Thornless Path - 2017/2018

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by ErBrown

Great idea for a thread. We're planning to cross to the Bahamas in December (as weather permits). Not sure on the specific route yet, but our goal will be Grenada for 2018 H-season, so I'll be following along here as well.

-EB

Where are you going? We may well be crossing right about that time too, we are now holed up in Vero Beach while I replace the bottom half of my radar pole, get dinghy chaps made etc., then we are ready to go.
We were originally going to do the Western Caribbean, but maybe who we were going with has decided to do something else, so we are sort of back to the original plan, Eastern side first.

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Where are you going? We may well be crossing right about that time too, we are now holed up in Vero Beach while I replace the bottom half of my radar pole, get dinghy chaps made etc., then we are ready to go.
We were originally going to do the Western Caribbean, but maybe who we were going with has decided to do something else, so we are sort of back to the original plan, Eastern side first.

What do you have to pay for dink chaps up there??

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by phorvati

She skipped mona, She was 6 months pregnant. I think once you leave 'Chicken harbor" it gets tough for significant other that might not be as invested. Although it gets more an more beautiful and pristine. DR is tough, those seas are very lumpy. DR is not for everyone. Book describes it pretty well. PR becomes easy again, wallmart! although, idk after Irma, how much PR now looks like DR.

Thanks for that report. We are still in Luperon, doing some sight seeing and such. Wx has been pretty terrible, for the last 4 days it’s been squalls ever half hour with gusts to low 40’s here in the harbor. Bail dink daily. I can’t imagine trying to beat into this crap, night or day. Hopefully it will improve over the next week or two. Longer range forecast is improving slightly.

At least we both like Luperon.

[phorvati]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Thanks for that report. We are still in Luperon, doing some sight seeing and such. Wx has been pretty terrible, for the last 4 days it’s been squalls ever half hour with gusts to low 40’s here in the harbor. Bail dink daily. I can’t imagine trying to beat into this crap, night or day. Hopefully it will improve over the next week or two. Longer range forecast is improving slightly.

At least we both like Luperon.

Found my log from 2007, my first big solo leg...
Captain’s log 11-03-07 to 11-06-07

Departure Point / Start Time Luperon DR, 5PM 11-03-07
Arrival Point / End Time Boqueron, PR 9AM 11-06-07
Distance Traveled 280 NM

Left Luperon after long 4 months of hurricane season! It was worth it. Boat was safe despite two tropical systems passing by very close. The high mountains of that region protect the anchorage very well. After cleaning the bottom the day before and provisioning with all the supplies necessary I was ready do the long trip to PR.
As te weather usually plays out in along the coast of trpical mountainous islands, the afternoon brought in some thunderstorms.
As I rounded the point at Luperon inlet and headed east into stalled trade winds, I saw that Mt. Isabel De Torres was covered in dark clouds. There were some fierce lightning releasing off the mountain and heading west. This is typical weather pattern in the evenings on days when easterly blowing trades are weaker than usual. This is also a good time to head east motoring in the night lee of the DR coast. As the squalls approached I lowered the main to a second reef and continued motoring along the coast. After abut an hour or so the first squall hit. It blew better than 25kts with fierce rain and lightning discharges. What a way to start the first leg after 4 months in the off-season. But I ken that once I pass Isabel De Torres, stars would come out and I could motor in calm. But it wasn’t until late that evening that I managed to round Pt. Platilla and get passed the numerous squalls that lined them selves one after another. One thing that stopped functioning during the storm was the anemomenter, the wind strength indicator. But by now I was becoming an expert in judging wind speed based on the boat and sail noises and overall boat behavior. And I didn ‘t relly needed it that nights as the winds turned light from the coast making the overnight motoring a breeze. Overall a beautiful starry night with just a NE swell. I listened to radio out of Puerto Plata, while tried to stay awake and avoid any shipping traffic. But once that was clear, I took 10-20 minutes naps while the autopilot was steering. That evening I made it all the way to Cabo Frances Veijo before the first light. The capes in the northern region are notorious for wind acceleration so what is normally forecasted to be 10-15kts out of E-SE can become 30 around the capes. So I knew I had to get off the cape by early to mid morning. And So I did, and the wind turned to be very light due to the trof that set itself just north of the DR coast. So the motor kept running and I kept making progress toward Escondido, a point where I would collect weather data and made the decision on weather I can cross the Mona passage or not.
In escondido I saw 5 other boats anchored. Among them Ennie Marie, Filke, North Star, Pegasus. Unfortunately, the swell made things miserable. They were all anchored by the high cliffs protecting them from the wind but the swell was bouncing off the cliffs and reflected waves were colliding with oncoming swell. This turned out to be an avoerall swell from all directions and of all sizes. Miserable. Masts were rolling in all directions. And the boats were pointing each in its own direction. Looking at them I decided to just make it a quick pitstop, cook the ground beef that thawed overnight and listen for weather. But I anchored in deep water in front of the beach. Beach was absorbing the swell mich better and I just had swell from one direction. And the boat rolled a lot less. After downloading the forecast, winds were forecasted to be light E, 10-15 till Wednesday. That constituted a big GO in my mind. I rested from 3-5PM cooked the beef and sauted onions, and off I went. I was rounding the high cliffs of Escondido as the sun was going down. The winds were a bit stronger wrapping around the cliffs. I forecasted them to be in the 15-20kts range, enough to heel the boat over with just the mainsail. That evening I motorsailed and sailed around the capes of Cabo Cabron, and Cabo Samana. Lights of the DR beach resorts were providing another means to orient myself. I needed several tacks to clear Cabo Samana, and after that I was free to take SE tack, just sailing towards Punta Macao and the night lee of that part of the DR coast. During the early morning hours, around 12:30 or so I tried setting the windvane to steer the boat. And lo and behold, it worked!!! All these months traveling south from RI, I could not get the dam thing to work. I guess the problem was that I had too many turning blocks on the control lines. During my preparations in Luperon I knew that if I am gonna do this leg solo, I have to get the dam thing to work. And so I bypassed the turning blocks and installed just the two blocks on the starboard side along the stern pulpit in the cockpit. That turned out to be the trick. The line were leading free from the windvane to the turning block, and directly to the wheel. And I was happy. Very happy. Its been a long time coming. Since 2005 or so was when I installed the dam thing it finally worked. And it worked like a charm. It was a magical moment. Even more significant since I was alone. Without an engine, and just the sound of the crashing waves, slept like a baby for an hour or so. The wind held up enough to sail until the early morning hours and as I approached the coast again, I had to motorsail due to lack of wind. I was once again in the lee of DR coast. The motorsailing tack took me almost all the way to Pt. Macao. Near by is notorious Cabo Engano where few boats were lost. Notorious for its acceleration of easterly trades. So I knew that before the mid morning I have to be away from the coast so I don’t get trapped on the lee shore. And so I took a NE tack motorsailing. This quickly turned into sailing with windvane again. And I rested and rested and took naps with occasional checking along the horizon. No one is sight. I threw a line to see if I would get lucky. But nothing the entire day. By around 2PM I was NE enough so that my next tack could bring me well east of the Hourglass shoal. A notorious place where deep Puertorican trench, the deepest water in all of Atlantic ocean, quickly shallows up to 50-100feet. Even though the water is still deep there, great amounts of energy dissipate there in terms of swell and currents, so the place is to be approached with caution and best of all avoided. I hade few passing showers go by just enough to clean the salt off the rigging and sails. And my next tack gave me near rumb line for Boqueron. I knew I was home free and the only other uncertainty was the sunset thunderstorms released by the mountains of PR that drift west. Will they hit me or am I north enough for them to pass south and west of me? And as the sun set, I saw them develop over PR, and drift to Mona Passage. Monsterous cumulonimbus clouds towering over me gave me quite a bit of a scare at times. But the easterly winds were blowing them westward rapidly. I had to tack to NE on two occasions in order to avoid the squalls. And besides the few droplets, I did stay dry that evening. But the wind increased by around 11PM and I had to adjust sail area. I would estimate that it picked up to 20kts. After reefing the main and rolling in the gib to a 80% or so, the boat was well balanced again and the autopilot was doing the trick. I didn’t touch the wheel again almost till the end. And the evening went by fast. I took quick naps again and kept an eye on shipping traffic. The lights of PR were strong enough to help clearly see where the dark clouds and heavy rain was. But it all dissipated by the early morning hours and the wind took me to about 15NM east of the entrance to Boqueron bay. The PR night lee set in by then. It was around 4AM, and I decided it was time to start motoring. The NE swell was gone and the water was flat. Coast Guard and other fishing vessels were all around. I felt at home again. I herd their conversations on the radio. As I approached the the coast first the moon, very new moon, and quickly after dawn rouse on the east, painting the beautiful mountainous horizon of PR. I began to see the buoys of the PR, and it was not long before I went passed the first red one. I was excited, perhaps the adrenaline kicked in cause I knew I was home free. I started cleaning around the boat. I packed the sails, all the lines, I shaved, took a shower, prepared the anchor, for the dinghy and the motor ready, and by the time I got to an anchorage I was ready to drop a hook and go onshore. The best feeling after a long passage.
This was by far my longest trip. They say there is a point where a coastal cruiser turns into a passage maker. I am beginning to see the important aspect of the next step, the long offshore passage making. Our previous coastal runs which included a 130 and 150NM runs, of up to 30H were all adrenaline driven. I was dead tired after every single one of them because I tried to stay awake to entire time, and couldn’t wait to get to shore. This time it was different, I was rested at all times. And when I got to shore I was not feeling tired. At the beginning of the leg, I got into a rhythm. I took quick naps, I never resisted a temptation to sleep. Quick power naps at the beginning satisfied my temptation for sleep. After that fist night, I was in more of an open ocean, free of land, and I was able to rest with longer naps and got into a relaxed state at all times with occasional check around the horizon for oncoming traffic. The only problematic times were during squalls, changing of the sail area, trimming sails, and adjusting the steering. Those can take a lot out of you. But the important thing is to rest and relax as quickly as possible and as much as possible. After I realized that I got into a groove and felt rested and good to be out there. And I never got that feeling of “I can’t wait to be there”. I was not rushing to get there, and I let the final destination come to me as opposed to chasing it from the beginning.

[tunnelvision]

We left New Orleans in November and cruised the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. We spent a month in Luperon and are now in Samana. The worst hurricane damage we've seen was in Marathon. There was some damage in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos but it wasn't widespread and most places were open. No problem getting fuel or water on our trip. Very little damage in the Dominican republic and it has been awesome! We are in a very nice marina in Samana with several other boats waiting for a weather window to cross the Mona passage to Puerto Rico.

[hpeer]

It’s starting to like ok like a nice Mona window is opening Saturday through Tuesday.

Still a bit far off but hopeful.

[phorvati]

Originally Posted by tunnelvision

We left New Orleans in November and cruised the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. We spent a month in Luperon and are now in Samana. The worst hurricane damage we've seen was in Marathon. There was some damage in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos but it wasn't widespread and most places were open. No problem getting fuel or water on our trip. Very little damage in the Dominican republic and it has been awesome! We are in a very nice marina in Samana with several other boats waiting for a weather window to cross the Mona passage to Puerto Rico.

That place is notorious for outboard theft.

[hpeer]

I’ve got an outboard acting up that needs attention.

I’m looking for suggestions on finding such in PR. It’s a Yamaha.

I’ve done a Google search and only find one dealer on the island with 2 spots, both on the North coast.

Along the same lines I’m having difficult finding current info on Salinas. Is it still a viable spot to tour the island from? NoonSite notes over 70 boats lost there in Maria with no update since November 2017..

[tunnelvision]

Originally Posted by hpeer

It’s starting to like ok like a nice Mona window is opening Saturday through Tuesday.

Still a bit far off but hopeful.

We have several boats here in Samana waiting also. Where are you and what boat are you on?

[sail50]

Marina de Salinas | Salinas Puerto Rico Hotel and Marina

[hpeer]

Luperon

The tenative plan is leaving Friday evening.

44’ Steel cutter SAFARA. Bright yellow.

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by sail50

Marina de Salinas | Salinas Puerto Rico Hotel and Marina

Yes, I’ve seen that and sent them an email this morning. No response yet.

For all I know the place is gone and the web site abandoned. I hope not. Do you have any info on this marina besides the url?

[hpeer]

Still no response from Marina de Salinas, the web says their booking system is down. We will call when we get to PR.

Still looking to hit the Monday/Tuesday Mona window. Looks to be more than a bit rough getting out of Luperon. We may end up delaying our start and then running had D’Or the window. 9+ foot swells here Friday.

[tunnelvision]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Still no response from Marina de Salinas, the web says their booking system is down. We will call when we get to PR.

Still looking to hit the Monday/Tuesday Mona window. Looks to be more than a bit rough getting out of Luperon. We may end up delaying our start and then running had D’Or the window. 9+ foot swells here Friday.

When we left Luperon it was pretty rough for about an hour and a half then it got better and better. When we cleared Cape Frances it got rougher until we stopped in at El Valle.

[hpeer]

Thanks for that.

It’s starting to look like a second good window is opening Thursday next. I think we will wait an extra day or two for things to settle a bit before proceeding.