Author: crimsonkathyrnandcrew

We’ve now been in Puerto Rico for over 2 weeks and we’ve travelled a whopping 70nm. It’s such a switch from the rest of our season where we were determined to get as far as possible as quickly as possible. This relaxed pace definitely has its benefits!

In my last post I said we were anchored at Gilligan’s Island – well it’s actually Guilligan. There was a ferry that took people over to the little islands but they no longer work and are stored on shore. We went for lunch on March 10 at this little beachside place and right in the parking lot was one of the old ferries with the name proudly displayed!! Our lunch spot was really cool – kind of rundown but the food was awesome. Mark and I had lunch with Sharron and John (Sundog) and we were joined by 2 Americans anchored near us. After lunch we took Sharron and John back to their boat and said our goodbyes. Sundog left in the morning (March 11) and we spent 2 more days in our anchorage before we also decided to leave.

It might seem funny to be killing time but that’s exactly what we’re doing now. We’ve booked a slip at the Marina de Salinas for a month starting March 22 so we have a home base when Evelyn and Caroline visit. It was cheaper to get a whole month than to pay by the day for the 5 or 6 days we need when Evelyn and Caroline are with us. We’re also exploring the south area to find good places to visit with the girls. So far we went to Ponce – to do some grocery shopping. We stopped there on March 13 and anchored near the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club. Ponce is the second largest town in PR (San Juan is the largest) and it was very busy!! From Ponce we crossed over to Isla Caja de Muertos (Coffin Island). This island was a tourist attraction with a hike to a lighthouse, snorkeling, a museum and of course a few beaches. Puerto Rico had an earthquake several years ago and this island has not been maintained since that time. We only stayed one night because the wind direction changed and it became very rolly and bouncy.

On Friday March 14 we pulled up anchor and were headed for Puerto Patillas. Mark decided to try fishing and we had 3 hits on the line – 2 barracuda (unfortunately) and one that didn’t get hooked! We were about 6 – 7 nm away from our destination when the wind picked up to 20kts on the nose (this was not predicted)!! We decided to bail on our Patillas anchorage and instead headed to the islands near Salinas. As we made our u-turn, another fish grabbed our line and man did it hit big. The line went streaming out and Mark had to quickly go out on deck to grab the fishing rod. We were now going downwind in 20kts with no sails up and were still doing almost 4 kts of speed. I had to turn the boat perpendicular to the wind to slow us enough for Mark to reel in this fish (which I was hoping was not another barracuda). After a bit of struggle, this 11 lbs trevally came aboard. Mark subdued the fish while I got us back on course. We deployed our jib and sailed – no motor – for the first time since Feb. 27 when we crossed to the DR!! It was wonderful but short lived because we only had about 4nm to go to our anchorage for the night.

So here we are – anchored in a little bay near a power plant. It’s super peaceful and calm. We’ll be here for at least a day or so. We have a week before we go into the marina so no need to rush off!

One of the best parts of cruising is meeting new people and the next best thing is exploring new places with those people!! After a wonderful happy hour (Friday, March 7) aboard Desert Loon (Greta and Brian), we all hopped in our dinghies to explore the Phosphorescent Bay. We were 4 dinghies – us, Greta and Brian (Desert Loon), Matt and Jonathan (Next Chapter), and Sharron and John (Sundog). This bay is special because it is full of bioluminescence (shows up as solid blue light) that reacts to movement. As we dinghied around the little bay in the dark, blue jets streamed from our motor prop wash. Sharron, Matt and Jonathan all went for a swim and made blue light trails – it was super cool!!

On Saturday (March 8), Mark and I decided to go explore the town of La Parguera. We sent out an invite to the 3 other boats and were joined by Matt, Sharron and John. Matt has a large dinghy (with a 25hp motor!!) so we all headed in together in his dinghy. The town was super interesting and really nice. There was a sidewalk art show going on and most of the waterfront area was closed to traffic. We walked around the downtown, did a little bit of grocery shopping and then headed back to the dinghy. We decided to have lunch at a restaurant close to our anchorage and Greta and Brian picked up Jonathan so we were 8 for lunch. We had good food and great conversation and finally headed back to our boats around 2pm. Our anchorage was super busy with loads of small power boats taking people to Cayo Caracoles (which is a very popular weekend spot). Music played and boats zoomed past at high speeds. It was a long afternoon but everyone finally went home for dinner!

It’s now Sunday March 9th and our merry group of 4 boats has finally reached the end of our travel time together. Next Chapter pulled up anchor early – around 7 am. They are headed all the way to Trinidad this season to haul out. Desert Loon left the anchorage just before us at 8:30am. They are headed to Grenada to haulout this season. We have moved a grand total of 12nm today. We’re now anchored in a very peaceful spot with a fun name – Gilligan’s Island!! Sundog has joined us here so we still have their company for a few more days. Sundog is planning to go the BVIs and then they will store their boat at the same yard as us (Marina Puerto Del Rey).

We now have the luxury of moving along the south coast of Puerto Rico at a super slow pace. It’s such a welcome change from what we have been doing as we made our way here. We left Puerto Real on Wednesday March 5 and motored a grand total of 5 nm to Boqueron. We’d read that this town was a must see for the west coast so off we went. We left Next Chapter, Desert Loon and the newly arrived Sundog after a great happy hour aboard our boat on Tuesday night.

As we made our way into the Boqueron anchorage on Wednesday afternoon, we noticed another ketch! As we passed by it, the owners yelled to Mark (who was on the bow getting ready to anchor) “is that a Whitby?” Sure enough the other ketch in the anchorage was a Whitby too!! First thing Thursday morning we dinghied over to the other Whitby and had a nice chat with the owners. Their boat was slightly older then ours and not in the best of shape. They commented on how nice Crimson Kathryn looked (which made us feel pretty good). After our chat we went ashore to explore the town of Boqueron. I can see why it is a place to visit – very quaint with lots of tourist spots. We walking around the downtown area and found the restaurants and bars all closed up (it was too early for them). The downtown was very small and really only had 2 interesting streets. We crossed over a little lift bridge to the beach and walked along there for a bit. By mid morning, we’d seen just about everything and we’d heard from Next Chapter and Sundog. Both boats were heading to La Parguera on the south shore so we decided to pull up anchor and follow them.

We were anchored in a very cool spot just west of La Parguera by about 2pm and had a really nice swim. Next Chapter anchored beside us late that Thursday afternoon and it was a super quiet evening. Today (March 7th) we went for a dinghy ride with Matt and Jonathan (Next Chapter) to explore the mangroves and Isla Guayacan. This island is a wildlife refuge. The mangrove rivers were very interesting and we saw lot of little jellyfish and fish. We were looking for monkeys (they’re supposed to live on this island) but we didn’t see any.

We’ve now moved slightly farther east and have anchored with Sundog at Cayo Caracoles. Next Chapter has joined us here and even Desert Loon has made it from Puerto Real. Looks like another happy hour tonight!!

Puerto Real has proved to be an excellent safe harbour and a great first anchorage to explore the west side of PR. We’ve had some time to relax and recover from all the moving we’ve done this season. Now it’s time to explore!

We are anchored close to the Marina so have access to the dinghy dock and other marina facilities (including laundry!). Our first day here (Feb. 28) we came ashore and walked to the grocery store. It was great to be on land again and to go for a good walk. The grocery store was fairly small with a limited selection of produce but we were able to get enough for a few days and to pick up some snacks for our first happy hour here. Part of the reason we came to Puerto Real was that Matt and Jonathan (Next Chapter) were anchored here. We met them at Ocean World so it was great to join them aboard their catamaran and get caught up. Greta and Brian (Desert Loon) also came to this happy hour!!

On March 1st we decided to walk the other side of town (it’s not very big!). The main road through town is very narrow and the cars park on the sidewalk (I use that term loosely) so it can be a bit dangerous to walk around. We did find a little bakery and picked up some PR desserts that were very yummy. It’s been really hot and humid here so our walk was fairly short. That night Mark and I organized dinner out at the marina restaurant. There were eight of us at dinner – Desert Loon, Next Chapter and EOS. We met EOS (Mattie, Brendan and Mattie’s father whom we haven’t met because he’s been sick with the stomach bug) at the park in DR. It was a fun night with great food, drink and conversation.

We’ve booked a car for March 4th so we can drive up to Mayaguez (a bigger town north of here) so we can do some better shopping there. I think Matt is coming with us. Our other friends on Sundog (Sharron and John) are crossing to PR as I write this so I’m sure there will be another happy hour in the near future. I think Next Chapter and Desert Loon will be leaving on Wednesday – both boats are heading to Grenada so they still have some distance to go.

Here are some of the amazing sights of this beautiful national park on the northeast side of the Dominican Republic.

Not that I had any doubt 😁, but it’s still pretty satisfying to arrive in Puerto Rico. We’ve travelled approximately 1300nm since leaving Reynolds Park on Nov. 23, 2024 and have sailed in 5 countries! Crazy!

We had an awesome time at Los Haitises National Park. We explored the caves and rivers and had several happy hours aboard Greta and Brian’s catamaran Desert Loon. The scenery was so breathe taking that I’ll share a second post with photos!!

Our journey across to Puerto Rico began at 7am Feb. 26th. We pulled up anchor and headed to Marina Puerto Bahia in Samana to get our final departure paperwork. Desert Loon decided to travel with us so we both arrived at the marina at 9am. Unfortunately the power was out so it took until 12pm to clear out of the DR. We pushed off from the dock and were underway by 12:15pm.

It was an amazing crossing – predicted winds and waves were low and that’s exactly what we saw for the majority of our 140nm trip. We saw many whales as we traveled out of Samana Bay and into the Mona Passage. There were several other sailboats with Desert Loon and us, all taking advantage of the low wind to scoot across the Mona Passage. This body of water is known for being challenging because of rough seas and frequent squalls that can pop up on the north shore of Puerto Rico. We were having a fast, easy passage mostly under motor (with the occasional motor sail with the jib) until about 12:00am on Feb. 27th when we were hit by a fast moving squall. We had a brief gust of wind reaching 20kts and lots of rain but it was over quickly and the only impact for us was our speed. We slowed down from high 6 and low 7 knots down to low 5kts for a few minutes. Our friends on Desert Loon didn’t enjoy the squall at all because they don’t have an enclosure (or even a dodger) on their steering deck so they got pretty wet!

The overnight part of our passage was pretty good. It became a bit rough going past the Hour Glass Shoal at the north west end of the Mona Passage (right by the DR) but we were able to keep our speed up. As the sun rose around 7am, we were within 4 hours of our PR destination – Puerto Real. We rolled into this lovely protected harbour and had our anchor down by 11:10 am today (Feb. 27th)!!! We managed to do the 140nm crossing in 23 hours (I was expecting it to take us 28 hours). What a great ride!

After we caught our breath for a few minutes and got our new eSIM working, we cleared into Puerto Rico using the USA CBP Roam app. That process was super easy and we didn’t even have to leave the boat. We did a short video call with the PR CBP (Custom and Border Protection) and found out we didn’t need a cruising license for PR because we have a USA boating decal. Go figure – mainland USA requires all foreign flagged boat to have a cruising license even if you have a decal!

So here we are!! Cleared in and relaxing in Puerto Real, PR. We now have 2 months to do the remaining approximately 120nm to reach our haulout destination for this season – Marina Del Rey. Evelyn and her partner Liam will be joining us on April 6th and Caroline will join Evelyn on April 13 so we have lots of time to explore Puerto Rico!

Marina Puerto Bahia at Samana.

As far as passages go, the 125 nm journey from Ocean World Marina to Samana was pretty good. We got off the dock at 7 am and followed our buddy boat, Sundog, out of the marina. The wind was predicted to be low and it was!! The ocean swells were still rolling in towards us with an average height of about 1.5 m but they were quite spread apart which made them fairly gentle rollers. The first leg of this passage was OW to Rio San Juan. We made it there by 2pm and planned to depart at 10 pm, avoiding the strong afternoon and evening winds. The anchorage was not great – the swells rolled into the little bay and we rolled the whole time. We had dinner and tried to relax a bit but ended up leaving at 9pm!

The overnight passage started great because we were in the lee of the DR. As soon as we came around the cape at Rio San Juan, the wind and waves found us and they were mostly on our nose. There is a thing called “Cape effect” which causes the wind to wrap around the capes and get stronger. We definitely experienced that on this trip. Our motoring speed dropped from 6kts down to 3kts and it was a struggle to get past the Cape. As we got farther away from the Cape and into cleaner ocean wind, we were able to pull out of jib for a bit and motorsail, getting our speed back up to mid 5kts. As the night progressed, the winds died off to less than 5 kts and we moved along well. It was a bit  bouncy and jerky from the ocean swells but it was tolerable. One thing I haven’t mentioned is that Mark unfortunately got the stomach bug before we left and he didn’t feel great for most of the passage. He managed to get some sleep overnight which was good.

By 9 am we were approaching the mouth of Samana Bay and I was at the helm as Mark rested beside me. All of a sudden this large humpback whale breached right in front of us – twice!!! It was awesome and I got an okay photo of it! This area is the winter breeding and calving grounds of the humpback whale so there are many around.

We are currently anchored by a national park called Los Haitises. The scenery is incredible! It really gives you the Jurassic Park feeling!! Lush vegetation and lots of birds! We’ll be hanging out here for a few days – relaxing and enjoying the area. Sundog is here with us and the other Ocean World boat – Desert Loon arrived this morning (Feb. 22). I’m sure we’ll have a few happy hours in the future!

Well we’re still at Ocean World Marina! Our good crossing window for Monday, Feb. 17 disappeared so we’re now looking at crossing to Samana on Thursday, Feb. 20. As Mark reminded me – you’ve got to be patient!! And after seeing and hearing about all the snowstorms up north, I think we’re “stuck” in a pretty nice spot. We’re still looking to travel with 2 other sailboats – Sundog (Sharron and John from Ottawa) and Desert Loon (a catamaran owned by Greta and Brian from the USA).

Our 2 weeks here has given us some insight into the weather patterns for this part of the DR. It has rained almost everyday – sometimes just a sprinkle or two and other times a downpour. The early mornings are very calm and the afternoons are very windy. With this information, we know that leaving here in the morning will be good – low wind and calmer seas. But the afternoon will bring the opposite! We’ll keep that in mind as we travel east along the northern coastline.

It’s been pretty quiet for us on the dock. We hired our tour guide Ti to drive us back to Puerto Plata to do some shopping. This time Sharron and her husband John joined us. It was a successful trip and we were able to buy almost everything we needed. Mark found a coolant leak on the engine so he needed a new hose for that and Ti was able to take him to the right spot to buy it!! I haven’t done much lately – had a little stomach bug that has kept me inside the boat for a few days but that’s now cleared up. Mark has been busy with jobs. He fixed that coolant leak and did a few other checks on the engine. He took the port side hand rail off (which is inside and outside) and sealed around the holes. We’ve had a mystery leak for a few years now and this is the latest attempt at stopping it!! Fingers crossed this works because we’re running out of places to seal!! Today Mark worked on a leaky chain plate on the port side. The chain plate attaches the rigging to the hull of the boat and leaks can develop over time at the deck surface.

The Danish sailboat beside us left this morning (Feb. 17) and within 3 or so hours, a new Danish sailboat took its spot!! They all seem to know each other and have travelled together. This new boat is here for a few days and then they will be heading north to Turks & Caicos.

Happy Family Day!!! We’re always thinking about all of you!

It’s a little hard to believe we’ve only been in the DR for a week (seems longer – in a good way). We were pretty busy last week going on tours, shopping, getting laundry done and working on a few boat jobs. This week things have slowed down and we’re definitely more settled into the dock life. We’ve had lots of rain – pretty much everyday so the deck is nice and clean.

Mark has continued to pick away at jobs, some which have been on the list for a few years (obviously not critical jobs!). Yesterday (Feb. 10) Mark “descaled” our 2 refrigeration units with this stuff called “barnacle buster”. This was a job that had been on the list for a few years so it’s great to get that one crossed off! Mark has also worked on transferring fuel to different tanks. We have a lot of fuel in our starboard tank so transferring some to the port side will make us better balanced. There still is the big job of installing the aft cabin air conditioning unit but that’s not a priority at this point.

We’ve been doing a lot of dock watching (and walking) – checking out boats coming in and going out. 2 days ago, a sailboat from Denmark came in and tied up right beside us. It’s a crew of 5 or 6 young people and they are travelling with a catamaran also from Denmark (that has about the same number of crew onboard). We’ve had another happy hour – this time on Matt’s catamaran. Matt and his son are planning to leave tomorrow (Feb. 12), heading east along to north coast of the DR. We’re having another happy hour on their boat tonight!

We still have about a week here if the current weather holds. It’s difficult to continue east from here because the prevailing winds (and waves) are from the east. We’re seeing winds in the high teens and low 20kts from mostly east which would mean motoring into strong winds and waves – not fun at all. There is a calm (well mostly calm – under 15 kts) window coming on Feb. 17 – 18, so we’re planning to use that time to motor the 120nm to Samana. From that point, it’s about 140nm to Puerto Rico.

There’s a lot to be said about dock time – both good and bad. It can be expensive and sometimes a bit dull but so far in the DR – we’re having loads of fun. As I mentioned in my last post, the marina is inexpensive and in good condition. The staff here are super friendly and will go out of their way to help you. Mark and I needed to do a bit of grocery shopping on Tuesday (Feb. 4) and we didn’t know how to get to the store (not in walking distance). We asked at the main desk (for the marina) and were given many options. A taxi was arranged for us and it was very easy!!

On Wednesday (Feb. 5) two Canadian sailboats arrived from Big Sand Cay early in the morning. Mark and I were just dropping off our laundry (they have a laundry service here!!) and saw the two boats at the fuel dock. We went over and had a brief chat before the boats moved over to our dock. We met Matt and his son Jonathan from BC and Sharon and John from Ottawa. On Thursday night we had a happy hour aboard our boat and learned more about our new dock mates. They had some interesting stories about their adventures coming down and about their crossing from Turks and Caicos.

Mark and I had been talking about hiring a car to take us on a tour of the area. We mentioned this to our new dock mates and they thought it was a great idea so we went ahead and booked a car tour for 6 people. On Friday morning our car and driver arrived at 9 am but only 4 of us took off to explore Puerto Plata and the countryside (John and Jonathan were not feeling well so they stayed behind). Our driver (who told us to call him T) first took us to the countryside where we learned about all the plants and produce grown in the area. We also had a little tasting of fruit, coffee, chocolate and this local drink called Mama Juana. Our second stop was a butterfly garden. It was very interesting and informative. After the countryside, we went to Puerto Plata. T showed us all parts of the city – the poorer areas and the very wealthy!! We had lunch at a little place that T recommended (he got a free lunch for bringing us there!!) and then we walked around a bit in the more touristy part of town (down by the cruise ship terminal). Our last stop was the Macorix House of Rum Distillery. That was lots of fun – had a tour and tasting!! Can’t go wrong with ending our 7 hour tour with a bit of rum!!

It hasn’t been all fun and games. As usual, there are still jobs to be done! The big job news is that Mark finished the installation of our main cabin air conditioning unit! Oh boy does it work well!! We ran it for Thursday afternoon and it was lovely inside the boat. We’ve also spent time washing the deck, inside the cockpit and all the cockpit cushions after our salty passage to the DR. Definitely our work pace has slowed down.

We’re now looking at the weather to continue our journey to Puerto Rico. Matt and Jonathon are headed for Trinidad and Sharon and John are going to the BVIs. We’ve decided to try to all travel together to PR. It’s really nice to have other sailors to chat about the weather and to figure out a good crossing window. So far it’s looking like we’ll be at the marina for at least another week. Time for more happy hours 😁