St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.204N
64.55.523W

We awoke during the night to gusts of wind that caused the mooring lines to strain against the toe rail of the boat. We peeked up to make sure that our day mooring was holding us through the night; it was doing a fine job. By morning we started dancing around the mooring with the gusty winds well into the 20 knot range. Apparently, a high pressure system was moving through the area bringing the winds out of the north.

We radioed to our buddy boats inside the harbor and told them that we wouldn’t be snorkeling in 20 kts winds as it would stir the water up too much but would instead wait for a break in the winds to sail over to St. Thomas to start preparing the boat for our guests. The break never came, so we tucked a couple of reefs in the mail sail and the jib and headed out.

With gusts up to 28 kts we scooted over to St. Thomas doing speeds of 6.5 -7.5. Thrilling just bordering on nervy. Thank heavens the seas hadn’t had time to build into anything dramatic.

Even in the protected Charlotte Amalie Harbor where the wind stayed at 6-7 kts for the majority of the time, suddenly would gust to 30 and 40 kts unexpectedly.

We anchored in just about the same place as we had a few days earlier and started to unpack the guest berth and forward head to incorporate those items into our stateroom in the back. That task done, we joined MTNest, who had also returned to St. Thomas to pick up guests for dinner at The Green House.

St. John, USVI
Salt Pond Bay
18.18.115N
64.42.243W

We tried sailing today but as we didn’t have more than 5-8 knots, we weren’t going anywhere very quick. Eventually, we gave up and turned the motor on.

Each time we fire up the engine in these waters, I’m reminded of when James (about aged 10) would ask in an extremely frustrated manner, why we couldn’t just turn on the engine when we wanted to go a short distance. Why did we have to go so far in the opposite direction just to turn around to almost come back to where we started? Today it was his father who was getting frustrated at not being able to make the progress he had hoped for.

By noon, we closed in on Salt Pond Bay. Unfortunately, there were not enough moorings left for the 3 buddy boats. As we were the last one in, we took a day mooring to the side of the entrance hoping that another boat would leave by night.

We grabbed a light lunch and then dinghied to Booby Rock to snorkel. What a treat! There was a colorful array in both fish and coral. Finally, there were the schools of tropical fish that I remembered as once being here. There was also a wonderful underwater topography of canyons, walls, huge crevices, and all sorts of rock formations and places to explore. We swam around the entire cay twice; first one way, then the other.

We then dinghied to the reef that was located near the anchorage where our friends were. This was a good place to snorkel but paled in comparison to what was only a short distance further out. We told the other 2 boats about Booby Rock but by the time they tried to go out, a dive boat had taken the only mooring ball available and didn’t want to share the rope. We told them that we enjoyed it so much, we’d probably go back tomorrow morning. They’ll try again at that time as well.

Friday, Gerry & Nicky (our friends from home) will be coming for a short visit. We’re so excited to see them! Tomorrow, we’ll head back to St. Thomas to tidy up a bit and pick up a few fresh veggies in anticipation of their arrival. Then off to the British Virgin Islands for a week.

St. John, USVI
Leinster Bay
18.21.823N
64.43.376W

Happy 48th Birthday Gary. Hope it was a good one!

We continued on to Leinster Bay this morning. In years past this was another favorite anchorage. In fact, I used to have a poster of it hanging in my office at work.

Leinster is now covered with mooring balls as is all of St. John. This has pros and cons associated with it but the more I think about it, the more I’m leaning towards it being a good thing. They’re easy to pick up, even those with less experience who charter boats can figure out how to tie up to one. They allow more boats into the anchorage without the problem of having enough room to swing (although we have heard of an anchorage where this isn‘t necessarily so.) There isn’t the problem of those with less experience or just bad luck dragging into you. However, the major draw back is that you have to pay for them instead of dropping your anchor for free, and . . . They are supposed to be paid for in advance, and . . . There is no refund if they overbook.

We flagged down the Park Ranger and asked about how and where to pay for the use of the mooring balls. It’s a bit of a catch 22. You take a dinghy around the point to a mail drop along a path. The catch is that there is no place to land your dinghy. Dale found it easier to dinghy into shore where we were and walk the distance along a path rather than mess up our dinghy on the rocks. The Ranger also explained that you are obligated to take a mooring ball if one is available but if one is not, then you are allowed to anchor beyond the mooring field.

There are “bay sitters” as well. These are volunteers who make sure that everyone knows the rules and keep track of who comes in and out of ‘their’ particular bay. The Park actually generates spread sheets showing who is where and if they’ve paid or not. I think this probably works for the charter boat companies but we cruisers throw a monkey wrench into the whole mess.

Eventually we snorkeled Waterlemon Cay and found that the coral was doing much better but the fish didn’t seem to be as abundant. We had a good time anyway.

I think the most fun was when a rather well endowed lady snorkeling in one direction around the Cay tried to readjust her bathing suit, exposing herself completely to Mike who was swimming towards her from the other direction. They both looked up to see each and started screaming underwater, each trying to get out of the way of the other. What a hoot! They scared every fish and swimmer within ear shot.

Tom and Jordan on St. Christopher told us about a great snorkeling area called Booby Rock over by Salt Pond on the south side of St. John. None of us have ever been so we’ll head over in that direction tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what happens to Mike over there.

St. John, USVI
Caneel Bay
18.20.804N
64.47.366W

I remember a song from an old Broadway show . . . La, la, la, . . . I enjoy being a girl!

This morning the crews from the 3 boats dinghied into the dinghy dock and went shopping. Elaine wanted to pick up some things from Kmart. Terri wanted to check out the grocery store to see what was available when her company comes in, and the guys wanted to dump the trash. I’m still looking for a current cruising guide to the Virgin Islands; ours is dated 1994.

When this was all done and the groceries stored on board, we roared off into town. We followed the others around the duty free shops and souvenir stores until we found Drake’s Alley and Liberty Jewelers. The people at Liberty Jewelers were well known by the Wives Clubs on Roosey for having great prices. I don’t think any of us have ever forgotten them. So Dale and I excused ourselves from the group and promised to meet up with them later for lunch on MTNest.

Ladies, it’s not very often your husband is in the mood to buy you jewelry but when he is, go for it! I’ve decided not to think practically any more. This entire trip I’ve been saying I can’t wear it; I don’t want to lose it; I don’t want it stolen. Today, I started off saying the same thing but when it became evident that he was going to get something in spite of my protests, I picked out something I liked. Actually I picked out 3 somethings I liked. Rather I picked out 8 somethings I liked and narrowed it down to 3; a necklace with 2 different pendants for it. I still won’t wear them on board and will most likely tuck them someplace safe so that I won’t find them again until we off load everything. For now, I have a pretty necklace that I can wear two different ways once we get back to somewhere that I will have more than shorts and a bathing suit to wear.

After lunch we hoisted anchors and pointed our bows toward St. John. Our intention was to anchor in Cruz Bay and visit their town. Unfortunately, the bay looked a little crowded, so we moved further along the coastline to Caneel Bay and took a mooring. We’ve been told that the Forestry Service has mooring balls in all of our old anchorages and that in many of them, you are no longer allowed to anchor. I really do need to find a current cruising guide so that I can make sure we don’t get fined. In any event, the rain came and none of us went anywhere. Tomorrow we’ll try again.

St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.204N
64.55.523W

Have you ever done something so many times that one day you do it without thinking but totally screw it up?

DocNoMore and MTNest hoisted anchor and pulled out about an hour before us and motored the entire way to St. Thomas. However, I had managed to pinch the sail in the mast by pulling the out furler more than I pulled the out haul, essentially unrolling it in the mast before pulling it out far enough first. Dale ended up standing on the boom and pushing the sail in an inch at a time so that we could tighten it back up and pull it out correctly. As a result of this delay, we caught the change in direction of wind and were able to sail from Culebrita to St. Thomas under blue skies, fair winds and extremely calm seas on a single tack.

(Note: this was the first time we used the windless after Dale replaced the motor and thankfully, it worked beautifully. Patience only goes so far and I‘m sure I used most of his up today.)

We arrived at St. Thomas about 4 pm and were amazed by how much the harbor town had grown and changed. We knew that the Charlotte Amalie’s Yacht Haven had been destroyed in a hurricane and was in the process of being rebuilt. Yet again, knowing and seeing are two different things. There is absolutely nothing remaining of the old Yacht Haven buildings. The only evidence of their prior existence are the concrete piers that are still standing. It appears that the new Yacht Haven will be bigger and better and I'm sure, more expensive.

One little interesting note, the buildings in town that have been standing on this island since the 1600’s are still standing with no noticeable damage. I wonder what that says about our new, improved, bigger and better technology.

We joined the others when they returned from exploring and shopping and have decided to head to town tomorrow to see what other changes have taken place.

Culebrita, PR
18 19.173N
65.13.699W
I awoke this morning hearing an engine near to us but then bounded out of bed when I heard another that sounded as if it was going to run us over. The Puerto Rican Armada was arriving.

Dale was already awake, sipping his morning coffee in the cockpit and watching the morning activity. Huge powerboats would come roaring in, drop their anchor, then back up to the beach before dropping a second anchor. Each boat that arrived seemed to be a larger version of the one before it. Already there were twice as many boats as there were last night when I went to sleep. Oh well, the secret is out I guess.

As pre-arranged, we met the crews of DocNoMore and MTNest and hiked the trails up to the lighthouse on the hill. We were a bit disappointed when we arrived and found the lighthouse was surrounded by a fence with barbed wire at the top but we took our pictures and returned, pretty much, the way we had come. Only one detour to the wrong bay. What can I tell you, it’s hard to tell which path to take when they all look like deer paths to begin with.

We returned to the correct bay to see that it had been completely inundated with powerboats. They were lined up the entire length of the bay, except for where our sailboats, on the moorings, blocked their further assault on the beach. Or so we thought.

By noon, when it appeared that you couldn’t get any more boats backed onto the beach, one resourceful captain decided to drop his anchor, then back over our mooring line at an angle to access the beach beyond. Once he did this, others followed. Within an hour, we were perpendicular to four powerboats on the beach with nowhere to swing. Dale was determined to “hold his ground” but I was a nervous wreck. You know the old saying “when Mamma’s not happy, no one’s happy.” This boat is my home; I was definitely not happy!

Needless to say, we dropped our mooring line and backed out to where we could anchor; a feat in itself considering how many anchor lines where stretched along our path. Dale was a bit put out but I felt a lot better.

I spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, snorkeling, floating in the water with Terri and guesstimating that the 50 boats in this single bay were probably valued in excess of $20,000,000. Except for the overwhelming number of powerboats, I think Terri finally found that ‘one particular harbor’ she’s been looking for. What a great day.

Tonight, we’re listening to the Armada’s music and trying to keep the Palace lit up so that the drunk dinghy racers don’t run into us. I honestly think they’re using us as a marker on their outside leg.

Tomorrow, we’ll head to St. Thomas and, hopefully, the Armada will head back home.

Culebrita, Puerto Rico
18 19.173N
65.13.699W
Today, we slipped our lines to go sailing. We radioed ahead to harbor patrol to advise them of our sail plan (the new routine,) then raised our sails and exited the harbor into the channel between Puerto Rico and Vieques. The wind (15 - 18 kts) and seas (2-3’) were perfect sailing weather. The sun was shining, the sail upwind was brisk and we thoroughly enjoyed our 5 hour sail to Culebrita.

Dale did have to rescue the dinghy when one of the cables holding it on to the davits gave way and had to be replaced. Thank heavens we had made several more and had them ready for this small emergency.

Twelve years ago, Culebrita had been one of our favorite anchorages in that it was a nice stopping place between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. It was quiet, as we rarely saw more than one or two boats on the few occasions when we didn’t have the entire anchorage to ourselves, and I could let the kids swim with the turtles and explore the reefs inside the horseshoe shaped bay without worry. Today, we found that it had 6 - 8 mooring balls. Obviously, it has become more popular.

MTNest had held the last mooring ball for us and we easily slid up to it and secured ourselves for the night. We met the crews of DocNoMore, MTNest and St. Christopher on DocNoMore and visited until sunset. They told us how much they had been enjoying the bay and wanted to stay an extra day to explore the lighthouse on the nearby hillside tomorrow. So, that’s what we’ll do tomorrow.

Roosey Roads, PR
18.14.009N
65.37.581W
Computer Melt Down, Part II.

Before Dale went in search of a computer store this morning he called Fred, his buddy who just so happens to be a computer guru. Fred ran through all of the functions I had found in the computer manual (I’m female, I read the book first) plus a few more, and felt that the crystal display was shot but that it could be a loose connection.

So, Dale went up to ask Hector, the marina manager, who to call for computer problems. Hector said he always called Dan in the work shop. Dan is the resident techy type right here on the base. After a quick inspection, Dan said the same thing as Fred. It could be a loose connection but more than likely, the crystal display was shot. He was also familiar with our story; one minute its there, the next its not. The two guys discussed the pros and cons of sending the entire computer back to the manufacturer for a new screen, the costs associated with such a task and decided that our best course of action would be to buy a new monitor for the computer.

This entailed another car rental. So, off I go to rent another car for the trips to the various stores to compare prices and pick up a new monitor. I learned that there was a new Sam’s and a Wal-Mart in Humacao, the opposite direction of where we‘ve been shopping prior to this. It was the same distance as the one in Carolina but if I took the toll road, it would be quicker. So I spent the better part of the day comparison shopping while Dale finished off the genset repairs.

We now have a flat screen monitor about the same size as the computer that also needs to be stowed in a safe place prior to taking off. This poor boat is going to sink under the weight of everything it has to carry. At least we have our communication system jury rigged for use again and that takes some of the panic out of the situation. Now I need to locate all of those software disks and load them onto this computer for a true backup.

I guess you could say that this is another installment of ‘what do you do all day‘.

Roosey Roads, PR
18.14.009N
65.37.581W
The unthinkable has finally happened. I am devastated.

We started the day anticipating that Dale would get the windless back together and possibly start working on putting the little shock absorbers on the genset that came in the mail so that we could catch up with our boat buddies heading to Culebra.

Then, suddenly, my computer crapped out. Yes I mean crapped, not crashed! This morning it worked fine in the bowling alley when I decided to catch up on our bills. Two hours later, we could hardly get a picture. In fact, it was only because I was sitting at an angle that I could see that there were images on the screen, they just weren’t illuminated.

I tried turning the lights out to see if that helped. That made it worse. Then I grabbed a flashlight; we could see enough for Dale to print out the database I had set up with all of our financial information in it. That stopped the cussing and threat of tears.

Then I started thinking of all of the other information we have stored on it. All of our electronic charts. All of the addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses for our family and friends. The pictures of the grandbabies. The blog posts. My recipes. The calendar with everyone’s birthdates and the maintenance log for the boat. Finally, it really hit. All of the software for connecting the sat phone with the weather information is loaded on that computer. My God, we can’t go anywhere!

Yes, we had purchased a back up computer, the one I’m presently using, but we hadn’t taken the time to transfer any of the information to it. Of course, I realize that until this trip, we’ve never used any of the weather information software. But we’ve become accustomed to having it available to us and we like knowing what may be coming towards us over the horizon. So now what?

Dale thinks that we brought all of the disks to load the weather connection software into this computer. I have backup disks of the electronic charts but unsure of whether I brought the software package that makes them all work together. The computer itself if out of warranty (of course) so we’ll make our excuses to the rest of the flotilla and stay an extra day to take it in to a repair facility. Hopefully, it will be a loose connection of some type. Otherwise, I’ll see if they can download my hard drive onto a thumb drive and I can transfer it that way.

You know, if isn’t not one thing, it’s another!! My budget is too totally shot for words.

Roosey Road, PR
18.14.009N
65.37.581W

We exchanged our small car for a minivan today and headed to El Yunque, the only rain forest in the U.S. Forestry Service. We wound our way up the narrow streets of the mountain to the visitor center where we stopped for a short film regarding the history of El Yunque and the work toward bringing the Puerto Rican Parrot back from near extinction. We admired the orchids hanging throughout the center, the red ginger flowers, the multicolored lobsterclaw flowers, and the multitude of other topical flowers, shrubs and trees too beautiful to describe.

We continued up the mountain past the pink impatients growing wild along the roadside and ferns of every shape and size to stop again for a photo-op near a waterfall close to the road. A few of us climbed up the rocks for a better pose; you never really grow up.

When we reached our destination, we stopped again to hike to the La Mina waterfall located at the junction of two nature trails. We ventured into the thick shade of the forest along a pathway that meandered up and down along the side of the mountain. The sights, sounds, smells and feel of the forest were a delight to all of the senses. The chirping of the coqui tree frog (yes during the day time) could be heard along with the tweets and calls of the birds, the wind rustling through the leaves of the canopy overhead and the sound of falling water in the distance. Light filtered through the canopy wherever it could to dance upon the vines and flowers before being soaked into the decaying wood to provide the incubator for new life to spring up. Even the boulders were a sight to behold and touch with the variety of mosses and ferns clinging to them.
This wonder and mystique was broken only by the shrieks and shrills of children of all ages playing in the waterfall beyond. At the end of the trail, a small stone bridge arched over the stream and ascended to the hillside beyond where the second trail also ended. On either side of the bridge, boulders were populated with humans looking much like sea lions, entertaining themselves by sliding into the water, climbing out on the rocks to warm themselves, preening before their mates, or clapping at their offspring's marvelous tricks. The water was brisk, bordering on frigid, but once submerged, it became refreshing on a hot day. The six of us frolicked until we recalled that we were only half way through as we still had to make our way back, which amazingly, didn't seem as far when we did reach the car.

On our way back down the mountain, we stopped at a tower shaped like a turret on a castle that had 750 steps up to a beautiful panorama of the surrounding areas. As I've climbed this before, I stayed on the ground and took pictures of everyone hanging out of the windows, instead of climbing them myself. I remember the last time I did something like that and since we're headed for a tour of the Bacardi Rum factory tomorrow, I want to be in perfect condition for that.

Roosey Road, PR
18.14.009N
65.37.581W

Maybe it's just my imagination, but this morning, we met the base Commanding Officer, the Security Chief for the base, and a few other people. Until recently, this has been a sleepy little base. Suddenly, Dale was holding court on the dock in front of our boat with everyone who just happened to be dropping by the marina today and wanted to say hi to the new folks.

Last night we traveled to San Juan to pick up Roger & Elaine returning from Denver where they visited with their daughter's family in record setting cold weather. They both returned with colds. They said that their little granddaughter is a "Petri dish" for bacteria but they thoroughly enjoyed their visit.

Again we made the rounds to the necessary stores; West Marine, WalMart, the local grocery store. I'm beginning to think that the greeters are going to know us by name after this. Three times in three days.

Roosey Road, PR
18.14.009N
65.37.581W

OK, OK! I apologize for being remiss in updating my posts.

For the last 10 days, Dale and I settled into a routine of him rising each morning at dawn to jog and I would sleep in. Then he would return to attack a project and I would ride my bicycle to our old house on the opposite side of the base and back for exercise (and stay out of the way of the salty language associated with the project.) I thought I was riding about 7 miles each day. I found out that I was riding closer to 13 miles instead. No wonder I'd get back exhausted.

Anyway, he tore apart both toilets to clean them (the first one took about half a day, the second took about an hour). We took the windless motor in for testing and found that it was shot; but we were lucky (so far) that we've been told that we can replace just the motor, instead of the whole windless (we should know tomorrow if the motor is in.) We took the main sail down and took it into the sail loft to have the repair I made replaced. (My repair did hold but the webbing that I used stretched and that was why the sail started to sag (See 01/25/2006). I now have a bit of the correct type of webbing in my repair kit.)

We cleaned the bottom of the boat again. The protective paint is starting to die and the barnacles and grass are starting to grow more aggressively in the warm Caribbean waters. It was the first time I used the hooka and found that it was harder than I had anticipated. Normally when using scuba gear, it's easier to draw a breath from the tanks. When using this apparatus, I found it more difficult to draw a breath and then trying to keep from pushing away from the boat while scrubbing was exhausting.

Mike & Terri returned from the Miami Boat Show. They fly back to Miami to help at the Manta Catamaran exhibition each year. The 4 of us drove around Fajardo running our various errands. Then we took them around the base but this time, the security guards chased us away from a housing area and then followed us around as we toured other areas that for the last 10 days have been open access. We noticed that they were also wearing their flak jackets and that they were closing the main gates after dark. Me thinks there's something about! Oh well, if they say shoo! We shoo!

Tonight Roger & Elaine return from Denver, so the crew will all be together again.

Roosey Road, PR
18.14.009N
65.37.581W

Dale and I are definitely getting our exercise these days. Dale has returned to his Roosey routine of jogging bright and early each day. Then after he returns, he rides his bike with me as I pedal my way to the bowling alley for my news and internet fix. After we returned, he tore apart the windless, then called the vendor and their representatives in the area to discuss the motor problem. I have a feeling that this month's budget is really, really shot.

In the meantime, I made a potato salad from scratch. Not that it's any big deal. I used to do it all the time. However, once I started finding a potato salad in the stores that I could just 'touch up', I got lazy. So when I sat down tonight to write this post, I sat here thinking 'what did I do today?' Just domestic stuff; no short cuts.

This evening we met the crews from St. Christopher, Dawn Trader & DeDeMau for a pot luck barbeque. It was Tom's birthday and tomorrow DeDeMau is heading out on their return to the States. We sat and visited until the MiMi's or No-See-Um's, or flying teeth, whatever you might want to call them, chased us away. Lots of great food, including a pretty good home made potato salad.

Roosey Road, PR
18.14.009N
65.37.581W

We arose before dawn this morning to get DocNoMore and MTNest to the airport on time. Traffic has probably gotten worse, if anything, but I did notice that they don't honk their horns the way they used to. They still drive on the shoulder of the road and a red light still means 3 more cars can go through, but I saw a lot more police cars monitoring the traffic than I remember in days past.

The airport is in the process of adding a new terminal and the landscaping is now 12 years old and well established. I almost didn't recognize the turn off for it. It's a good thing there was a sign.

Downtown also looked like it was undergoing a revival of sorts. It seemed cleaner than I remembered it. There was fresh paint on the apartment buildings and not as much clutter hanging on and out of the tiny patios associated with them.

After we dropped off everyone, we headed on to Ft. Buchanan and picked up a few items. Dale felt that we depend too much on our computer and decided that we needed a back up one in case something dreadful befalls this one. Normally, I'm the one that likes backups but instead I told him that he just blew this month's budget. What it really means is that now I have to stuff two into the oven during thunder storms.

Dale returned the car to the rental agency and was warned by the gate guards when he pedaled his way back, that the base requires helmets when riding bicycles. Another catch-22. We don't have helmets on the boat. To buy helmets, we need to ride our bikes to the nearest stores off base or to another car rental agency. Maybe there will be a different guard on duty when we have to go out again.

Roosey Road, PR
18.14.009N
65.37.581W

Prior to renting a car today, we hitched a ride with some of our boat neighbors to the bowling alley and finally were able to upload our posts. I also tried to get caught up on paying some of our bills electronically and promptly locked myself out of one of my accounts. Without a telephone, I couldn't call the bank to ask them to reset my password and going back to the boat to use the sat phone, I'm couldn't access the internet to find out what I was doing wrong. A modern catch-22.

Since, we had to rent a car to take DocNoMore and MTNest to the airport tomorrow, we took advantage of the situation. First we checked in with them to make sure everything was still a go and suggested meeting for dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day, then took off to make sure we still knew how to get around this side of the island.

For those of you reading this that were stationed here at the same time we were, you wouldn't believe the changes. Back then, if you saw something you thought you might have a need for in the next 6 months, you were advised to pick it up, as you might not see it again when you did need it. If it couldn't be found on base, I had to travel to the nearest mall in Carolina, about an hour away. I was in hog heaven when they built a WalMart a few miles outside of the gates of the base. Today, there are strip malls leading up to WalMart and all the way to Plaza Carolina. Every store, restaurant, and service is represented and now the mall in Carolina is about an hour and a half away.

The first thing we did was get a telephone so that we could make calls at a reasonable rate. Then we tried to find the Mexican restaurant we'd been telling our friends about to make reservations for dinner. We thought it was called Lolita's but when we found Lolita's, we recognized it as once being a little hole in the wall that served great food. It has since tripled in size and is a fashionable restaurant now. The one we had been looking for was Mona's. The hill top where it was located has been leveled off and now there are hundreds of condos overlooking the ocean. We were able to locate the West Marine, a Home Depot, a WalMart, and the sail loft but we'll have to wait until another time to visit those stores.

We had been invited to cocktails and hors d'oeuvres for this evening on St. Christopher, one of the boats here at Roosey to meet all of the other 'live aboards'. So we rushed back to join them for an hour or so before we returned to pick up the crews from DocNoMore and MTNest for a Valentine's dinner at Lolita's. We met two other couples, Chris & Jeff on Dawn Trader and Shirley & Jack on DeDeMau, both of whom have been cruising for some time and are now on their way back to the States.

There's something about having a car these days that means packing as much as you possibly can in the 24 hours that you have it. Tomorrow we'll pick up DocNoMore and MTNest at 6:30am to take them to the airport. Then we'll head over to Ft. Buchanan to run through the PX before we have to take the car back. Dale promised to check into some of the weekend specials that car rentals have, so that we can finish off some of our projects.

Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico
18.14.009N
65.37.581W

We sailed away from our anchorage at Green Beach and pointed our bow towards Roosey Roads. Approaching from Vieques, there were a few changes that we noticed right away. A new commercial fuel dock that was only in its construction phase when we left here. There were new barracks that we could see on the hill that we didn't recognize. The mooring field in the harbor appeared to be larger than we remembered and the slips have been greatly improved.

We radioed ahead to the harbor master for permission to enter the harbor and when we were granted authorization, the next radio transmission was to the marina, who told us to take whatever slip we wanted. We took one that, if it isn't our old one, it's very near it. There were quite a few boats here; all at slips. Water, electricity, showers and the laundry room were included in the slip fees.

After washing the Palace off and doing our laundry, we pulled out our bicycles and headed towards the bowling alley to upload these posts. Unfortunately, the bowling alley, where the internet access is located, is only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings and the small restaurant associated with the bowling alley is only open from 9am - 2pm the rest of the time. We'll pedal in again tomorrow to try once more.

We've lived here from 1991-1994, when this base was working at full capacity. Now, although all of the lawns are still well maintained and all of the bougainvillea and hibiscus are still vibrantly blooming, the atmosphere is surreal. The road leading to the opposite side of the base where the Officer's Club and golf course were and the road leading to the high school and Officer housing are blocked off with signs warning that special permission is required to travel beyond the barriers. The Navy Lodge, the new commissary, the old exchange and all of the little shops associated with it stand empty. The hospital is empty, all of the barracks are empty, the schools are closed; the MacDonalds is abandoned. The post office is still functional but on a limited basis. No traffic. No people. Total quiet. We understand that there are only 15 or so people left as security for the area but, supposedly, only the Commanding Officer is living on base. Other than that, we are only one of a handful of 'live-a-boards' who are the only other residents of this base. The remaining boats are stored here.

Being here brought back so many happy memories. Dale and I speculated as to what it would take to live here again. His retirement would cover the boat payment and the slip fees. Our cruising kitty would cover food and fuel for a while. It's the insurance we having a hard time with. Oh well, looks like one of us will have to go back to work; at least part time. I believe that's called locum tenems.

At least for now, we're going to be here for a few weeks. I'll try to keep the posts interesting.

Green Beach, Vieques
18.06.976N
65.34.639W

This morning while Dale cranked the anchor up, I pulled out the main and we sailed away from our anchorage. We haven't done that in a long time. By the time we left the bay, we were sailing at 7.8 kts. In monohull speed, that's flying. We turned out of the bay and started surfing down the waves with 18-20kts of wind coming from behind us to push us along. What a blast! Later when we turned the corner of Vieques and headed to Green Beach, it was a beam reach, so the cats screamed along at 10 and 11 kts and we brought up the rear with our 7-8 kts. Considering we are traveling with catamarans, I thought we made a respectable presentation.

Green Beach is definitely a home coming of sorts. We used to sail here on weekends or even long afternoons, if we could get away. It's more lush than I remember but we figure that its because we were stationed here shortly after Hurricane Hugo swept through and more than likely cleared away a lot of the brush.

As its the weekend, there were about 20 or so powerboats here but without the blaring music that we remember associated with them. DocNoMore & MTNest explored the beach area while Dale & I sat on our boat reminiscing. We invited them over in the afternoon and spend the rest of the day listening and discussing our eclectic collection of music. I made a big pot of jambalaya for dinner which we ate at sun down while listening to Mike play his sax. It was a beautiful day no matter which way you looked at it.

We look forward to seeing our old home, Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, tomorrow.

Sun Bay, Vieques
18.05.540N
65.27.381W

Happy Birthday Geri! We hope you had a wonderful day.

The group decided to stay an extra day at Sun Bay so today we toured the various gift shops to see some of the local artisans' work. Unfortunately, the items I was drawn to were made in China. We explored the town to find the local Catholic Church for Mike &Terri, found some interesting fruit trees that we couldn't identify, then walked along the beach back to our dinghies to return to our boats.

For some reason or other the swell at Sun Bay has been particularly troublesome. Each time we've landed our dinghies, we've all had to time our approaches, then pull the dinghies out quickly before they were swamped. Over the last two days, each one of us has had to bail our dinghies out to some degree. Suddenly, I'm wearing two and three changes of clothing a day and not because I want to.

Tomorrow we'll head to Green Beach, our old weekend get away from when we were stationed at Roosey.

Sun Bay, Vieques
18.05.540N
65.27.381W

We waved goodbye to Mac at 6:45am as we pulled out of Palmas del Mar Harbor and turned our bows toward Sun Bay on Vieques. We have been telling everyone about the great phosphorescent bay near there where we used to take our children when they were younger and couldn't wait to show them in person. We'd heard that the locals are now making tours to the bay and discouraging boaters from entering on their own but we thought we'd just wait until after dark and give it a shot anyway.

We had a great transit across to Vieques and anchored by 10:15 am in Sun Bay which is beautifully accented by a long, white sand, crescent shaped beach. Incredibly, we had the bay to ourselves while the next bay down, Puerto Real, was rather crowded.

At lunchtime, we dinghied to the almost deserted beach and walked the short distance to the little seaside village of Esperanza, which has become quite the little tourist town. Scooters, kayaks and jet ski rentals were everywhere; gift shops and restaurants were peppered in between. Photo-ops along the wide cobblestone walkway bordering the beach appeared by every palm tree as you looked out at the sea with the mountains in the distance. We stopped for some of the famous burgers at the Bananas Bar & Grill (which we paid premium prices for) before returning to our respective boats.

Dale took the opportunity to put the two zinks on the shaft while we were anchored in clear water. The remaining zink that had been on our shaft was now completely gone, so it was good timing. With us using two zinks every six months, we'll make sure to have a few in our inventory before we leave Puerto Rico.

The full moon was already up when evening came and we joined everyone on MTNest. Mike played his sundown sax melodies before we sat down to a wonderful pork chop dinner. About 8 pm, we divided ourselves into two groups of 3; Elaine, Dale and I in one boat and Mike, Terri and Roger in the second, for the ride over to Mosquito Bay, the official name of the phosphorescent bay.

As I mentioned earlier, Dale and I have done this a couple of times before. We know that it can be a wild ride if the wind is up but since all was quiet in the bay, we hoped that the small swell in the bay would be all that we'd encounter. Of course, a small swell in the bay means a large swell outside of the bay and our one mile dinghy ride turned into one of the water rides amusement parks yearn for. Dale tried to minimize the splash by taking the waves at an angle but then we ended up getting closer to the rocks we were trying to avoid. Eventually, we made it around the last rocky outcropping, soaked to the skin, and turned into the bay.

Once again, the conditions calmed and by the time we entered through the narrow into the phosphorescent bay, it was flat and glassy. We turned off our outboard light and kept going. And going. And going, and going, and going. Did I mention that it was a full moon? In the past, I remembered that the glow from the fish movement would be a green glow when there was any moon showing and a neon blue glow without any light. What little we could see tonight was pale white and hard to discern from just the moonlight shining on our own wake. Needless to say, it was 'much ado about nothing' and a total bust. Thank heavens the ride back was an exhilarating surf and much, much quicker. However, we felt for Elaine knowing that Roger was going to be crumbling for some time about Mr. Toad's Wet & Wild Ride. If their dinghy was anything like ours, it took almost 10 minutes for the water to empty out when we got back.

Palmas del Mar, PR
18.04.680N
65.47.765W

Happy 50th Birthday Nicky! I hope you celebrated in a new red hat.

Dale is certainly getting a work out each morning as he cranks in the anchor chain. We had a nice motor sail to Palmas del Mar, tacking back and forth for a little extra assistance from the wind. As we turned from the south coast to the east coast of Puerto Rico, we were welcomed with steady winds off the starboard bow and dropped anchor about 4 hours later in the jetty protected harbor. Unfortunately, it doesn't protect us from all of the swell.

We quickly showered and changed into our yachtie attire (polo shirts and nice shorts) to see if we could locate Mac & Marie. We were in luck, we were able to find their telephone number in the book but they weren't at home. We looked around the few shops and restaurants, checked out the property values in the area at the local real estate office, then returned to the Palace.

We had missed DocNoMore and MTNest when they went exploring but when they radioed later, we thought we'd give Mac & Marie one more call before we headed in to meet the crew. This time we made contact and agreed to meet them at 5:30. As it turned out, we were anchored about 100 yards off their back patio.

We had a great visit and learned that Roosey's future is still unknown. They told us the hospital is vacant but is still being air conditioned to preserve its recent renovation with hopes that it can be used as a VA hospital. Apparently, the only services remaining are the marina, a tiny mini-mart associated with the marina and the bowling alley. Rumors abound regarding the fate of Roosey but we certainly hope that the Coast Guard or Army can take it under their protection.
They also told us that the anchorage that faces the sea behind their home is slated to become a marina with over a 100 slips. Needless to say, the homeowners aren't happy about the proposition.

Mike serenaded us on his sax from the top of his boat and many of the homeowners along the harbor came out to applaud.

Since DocNoMore and MTNest don't have to be in Fajardo until Monday, we have suggested a quick trip to Vieques to see the phosphorescent bay.

Dale and I sort of have the feeling of coming home. We're anxious to get to Roosey but a quick cruise to our old stomping grounds will be nice too.