Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W


It rained. It blew. We read. How are you?

When I sat down to write this evening, Dale sugested that this is what I should write as there wasn’t anything else that we did today. Technically, he’s right but surely I can add something else to it.

As he implied, we woke to heavily overcast skies this morning and by the time we finished listening to the weather forecast and learned that the earliest we can consider moving would be Friday, thunder could be heard rolling in the distance. Dale dove our anchor to make sure that it was still set in spite of all of the turning we’ve been doing over the past 24 hours and came to back to report that it was still well dug in. He added another 10’ to our scope as the forecast suggested that some of the cells heading in our direction could pack as much as 40-50 kt winds within them.

Once again, we checked our charts to see if there was any other option available to us and decided that we were in the best possible place considering what was approaching.
We were surprised to see the boat that had been anchored to the west of us in the same anchorage decided to move further north along Mayaguana to Betsy Bay. From what we could gather from the radio, they were getting some swells wrapping around at their end and thought that if they put more of the island between themselves and the storm, it might take some of the punch out of the winds and waves. Unfortunately, the bay where they moved to has a hard bottom and clearly states (at least on our charts) that it has poor holding. Granted, we’re more exposed to the wind here and it has gotten choppy inside of the reef but we have deep holding sand beneath us in our favor.

With the rain pouring down most of the day, we picked up our books and escaped to whatever drama evolved between their pages. I suggested to Dale that he prepare dinner tonight trying to convince him that the family favorite potato soup he’s famous for was just what was needed for a nasty day like today. When he started puttering around the galley, I thought that the hearty soup was on its way. Well yes and no. He made a hearty soup but it ended up being a type of chicken stew. Still, it was quite tasty and I got out of the galley one night.

We heard from Gerry and Nicky that they are preparing to leave Cartagena tomorrow for a direct transit to Panama. We also heard from Bob & Caron Bass, who used to be our neighbors at Whitney’s Marine. They are stuck in Georgetown, about 3 days from here, waiting for weather as well. Who knows? Maybe we’ll catch up to them.

In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed that we’ll be able to make a quick trip north on Friday and Saturday; at the rate we’re reading, we’ll going to run out of books.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W

We awoke to cloudy skies again but they quickly burned off. The weather guru wasn’t very optimistic with regard to the weather over the next couple of weeks. In fact, if we aren’t able to move further north by the weekend, we might be stuck here for another 2 weeks. Personally, I think Dale’s already getting antsy. We noticed most of the other boats high tailing it to the Turks & Caicos today when the weatherman said that today was as good as it was going to get for the next 3-4 days. Those of us heading north are stuck.

Mid-day we saw a couple of large Southern Stingrays to the side of our boat. We guesstimated that each of them had an approximate wing span of 4 feet. Dale volunteered to jump in and take a couple of pictures because I was a little leery of their size. He followed them for a little way and got a couple of good shots but then one of them took an interest in him and started following him back to the boat. According to our book on fish behavior, rays aren’t supposed to be aggressive unless you step on them or corner them. In spite of the literature, this one didn’t want Dale anywhere near it. Dale obliged and fought Rocky, our attack triggerfish, to get back on board quickly.

Each day we seem to attract more and more fish under our boat. Most of the time, the wind is negligible and fish watching can be done from the deck. Today we saw several squid (looking like commas in the water from above), a cloud of silversides (always fun to swim through), the Southern Stingrays (the biggest I‘ve seen to date), and several trunkfish (they seem to like hanging around our anchor chain). I told Dale that if we stay here long enough we’ll have our own little ecosystem below us.

By mid-afternoon, it started clouding up again and the thunder rolled in the distance. We sat in the cockpit and watched two separate cloud formations meet right above us as a trimaran came in and selected a spot off to our port side to anchor. By the time the rain fell in earnest and the wind picked up to 20 kts, we could no longer see him. A couple of hours later the rain moved off north and we could see that they were still where we left them.

I’m not looking forward to the next couple of days of stormy weather but I do feel comfortable in where we’ve chosen to ride them out. The wind (when we have it) continues to circle around and forces our anchor to reset with each cell that passes by. Like mini hurricanes, the wind blows first from one direction then the opposite. We have fairly deep sand below us and plenty of room to drag should that happen. Now if we can just get a couple of days of good weather in order to move north.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W

Happy 1st Birthday Heather!!!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Dale was already up when raindrops splashed on my face from the hatch above my head bringing me into the morning rather rudely. We ran around closing all of the hatches and then went up into the cockpit to get a bearing on where the offending clouds lay.

Most of the sky was cloudy but the really dark clouds lay to the north of us and a couple to the south of us. Seven of the 11 boats that had anchored here last night made their way out of the anchorage and in the direction of the Turks & Caicos. We listened as they debated which direction would take them around showers and wished them well on their transit.

Once again, we were lucky that we only had light sprinkles and the nasty squalls went around us. However, throughout the day, the Palace swung through every point on the compass submitting to the winds that swirled from every direction.

I jumped in for a quick swim mid-afternoon to cool down and was literally chased by a Gray Triggerfish that has taken up residence under our stern. He’d nip at my fingers and toes when I tried to climb up the swim platform to chase me away. He had the audacity to look me straight in the eye before darting after me through the rungs of the ladder and wasn’t very intimidated when I tried to shoo him away. I swear he was swimming out from under the boat to peer up at us waiting to for us to jump in again so that he could make his next strike. Dale said that when he when he lowered the dink in the water, the little guy came out to attack that as well. I think we’ll name him Rocky; he’s not afraid of anything and doesn’t know when to quit.

Most of the day we read again. We’ve both been averaging about a book a day. Good thing we have a large selection to choose from.

Dale pulled up some weather information this evening. We were hoping that all of the nasty weather would clear out by Wednesday but it looks like it might be as late as Thursday now.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W

We had another night of lightening flashes and some thunder but again were blessed that no storms came our way. Listening to weather on the SSB this morning, we learned that we are simply in a pocket of clear sky and that nasty weather is surrounding us, so we’ll just stay put until it passes.

The husband and wife crew off the catamaran nearest to us came by this morning to say hello and ask about what there was in “town”. They were looking for a telephone and we were able to tell them that there were two next to the Customs office. In spite of the weather, they plan on heading out tonight for the Turks & Caicos. We chatted for a little while before they continued their exploration.

Dale jumped in for a little swim and came back with a couple of little shells that we’ve not seen before. He said that he saw some rays in the water but so far, we have not seen Seymour again.

The rest of the day was spent reading. Dale even put up the hammock for me. Occasionally we’ll get a little breeze for a few minutes but on the whole, the air is terribly still and humid.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W

After listening to the weather report this morning, it appears we’ll be here for awhile. We’re caught between two systems that are creating havoc for those caught out in them. So far for us, we’ve been watching the show from a distance. Others haven't been as fortunate. We’ve heard that one boat with a crew of 4 is missing and several others were dodging and running most of the night trying to evade the storms and lightening strikes forming right above them.

In fact, one boat reported that they were trying to make the Turks & Caicos so that a crew member could seek medical attention. They were hoping to make Mayaguana today to rest before heading out again. We gave it a couple of hours and when we saw several boats coming in we hailed them and Dale identified himself as a physician if there was an emergency. Apparently the man’s wife suffers from a nervous stomach and was afraid that she had developed an ulcer. However, from her symptoms, Dale didn’t think that was the problem. Since they have elected to stay here for a few more days, we’ll see what develops.

We made our way in to the island and found the Customs/Immigration office about a ½ mile down the road from the dock. We spoke with a woman behind the counter who indicated that the customs officer wasn’t in and to return in the afternoon. We walked further down the road and found an intersection where we looked in all directions but didn’t see anything of interest in any direction. This is one quiet island.

We returned to the Palace where we swam a little, read a little and napped a little. In the afternoon, we returned as requested and this time stood in line so that the same woman who had dismissed us earlier in the day could process our paperwork. Dale surmised that the “boss” wasn’t in during the morning, so she sent everyone way until he was there and could witness for himself that she was a very busy person.

On our way back to the boat on this trip, we passed 3 fishermen that had a bounty crop of conch they were cleaning as well as several very large grouper. They said that they had caught everything along the reef at the far end of the island. Several young boys were swimming in the area but then saw a large barracuda interested in the scraps left over from the fish cleaning and made a hasty retreat from the water. I was impressed with how polite they all were as we passed by. They even offered to help us get off the pier when we got into the dinghy.

This time on our return trip, we kept going out past the Palace and explored the wreck that is on the reef. It is the rusted out hulk of a steel boat that obviously had a bad day.

We’ve noticed that Seymour hasn’t made an appearance today, so I’m guessing that the blood in the water from the meat was what attracted him to our boat last evening. Still, we make sure that we are out of the water by sunset just in case.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W

57.3 NM
9.01 Hrs.
6.4 Avg.
7.6 Max

Current Odom: 7503.0


We dropped our lines and eased out of our slip at 6:20 am, waving farewell to Chris & Laura who were in the process of doing the same thing. We slowly zig-zagged out of the marina entrance, following the chart plotter bread crumbs we had left behind when we first arrived and required the services of a guide. The surf was breaking on the reef but the entrance was navigable so we punched through, turned north and set a course to Mayaguana. The water depth immediately fell away and the water changed to a deep clear indigo blue. We looked back and saw Maltimia break through safely and turn south.

For the next 9 hours, we tried to motor sail periodically by raising our main. This worked for a short time but with the light winds shifting from one aft quarter to the other, proved worthless, so we rolled it back in and waited until the winds picked up a bit. We tried again when we saw double digits reflected on the wind gauge but still no joy, the direction was just too variable.

A line of dark clouds, apparently streaming all the way from Panama (according to our weather guru,) reached us and sprinkled enough rain that we dropped our enclosure for the first time in ages. It was just enough to turn the warm air into a sauna. However, as it passed us, it opened up the sky above Mayaguana and we had perfect visibility for entering Abrahams Bay at Guana Point, which is a very narrow opening in the reef and strewn with coral heads.

We dodged and weaved our way in, selected a spot behind the reef and dropped the hook. We backed down and felt the familiar tug of a well set anchor. Dale jumped in to confirm the set and on his way back to the boat, I noticed that he kept diving down here and there along the way. When he climbed back aboard, he had a fist full of dollars. Sand dollars. He said that the water was extremely clear and that he could see what was left of our completely buried anchor as soon as he jumped in.

As I made dinner, we could occasionally hear the distant rumble of thunder. We knew that nasty weather was predicted, so we finished eating and went up into the cockpit to watch. The dark clouds were well to the north of us and the air was deathly still. The water, although already calm, slowed to a standstill and we appeared to be anchored in a bathtub. I was marveling at being able to see sand dollars and sea shells on the bottom while standing on the bow, when a dark figure approached. My first thought was that it was a barracuda. However, as it came closer, it was clearly a reef shark.

Seymour Teeth, the shark, clearly likes to loiter around boats. He has a gash on the right side of his head that appears to have come from a fairly recent encounter with a prop. I suspect that he was attracted to the blood from the pork chops I made for dinner but who knows. He hung around the Palace well into the night, so there will be no midnight swims for us in this particular harbor.

We tried to watch a movie but the lightening to the north kept grabbing our attention. We could no longer hear the thunder but the cloud to cloud and cloud to ground lightening was spectacular. Constant flashes of light; one over the other. Only a second or two was ever devoted to the darkness of night. It reminded me of the lightening storm that blacked out New York when I was a child. We could still see Seymour circling. I wonder if he knows something that we don’t.

Turtle Cove,

Providenciales,

Turks & Caicos Islands
21.47.141N
72.13.605W

For some crazy reason I couldn’t sleep last night and ended up getting up to readjust the lines to keep the Palace from dancing around in the slip so much. I kept hearing her fender smack the piling on the finger pier and then bounce off. When I climbed outside, I could see her swing from one extreme to the other both at her bow and her stern, so she was all over the place. Dale, of course, slept through everything.

When morning finally dawned, it was overcast and humid. The weather report states that the storm we’ve been hiding from has been upgraded to a sub-tropical status and has been named Andrea. Yesterday, we had the distinct impression that we were going to miss most of it but now I’m wondering about it. We have a window of about 24 hours in which to move north before tucking in again before the next predicted storm passes through. Mayaguana is protected by a reef system too and is on the southern side of the island which should afford us better protection. It will take us approximately 10 hours to transit if we motor all the way. The vessels that arrived late today said that the swell had diminished to 6’ with 12 second intervals; in other words, big rollers.

While I updated the blog, Dale hiked into town to access an ATM machine and buy some tomatoes. By the time he returned, I had just about finished up.

We’ve spent some time getting to know our neighbors in the slip nearby. Chris is from South Africa and Laura is from Alberta, Canada. They just purchased their 47’ Leopard Catamaran and will be taking it to Trinidad for hurricane season and to prepare it for crewed chartering. Apparently they’ve been in the charter business for some time but this is the first time that they will be using their own vessel for the enterprise.

Late afternoon was marked by the arrival of two more sail boats which were berthed on either side of us. One, a single handler, arrived from Rum Cay and the other had a crew of 3 men who plan on leaving tomorrow about the same time as us but making a straight shot to Georgetown. Chris & Laura will also be leaving at the same time but will be heading directly to the BVIs.

June, the Customs/Immigration officer came by a little after 5pm with her 3 daughters in tow to sign all of us out of the country. Chris & Laura invited us and June and her family aboard for drinks and munchies. At first the children were very quiet but after a while they warmed up to us and were soon babbling away. June is a native to the TCIs, born on Grand Turk, although she has lived on just about every island throughout the TCIs at some point or other in her 19 years as a Customs officer. Her husband, a policeman, is a St. Vincentian. All of her children, however, were born in the US. Although I didn’t ask how she managed that, I suspect that she is one smart cookie and planned it that way.

After June and the girls left, we told Chris & Laura that we were heading over to the little Italian restaurant across the harbor for dinner and they were welcome to join us. They agreed and we had a wonderful evening discussing everything from the differences (pro and con) between cats and monohulls to whether it would be better to maintain a boat over a long period of time versus buying a new one when you were ready to take off at a later point.

As we walked back to the dock, lightening was flashing in the night sky pretty frequently. We wished each other good transits and most likely will make the journey out of the marina and to the cut in the reef together in the morning. I hope our luck holds with regard to weather but I have a feeling these next two months are going to be a challenge with the persistent lows that seem to be developing around us.

Turtle Cove,
Providenciales,
Turks & Caicos Islands
21.47.141N
72.13.605W

You know, I miss sleeping in dry, air conditioned comfort. You get acclimated to living without some of the creature comforts we’ve become accustomed to living with on shore but it doesn’t take any time at all to adjust to air conditioning. This particular marina charges you a minimum amount for water and electricity whether you use it or not , so . . . We’re plugged in and turned on. By the time we leave here, I’ll be so spoiled, Dale will have to let me run every single fan on the boat until I can re-acclimate to living without again.

After listening to the weather this morning, we figure that we’ll be here until at least Thursday when the waves are predicted to moderate to something we can travel in. Our slip neighbors on a 47’ catamaran came in late yesterday evening and told us that although things are extremely calm inside the marina, the outside was deteriorating rapidly. In fact, he said that the cut we had come into earlier in the day will most likely be impassable by this afternoon or evening. He said that waves were breaking over the fringing reef and that they left their anchorage further to the south to come in for protection. They plan on leaving the same time that we do but will be heading in the opposite direction toward the BVIs.

I spent the better part of the morning, collecting my hand written notes of our travels over the past couple of days and organizing them so that I could update this blog. Dale went in search of an internet connection for me and came back with a credit card looking thing that has a scratch off pass code. Good! Maybe I’ll do some banking too.

We took another walk around the boardwalk and stopped for a couple of salads at a place called the Tiki Hut before wandering through some of the shops along the road. I got directions to the nearest grocery store from the waitress and maybe tomorrow morning we’ll head in that direction for some fresh produce as its about a mile away starting with an uphill climb.

Back on the Palace, we tucked away our Caribbean charts and pulled out our Southern Bahamas charts to plan the next leg. Our calculations reflect that it will take us a full day to head north to the next island of Mayaguana. This means that we’ll have to head out of the marina very early in the morning and most likely have to motor the whole way in order to arrive before dark. It also means checking into the Bahamas. We can now say, with authority and experience, that this is the most expensive country in all of the Caribbean to clear into and we’ll need to find an ATM before leaving here in order to do so. I guess we’ll add that to our list of things to do tomorrow.

We ended our evening being entertained with fireworks right off our starboard side. We’re not sure what the holiday might be (Hero’s Day?) but we had ring side seats for the celebration. The big finale had sparks landing on boat decks, condo roofs, and grass all to the inside of us but I think everyone enjoyed the display regardless of the sudden stomping at the end.

Turtle Cove,

Providenciales,

Turks & Caicos Islands
21.47.141N
72.13.605W

32.0 NM
5.17 Hrs.
6.1 Avg.
7.2 Max

Current Odometer: 7446.0

We lifted anchor at 7 am and headed out to Sandbore Channel in beautiful clear water that was the color of Windex in the deeper 20-30’ areas. Even at these depths, you still could see clearly the corals, sponges and the occasional barracuda on the bottom.

We rounded north to Northwest Point which is located outside the reef that lies off Providenciales and then back south to Turtle Cove on the island’s northeast shore (the bank is roughly shaped like a triangle in this area.) Although our chart plotter reflected deep water for the entire trip, there were a couple of times that we jumped up and made quick turns to deeper water to avoid the reefs that extended out in our direction. Nothing like getting the ol’ ticker pumping when your depth finder goes from over 500’ to less than 20’ in a minute.

We radioed ahead for an escort through Seller’s Cut, then waited with a 57’ powerboat until a little skiff came out and led us through the circuitous route onto the bank, through the reef and coral heads and finally through the very narrow zig zag entrance into Turtle Cove Marina. Surprisingly, our chart plotter was very accurate for this area but we still were grateful for the guide in.

We were directed to the fuel dock and then handed the paperwork for clearing into Customs and registering for our stay at the marina. Until we cleared, however, we were not allowed to refuel. About 2 hours later, the Customs/Immigration officials arrived and processed our paperwork. I’m not complaining, they came to us and in the meantime, it gave us time to fill out our paperwork, take showers, tidy up a bit and relax in the cockpit.

Once we were officially here, we brought down the “Q” flag, hoisted our TCI courtesy flag and refueled. We were directed to a slip which is way too big for us and hooked up to power and water. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then gave the Palace a thorough wash down. We’re still tweaking the lines trying to center the Palace in the slip and yet allow us to reach the finger pier to get off. For some reason, this time its easier said than done with stationary docks, a 1.5’ tide and what appears to be a constant ebb and flow around the tiny peninsula that we’re on.
We climbed off the Palace about 5pm and walked along the boardwalk that wraps most of the way around the marina. We found ‘Sharkbites’, a restaurant that is supposed to have the best wings for miles around, so we stopped in a had a few. Although a bit salty for my taste, they were very, very good.

Nasty weather lies to the north of us; coming from around Jacksonville no less, so we’ll stay here until it passes.

Sapodilla Bay
Providenciales,
Turks & Caicos Islands

21.44.482N
72.17.342W

45.6 NM
7.21 Hrs
6.2 Avg.

Current Odometer: 7415.0

We hoisted anchor at 7 am and carefully weaved our way out of the anchorage and onto the path that would lead us across the TCI bank and eventually to Sapodilla Bay. The water was crystal clear and more blue green than the shallow waters in the Caribbean which were more green blue. It’s hard to explain but trust me, the Atlantic is a different color than the Caribbean.

The bank is about 10’ all the way across and in a couple of places, we needed to avoid the little patch reefs that lay in our way. We hit our waypoint on the western side and turned to the next one that lay outside of Sapodilla Bay on the eastern bank. It was about this time that Voyager hailed us. They were quickly catching up to us from behind. It seems Voyager had listened to Dale and the captain of “Maggie” yesterday and knew that we were heading back to Jacksonville by July. They too were heading to Jacksonville in about the same timeframe but wanted to reach Georgetown fairly quickly so that Mrs. “Voyager” could fly home for a few weeks. We promised to look them up when we got to Georgetown since we’re heading in the same direction.

We reached Sapodilla Bay about 2:30pm and anchored outside but in front of everyone else since they were all pointed west. Strange winds have been blowing, if any have been blowing at all. Voyager was right next to us but since we both intend on leaving again at first light, neither one of us moved to lower the dinks and introduce ourselves but waved from a distance instead.

We’ve decided that the marina that Gerry & Nicky told us about would be a good place to tuck into until the swell and waves die down from the unusual weather that is happening north of us. It’s protected by a surrounding reef and it’s tucked behind a peninsula inside of that. The only hitch is that its rather tricky to get into. It’s suggested that you radio ahead and have a skiff come out to guide you in on your first time there. We’ve e-mailed a request for reservations and will have to confirm before we get too far around the island to make sure that there’s “room in the inn.” Otherwise, there’s deep sand right where we’re at; although with the weather coming in from the north, it might get a little lumpy.

Big Ambergris Cay,
Turks & Caicos Islands
21.19.204N
71.39.049W

332.9 NM
55.49 Hrs.
6.0 Avg.
8.3 Max

Current Odometer: 7370.3



Happy Birthday James! We love you and look forward to seeing you soon.


As morning dawned, we could see the rocks we had been trying to avoid during the night and came up on the bank without mishap.

We could see a couple of boats anchored along Great Sand Cay, most likely pre-positioning for the trip south. We continued on and punched in the route that would take us around the Fish Cays to an anchorage behind Big Ambergris Cay.

We listened to Chris, our weather guru, and learned that there were gale force and possibly hurricane force winds along the east coast of the US developing this coming week. These conditions were expected to move south and east over the Abacos and Bahamas though they weren’t expected to reach as far south as the TCIs. However, the seas that were kicked up by these winds might. We were advised to tuck in somewhere until the seas moderated. Gerry & Nicky had told us of a marina they had stayed at on their way south on the north side of Provo; we’ll consult our charts and check it out.

Along our way to Ambergris, we met a convoy of 6 boats making their way south. The captain of “Maggie” hailed us on the radio and asked about sea conditions off the bank. We had heard him earlier on the SSB speaking with Chris and assured him that it was very calm and practically without wind. We also warned him that the evenings had been known to have thunder and lightening over the DR.

Dale spoke with the captain of Maggie at length and learned that they were in their mid-60’s and took up sailing 2.5 years ago. They had traveled through the Panama Canal from San Diego, along the east coast before hopping the ditch and working their way south through the Bahamas and Exumas to the TCIs. The captain, who spoke with an English accent, told of how they had been weather delayed for almost 6 weeks and were hurrying to get to Trinidad before hurricane season. They spoke of insurance “boxes” and places to stay before we finally wished them well and God’s speed to their destination of Crews Inn, the marina that was right across from us when we were in Trini. Once you get out here, it’s a small world.

We finally rounded around the Fish Cays and wiggled and dodged our way through the coral heads that lay between us and our anchorage behind Big Ambergris. There was a trawler named Voyager who was already anchored there, so we gave him plenty of space and anchored behind him in crystal clear water about 3:30pm. Dale dove in to check the anchor and came up with a conch shell for me to photograph before putting it back where he had found it.

We sat in the cockpit for awhile and noted the construction progress that’s been made since we were last here in late December 2005. Big Ambergris is an 1100 acre private island and home of the Turks & Caicos Sporting Club. So if you’re looking for a home in the $525,000 - $4.5 million range with a paved jet strip and deepwater marina accommodating 200+ foot yachts, with NO TAXES, this is the place for you!



Photo #1: What's left of wreck on Big Ambergris

Atlantic Ocean
20.18.76N
70.05.25W

We motored throughout the night and easily tracked 12 ships during our various watches. On one of my watches, I was tracking 4 at one time. Luckily, they passed well away from us so no evasive maneuvers were necessary.

Also during the night, the line of clouds that stream off Puerto Rico, across the Mona Passage and toward the Dominican Republic, held some lightening. All of it was well to the south of us and with stars directly over us, there nothing to worry about. As morning dawned, I watched a large black cloud shift from over the DR and out to sea toward us. However, the more it moved out to sea, the more the sun burned it away. Good deal! Our luck is holding.

We did have some light wind today that allowed us to sail with our spinnaker for about 5 hours making 5-6 kts. We hoisted it further up the mast this time in hopes that it would alleviate the chafing we’ve been discovering after each use. When we brought it back down, the line was once again worn but not to the extent that it had been previously. We decided that maybe some leather at the chafing point might be in order. Otherwise, we’re at a loss as to what to do next.

Our 6pm calculation reflected a possibility of another 24 hours before landfall by sail. Since weaving through reefs at sunset is not our idea of fun, we turned on the engine.

We also needed to adjust our course a bit. On our trip down, we had traveled directly south to Luperon but on our way back, we were making a direct course to the Turks & Caicos Islands from Puerto Rico which is north west. Unfortunately, this route took us over some rocky shoals and reefs; also not our idea of fun. So we angled around the shoals during the night to intersect our original route south. So far, so good.

Behind us, there is lightening in the sky over Hispaniola; above there are still stars.

Atlantic Ocean
19.05.800N
68.28.544W

Before heading out, Dale changed our running lights bulb again. It had burned out just as we were anchoring and with the marine police boat, we’d forgotten about it. With that completed, we hoisted our anchor and motored out of the northern entrance to Boqueron and headed out across the Mona Passage.

We had consulted our charts and discussed the possible routes last evening and debated whether to follow along the western coast of Puerto Rico or head directly across. With the lack of wind, we decided to just head straight out and motor until we could find some worthwhile wind. Further away from the island, the wind filled in from directly behind us, so we cut the engine and hoisted the main sail.

We were just approaching red marker #8 when a small boat with 2 men aboard waved us down. One of the men was clearly waving his jacket over his head in our direction and with the Coast Guard issuing an advisory for all boats to keep a lookout for a vessel in distress, we started our engine and made our way over to them. However, as we approached , we could see that they were anchored. We kept a fairly good distance from them, circled around and Dale went up front to see what they needed.

At first they asked if we spoke Espanola; Dale answered no and again asked if they needed assistance. The young man in the wrap around gold glasses spoke to his companion, said no, replied back to Dale that they were waiting for another boat, so we completed our circle around and continued on our way. Although the second young man in the front of the boat had a fish in his hands, we considered this to be a very unusual circumstance. We debated calling the Coast Guard but considering there was nothing to report, we decided to continue on our way.

We passed another small boat SCUBA diving on the western side of marker #8 and then finally a small sailboat approaching us from the direction of Mona Island. By this time, the Coast Guard had suspended their BOLO for the vessel in distress.

From that point on, we saw only 2 ships for the rest of the day. Both passed about 2 miles behind us. Hopefully, once we get to the other side of the Mona Passage, we won’t be dancing with the big boys anymore.

Boquqeron, Puerto Rico
18.01.192N
67.10.700W

During the night, the anchor alarm went off 2 more times even though I extended its range. I got up and checked but there was no wind and we appeared to be in the same position. If we’re dragging now, it’s very slowly.

We listened to the weather and found out that there’s a window to leave now and its even better tomorrow. So . . . we’ll be leaving and instead of stopping by Mayaguez on the way, we’ll just keep on going as we’ve not gotten off the boat and flown our “Q” flag the whole time.

We hustled around and completed the projects that we needed to get done except that I want to pre-make some sandwiches and dig out some canned goods that can be microwaved. We had some straps that we wrapped around the forward bunk and the bicycles and then criss-crossed a couple of bungee cords across it to hold everything in place. Now if it shifts, it’ll be mattress and all.

Its amazing to think that it took us months to travel from the Turks & Caicos down to the Dominican Republic across to Puerto Rico and then around the Caribbean to Bonaire. Now in a week’s time, we’ll have gone from Bonaire to T&C.

Boqueron, Puerto Rico
18.01.192N
67.10.700W

369.8 NM
6.1 Avg. Kts.
9.0 Max Kts.
60.30 Hrs.

Current Odometer: 7040.0 miles

In spite of the lack of sleep over the past 3 days and the fact that we didn’t get to bed before 5am, we woke up about 8:30am. Dale was hungry and wanted pancakes. Well, he must be feeling better.

We were just finishing up breakfast, when I heard a dinghy approaching. Since we rarely visit an anchorage anymore without seeing someone we’ve met before, I figured someone recognized the boat and was coming for a visit. Not this time. We were dragging! The people in the dinghy had tried to raise us on the radio but since we hadn’t turned it on yet, they assumed correctly about a night passage and came to warn us of our situation.

In the light of day we could see that we had indeed anchored at the back of the pack, which consisted of about 2 dozen boats. As we had intended to move closer to shore anyway, we thanked them profusely and proceeded to lift our anchor and select and new spot.

Our new spot was closer to the town dock and not quiet in the middle of the anchored boats. We dropped the anchor, back down and although it did not give us that sharp jerk we like to see, the chain stretched out and appeared to be dug in. The water was muddy so Dale wasn’t going to see anything if he dove in. We went below again and 2 hours later, we heard once again heard whistles and horns that brought us topside.

Sure enough, we dragged again. This time we passed between 2 boats before coming close to the 3rd one who was tooting his whistle for all he was worth. I told Dale that we were making up for lost time. We’ve been very lucky in the past with our anchoring and our luck was holding today considering that we hadn’t hit anyone and our next stop would have been in the mangrove trees further behind us.

By now, the normal winds that pipe up mid-morning were filling in and we were getting gusts in the 20 kts range. Once again, we lifted our anchor and tried again. This time I backed down hard and then waited. Within a couple of minutes, we could see that we were still moving. We picked up and moved to another spot that looked to have a sandy bottom. We dropped, backed down hard, then waited. Again, we were still moving. We did this routine 3 more times before finally, the anchor appeared to set. By this time, we were both exasperated. Dale was adamant about not wanting to switch to the storm anchor and neither one of us could figure out what the problem was.

We took turns for the rest of the day sitting in the cockpit on anchor watch. I’d even set the anchor alarm which would go off each time we swung wide when the wind would pick up. I reset the anchor alarm extending the radius and then sit, wait and watch.

About mid-afternoon, I reminded Dale that we hadn’t checked in yet. He gathered all of our information and called the Customs telephone number that we had used before. This time, however, in spite of our current sticker and the new frequent border crossing number we had been given in St. Croix 4 months ago, the Customs officer wanted to see each of us in Mayaguez. Apparently, this documentation only gives the inspector the option of not seeing you. There was no way we were going to leave the boat today to find a taxi to take us to another city so that he could lay eyes on us. I suggested that we move on up the coast as we had to go in that direction to leave anyway.

We dug out the charts and cruising guides and started studying. There were a couple of anchorages nearby that we could use until we got a weather window as the guides noted the poor holding in Mayaguez. We’ve already had our fill of “poor holding.”

Tomorrow after we listen to the weather, we’ll move on up.

Caribbean Sea
17.28.086N
67.22.690W

Our luck held throughout the night. We passed under 3 distinctive bands of clouds and only found a light shower under one. Not enough to rinse off the boat or even its handkerchief sails.
Thankfully, our second day was much more comfortable. It was a bright sunny day with both the wind and seas diminishing. We shook out each reef one by one until we were flying full sails by mid-afternoon. Dale was starting to feel better, at least he was eating. However, we continued with our arrangement of eating and sleeping in the cockpit because it seemed easier than trying to make our way up and down a listing stairway.

With nightfall, we saw a band of clouds on the horizon, so once again, we reefed the main and jib to the first reefing point. Later, as we passed under the clouds, the winds picked up again, but with the sails already reefed, it was a non-event.

Our calculation this morning approximated a Tuesday morning arrival in Boqueron. However, as we came out of the west setting current the closer we got to Puerto Rico, the earlier in the morning it became. Dale was on watch as Puerto Rico came into view and at our 2am watch change, it was obvious we would be making landfall before sunrise.

Our approach led us up the west coast of Puerto Rico and from our last time through, we knew that our chart plotter was spot on (within reason). There were a few reefs and shallow spots to avoid so we rolled in the sails and turned on the engine. I found no problem in avoiding the hazardous areas and as soon as we spotted the channel light to the Boqueron harbor, we altered course slightly and entered without mishap.

We eased our way up to the coastline and started looking for the boats we knew would be anchored there. We could only spot one, so we selected a spot to the outside and behind it. As we were trying to anchor, we spotted a light that at first appeared to be on shore but then was clearly moving towards us. The bright light stayed on us making it extremely difficult to see but Dale was able to drop the anchor and about 80’ of chain before he headed back in my direction. I was starting to get nervous but as the bright light got closer, I could see a small blue flashing light beneath it.

I don’t recall that they ever identified themselves but assumed that they were either harbor patrol or homeland security. A male voice with a Hispanic accent asked us (in English) where we were coming from, how many people were on board, and how long we were planning on staying. Dale answered each question and soon they went on their way; heading back out and toward Mayaguez. Maybe they were Customs & Immigration looking for illegal aliens. In any event, I’m sure we looked and smelled our best at 4am and 3 days with no showers.

We went back to anchoring, letting out more chain and despite not getting a good tug when we backed down on the anchor, we put on the bridle and dropped below for a couple of hot showers before dropping into bed.

Caribbean Sea
14.49.223N
67.58.561W


We gave our hugs and kisses to Gerry & Nicky, choked back the lumps in our throats and dropped our mooring ball at 4pm. We unfurled our main to the first reefing point, as the wind was pretty gusty even in the bay and motor sailed to the end of Bonaire in incredibly deep water. We rounded to the north, unfurled the jib and set our course to Boqueron, Puerto Rico.

The wind was blowing 20-25 kts but was forecast to moderate back to the normal 15-20 kts range by Mon. The seas were supposed to be 5-6’ with a 6 second interval. I swear that more of them were in the 6-8’ range, as we were taking green water over the bow and occasionally over the cockpit. When we started seeing 26-29 kts being registered, we put a reef in the jib and continued on.

The sunset was particularly beautiful (no green flash) but once gone, conditions that had been challenging during the day became nerve racking after dark. Only the ¾ moon gave us any type of reprieve. At the 11pm watch change, we added another reef to the jib. Dale lost his favorite hat when he climbed out of the cockpit to check on the lines; there was no question that we wouldn’t be going back to retrieve it. During my 11-2 watch, I eased my grip on the jackline holding my tether and me in place, and looked back to identify the Southern Cross for the last time on our voyage. At the 2am watch change we added another reef to the main and discussed the option of turning around and heading back. Cooking was out of the question. Even hove to, I could only microwave something quickly; I’m glad I picked up that bucket of chicken. Sleeping was confined to the cockpit in case of emergency and the fact that Dale was starting to feel the effects of the nasty conditions. Going below for any reason was a challenge that we saved for the watch changes. Our bicycles that have never shifted before, were now a jumble on the forward cabin sole along with everything else that had been packed around them. Dale reasoned that if the conditions moderated as they were predicted, we would have lost 12 hours by turning back. We weren’t in any danger, the boat was handling well, it just wasn’t very comfortable. We sallied forth.

The skies lightened with the approaching dawn and with it, our trepidation. Slowly throughout the day, the winds died back to the 20-25kt range. By afternoon, the seas also seemed to be decreasing so we shook out one of the reefs in the jib and grabbed a couple of books to read. I spotted a few bright purple man-o-war jellyfish heading west during the day but didn’t want to jeopardize my camera in the boisterous conditions.

With the nightfall, we saw a line of clouds that lay directly over our path, so we put the reef back in and hoped that we wouldn’t encounter any squalls during the night. (In case you’re not keeping track, we’re back to 2 reefs in each sail.)

Kralendijk,
Bonaire
12.09.532N
68.16.895W

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we had been planning on leaving at first light tomorrow morning for our 3-4 day trip to Puerto Rico but when we radioed and spoke with Chris, the weather guru, we reconsidered and are leaving this afternoon. The winds are forecast to be 15-18kts out of the east (good); seas 5-6’ with 6 second intervals (a little choppy for me). However, showers and squalls are predicted the closer we get to Puerto Rico on Monday and Tuesday (not good). We asked about better conditions when he said that it wouldn’t be an easy trip but do-able; no better conditions are forecast until possibly the middle of May. So . . . It’s now or next month. We’ll be leaving this afternoon. I hate saying good-bye to Gerry & Nicky in any event and if the timing had been just a little different, we might have gone all the way to Australia with them.

As soon as the decision was made, Dale scooted over to the marina to pick up our mail and on the way back dropped by Orpailleur to let them know of our decision. We started preparing the boat the way we normally do, when Dale found that our water strainers for the engine and genset were filled with jellyfish. All those little practically invisible kind found their way in some how.

We met up with Gerry & Nicky in town about noon and grabbed a quick bite before heading off to check out of customs and immigration. Since immigration was closed, we had to go to the police station to check out. Dale said that the procedure was infinitely better. Next we hiked over to the customs office who cleared us out and gave us back our flare gun. I even dropped by the local KFC and picked up some chicken for dinner. It took longer to give me back change in US dollars than it did to get my order. But when I explained that we were on our way out of the country, they were kind enough to get authorization from the manager and between what they had on hand and what I had in my purse, were able to make change without involving an act of Congress.

At this point, we’ve taken the engine off the dinghy and put it on the back railing. The dinghy has been hoisted and tied securely to the arch. I’ve changed into my bathing suit/T-shirt cruising ensemble and most things that we know will shift have been tucked a little more securely into corners and crevices. Right now, we’re waiting to say good-bye to Gerry and Nicky for the last time and we’ll be heading out.

Wish us luck. We’ll catch up on the other side.

Kralendijk,
Bonaire
12.09.532N
68.16.895W

Happy Birthday Dale!

Bright and early this morning, the guys dinked over to the marina office and returned with our laundry and propane tanks. Two out of 3 is good, I guess. We’re still waiting for our mail to arrive.

They also returned with one of the marina attendants to record our use of electricity and water, so that we could check out of the marina and return to a mooring ball. Thank heavens we had elected to use the electricity to charge our batteries and rarely anything else as Gerry’s electrical bill was quite large for only 3 days. We, however, used $50 of water in cleaning and replenishment of our tanks. With that done, they dinked back over to the office and paid our bill.

On their return, Gerry & Nicky untied and kicked us away from the dock. The wind carried us toward the deeper water and when clear of the docks, we turned and headed out the narrow entrance. We turned south and made our way back toward town looking for 2 mooring balls that were close together and hopefully near a WiFi hotspot. Not finding any close to town, we headed back toward the marina and secured two spots. On the first mooring we attached to, we had no sooner tied up when the wind shifted and I didn’t care for the way we swung close to another boat nearby. So being a nice guy, Dale agreed to move to another mooring behind the guy. This time when the wind shifted, I felt we had a lot more room between boats. Orpailleur is either beside us or behind us depending upon the way the wind blows.

As we were nearing the time to run the genset again and I knew we wouldn’t be going anywhere for the next hour, I grabbed my snorkel gear, pestered Dale into joining me and then jumped in. We had been able to see that the water was crystal clear when we first arrived in Bonaire and knew that each mooring ball was designated as a dive spot. Now we know why. The bottom drops dramatically as you move away from the shore line. Where the Palace rests while swinging on her mooring lines is where the water changes from the bright turquoise to the deep blue. So right below us is where the bottom shifts from being predominately sand to coral and reef fish.

Immediately upon jumping in, I saw a turtle swimming below our swim ladder on the bottom. A porcupine fish was loitering around the blocks of cement the mooring lines were attached to, a huge trumpet fish chased a smaller one through the coral, and a trunk fish was seen heading off in the direction of Orpailleur. There were of course the usual schools of sergeant majors and chromis loitering around looking for a handout. Once again, I wished that I could find the wallet with my dive card as all of this beauty, no matter how clear the water, was too deep to truly enjoy with a snorkel. Although, over the next hour, I did my best.

When the genset was done, we followed Orpailleur into town, stopping briefly to say hello to Moon Goddess who had arrived while we were in the marina, and tied up to the dock by Karols. While Gerry checked on some parts he ordered at Budget Marine, Dale took off in the opposite direction to check about the procedures for departing on a Sunday. That left Nicky and I to do what we do best. Methodical shopping. Up one side of the street, checking every store and then down the other. That way we see everything that is available and know who has the best prices. The guys hate it. At one point I mentioned to Nicky that the guys would never believe that we had hit just about every store without finding anything we wanted. Then again, the last couple of stores had some nice souvenirs for the kids and I found an optical shop that could replace a screw that had fallen out of my glasses.

We finished the day with dinner at a place called the Rib Factory. We sat on the balcony and listened to a mariachi band playing at Karols. We even sang Happy Birthday to Dale quietly in 3 part harmony. Well . . . Maybe it was 3 different keys.

Harbour Village Marina
Kralendijk,
Bonaire
12.09.849N
68.17.088W

Today’s big project was getting some major provisioning done before turning in the car. Dale & Gerry had dropped off the propane bottles for re-filling and while in the marina office checked on laundry and mail. Nothing yet.

We took off about 9am and were able to find just about everything that we needed. I actually found bread that is good for a month. Can’t wait to try that. We also found yogurt that doesn’t have to be refrigerated; that should be interesting too. We took turns returning to the boat since the little Suzuki couldn’t hold us and the groceries.

Once we were back, Nicky needed to make a quick trip to the dentist because one of her fillings fell out during the night. All of this needed to be accomplished before the car had to be returned by noon; and we did it.

Back on the Palace I needed to take anything in cardboard out, vacuum seal larger purchases into smaller ones and put everything away. For all of you giving me a rough time about toilet paper, I did not buy any on this trip. (I’ll restock when we get to Puerto Rico). Dale excused himself and stayed out of the way due to the fact that I tend to get Touret’s Syndrome when things don’t fit; turn about is fair play and I've learned from the best. Really there was no need, I hadn’t over shopped on this trip and the only time I got frustrated was when a tube of biscuit dough burst before I had a chance to get it into the refrigerator.

Have you ever noticed that we seem to always be trying to work around various island holidays to check or check out? Bonaire is no different. The weather looks good to head north on Sunday and the holiday celebrating Queen Beatrice’s birthday is on Monday and Tuesday, which means we need to check out and retrieve our flare gun on Friday or Saturday. Since we’re still in the marina and can walk to the nice Argentinean restaurant across the harbor, we decided to celebrate Dale’s birthday tonight instead of tomorrow. Nicky and I had bought the guys gifts at the El Conquistador back in February. Gerry had to wait to get his gift until now because we figured that as soon as Dale saw it, he’d know what he got.

The restaurant was right across from our boats and we had window seats. The prime rib was excellent (we’ll be eating it for the next 2 days) and the guys seemed to like their new shirts.
We waddled back to our boats and said good night. Tomorrow we’ll leave the marina and head back to a mooring ball. Hopefully, we’ll get some snorkeling in before we have to leave.