican Republic (Samana) by early morning. This is a nice trolling speed! We never expect to catch fish so when we hear the fishing rod go whee, whee, whee as the line is going out it is BIG TIME excitement. Ed grabbed the fishing rod while I took the helm and slowed us down. At first Ed just knew it weighed a lot. Then, the fish leapt out of the water in a frenzy. OK, this is going to be fun! After about 45 minutes the fish was finally up next to the boat. I tried to gaff the fish in the gills and missed! The next try got the underbelly and the gaff actually bent while I was trying to hold on….which I couldn’t do for long so Ed had to haul the fish in! It was a Mahi (dolphin) which is a beautiful yellow and blue color. It is almost sad to see it turn grey as it dies. Probably not as sad as watching Ed knock the fish in the head 3 times to subdue the fish before it could do more damage to the boat (yes, we have dings in the fiberglass and gouges in the teak floor!) So, we learned a valuable lesson! Remove EVERYTHING from the cockpit next time and close hatches. Suffice it to say, there was quite a bit of cleaning up to be done! (Beth and Wayne...this is why we inquired if there was a more gentile way of doing away with the fish!) ***Thank you Raymond....your homemade lure has landed us two beautiful fish so far!

Land Ho! It’s the Dominican Republic! We are not in Kansas anymore! After the Bahamas there is a striking difference in the landscape. Mountains and palm trees everywhere. We made our way into Bahia Santa Barbara, Samana, DR. Lovely….and I will like it even more after a nap!

A side note to other cruisers: We chose to into the Columbus Passage on the east side of the Turks and Caicos. We had mild west winds and the passage is very wide and easy. I am not sure if an east wind would build too much in the passage but if not…we think it beat the heck out of crossing the banks and constantly watching your depth. We put in at South Caicos for fuel. You do need to check in and check out with customs and immigration though which costs around $30. It seemed like a fairly well protected anchorage if you wanted to rest up or wait on weather before going to Big Sand Cay. Leaving the Turks and Caicos we also decided to not land in Luperon or any other northern ports due to the north swell. The swell wasn’t too large but will keeps coming from this direction during the winter months which makes timing a departure eastbound difficult. Plus, for anyone who has read Van Sant, remember he is a solo sailor that likes to stop every night! If you can press on for another day to the east side of the DR passage making gets easier.

When we anchored in Samana we were greeted by 4 hombres that came out in a boat. One was from the navy, another from immigration, one was an interpreter and the other was the water taxi driver. They filled out paperwork and whisked the Captain (Ed) to shore to complete the check in process. All in all, very easy.

We are in awe of Samana Bay. There is a lot to do here in this protected water. There is an island where you can anchor and then dingy ashore for a fantastic beach and reef snorkeling. The cruise ships use it when in port so you might want to skip those days! The locals catch Langouste (lobster) there and let you select the one you want for lunch!

Across the bay, to the south, is a National Park. We haven’t been there yet but you again anchor just outside and take your dinghy in for beautiful scenery and great snorkeling.
Right now we are at the Puerto Bahia marina. Yep, the first one in two months. We wanted to rent a car to tour the island and will need to leave the dogs on the boat. It is warm so we will turn on the air conditioning for them! Ah, spoiled rotten! The other reason is we simply needed to clean the boat. Salt water takes its toll….and then there was the Mahi blood everywhere! The marina/resort may not be in guides and charts as the marina just opened and the resort is scheduled to open December 18th. So, it is brand new and very beautiful. The nicest marina for $.90 per foot we have seen since the USA.

More later on our island tour!

I MAY NOT KNOW WHERE I'M GOING, BUT I SURE KNOW WHERE I BEEN (Hayes Carl "Highway 87")

Covering the same ground again and again is something that most folks do not look forward to. Whether explaining something for the hundredth time to a child, the boss or Six Sigma (fortunately kids are usually pretty quick on the uptake) it's something that needs to be done. For us we are revisiting some of the islands we visited earlier this year. After the better part of a month in the Abaco islands it's time to head south to warmer weather.

Making our way down Great Abaco to Little Harbor and anchoring off of Lynyard Cay we found as has been the case for the past year an idyllic beach for the girls to chase the ball where we could take a swim and sit quietly. Unfortunately, Lynyard Cay is also the sight of the grounding of the sailboat "Rule 62" where the life of one crew member was lost during a rage in the cut at Little Harbor. Here we made the acquaintance of the folks aboard "Bentana", a couple of Upstaters enjoying their first sailing visit to the Bahamas. As is the custom of "Waterworld", when two travelers meet they exchange gifts. We gladly shared half of the Red Snapper we had caught earlier that day; I only wish they had shown up earlier to help clean it. We're talking a record catch here, no fish tail either a ten pounder. There was also some red wine in there somewhere. They in turn shared some canned chicken and white wine. The trials of life at sea.
"Bentana" joined is crossing from Abaco to Eleuthera across the Northeast Providence Channel (the Atlantic) and through the Egg Island Cut. Who comes up with these names?
They soon headed off for Spanish Wells while we made ourselves snug at Royal Island for our Thanksgiving feast.
BOTO Thanksgiving Menu:
Roast Turkey Breast w/ stuffing
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans with Molasses and Bacon
Pumpkin Pie w/ Whipped Cream (homemade)
While we enjoy a certain amount of deprivation, when it comes to food we prefer to enjoy the finer things. We even had a candle lit table. Hope everyone else out there had a wonderful dinner.

Next day and a breakfast of Pumpkin Pie, we're off to Governors Harbor (our first true repeat). Governors Harbor is one of those places that you find in the tourist brochure. Historic buildings dating back two hindered years, smiling happy people and beautiful sunsets. As we arrived after sunset we spotted the fish fry on shore kicking into full swing with bonfire and DJ roaring. We polished off the leftovers (much to the chagrin of the folks on "Flying Pig") and then headed to the beach to twist and shout. We shared the harbor that evening with the aforementioned "Flying Pig" and "Troubadour" both of whom will be heading further south at some later date so we expect to see them again.
For those visiting Governors Harbor by water you will find community water readily available at the park (bring a filter if you have one), laundry, grocery and three liquor stores (we prefer Bristol for the price on Strongback and Rum). For those that wonder what one does all day on a sailboat, here is how we burned off our dinner.

Saturday 11/27:
Take the dogs to the beach and chase the ball, then walk the village checking on beer prices (several miles, the girls were beat)
Haul 22 gallons of water from the local park to the dinghy, then up onto the boat then pour into holding tank. By the way that's over 180 lbs. carried one hundred plus yards, then balanced in the dink back to boat then deadlifted on board then dumped.
Haul 10 gallons of diesel from the Shell (I know, I don't like Shell anymore than the next person but it was our only choice) to the dinghy. That' 70+lbs carried just under a mile then back to the boat. Prior to that added ten gallons to the main fuel tank.
Another mile-ish walk to and from the grocery store with a week's supply.
Last but hardly least, haul two cases of Strongback Stout and two bottles of Rum (the rum is actually very light) a mile to the dinghy. All in all we had a great workout over the course of a few hours. Then haul anchor and away we go to Palmetto Point (a whopping 6nm). However, before we left we did have a chance to rest and watch the Homecoming Regatta in the Harbor.

After a grueling motor of 6nm to Palmetto Point we dropped the hook in ten feet of water and took the dink ashore so the girls could run the beach and we could enjoy a coldie. We were greeted by Skip and Sharon who live on the beach (whom we mentioned from our visit on 5/21). After reacquainting ourselves it was time for a sundowner and then dinner plans. Skip and Sharon drove us off to a dinner of Grouper, Conch and French Fries (there was also a nice fresh salad). Skip and Sharon live here most of the year although they are residents of Florida. In addition to their main house which they built they also have three rentals on their property, visit their web site, www. thebarefootbeachhouse.com . For the location and relaxation you can't beat their place.
Up and at 'em again, a nice stroll along the beach the girls had their last romp in the sand and surf before bath day. We left Skip and Sharon with warm memories and we were in possession of what has to be close to the world's largest Avocado compliments of Sharon. A great day of sailing and motor sailing to Rock Sound the scene of Ed's birthday celebration all those months ago. With two clean and fresh as a daisy dogs we will be using the dock to go ashore rather than the beach. The girls will stay downy fresh for a while to come. A day behind us into Rock Sound here comes "Flying Pig" they plan to spend several days before heading on whereas we are off on Wednesday December 1. Where to?
Well it's a long haul today on our way to Cat Island, 70nm. So we're up before the sun and on our way with the first hint of light. Made Fernandez Bay just as the sun was setting and dropped the hook in 10', with plenty of time for a Goombay Smash with the twilight and the emerging stars. We've worked out our Plan A, for today anyway. From Rock Sound, Eleuthera we'll head ESE (120*-130*) for approximately 50nm to arrive ay Rum Cay, where we'll do the civilized thing and take a slip at the marina for a few days while the weather/wind shift to our favor. Then it's off on a 120* heading for the Southeast side of the Turks & Caicos Island some 250nm. With wind and luck we should make T&C by Monday 12/6. From there we'll make our decision as to heading onto the Dominican Republic (an additional 70nm-ish) or onto Puerto Rico (an additional 350-ish nm). As Thursday 12/2 we'll begin covering new ground, so we'll also get a little anxious as we wonder if we are on the correct course, is that dark spot a huge coral head about to rip out the bottom (hey hey), what to have for lunch, oops just ate, so what's for dinner. For those that don't read the articles and honestly look at the pictures, stay tuned for the next time we have an internet connection.

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