April 29, 2006
Lat 18 18.2 N
Lon 067 33.4 W
(In the Mona Passage, between Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic)
Local Time: 1400

We left Puerto Rico (Boqueron) this morning, headed for Samana, Dominican Republic, a total distance of about 140 miles. We should arrive sometime tomorrow morning. Our plan then is to check the weather and, if it looks OK, head out tomorrow night for a 100 mile overnight sail to Luperon, our jumping off point for the Bahamas. We would have done this in one longer trip, but there is some kind of weather system approaching the area that, at this point, is forecast to bring large northerly waves/swells to the north coast of the DR. Since our course will be west northwest, along with light winds, this would make for a very uncomfortable, rolling around side-to-side trip. So, we'll pull into Samana and wait and see.

For this trip, I'm kind of nervous because our electronic charts have very spotty detailed coverage of the area, and I don't have any paper charts. Our primary source of information is a cruising guide, Passages South, which is written by a guy who advocates a “thornless path” from the U.S. to the islands (for those who want to avoid a long offshore passage), against the prevailing tradewinds. His plan mainly revolves around short hops through the Bahamas, the DR, Puerto Rico and on to the Virgins, night sailing (when winds can be lighter) and taking advantage of unusual weather windows. Of course, we're going the opposite way (towards the US), so you kind of have to read the book backwards. Regardless, his sketch chart of Luperon is all we have. It does give GPS coordinates and ranges, but I feel a lot more comfortable with the chartplotter, which has proven very accurate. (For the non-sailors, the chartplotter is a screen that, with the correct chart cartridges, shows electronic charts of an area, and places your boat on the chart.) While not that important on a long passage, it has proven very useful when entering bays and harbors with reef protected entrances. The charts clearly (and, so far, accurately) have shown the location of such hazards, so that steering becomes like a video game. Of course, we still post a lookout on the bow as a safety check.

Vieques was very nice, very undeveloped. My reaction was that if I had a lot of money to invest and could wait 10 to 20 years for a return, I'd buy land in the Spanish Virgins. I'd like to go back and spend more time there and on the other main island, Culebra. Puerto Rico's south coast is also very pretty and largely undeveloped. We stopped in three spots to anchor overnight and each one was prettier that the last: beautiful sand beaches backed by palm trees and green mountains in the distance. Unfortunately, we've done very little sailing during that time as winds have been very light and mostly from behind as we headed west. Today, we're heading more northwest, and the wind is out of the southwest, but at only 3 or 4 knots. So, the starboard engine is on, we're motoring at 6 knots and I have two lines in the water (but no bites yet).

April 25, 2006
Lat 18 17.5 N
Lon 065 00.4 W
(Off of St. Thomas)
Local Time: 0900

We just left St. Thomas, headed for Vieques, Spanish Virgin Islands. The Spanish Virgins are off of the east coast of Puerto Rico, and are relatively “undiscovered”, except by residents of Puerto Rico. A portion of Vieques, until a few years ago, was used by the Navy for bombing target practice, so going ashore in some areas can be risky if one starts digging up unidentified metals.

We’re on a part of our journey where we’ll be sailing during the day, anchoring at night, and then repeating the process, with a few overnight sails thrown in. We’ll do this along the south coast of Puerto Rico, cross over to the Dominican Republic, sail part way along the north coast of the DR as far as Luperon, then make an overnight crossing to Mayaguez, at the south end of the Bahamas. Once in the Bahamas, we’ll be able to slow down again a little bit (hopefully). Our goal is to be near an airport on May 10th when Brien is flying in to join us for the rest of the trip.

We only stayed one day in the BVI, as we’ve been there before. My take on the US Virgin Islands (where we haven’t been before): St. John is spectacular, being 70 or 80 percent national park, with some of the most beautiful beaches and bays we’ve seen. Karen and I both feel we could have stayed for several weeks. Besides the beaches, there is great snorkeling, hiking along well maintained and marked trails and plantation ruins to explore. As nice as St. John is, St. Thomas is not, or at least Charlotte Amalie, the largest town and capital. It’s a duty-free port and caters to cruise ships and their passengers. Enough said.

I can also say that the customs officials in the USVI were the most surly and unfriendly we’ve encounterd on the entire trip. They didn’t cause us any problems, just very aloof; not even a “welcome back to the U.S.” On the other hand, we were all excited to get to a grocery store in the USVI and see products and brands that have been scarce or non-existant so far: like cold milk (not long life), real Florida orange juice and a deli with turkey meat. Small pleasures.

Well, we’re going along on a broad reach, screecher flying, with about 12 to 13 knots of wind and 7 to 8 knots of boast speed. Sun’s out and the seas are down. Life is pretty good.

April 20, 2006
Lat 18 05.2 N
Lon 063 07.6 W
(Off of St. Martin)
Local Time: 1700

I'm writing this as we're leaving Marigot Bay, St. Martin, headed for the Virgin Islands. We're going to Anegada, an island we've visited while chartering, and we're primarily going for the fresh grilled lobster at the Anegada Reef Hotel. It's about 80 to 85 miles, we have wind from the southwest (very unusual) at about 5 knots, so we're motoring and should arrive sometime early tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, Anegada is not an official port of entry, so we'll be illegal for a day or so.

My last update was writtem as we were leaving Guadeloupe on an overnight passage to St. Martin, an uneventful passage of about 185 miles. We got to St. Martin a little after noon, after motoring about 60% of the way because of light wind. Karen and I were last in St. Martin about 7 years ago, and it has only changed for the better. It was already our favorite island, and remains so today. Marigot, the capital of the French side has had some tasteful development and has been cleaned up considerably, but still retains its charm. Our favorite beach at Orient Bay is pretty much the same. We spent 3 days there and easily could have stayed a couple of weeks or more. Also spent a couple of nights in Marigot Bay, and went over to Phillipsburgh, the capital of the Dutch side of the island. During previous visits, we had purposely avoided the somewhat seedy, overflowing with cruise ship passengers city. It's still overflowing with cruise ships, but has undergone an amazing transformation. New beach has been added, along with a new beachfront walkway lined with shops, bars and reataurants. The shops on Front Street have gone more upscale, but still have plenty of duty free electronics stores. We even bought a new video camera to replace the one that someone borrowed from the boat in St. Lucia (while we were in a marina, our only night in a marina since Trinidad). The worst part of that was that the tape from the whole trip up to that point was in the camera. Oh well, at least we've taken lots of still pictures.

Karen and I are kind of sorry to be leaving St. Martin, but have agreed that we will be back - on our boat. This would be a great base from which to explore the leeward islands for several months every winter. Some day!

While we still have something like 1400 miles to go, it seems like we're nearing the final stages of our journey. Sad, but we're looking forward to Brien coming again in a couple of weeks and his friend Molly a week after that for some crusising in the Bahamas and the passage home to Charleston.

Karen just let me know we have 9 knots of true wind now, coming from about 140 degrees on the port side - time for the screecher!!! Gotta go.

April 15, 2006
Lat 16 21.0 N
Lon 61 57.9
(Leaving Guadeloupe Behind)
Local Time 1700

My take on Guadeloupe, based on a day in the Fort du Bas marina area and a morning in downtown Point a Pitre? OK, but nothing spectacular. I understand that to really appreciate this island, one has to vistit the interior. We just didn't have the time to spend here to appreciate it. As we knew from the beginning of this voyage, we were not going to have time to see everything. So, this is the consequence. I'd like to go back and stay longer some time.

We're now on our way to St. Martin, a passage of about 180 miles. We left at about 0900, travelled south to round the southern tip of Basse Terre (the western portion of Guadeloupe; many say the island looks like a butterfly, and Basse Terre would be the western wing of the butterfly), before heading in a norhwesterly direction. So far so good, although we could use a little more wind. I believe we've entered a weather pattern of light winds, but which also makes for calm seas. We motor sailed for the first four hours into light southeast winds, then sailed with the screecher for a few hours after we turned northwest and had the wind dead out of the south. Now, we have about 6 knots from behind, so one of the engines is on and we're making 6 1/2 to 7 knots. We'll sail by Montserrat tonight (which has an active volcano that blew several years ago and destroyed a lot of the island), Nevis and St. Kitts. We should arrive in St. Martin sometime late tomorrow morning or early afternoon.

We'll probably stay in St. Martin for about a week, as we've been several times and really enjoy the island's French half. I'm lookin forward to some beach time which, believe it or not, we have not had much of on this trip. Then, sometime next week, we'll head over to the Virgin Islands (about 80 miles from St. Martin).

More from St. Martin.

April 12, 2006
Lat 15 55.5 N
Lon 61 34.8
(between The Saintes and Guadloupe)
Local Time 0900

Dominica was beautiful. Very undeveloped, but with spectacular scenery. Not in the beach sense (in fact, the beaches were nothing special), but more with the volcanic mountains, rivers, waterfalls and vegetation. I had read previously that this island had a problem with overly agressive "boat boys" and "tour guides", who would paddle out to your boat and ask to provide various services and not take no for an answer. Well, now they have licensed, trained river guides who really know their stuff and are very polite and professional. We hooked up with Albert, who took us to immigration, on an Indian River tour and arranged an island mini-van tour with an associate.

The Indian River tour is of a river that empties into Prince Rupert Bay, and the tour goes up the river (by paddling) about a mile. The river is full of unbelievable wildlife and plant life. The real thing of Disney's jungle ride. At one point, the vegitation overhangs the river and it becomes about 10 feet wide and the canopy is brushing the tops of your heads. The story is that parts of the second and third installments of Pirates of the Caribbean were shot on the river, and the director said that no additional props were needed for the river scenes because it was already so perfect. This is an attraction you have to see to appreciate. When we have time and an internet connection, we'll add pictures.

The island tour was equally interesting. Went through several Caribe Villages and lived to tell about it. (The fierce Caribes migrated up from South America, and wiped out, and ate, the peaceful Arawak Indians, and were then in turn essentially wiped out by the European settlers.) Also toured a huge rainforst and waterfall, with a swim in the pool at the base of the falls. Again, though, the most amazing part to me was the vegetation. The Dominicans have everything they need to survive on their own: bananas, coffee, papya, breadfruit, passion fruit, pineapples, coconuts, sugar cane and of course fish and lobster. The problem seems to be that, while life's essentials are abundant, jobs are scarce and many young people want to leave the island as soon as they can looking for work. There's talk of trying to develop more tourism based on the island's natural attractions, but nothing is yet planned. It's interesting that we went by three larger hotels, one started and abandonded, one looked like it closed several years ago, and the last was reportedly still in business, but had a gate across the entry and no sign of people.

On Monday morning, we left Dominica for the Saintes, a small group of islands south of and part of Guadeloupe, a sail of about 18 miles. Smooth the whole way; Karen was happy. Les Saintes are a group of 3 or 4 islands, with the lartest island, Terre de Haut, having the largest settlement, Bourg des Saintes. The Saintes are primarily a tourist destination for French day trippers from Guadeloupe. Bourg des Saintes is a small village, wiith mostly quaint french cottages, and many, many french restaurants, cafes and shops. Although I've never been to France, I imagine that is what a small Vllage in the south looks like.

Today, Wednesday, we are off to Point a Pitre, the largest city on Guadeloupe. It's a beautiful sunny day, and the sea are calm Although we have only 8 knots of wind and are going only about 5 1/2 knots, that's OK, because we need to refill on water and we can make about 60 gallons in a 4 hour sail. Life is good!

April 7, 2006
Lat 14 47.9 N
Lon 061 13.7 W
(Off of the north tip of Martinique)
Local Time: 0800

We’re heading up to Dominica, the next island in the chain north of Martinique. We have about a 65 mile sail today, having left Fort de France at 0530, with a destination of Prince Rupert Bay (Portsmouh), Dominica. Presently, we have about 3 knots of wind, although it is coming across the beam, so the starboard engine is on and we’re making about 7 knots (oh yeah, it’s raining and it’s kind of cold in the cockpit – I think our blood has thinned quite a bit – it’s probably about 72 degrees).

The sail from St. Lucia to Martinique was great; a close reach with wind in the mid teens, and the seas were only about 4 or 5 feet and widely spaced. That was really the first inter-island passage that was that smooth. I think since we left Trinidad we were in some type of unsettled weather pattern, which brought good wind (high teens to twenties), but a lousy northerly swell. Not only has the weather calmed down, but we are now heading west of north, so should take most swells on the beam or behind from now on. Karen will like that. We first landed in Marin, sort of the boating capital of the island. The harbor in Marin was full of anchored boats from all over the world. It was really nice to see a sea of masts and very few power boats; sailors just seem to be nicer people. After a couple of days there, we headed to the capital of Fort de France, which is located on a large bay on the western side of the island. We had a downwind sail in with wind in the mid teens, so it was perfect screecher conditions. Our Neil Pryde screecher again performed magnificently. We sailed most of the 18 miles while most other boats motor-sailed. (I felt compelled to give that plug as Bob Pattison, who runs Neil Pryde in the U.S. e-mailed me about how much he enjoys the web site. I know I have raved about the screecher many times, but I don’t think I ever mentioned the sail maker. Hopefully, Bob will remember this down the road when it’s time for new sails.)

Without a doubt, Martinique was one of our favorites, it not the favorite. Fort de France in particular is really a nice city, and the girls enjoyed the easy access to the latest Paris fashions (at least, I think that’s what they are), and the prices were very reasonable for everything from clothes to food to boat parts. As I may have said in a previous log, something I’ve learned on this trip is how good we have it in the U.S. in terms of availability of consumer goods (and I don’t just mean electronics, I’m talking about food selection, boat parts, tools, dishes, clothes, etc.). As we move north, the islands seem to become more sophisticated and more modern. I guess I’ve missed that. I certainly like the isolation of some of the islands and the quaintness of others, but I’m spoiled by our standard of living and not ashamed to admit it.

We actually anchored across the bay from Fort de France, so took a ferry to the city. I’m sure Karen will tell of our ferry adventure on her page, so I won’t go into details. But, put it this way: they could do a better job of identifying the destinations of the various ferries.

Dominica is another British-influenced island and is supposed to have many natural sites worth seeing. We’re planning to spend a few days there, then on to Guadeloupe, followed by St. Martin. At least that’s the plan a this moment……….

Motor yacht roam signing off……

April 1, 2006
Lat 14 04.7 N
Lon 060 56.9 W
(Rodney Bay, St. Lucia)
Local Time: 0900 (1300 Zulu)

I know, I know, it’s been a long time since the last update (11 days, I believe). When last we left off, I believe we were in Bequia, St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) with Brien and Patrick and I was still looking for an oil filter for the genset. So, let me summarize what’s happened since (I’m not going to do a day-by-day recitation, mainly because I can’t remember things that well; remember, I’m 50 now). I found oil filters in a NAPA store in Kingstown, St. Vincent! Also, Bridey’s friend Peyton went to a Napa store before leaving and brought two filters with her. Unfortunately, we (notice when bad stuff happens, I say “we”) burned up the impeller when the sea strainer filled with sea weed and no raw water was coming in. When the genset cut out, I assumed it was a fuel problem again and tried to start it again and again – I think that’s when it burned up. You sailors out there are now saying to yourselves “why didn’t you check the sea strainer more often?” Because, in order to get to it, all of the bedding and mattress in Lydia’s room have to be removed, which is about a ten minute process since other stuff has to be displaced also to make room for the bedding and mattress. Fortunately, I had one spare impeller. Replacing it turned into a 5 hour project, as you have to be a monkey, and a very limber one at that, to access the impeller. Regardless, I’m happy to report that the genset is working well again. But, I haven’t been able to find any spare impellers, so if it happens again…..

Anyway, after stops at Mustique (really a nice, quiet island) and Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau (again), a week ago Friday we went back to Canouan and picked up the girls’ friends from Lake Bluff, Amy Hoffmann and Peyton Owen. Spent Saturday back in the Tobago Cays (still beautiful), then back to Canouan to get the boys to their Sunday morning flight. Sad to see them go, but it was really nice to have them and to have the whole family together for a week. Since then, we started heading north through SVG, including a passage of about 30 miles from Canouan, past Bequia, to the island of St. Vincent itself. That sail was OK, except for the last hour when it got kind of rough as we approached St. Vincent. We stayed two nights on St. Vincent, with a trip into the capital of Kingstown (to which the 7 of us took a mini-bus, which must have had 20 people in it, but for a fare of $1.50 EC each, or about 60 cents), and a night in Wallilabou Bay, where they filmed the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. That stop really was fun, as they have left intact many parts of the movie set. Also, hiked up to a small waterfall with a small pool at the bottom for dunking. In Wallilabou Bay, we checked out of SVG for a 40 mile passage to St Lucia. The guide books warned that the 4 or 5 miles off the north tip of St Vincent could be rough, and the book was right. But after that, it settled down and we had a nice close reach in about 18 to 21 knots of wind. We had put two reefs in the main in preparation for the rough, windy area (and since we had two non-sailing passengers aboard), so kept them in, but the boat still maintained a speed of about 8 knots with two reefs and the genoa out. And, I’m happy to report, the non-sailing passengers are now full-fledged sailors. In fact, Amy kept the watch for about 2 hours of the trip. On our way, we saw two whales swimming by about 20 yards behind the boat. Amy spotted them, the first of our trip.

When we reached St Lucia, we anchored off of the Pitons, St. Lucia’s most visible landmarks. One of the locals reported that Oprah owns most of the land between the two large peaks. The next day, we sailed up to Marigot Bay, with a stop for snorkeling along the way at Anse Cochon. Then yesterday, we sailed up the coast of St Lucia to Rodney Bay, where we are in a berth at the Rodney Bay Marina. This was our first time docking, and it required a stern-to approach (backing in!). The crew pulled it off flawlessly! Tomorrow morning we take Amy and Peyton down to the airport in Castries. They have been great guests to have as both have been more than willing to pitch in and help when needed. This certainly wasn’t the typical “lay on the beach” Spring break that most kids crave; but, I think they had a good time.

After dropping the girls at the airport tomorrow, our plan is to sail up to Martinique which is about a 25 mile sail. There, we have some repairs and maintenance items to attend to, so we may be stuck there for a little while (but what a nice place to be stuck). I know I’ve written this several times, but I’m going to do it again, as I know several future Dolphin owners are following this website. This boat really sails well, and you don’t have to be a sail trimming genius to make it go fast. On close reaches, it’s easy to get the speed up to 8 knots, and off the wind 9 becomes common. While the boys were here, we set off on a broad reach with the screecher in about 15 or 16 knots, and stayed easily above 9 knots and hit 11 several times (again, these speed are off of the GPS, so they’re real). I used to be thrilled when our Catalina hit 7 knots; now, that feels like we’re standing still. Yesterday, with the wind only blowing about 12 knots or so, and a true wind angle of 70 degrees, we were clipping along at 7.5 knots, which I thought was pretty good. Then, from behind, I saw about a 42 foot Fountaine Pajot slowly gaining on us, under their main and standard genoa. As the wind began to ease and we slowed, they kept right on coming. That really bummed me out, until, as it passed, I saw through the binoculars water coming out of their starboard engine exhaust. As they passed, I saw that they actually had both engines on! My masculinity was restored.

Until Martinique……