Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
18.20.257N
64.55.694W

In spite of our 6:30 am attempt to leave Culebrita with the calmer seas, we had to collect the stern anchor. If you remember the last time we threw out a stern anchor, it took 4 dinghies to help dislodge the sucker. This time it was just us.

Once again, it wasn’t going to come out easily. When Dale told me that he was going to dig it out manually, I suggested dropping the mooring ball and using the windless to hoist it up . . . But no, he figured it was buried too deep and took a small hatchet (I don’t know, it’s just what he grabbed) and spent the next hour and a half diving down, digging, then coming up to get air. By the time he started to really show his exhaustion, he swam back to the boat to tell me that every time he dug the rope out, he’d come up for air and the wave action would bury it again. Then he got the bright idea that if we dropped the mooring ball, we’d could use the big boat to hold what he dug out from being buried again. Surprisingly enough, once I dropped the mooring ball and started to pull up on the anchor line, the anchor popped right out. He might be smarter than the average bear but he’s just as stubborn at times.

Two hours after MTNest left, we were able to follow them over to St. Thomas. The seas that we suspected would calm during the night did so while they crossed but were beginning to build again as we made our way across. Still, it wasn’t a bad crossing just a little more boisterous heading directly into it.

We met up with Mike, Terri and the girls for lunch at the Green House, a local restaurant then broke off to do our separate shopping. Dale and I headed back to Liberty Jewelers (my favorite) and the crew of MTNest headed to their favorite jeweler. I picked up a couple of pair of earrings and then turned our attention to searching out an underwater camera. Mona, at Liberty, told us of a place to check and sure enough, after doing a little comparison shopping, we ended up where she had directed us and got a good deal. I can’t wait to try it out.

We met on MTNest for appetizers later in the evening then called it a day. We were all exhausted; particularly Yogi.

Culebrita
18.19.160N
65.13.624W

The New Year dawned brightly and by 9 am, we were hoisting our anchor to make our way from Culebra to Culebrita, a smaller, uninhabited island further to the north. On our transit we stayed behind the reefs and scooted between the two islands but once we rounded to the north on the western side of Culebrita, we were bucking into a 6-8’ swell with short intervals. Very uncomfortable and not what we were expecting.

We had to be very careful making our approach to Culebrita’s bay as we needed to turn broadside to the waves and enter between two opposing reefs into shallower water. We watched as a power boat went zinging past us into a surprisingly empty harbor . We thought for sure he’d pile up on the western reef but he powered his way through without hitting a thing. If you recall our previous visit here, we watched a dinghy pulling a water skiier hit that side of the reef, ruining their whole day.

Once entered, the reefs cut the waves down considerably but a nasty swell wrapped around them and made its way inside. We and MTNest took the most protected mooring balls available and set about settling the boats and prepared to go hiking over to the north-eastern side to Culebrita’s version of ‘the baths.’ As we were sitting, Dale decided to keep the rocking to a minimum by putting out a stern anchor to keep us into the swell. In such shallow waters though, we elected to go stern to the swell, accepting the fact that we’d have a slap on our hull, instead of bow to which would position our keel in extremely shallow water. A sizable wave could have us bouncing off the bottom; not something we wanted to chance.

We waved to Mike, Terri & the girls as they headed over to ‘the baths’ while we threw out the anchor and winched ourselves into position. All the while, more and more power boats were coming in and, like us, wanted as much protection from the swell as possible. Of course, this was in the same corner as we were in. As we left the Palace to go swimming, we saw a steady line of them coming in and hoped none would snag on our anchor line as they squeezed more and more into the same space.

It takes a while to make your way through the mangrove trees that line the water and across the rocks and boulders to where the tidal pools or “baths” are. We caught up with Mike, Terri & the girls as they were leaving, so we ended up having the pools to ourselves for a couple of hours. We hadn’t taken our snorkel gear, so we didn’t get to get a good look at all of the fish that are in the nurseries but we could clearly see that the pools were protecting tiny fish and a few good sized ones.

We joined Mike, Terri & the girls for dinner and a few rounds of Mexican dominos later in the evening and agreed to leave early in the morning when the weather is usually calmest. According to our weather information, the wind and waves are not expected to subside before Friday when Ally has to catch a plane out of St. Thomas, so we might as well go ahead and leave now.

Dewey, Culebra
18.18.330N
65.17.883W

We checked with MTNest to see what their plans were for the day, then hopped into the dinghy and went in for the “cruisers breakfast” at The Dinghy Dock. It might be “famous” and written up in the cruising guides but personally, I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary.

After the breakfast dishes were cleared away, we jumped back into the dinghy and went exploring. We motored into the channel leading from the anchorage to the main part of town by first passing beneath the “famous” lift bridge. As we understand the story of the bridge, Culebra was transferred to the U.S. in 1898. In 1903, Roosevelt gave control to the Navy, who decided that the town of Pueblo Viejo on Culebra and all of its inhabitants at the time needed to be closer to the water. So they moved it, lock, stock and barrel, built them a new town and changed the name to Dewey. However, there were a couple of fishermen who didn’t want to wiggle through the reefs and around the peninsula to get to town, so the military built a lift bridge for the two fishing boats. As you can see, it’s quite the construction project for two boats. As you can imagine, the boats are no longer in existence and the bridge is longer being lifted for water traffic.

We passed by a couple of restaurants on the water, a gas station and small haul out before exiting at the ferry dock in town. The harbor between Dewey and Luis Pena was like a pond, so we took the opportunity to cross over to the little island and then walk across the nature preserve to the other side.

When we were stationed here in the early 90’s, the little harbor at Luis Pena was a favorite overnight stop to drop our anchor on our way to the Virgin Islands. Now there are a couple of free mooring balls in the harbor and several more on the western side. We beached the dinghy and checked out the boat washed up on the shore. Dale suspected that it had been a towed target for the military in a previous life as it clearly had “Navy” printed on its side.

I left my leather shoes in the dinghy so when we decided to walk across the island, I scavenged for a new pair. It only took me a minute or two before we were off on another adventure. Tromping across the little island, we surprised a couple of goats and they startled us darting out of the bushes. Other than that, we saw no other signs of animal life on the island. The huge mountain of harvested conch shells that had once dominated one side of the harbor were now gone (thankfully) and only those shells that washed up on the beach were to be seen. Dale saw that the winds were starting to pick up, so we headed back the way we had come and made a slower, wetter crossing to Culebra, through the channel and back to the Palace for a quiet afternoon.

Mike, Terri and the girls told us hey where heading to Flamingo Beach for the day so we hoped they weren’t getting too wet in the passing afternoon showers. In the meantime, another catamaran behind us came by to borrow Dale’s pop rivet gun to attach their radar mount. I guess we looked well equipped as they pretty much made a bee-line towards us from their boat.
We met on MTNest for a pot luck dinner and a glass of champagne before heading into town for the New Year’s Eve festivities. We told them about channel to the other side and suggested that it was the quickest and, most likely, safest way of getting to and from the celebration.

We needn’t had worried though as the party in town was more of a family night than the wild craziness of Foxy’s we had come to expect in the islands at the end of the year. It was an enjoyable night of dancing and fireworks but the only food, drink or a place to sit was what you brought yourself to the party. It was a nice way to bring in the New Year and even the passing rain didn’t dampen the spirits.

Dewey, Culebra
18.18.330N
65.17.883W

According to plan, we got underway about 7:30 am this morning, unfurled our main sail and made our way out of the base harbor. Dolphins in the channel played along side the Palace as we passed by which we always take as a good omen for sailing. We knew that we were in for a long day of motor sailing, emphasis on the motor, since we had not gotten our jib back from the sail loft yet.

We rounded out of the harbor and headed east toward Culebra and were met head on with some pretty stiff winds of a passing shower. Behind the shower we encountered the occasional 30 kts gusts; it‘s just not a shower unless it has the stiff winds somewhere in front, in the midst of or behind it. To make the ride more comfortable, we decided to tack back and forth between Vieques and Puerto Rico to take the waves left behind the shower less stressful on us and the boat. The last time we passed Vieques, they were detonating unexploded ordinances left behind from its days as a military practice area and our cruising chute fell down. One incident was not connected to the other but the loud explosions definitely caught our attention.

We were supposed to meet up with MTNest coming out of Puerto del Rey but they got a late start and ended up falling in about an hour behind us. Although it was a long slog into the teeth of the wind and currents, it was an uneventful trip.

Our course took us close to Louis Pena which has a very small anchorage we used to drop anchor in when we were stationed here back in the early 90’s. We tacked back out again and then dropped our sail to motor around the southern end of Culebra. We followed the bouys that led the way through the protective reefs lying across the opening of Culebra’s Ensenada Honda and worked our way into the farthest anchorage near the town of Dewey. We anchored a little west of the tiny island of Cayo Pirata. According to our guide book, Cayo Pirata “was originally constructed to give shelter to pirate ships.” We figured that was a good place for us. An hour or so later, MTNest anchored behind us. We observed the rules that dictate anchoring as a spectator sport and watched as their daughter, Tonya, fell into the water trying to assist in securing the anchor bridle.

After making sure that both boats were secure in their holding, we took the dinghies into town. We tied up at the town dock where power boats from Puerto Rico were already setting up their barbeques and wonderful salsa rhythms were setting the pace for the walk through town.

In all of the time we spent in this area, neither Dale nor I had ever visited the town of Dewey. Mike had stopped here on his way back to Puerto Rico from Trinidad, so he took the lead and showed us around town. Of course, with 4 women, we had to visit each and every shop and grocery store available. For a small town, I thought they were very well provisioned. In fact, I found a few simple items here that I hadn’t been able to locate on much larger islands further south. They even had a great selection of meats at one of the grocery stores; including a fully dressed carcass of a pig in a grocery cart that I hoped would be on the menu New Year’s Eve.

We walked up and down all of the major streets in town and visited all of the stores in about 2 hours. We returned to the boats early so that the MTNest crew could attend Mass in town. Dale and I kept a quiet evening but looked forward to tomorrow morning when we’ll partake of the famous “Cruiser Breakfast” at an appropriately named restaurant called “The Dinghy Dock”.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

It’s been raining most of today but since the bowling alley was opened until 9pm, I camped out in front of my computer and tried to get as much as I possibly could done before Dale came by to drag me back to the boat. It was achingly slow, but I’m proud to say that I’m caught up on my e-mails, all of our bills have been reviewed and paid, our investments checked, and all of the blogs that could be posted, were in fact uploaded.

Dale spent the day taking down the Christmas lights and preparing to unplug our umbilical cords to Roosey and sail to Culebra tomorrow. He also made sure that since the last word was that the base would be closing on the 31st, we would be allowed back in to retrieve our various cords, lines, hoses, and bicycles before considering leaving them behind (As tenants of the marina, we are supposed to be given 30 days notice to vacate in the event the marina is closed. To date, no such notice has been given to anyone.) Hector, the marina manager, confirmed with the base Officer In Charge and we’re set to go (and return). If our hot water tank arrives while we’re gone, they’ll hang on to it for us.

One good note; when we bumped into the base OIC, he told us that his orders were extended for another 18 months and that now AAFES (Army Air Force Exchange System, I think) as well as the Army, is interested in taking over the marina. That’s certainly an indication that the Navy is prepared to stay as administrators for that additional amount of time and that there is still a speck of hope that the marina will remain a military operation. In addition to that, rumor has it that the local affiliation of St. Lukes Hospital was taking applications for nurses, technicians, etc to reopen the dental clinic here on base as a Veterans Clinic. I suggested that Dale put in his application if they offer housing on base as an incentive; I know which house I want this time! Not very big but a great view!!

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Today was a day of running errands. We invited Tom & Jordan to go along with us as we were making our customary runs to West Marine and the grocery store.

There was a nice after-Christmas sale going on at West Marine where I picked up a couple of Christmas ornaments and a pair of shorts for Dale. I told Dale all of my purchases were free after the 20% discount was deducted from his purchases. Jordan knew exactly what I was saying but both Dale and Tom decided that I was using some type of foreign mathematics as a purchasing tactic that every woman learned in a class they weren’t privy to.

After our errands, we dropped Tom & Jordan off at their boat then headed out again to Puerto del Rey, the next marina to the east, to see if Mike & Terri of MTNest had returned from the States. We walked down the dock and started waving exuberantly at the dark haired woman sunning on the trampoline. We rounded the corner to discover that we were in fact waving to Terri’s daughter, Tonya. Tonya and Ally, her friend from college, were visiting for a couple of weeks. They all had arrived late last night. Mike & Terri were out re-provisioning and they anticipated leaving for a visit of the Spanish Virgins on Saturday. They promised to let Mike & Terri know that we had dropped by.

While in the middle of preparing dinner later this evening, we received a hail on the radio from Mike inviting us to join them at Lolitas for a night of Mexican food and catching up. Naturally, I finished up and then stored it all away since I wanted to visit with friends we hadn’t seen in almost a year.

We had a marvelous time and of course, reminisced about our times with Roger & Elaine. It’s hard to believe that the last time that we saw Mike & Terri was about this same time last year. We had met in Luperon and had spend our time in the Dominican Republic with them, crossed the Mona Passage together to Puerto Rico, toured the western and southern coast of Puerto Rico with them and then said our good-byes in Virgin Gorda last February when they continued on with DocNoMore to St. Martin and we headed back to Puerto Rico to meet our daughter Michelle and, . . . Hey wait a minute . . . We were waiting for Gerry & Nicky a year ago too!!!
Anyway, we had a great time and learned that they were going to Culebra for the New Year celebration, then on to St. Thomas. Ally was returning home out of St. Thomas and Tonya was staying another couple of weeks before leaving the same way. They invited us to join them for as long as we could.

We decided that we would join them for the New Year festivities and go as far as St. Thomas but that we needed to be back in Puerto Rico by Friday as we had to pick up our jib and dinghy cover from the sail loft. We coordinated our plans and hope to meet up with them on Saturday morning on the way to Culebra.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

It rained off and on today but between raindrops I did laundry and “assisted” Dale in splicing an eye in a double braided rope. I say “assisted” only in reference to the fact that we had two sets of directions on how to complete the task. Mine had more pictures but lacked some key steps. Dale’s set of instructions were more detailed but practically written in Greek; sometimes you just need a little visual aid to figure out what is being conveyed. Between the two sets of information, multiple readings, a couple pair of scissors, several ‘fids’ (giant metal needles), a cleat on the dock and our combined body weights to ‘bury the splice’, we figured it out and now have a very nice little eye spliced into the new spinnaker halyard which holds the snap shackle. Pretty dang professional looking, I might add.

Now we only have to run it down the mast.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Happy Birthday April ! We hope you took some time off to spend with family and enjoyed the holidays.

We received an e-mail from Gerry & Nicky today that they have left Georgetown only to discover that the vibration they were tracking down in their genset was due to a broken frame supporting it. They hope to have it welded in the Turks & Cacos.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

We spent a quiet day together starting with a big sausage and egg breakfast and the rest of the day talking with our children, grandchildren, parents and siblings on the sat phone with only a few dropped calls. It was wonderful to hear all of their voices again.

In the afternoon, I made an apple crisp dessert to take with us to Mac & Marie’s when we joined them along with Mac’s sister Clare and her two daughters, Christie & Janine, and their neighbors, Martin & Sara. Our group ranged from ages 18 - 80 and we discussed everything from pivotal points in our lives to the goals we hoped to achieve in our lifetimes. Mac & Marie prepared a standing rib roast dinner with all of the fixings and ended with bananas flambé ala mode. Impressive and they didn’t even know that it was my favorite!! I enjoyed the dynamic mix of people and all of the tasty dishes.

We said our goodbyes and took our time driving home admiring the holiday lights along the way. It wasn’t until we had turned into the entrance to the base that I realized that I had forgotten my purse which contained my military dependent ID card. It had the potential for being an awkward situation but the guard at the gate waved us by after checking Dale’s ID. Winding our way through the base to the marina we discussed calling and driving back in the morning. As we pulled into the marina parking lot, Dale reached into his pocket and we remembered something else I had dropped into my purse; the keys to the boat.

Being resourceful and smart enough to stay out of my husband’s way for the next few minutes, I hurried aboard the Palace and started checking the larger hatches to see if we may have left them unlocked to accommodate the Christmas lights we had strung. Sure enough, one was left unlocked and I climbed down through it and tried to locate the spare key. I stuffed a flashlight and every key I could find though a small hatch in the cockpit to Dale even though I knew none of them were the right one. Eventually, he gave up and climbed down through another hatch that I opened from inside. He finally located the spare key, crawled back out and we were able to unlock the companionway.

A quick call to the MacDonald’s confirmed that they had found the missing purse and would drop it off to us in the morning on their way to the airport. Boy do I feel ditsy! I’ve gotten out of the habit of carrying a purse resorting to a backpack to keep my hands free in the dinghy and now forget to bring it along when we’re traveling in a car. I guess I was having a senior moment since I don’t exactly qualify for having blonde moments. And that comment, my friends, will get me e-mails from both of my daughters in a heart beat!

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Christmas Sunday. Deep in the closet we found a dress and suit to wear. We had previously scoped out a Baptist church not too far from the front gate of the base whose sign indicated services were in English. We were not disappointed.

We pulled into the driveway and greeted a man who welcomed us in and showed us around. He turned out to be the parish preacher; previously of the U.S. Marines. Most of the parishioners were retired military so we fit right in, in spite of Dale’s growing ponytail. It was a fairly small congregation and I’m sure we were greeted and shook hands with every last one of them. They were all very kind and we were invited to join them while we’re here. I’d like to try except that it’s a bit of a bike ride when we give up the car. The minister had a different slant on the holiday season and freely admitted that it ‘gets him in trouble’ but he did a good job in explaining his position, so I understood what he was trying to convey. I’m curious about his other convictions and would like to hear him again.

We returned to the boat and Dale hid out in the back stateroom while I took over the galley and salon to prepare our big meal. Turkey, dressing, gravy, sweet potato and green bean casseroles. I prepared my yeast rolls too but when the turkey and sweet potato casserole didn’t finish cooking on time, I opted to leave them for leftovers.

We joined Tom, Jordan and Harry (their Pomeranian) on their boat for the big feast. Harry was decked out in red velvet and tiny gold bells. The rest of us, having changed from our Sunday best, wore the shorts and shirts with the least amount of holes in them. We had a wonderful evening and I learned that Jordan’s family is from Arkansas too. We left early enough for Tom & Jordan to get ready to attend evening Mass and we spent the remainder of the evening watching “The Polar Express” that they had lent to us. It was a cute little movie and one I had not seen before.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

We have a car, so that means shopping! Dale was none too excited about heading out on the weekend before Christmas so I gave him a hard time about being a Scrooge and dragged him along anyway. Mostly we were out for grocery shopping but we found a Radio Shack that had the plugs that allow our American 110 plugs to be used in the European 210 sockets at the internet cafes on some of the islands south of here. Usually I can get by with WiFi but its always nice to have an electrical backup in case it’s a slow connection.

When we got back to the boat, we dropped by St. Christopher and got together with Tom & Jordan to discuss sharing our Christmas turkey with them. (You remember that one don’t you? The one we tracked down last October in Trinidad for Thanksgiving but ended up not using. Well, its been residing quite nicely in a compartment in our ice maker ever since.) We determined that Sunday evening would be best and divided up the menu. It will be very similar to our Thanksgiving feast but for four instead of 6.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

While I pedaled up to the bowling alley on my daily routine, Dale went and picked up a rental car for the week. When he got back he spotted Gordan & Marie MacDonald preparing to launch their boat for a day on the water with some relatives from out of town. Dale and “Mac” had served together at the hospital here at Roosey and Marie and I had belonged to the Wives Club together. If you remember, we had anchored literally out their back door when we first arrived in Puerto Rico back in February.

As luck would have it, they were returning just as I was getting back from extended hours on the computer and we were able to chat and catch up for a bit. They invited us to join them for Christmas dinner at their home in Palmas del Mar on Monday, so we’re looking forward to continuing our catching up then.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

You know, my days have definitely developed into a pattern. I ride up to the bowling alley about 9 or 9:30 in the morning and stay there working on the computer until they close at 1:30pm after the lunch crowd has left or when they clean up and I finally take the hint about 2pm.

Today the base police had their Christmas party there and things were pretty loud. Dominos, pool balls and crashing bowling pins to the beat of Christmas music in Spanish (with a little salsa thrown in for good measure). It was a nice change and good to see people on the base again.
Then I pedal back to the boat and either read if its sunny or take a nap if its raining. It’s a tough life, I know.

Today Dale was taking his little yellow multimeter to various lengths of the copper strip we put down for the SSB radio. He wanted me to help him lift up the bed and check where we a laid it beneath it. He said that it was to make sure we had continuity the entire length and that it hadn’t broken anywhere. I don’t know. I think he’s making work for himself. Still, he keeps the boat in tip top condition, so if poking little prods along the copper strip helps, I’ll lend a hand.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

The knock on the hull early this morning was Tom telling us that he didn’t trust the car to make it all the way to San Juan so our trip to the exchange at Ft. Buchanan is off. Rats! I was really looking forward to the day out and about.

So I changed my plans and rode up to the bowling alley to continue trying to upload my posts to the internet while Dale stayed behind to try and track down stray electrical currents. Apparently our zinks are deteriorating quicker than he thinks is proper and he wants to make sure all of the 110 connections are properly grounded. Tom dropped by later and told him that when he dropped off some work to be done at the aluminum shop, our outboard motor hoist had been repaired and was waiting for pick up. He and Dale doubled back and by the time they got there, Tom’s repair had been completed too. Wow! Talk about service.

While waiting for my photos to upload into the blogspot (which is why it takes so long), I was able to ‘chat’ with Gerry & Nicky via Skype today. They are still in Georgetown and anticipate leaving on Saturday if the weather holds. They’ve been having a tough time with the weather lately and Nicky sounded anxious to find better sailing and swimming conditions. I remember the feeling and tried to assure her that once they made it this far south, things would improve tremendously.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Happy Birthday Dad!

Dale dug out our bicycles and pumped up the tires so that we could ride up to the bowling alley to upload these posts to the blogspot. I had forgotten how slow the internet connection was here but its FREE!! So I won’t complain too much.

Tom (off St. Christopher) was already there trying out his new Skype software. He told us that a neighbor of his on their dock offered the use of their car while they are in the States for the holidays. He and Jordan want to make a trip over to the exchange at Ft. Buchanan tomorrow and invited us to go along. Wonderful, another day of shopping!

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Today was a big day. We rented a car and went shopping!

After picking up the car, we dropped by Puerto del Rey to drop off our outboard motor hoist at the aluminum fabricators to see it they could repair it. They said that they could but were uncertain if they could get it back to us before the Christmas holidays. They are one of the services that plan on being on vacation from this coming Friday until the 6th of January, after Three Kings Day.

Next we traveled to Farjardo to drop off our jib and dinghy cover for leather repair at the local sail loft. They too were planning on closing Friday afternoon but planned on being back after the New Year. Perfect! We left everything with them. While we were there, we checked across the street at one of the local chandleries to see if they had a hot water tank like ours. They didn’t but they could order one and gave us a quote.

Next we stopped by West Marine to pick up a new spinnaker halyard and, of course, to check out their end of the year sale. Next was Walmart where we picked up copies of the latest Harry Potter movie and the DaVinci code. Then we swung by the grocery store to pick up a few fresh vegetables before heading back to the boat.

After checking things out a bit, we found that it was to our benefit to order the hot water tank via the catalog. We received an e-mail from Gerry and Nicky today that they had made it to Georgetown in the Bahamas, so we’re going to be here for a couple more weeks; the 10 day back order wasn’t going to be a problem.

We ended the day with another quick trip to Farjardo to the local Pizza Hut. It’s been a long time since we had a Pizza Hut pizza and it tasted really good. We took our time coming back enjoying the Christmas lights of Farjardo and Ceiba along the way. Last year we had been caught in weather in Mayaguana where we weren’t anywhere near a town or the holiday decorations. This year I’m soaking it all in.

Photo: Our home at Roosevelt Roads between 1991 - 1994.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

This morning, we gingerly worked our way through the maze that our boat has become with the salon torn to pieces to check on the hot water tank. The second repair is still not holding. Somehow I already knew what the prognosis was going to be. I’m not sure I would have trusted it even if it had worked. So I dug out all of our mail order catalogs and started researching cost and shipping expenditures. We’ll rent a car tomorrow to do some leg work at the local chandleries as well. (His trip to West Marine yesterday wasn’t very fruitful. They had a hot water tank but from a different vender which would require re-plumbing all of the hoses.)

Since we’re going shopping, we might as well get everything else while we’re out and about. So I hoisted Dale up the mast to check on rigging the spinnaker halyard that broke. First we needed to locate the current one and then see if something had cut it while the cruising chute was deployed. Normally this is something that I would do since Dale’s not one for looking down from high places. But after convincing him that no matter what I found, he was ultimately the one who would have to tell me how to go about doing what ever had to be done, he agreed that this time he would go up. He did great! He even fixed the wind index that would hang up every once in a while since our transit from Martinique. He took a camera up with him to take pictures of everything so now we’ll both know just exactly what the other is talking about in the future. Jordan came by just in time to help tail the line when I let him back down again.

What we learned was that the spinnaker halyard looked to have simply worn out; there didn’t appear to be anything that would cut it. (Good thing it wore out on the chute instead of one of us). So we’ll add a new halyard to our shopping list. We also know that there is nothing we can do to add a pulley at the top of the mast that would made a difference with the cruising chute (an option that we had discussed). Dale fixed the wind index, so we’ve taken that off our list.

Since the boat looks like a bomb has gone off inside it anyway, I took the opportunity to dig out our “up and over” Christmas lights and rearrange one of our storage lockers in the back.
By night fall, we were decked out for the holidays. There are lights going up the roller furling and down the back. We have bells on the bow, a tree on the back deck, as well as another in the salon on the only clear space available. We’re the only Christmas lights for miles. The boat’s a mess but I’m happy.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

First thing this morning before anyone else had the same idea, I finished the laundry that I had started last evening.

We dug out the cruising chute (asymmetrical sail) and laid it across the lawn to rinse the salt water off it and waited the better part of the day for it to dry. Later in the afternoon, I was able to repair a tear in the sock that I can only assume occurred on a sharp piece of metal when it took flight.

We also unfurled and let down the jib so that we can take it in to have the clew corner repaired. The leather chafe guard has completely been worn off.

In the meantime, Dale tore the salon apart to get to the hot water heater. We moved the table up and out of the way, then he had to cut the seat to allow access to the hot water tank. He unscrewed the housing and used a mirror to look all the way around the hot water tank looking for any sign of a leak. We found two spots on the underbelly of the tank at appear to be faulty weld points but no leaking water.

He removed the front section of the settee and was able to expose the hose connections and found where the leak appeared to be coming from. However, after he trimmed the hoses and made sure that the new connections were solid, the leak continued. It seems that its not the hose connections but the metal to metal connection that the hoses connect to that is leaking.
Next, he used a special epoxy to try to make the repair but by evening, there was still a little leak. He added more epoxy so we’ll have to until tomorrow morning to see if repair holds.
It was a long day so we ended it with a game of Cribbage in which Dale won soundly. Since I’ve ‘skunked’ him the last couple of days, he feels vindicated at last.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

As quietly as we could, we hoisted our anchor at 6:50 am and motored out of Charlotte Amalie through Haulover Cut by Hassel Island. We ghosted along West Gregorie Channel between St. Thomas and Water Island, past the airport, past Porpoise Rocks, Saba Island and finally past Sail Rock. We were in familiar waters heading back to Roosey Roads.

Once again we had light winds directly behind us. After we determined that the few showers left in the area were more than likely going to miss us, we rolled in the jib, rigged the asymmetrical, then hoisted the giant colorful sail. Boy does it make a difference! It’s a little trickier to use but we were flying along with up to 8.5 kts over the ground in breezes rarely above 12 kts. We were in the process of leaving Culebrita behind us when Snap!! The giant sail above us was suddenly laid out perfectly in the water beside us.

Dale ran forward while I tried to keep us pointed in any direction that would keep the sail to the side of us and not beneath us to foul on the keel, rudder, prop, or anything else below the waterline. We decided the best course of action was to open the forward hatch over the head and stuff the sail down into the boat and figure things out later. This, of course, was easier said than done. It took a bit of heave-ho on Dale’s part but he finally was able to pull the monster out of the water and stuff the last of the sail, lines and dousing sock (which had turned itself inside out during the process) down the hatch. A check later on showed that the halyard had severed about a foot from the top.

We unfurled the jib once again, turned a bit off straight down wind (we’d had enough excitement for one day) and continued our trip to Roosey.

About an hour out of Ensenada Honda, the official name of the harbor at Roosey, we called ahead for a float plan number to relay to the Coast Guard in requesting permission to enter. A half hour after that, we were granted permission to enter and weaved our way through the empty mooring field up to the fuel dock. We were in our slip by 4:00pm.

Tom & Jordan on the catamaran St. Christopher, whom we had met the first time we came through Roosey, came out to greet us. They had decided to stay in Grenada during the hurricane season and had made it back before us.

While Dale rinsed off the Palace and plugged us into electricity, I grabbed a couple of loads of laundry and started cleaning from a different point of attack. As I’ve said many times before, this is our home away from home. We feel very comfortable here and know that all of our pieces and parts can be repaired or replaced here. We’ll have no problems keeping busy until Gerry & Nicky get to Puerto Rico.

Charlotte Amalie
St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.243N
64.55.870W

Leinster Bay is one of my favorite anchorages. Not only because you can snorkel to Waterlemon Cay from your boat but also because it is so well protected. Not a ripple during the night. That, of course, meant a great night of sleep, finally!

The morning dawned a rainy grey and after we dropped our mooring at 8:45, we motored out into Sir Francis Drake’s Passage to find it rather blustery. The wind was against us the entire leg up to Road Town. The 4-5’ waves were choppy and made it a moist transit from the rain and the waves over the bow. At one point, we had to come to a complete stop in this mess when Dale noticed that our outboard motor hoist on the back arch was taking more of a beating than we had anticipated. We have a tendency to use it as another support for the dinghy on transits; snugging the dinghy closer to the arch. As luck would have it, this time the hoist bent in all of the pounding into the sea.

When we turned to enter into Road Harbor, we watched the (apparent) wind register 30 knots as a passing rain shower breezed by. There were two cruise ships in the harbor as well as what appeared to be the entire Moorings charter fleet. We anchored outside of the cruise ships amongst some other boats and Dale lowered the dinghy to go in search of the store that held the replacement sat phone we came to exchange. I babysat the boat to make sure it didn’t go anywhere in the high winds and to fend off in case other boats got too close to us or us to them. Thankfully, nothing like that was needed and Dale was back in a flash with the new sat phone. They had powered it up in the store and made sure it locked onto the satellite before Dale left, so we figure we’re good to go.

It was a down hill sleigh ride back the way we had come along Drake’s Passage, through the Narrows around St. John into the Windward Passage, along Pillsbury Sound , through Current Cut between St. James and St. Thomas and down the leeward side of St. Thomas. We arrived in Charlotte Amalie about 4:00 pm just as the first of the 3 cruise ships berthed there figured it was time to leave. Of course, we were right behind him at the time and had to turn on the engine and scurry out of the channel. We continued on into the Charlotte Amalie anchorage, circled a few times in front of the Coast Guard pier like the tired dogs we were, and found just the right spot to drop our anchor in about 17 feet of water.

Tomorrow, bright and early, we’ll hoist anchor again and head for our Puerto Rican home of Roosevelt Roads.