Crimson Kathryn and her crew

It has been a whirlwind few days as we readied Crimson Kathryn for her hurricane season storage. Our shortened timeline has lead us to be way more efficient with our storage jobs. Each day had an attack plan and we worked hard to make sure most (if not all) items on the lists were completed each day.

Our haul out (May 1st) went very smoothly. You definitely get what you pay for!! The haul out crew were professional and took their time lining up the boat into the slings of a rather large travel lift. It was a bit nerve racking to watch the boat being moved back and forth, with us wondering if these guys really knew what they were doing!! But once the boat was in the slings and out of the water, we could relax because she was perfectly aligned and resting nicely above the ground. It’s been raining like crazy here so the storage yard was a muddy mess. The travel lift bounced its way to our spot and again with great care, the crew got CK into position. Our boat caretaker, Sam, was on hand to help with levelling of the boat. We’ve never had someone go on deck with a bucket of water to make sure the decks were draining properly. It took a bit of time but well worth it to make sure water won’t be pooling in all the wrong places. Once Sam was satisfied with the level, the crew blocked the boat and removed the slings. Sam spent the next hour (or so) strapping down CK. Sam used 8 straps (instead of the usual 4 we’ve been doing in Florida) because we are definitely in a more hurricane prone spot.

Mark and I have spent the last 2.5 days finishing all the jobs on our 2 lists. Being in a higher hurricane risk area has lead to a slightly different storage arrangement. We’ve decided not to cover our cockpit with a tarp (normally we do this to keep out the rain) and we’re also not putting on a sun shade. Both of these items can become a hazard when the wind picks up. All items normally stored in the cockpit or on deck have been moved inside the boat. Mark has also spent a bit of time securing things staying on deck, like the dinghy. A few extra lines were placed to make sure things don’t go flying!! The interior of the boat has been washed and items have been stored to allow for as much airflow as possible. We’re leaving 2 – 12volt fans running on low (never done that before) to help with air circulation. Sam will keep an eye of the fans and our batteries. All in all, we had a very successful 2.5 days on the hard!

We’re now at the end of a fantastic season. We’ve travelled over 1300nm from Nov 21 to May 3rd and visited five countries – USA, the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, the DR and Puerto Rico. We’ve had some awesome sailing passages and a few rough ones. We’ve motored more this season than any other time but still have a bit of diesel in the tank for the fall. Evelyn and Caroline spent a combined 3 weeks with us and we explored PR and Culebra. We spent one wonderful day in Old Sun Juan and all 4 of us agreed we’d love to spend more time exploring the city.

Storing in a more hurricane prone area is a bit stressful. The marina is new to us but we’ve got a good guy looking after our boat while it’s on the hard. We’ll get updates from him and we’ll be watching the weather no doubt!!! So here’s to the end of an amazing season!! Can’t wait to explore more of the Caribbean next season. Until then – have a wonderful summer!!!

This is a new experience for us – getting the boat ready for storage and being hauled out of the water in 6 days! We’ll have 2 more days after haulout to finish the storage job. Normally we take 3 weeks so this is pretty crazy. To add to the fun of our shortened time, it’s been raining everyday (except for today – so far) since we arrived on Friday, April 25. Certainly makes things interesting!

On Saturday April 26th, we were up fairly early and right after breakfast, I washed all the cockpit cushions and left them on the foredeck to dry. Caroline was busy packing and Mark worked on some inside jobs. We left for the airport around 11 am and made it there in about 1 hour. We gave Caroline a big hug and off she went to her plane. We did a bit of shopping in Sun Juan and then headed back to the boat. We got back just before the rain poured down! Good thing I moved all my clean cushions back into the cockpit before we left!

In the past 3 days we’ve had more rain than all the other days we’ve been in Puerto Rico combined. It’s making our outside storage jobs very challenging. We have many lines (ropes) that need to be stored inside the boat so they must be dry. We keep moving them around – inside the cockpit then back on deck as the rain comes and goes. I took advantage of the rain on Sunday (it rained all day) to get 3 big loads of laundry done!! That was great!

So far we’ve completed many of our storage jobs. Here’s what we’ve accomplished so far: interior of the boat has been washed with Pinesol and wiped down with water and vinegar. Boat laundry has been vacuum sealed. Sails have been rinsed, dried and stored inside the boat. Dinghy motor is in its storage spot on the back rail and the dinghy is on the bow. The wind generator has been secured so it won’t spin. All lines are mostly dry and in the cockpit. Portable generator has been prepped and stored for the summer. V-berth mattresses have been wrapped in plastic and the V-berth is filling up with all the vacuum sealed bags. Cockpit cushions are now also in the V-berth (it’s very crowded in there!). I’m sure there are more jobs but I think you get the idea – lots is getting done!

Yesterday (April 28th) we met with Sam – our storage caretaker. Our insurance company insisted we hire a concierge service to look after our boat during the storage season. Sam and his wife will be checking our boat every week. The service includes lots of really great features. They will run a dehumidifier every couple of weeks and wipe down any visible mold (it is very humid here!). They will check for leaks and make sure our drains are not clogged. They will watch our batteries and keep them charged. We have a sun shade that we put over the boat to help with the heat inside. When the bad weather hits (usually sometime in August), Sam will remove our sun shade and store it for us. Sam will also send us a monthly report on the boat and be in contact whenever necessary. Although it’s an added expense we hadn’t counted on, it is very reassuring to know our boat will be well cared for during hurricane season.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be our last full day before we are hauled out at 10:30 am Thursday. I have my list of jobs still to do and I know Mark has his list. Once we’re on the hard, we’ll still have 2.5 days to finish up before we fly to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, May 4th.

We’ve had a fun filled, busy week with Caroline. Evelyn flew home on April 20 and we left the dock on April 21. Our plan for Caroline’s last week was to go to the Isla de Culebra – a roughly 70nm trip from Marina de Salinas. If the weather cooperated, we’d make 2 jumps over 2 days, Monday and Tuesday.

Monday April 21 started as usual – a little breeze and comfortable temperature. We got off the dock very easily and were underway nice and early (around 7am). We were heading about 40nm to Cayo Santiago or as it is better known – Monkey Island. Early morning was good – the wind was from a favourable direction so we were able to pull out the jib. By mid-morning the wind had picked up – higher than predicted and we started bashing into the waves as we turned the corner heading north (not much fun). The decision was made to stop about 14nm from Monkey Island and anchor in this little bay. We had a bit of trouble in this bay as we were trying to anchor. We picked up a float and line (might have been attached to a fish trap) around our bow thruster. Mark tried to untangle the line from the deck but that didn’t work. We dropped anchor where we were and Mark went for a swim to remove the line. Once that was done, we had lunch! It turned out that this nice looking bay was super rolly!! So we pulled up anchor and bashed our way another 7 nm to Puerto Yabucoa. This was a larger bay and we were able to tuck in close to the shore – a much calmer spot.

The next morning (April 22) we got going around 8am and made a brief stop at Monkey Island. The island is home to about 1800 rhesus macaque monkeys who have been observed and studied by scientists since 1938. The public isn’t allowed on the island so we watched the monkeys running up and down the hilly island through our binoculars. It was a short stop (about 30 minutes) and then we continued another 7nm to Ensenada Honda Inlet – our anchorage for Tuesday night. This spot actually felt like going home to Reynolds Park!! The bay was an old USA naval base and is now used for ferries travelling to Culebra and Isla de Viegues plus other work vessels. It was fun to anchor near the large concrete piers!!

Wednesday April 23 was a great day to make the 24 nm crossing to Culebra. The wind was super light and the waves were gentle rollers. It was an easy 4 hour motor trip and we had our anchor down a little after noon. After lunch we went for a dinghy ride around the harbour. There’s a small river that crosses the island and joins the inner harbour to the west side of the island (where the ferries land). We checked out the river and had a George Town (Bahamas) flashback as we went under a little bridge!! It was very fun. We tied the dinghy up at the public dock and walked around the town – Culebra Pueblo. The town has many restaurants and is quite a tourist destination. It was busy for a Wednesday afternoon!

We decided to rent a golf cart on Thursday (April 24th) so we could tour the island. Caroline was very interested in some beach time and we all wanted to see Bahia Flamenco – a well known beach that is super busy on the weekends! We got the golf cart around 9am and headed to the beach. It was interesting putting along the road in the gas golf cart. Lots of potholes, speed bumps and drainage dips made driving very exciting – not to mention all the other traffic! I think Mark enjoyed driving around and I know Caroline loved facing backwards!! The beach was pretty amazing and not super crowded! We found a nice palm tree shady spot and enjoyed about 4 hours relaxing on the beach. There were food kiosks at the beach so we had lunch there as well. On the way back, we toured the east side of the inner harbour (where we were anchored). The island is quite hilly (just like Puerto Rico) and our little golf cart did an awesome job of climbing up the steep roads. We had an incredible view of the inner bay and could see all the way to the Isla de Vieques. It was very impressive!!

Friday morning was the last full day of Caroline’s 2 week holiday and our last sailing day of the season. We were up early and had our anchor up by 8am. It was a lovely light wind day so we actually managed to sail with the spinnaker! It was a great way to spend the last day before going into our slip at Safe Harbour Puerto Del Rey (our summer season home for this year). We arrived at Marina Del Rey around 1 pm and were all secured at the dock fairly quickly. Mark went off to the marina office and I started with our storage jobs – I washed the deck, the enclosure and all our hatch screens. 

We’ll be picking up a rental car today at 4:30pm and then we’re going out for a last celebratory dinner here at the marina! In the morning it’s time to go back to the airport to say bye to Caroline. It will be a busy week before we fly home on May 4th! First time we’ve had to do all our storage jobs in such a short time! Let’s the storage games begin!

For Evelyn’s last weekend, we decided to visit Old San Juan on Saturday, April 19. It was a fantastic day (even with the rain). We got our rental car by 9am, did a little grocery shopping and then headed to San Juan around 10am. We had another nice drive through the mountains – we’re getting really good at navigating to San Juan. We took the shore road when we got on the island of Old San Juan so we could get a good view of the area. It was a very good choice!! We parked close to the west end of the island and started our walking tour. We visited the Castillo San Felipe del Morro (known locally as El Morro) – a Spanish citadel built in the sixteen century. It was super impressive and has been well maintained. We walked along the shore outside of the walled city until we reached Puerta de San Juan – a colourful and old entrance to the walled city.

Once we passed through the entrance, we were in the heart of Old San Juan. The streets were lined with trees and very colourful buildings. There were lots of shops, restaurants and courtyard/park areas. We had a great time walking the streets and doing a little bit of shopping. It rained off and on that afternoon so we ducked into places to get out of the rain. We finally ended up on the south side of the island and had dinner in this cute little restaurant! We were all pretty tired after dinner so we headed to our Airbnb for the night (very close to the airport).

We took our time getting ready this morning (April 20) because Evelyn only needed to be at the airport by noon. We had brunch at a great little spot and then went for a drive to see this pyramid structure. When we were doing our shore walk on Saturday, Evelyn noticed this pyramid on the far shore opposite Old San Juan. We had a contest to see if anyone could guess what it was – we were all wrong. It turned out to be an art installation! We just had to check it out before Evelyn’s flight!!

So here we are – back at the boat. Evelyn is on her way home and we’re getting ready to leave this marina for the last time in the morning. Caroline is onboard until April 26th so our plan is to go to another island called Culebra.

We’ve had an awesome week with the 4 of us onboard. We picked Caroline up at the airport on Sunday, April 13 and had an easy drive back to the marina. Monday was spent chilling by the pool, giving Caroline a day to enjoy marina life! 

Early Tuesday morning we dropped our docklines and headed west to one of the first anchorages Mark and I explored as we travelled east. We wanted to take the girls to the bioluminescent bay so they could experience the crazy blue glow of the bioluminescence. It was a very windy day with strong southeast winds pushing us along. We had the jib and main out at first but decided to just sail with the main – that was enough sail to keep our speed in the mid 6knots range. We arrived at our anchorage around 3 pm and relaxed for a bit. After a wonderful dinner, we got our swimsuits on and dinghied over to the bay. It was amazing! We all swam and made blue angels in the water!! It was definitely worth the rough 40nm sail (there were 3 seasick folks onboard that day).

The wind for Wednesday was predicted to be about 12 knots on the nose but unfortunately we were hit with 25knots on the nose. We decided to go to Guiligan Island – it was a short 12 nm motor. With the strong wind and accompanying big seas, it took about 3 hours to do the trip. It was a good thing we left early because the wind kept up all most of the day. That afternoon Evelyn went for a very big swim with the help of her snorkeling gear. She went all the way to a small island near us, explored around and then swam back – a roughly 2nm trip!! That night we had Mark’s famous ribs for dinner and we played a few games before heading to bed.

Looking ahead at the wind, we decided to spend Thursday at the Guiligan Island anchorage and then head straight back to the marina on Friday. Thursday morning we did a little dinghy ride and walked along one of the few beaches we’ve found in Puetro Rico. We then took the dinghy over to the little island Evelyn had explored on Wednesday. There was lots of fish in the area and Mark even saw a lion fish!! There are many pelicans around this island and we now know why – good eating!!

We were up early today (April 18th) and were underway by 6:15am. We wanted to take advantage of the light southeast winds to motor the 32nm to the marina. It was a great day for moving east – no resistance from wind or waves. We arrived back into our slip at 12:30pm – just in time for lunch. This weekend we are heading to Old San Juan and then staying overnight at an Airbnb. Evelyn’s 2 weeks are ending on Sunday (crazy fast) so we’ll drop her at the airport and return to the marina Sunday. We’ll get off the dock for the last time on Monday and make our way east with Caroline.

It’s always nice to have some dock time but it’s just as nice to get off the dock. We took a few days for Evelyn to relax and get into vacation mode before we left the dock. On Wednesday morning (April 9), the three of us threw off our docklines and backed out of the slip. We headed back to the Power Plant lagoon which is about 5nm east of Salinas. It was a lovely day and we had no idea how windy it was until we got into the main channel leading to the anchorage. The wind piped up to over 20 knots on the nose (of course) which made our short journey a little slower. We were anchored before lunch so we went for a dinghy ride through the mangroves.

The best part of being at anchor is that you can swim off the boat. We all went for a dip after lunch on Wednesday. The water was beautifully warm and we splashed around for a while. The stern of the boat had a bit of growth at the waterline (from being stationary for 2 weeks) so Evelyn took a scrapper and cleaned it off for us!! After our swim, we relaxed in the cockpit staying out of the sun as much as possible. We had a lovely dinner at anchor and even sat out on the bow that night to look at the stars and the moon.

On Thursday (April 10) we decided to do another dinghy ride – this time we travelled a little bit south to these islands on the opposite side of the channel. The water around the islands was quite deep and there were little channels that we could scoot through to get to the ocean. It’s very shallow just south of these islands so the waves were breaking. We found a really nice sheltered spot with a tiny beach (one of the few sandy spots in this area). We had a great swim in this spot. After our swim, we headed back to the boat for lunch. We had another relaxing afternoon and a yummy pork tenderloin dinner.

This morning (April 11) we pulled up anchor and headed back to the marina. As usual, the wind started to pick up just as we were getting ready to go into our slip. We called the marina twice to get help with our lines but unfortunately no one came so we did it ourselves! Evelyn jumped off the bow and took care of the 2 bow lines while I tried to get the stern lines around the dock posts. It was very challenging with the wind blowing us around but we managed to get secured back in our little spot. Now we have a bit of cleaning up to do and also some more relaxing before we head to the airport on Sunday to pick up Caroline!

This was a full week of getting lots of work completed on the boat. Mark spent 3 full days working on the aft cabin air conditioning and it’s now finished and working well. I got the V-berth emptied, washed and then set-up for Evelyn’s arrival. We did a good grocery trip with our boat neighbour Michelle (she was kind enough to invite us along on her shopping trip) and even had a lovely happy hour with Michelle and Len on Wednesday night (April 2) before Michelle flew home to Long Island and Len (plus 2 crew) left the dock aboard his 53ft Amel ketch.

We rented a car for 2 days starting Saturday (April 6th) so we could pick Evelyn up at the airport on Sunday. It was great to have wheels! We did laundry and another grocery shopping before lunch and then went for an amazing drive into the mountains in the afternoon. The roads were crazy with some really sharp hairpin turns. They were also quite narrow in spots as we made our way up to the communities at the top. On the way back down, we had some impressive views of the valleys in the area. Everything was very green and lush!!

On Sunday we left around 9am so we could do a bit of shopping in San Juan before Evelyn’s flight arrived. We went to West Marina for some hose clamps and then to Walmart for a few other items. We met up with Sharron and John (Sundog) and had lunch with them. They were also picking up a friend at the airport! We had a short drive from the shopping area to the airport. We had one missed turn (road signage here is terrible!!) but found the parking lot and headed for the terminal. Okay road signage was bad but the airport signage was even worse!! We couldn’t figure out how to get to terminal A arrivals and finally asked for directions! We got inside the terminal just as Evelyn came into the hall!! Perfect timing! We had a great drive back to the marina and our first night was very relaxing.

Today (April 7) we were up fairly early and went for a walk around the neighborhood. Evelyn and I went for a swim at the pool and then headed back to the boat for lunch. We’d just finished lunch when Evelyn realized she’d left her Fitbit at the pool. She quickly went back to look for it but it was gone. I told Evelyn to check at the office and sure enough someone had handed it in!! Evelyn has now put herself on a time ban – no more wearing her Fitbit!!

Time moves quite slowly at the dock. Each day is pretty much like the last – early morning with a great cup of coffee, go for a walk before it gets too hot, and then get some work done for a few hours. I hate to say this but it’s been very hot here and we’re not facing into the wind (which is usually the case when you’re at a dock), so each day around 2pm, we close up the boat and turn on the air-conditioning!! I’m so happy we have the main cabin unit working well because we’ve sure needed it. We usually spend the late afternoon relaxing in the main cabin while we chill in the cool air!!

Work is getting done. I did the semco treatment on the exterior teak so it’s all ready for storage. Floors have been washed and both heads have been cleaned. Mark is working on the aft cabin air conditioning unit installation and it’s over halfway complete. It’s a good thing that we haven’t needed any cooling in the aft cabin. It cools off nicely once the sun has gone down so we haven’t needed it.

Our daily walks (well most days) have taken us all around the marina’s neighbourhood. We’ve discovered that this area has a lot of tourist rental places which kind of explains all the restaurants! Some of the rentals are just trailers on large lots with impressive gates and fences all around them. Puerto Ricans seem to love gates and fences!! Even the smallest places have fairly elaborate fencing. Many of the houses are painted with bright colours and often have 2 floors with a nice balcony.

We’ve spent a bit of time buying flights back to Florida and organizing car rentals for the next month. Only 5 more days before Evelyn arrives and then a week later Caroline flies in!! One month from today (on May 1), the boat will be hauled out and put into the storage yard at Puerto Marina Del Rey. We’ll be busy for the next month and having lots of fun with the girls! Can’t wait.

We had a fabulous downwind sail on March 21st as we moved from Puerto Patillas back to our little anchorage spot near the power plant (and about 4nm away from Marina de Salinas). We hoisted the main sail (which we haven’t seen since the Bahamas) and then got our spinnaker out for the first time this season. There was just enough wind to keep the spinnaker full and to move us along at a decent speed. It was a lovely morning and we arrived at our anchorage before lunch.

In the morning (March 22), we motored the 4nm to the marina. Salinas is a very popular destination for cruisers and the bay is full of permanent and temporary boats. It was a bit challenging to find the path through all the anchored boats but luckily a catamaran went in just before us so we followed it in! The marina was also quite confusing and of course they never answer the radio when you hail them. Mark ended up phoning them to get a slip assignment while I circled the boat in front of the marina. Once we found our slip, we had loads of help getting into it. The wind had picked up a lot (first windy day we’ve had since arriving in PR) and it was pushing us into the slip. The 2 marinas we’ve been to in PR have these fairly narrow slips with very short finger docks. We have to go bow in (because we can’t get off the stern of our boat) so it is a bit of a challenge to get on and off!! The owners of sailboat right next to ours helped us get secured and also gave us a ride up to the grocery store that afternoon. They were super helpful and gave us lots of advice about restaurants and shopping in the area.

The marina is quite nice and very busy. It has an event space that was rented out on March 22 for a wedding. We had dinner that night at the little bar on-site and watched the wedding reception get underway. There is also another restaurant onsite and a little pool. We explored the area on Sunday – walking along the streets near the marina. We found lots of restaurants and a little bakery! It was great to just walk around a bit without having to dinghy ashore first! I have to keep reminding myself that we can just get off the boat whenever we please – don’t have to untie and lower the dinghy and put out the boarding ladder. It’s such a treat and we’re slowly finding our land-legs again!

Our plan for the next 2 weeks is to clean up to v-berth and to get a few jobs done. So far we’ve not done much. The wind has really piped up and my deck work (washing the deck) has been delayed a bit. Mark and I have both been on the mend – my back is acting up and Mark’s just not feeling himself. Today (March 25th) we’re both feeling much better and hopefully when the wind dies down tomorrow, we can start our dock jobs!

8 years ago when we first sailed to the Bahamas, I had this vision of what a Caribbean beach would look like – sandy shore edged by palm trees!! Well that’s not exactly what I found! The Bahamas have beautiful white sandy beaches but the palm trees, if there are any, are about 3 feet tall and scrawny! Today (March 20) we walked on a long beach with so many palm trees – it was crazy!! Nice way to spend our last day at Puerto Patillas.

We arrived at Puerto Patillas on Sunday, March 16 after an easy 16 nm motor. The anchorage was pretty full with about 10 boats anchored close to the town. This area is very picturesque and the bay is fairly well protected from most wind (although we haven’t had much wind in the last couple of weeks). We did some exploring of the area – dinghied over to the reef on Monday and saw a manatee’s nose pop out of the water. We walked the main road of the town on Tuesday. It’s a small town with lots of restaurants but not much else. We did manage to find a little variety store and bought some milk! We went back to town on Wednesday and had lunch out! I’ve discovered this dish called mofongo – basically mashed plantain that’s shaped into a bowl and stuffed with veggies and meat (I like chicken). I first saw it in the DR and tried my first mofongo in Puerto Real. Mark and I both had mofongo for lunch yesterday and it was very good!!

Today was our beach explore day. We watched these 2 men bring in a fishing net onto the beach. They’d managed to catch a few small fish in the net. We also saw lots of crabs on the beach!! Scared quite a few of them back into their holes and into the water. It was great to walk along the beach and it’s the first good beach we’ve found in Peurto Rico. It was a nice way to end our visit to this area!! Tomorrow (March 21) we’ll be sailing (hopefully – good east wind is predicted) back to Salinas. We will be going into the Marina de Salinas on Saturday where we’ll get some work done before Evelyn arrives on April 6. We’re hoping to get some of our storage jobs done during the next 2 weeks.