Astronaut Scott Kelly labeled the Bahamas “the most beautiful place from space”. I’m sure the bright turquoise waters are a stunning sight from 200 miles above, but I have to believe their beauty is better appreciated while floating carefree in them. I still remember the first time I set eyes on the incredible sight. On February 29th, 2016, after a 9.5 hour passage, Kairos cruised into the clear, stunning turquoise water leaving the rich, dark blue waters of the gulf stream behind us. We had left the comforts of the US and had arrived in Bimini, Bahamas. At the time, it felt like we were crossing the finishing line of our Gulf Stream passage. But looking back, I now realize it was just the start of a 15-month voyage that would be both frustrating and astonishing at times, but was always an adventure.
Blog
We’ve Come to the End of the Road
Tomorrow we will point our bow towards Florida and sail away from the turquoise waters of the Bahamas. With any luck, 28 hours later we’ll pull into a slip in Fort Pierce where Kairos will rest, awaiting her next crew. Our sailing adventure is coming to an end and we are full of mixed emotions. Even though we knew our transition to the cruising lifestyle would be temporary, it’s still incredibly sad to see it come to an end. We’ve fallen in love with the resourceful sailing community, the incredible beaches, and the genuine island people. It almost seems impossible to walk away from it all. But at the same time, we are looking forward to some of the comforts associated with land life and we’re excited to see where our next adventure takes us.
Fyre Festival Fail
Rob flew home for a short visit with family, while I stayed behind to care for our boat and our two dogs in the Emerald Bay Marina on Great Exuma. With Rob out of town, I was settling in for a nice, calm, relaxing weekend. I envisioned the next four days would be spent reading books on the beach, cooking healthy meals, sipping on rose, and testing out some face creams. Rob and I hadn’t spent a night apart since we moved onto the boat 18 months ago and while I was certainly going to miss him, I was looking forward to the alone time. But on Thursday morning, the sleepy, quaint marina atmosphere changed wildly when megayachts began rolling in.
Passagemaking: Puerto Rico to the Bahamas
Rob recently pointed out that for a sailing blog, I write very little about actually sailing. This is a fair point, but it is true what they say—sailing is boredom punctuated by terror. Most of the time we are just staring off at the vast seas and occasionally trimming the sails. But it doesn’t take much–a rogue wave, a squall, an engine pitch change, a pod of dolphins, a fish on the line—and things get exciting fast.
Backtracking: Bahamas Bound
We knew when we moved on board last January that our transition into a cruising lifestyle would be temporary. The cruising kitty we built up after selling our house in Denver would eventually run dry and we would need to find employment again. I think that knowing this adventure is finite has helped us overlook the negatives (there are a couple) and really appreciate every incredible moment of this journey. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s always been an adventure and that is exactly what we set out to find when we left the dock last February.
You Can Call Me Captain: Getting our OUPV License in Puerto Rico
We knew we needed something to keep ourselves busy this hurricane season. There’s only so much beach paddle ball we could play. So, in addition to knocking out some boat projects and chasing waterfalls, we started working towards our OUPV (Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel) licenses. Also known as the 6-pak license, the OUPV license allows the holder to captain uninspected vessels up to 100 gross tons with up to 6 paying passengers. We don’t have any grand plans for using the licenses, but it’s something that might come in handy in the future.
Sailing with Dogs: Our Experience in the Leeward Islands
I previously wrote about the pet import process while cruising from the Bahamas to the British Virgin Islands. Click here to see how we got ready to cruise with the pups before we set sail. This season we continued cruising south down through the Leeward Islands. Just like last season, we had three documents for each pooch:
Dominica: Nature Island Living Up to Its Name
Of all the Leeward Islands, I was most excited to visit Dominica. We love the outdoors and we couldn’t wait to explore its untouched beauty. Known as Nature Island, Dominica’s green countryside is brightly colored with beautiful exotic flowers. Its mountain peaks reach the clouds and the waterfalls are dramatic in both height and volume. More than once, we were told by locals that Dominica has 365 rivers, “one for every day of the year.” It was time to get our hiking shoes muddy.
Stuck in Gorgeous Martinique
While we were replacing our rigging in Martinique, it wasn’t all work and no play. We did pull ourselves away from the boat to explore this beautiful island we never planned on visiting.
Fort-de-France
Kairos Gets Some New Bling: Replacing Our Rigging in Martinique
An Unexpected Trip to Martinique
We had previously decided that Dominica (blog post to come soon) would be the farthest south we would venture this year. We’re planning to sail back to the States before hurricane season and we’re looking forward to spending some more time in the Bahamas with its plethora of white sandy beaches, mahi mahi, and lobster. However, we’ve already learned how quickly plans can change while cruising. It seems like mother nature and boat maintenance are constantly creating obstacles and we’re no longer surprised by delays. But we never would have predicted the events that occurred on the morning of Friday, January 13th that caused us to make an unexpected trip to Martinique.
Happy Holidays from Guadeloupe!
After the Christmas winds died down, we decided to say goodbye to Deshaies and head south to explore more of Guadeloupe.
Pigeon Island
Our first stop was Pigeon Island. The reef and sea life inside the Cousteau Nation Park is protected, meaning that anchoring and fishing is strictly forbidden. We anchored in the nearby cove for a couple of nights. We broke out the dive hookah and went exploring underwater. The water was the clearest we’ve seen since the Bahamas and the coral formations were just breathtaking. We hardly even noticed that it was raining buckets the entire time we were out. We dove until our flippers gave us blisters, then returned to the boat for another rolly night. Even though the winds had calmed down, it would be a few days before the seas followed suit.
Tis’ The Season for Christmas Winds
We had heard that strong northerly winds in December wreak havoc on otherwise calm anchorages, but we had never experienced this first hand. Last season we didn’t leave our safe harbor until February and saw normal trade-winds most our way south. We saw that these ‘Christmas winds’ were in the forecast, so the first chance we got, we booked it from Nevis to Deshaies, Guadeloupe. We planned to ride out the strong winds in a well-protected anchorage while munching on baguettes and sipping espresso.
50 Shades of Green: St. Kitts and Nevis
At first glance, the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis look like the green section of a Crayola crayon set. All shades are visible: Fern, Granny Smith Apple, Medium Chrome Green, Sea Green, Forest Green, Shamrock, Mountain Meadow, etc. It’s no wonder the African Green Vervet Monkey thrives on these two islands. The monkeys are believed to have originally arrived on the island via slave ships. The island’s fertile soil and tropical climate created the perfect environment to grow sugar cane, so sugar and tobacco plantations were a key part of St. Kitts and Nevis’s history. To provide the large amounts of labor needed for the industry, African slaves were imported in large numbers in the 1600s.
Four Engineers on a Boat and Our First Taste of France
At 10:00am on Nov 19th, the Simpson Bay bridge opened and we entered the Lagoon in St Martin. We had just sailed the Anegada Passage without any issues. We were exhausted, but excited to welcome aboard our first overnight guests, Michelle and Steve. Checking in was a breeze and customs didn’t even ask about the pups. We had finally made it! Now it was time to meet up with our friends and start exploring this new island.
The Anegada Passage
Only about 2 hours into our 16 hour passage to St. Martin, our cooling water high temperature alarm started shining bright red. We were heading directly into the wind, so we only had our main sail up and we were running our engine at full cruising speed. Our autopilot was on and we were admiring the super moon when it happened. I jumped behind the wheel and quickly throttled down, while Rob rushed downstairs to inspect the engine. I glanced at our transom and saw that we had plenty of water flow coming out of our exhaust. Perhaps the sensor had just failed and there wasn’t really an issue. However, when Rob opened the engine compartment door our galley transformed into a steam room. It was clear that we had a severe leak in our cooling system, so I immediately fell off from the wind and shut the engine down.
Returning to the Cruising Lifestyle
We had a great time living in San Juan, PR over hurricane season, but we were itching to get back on the boat and continue our journey south. Last season, we quickly learned that cruising can be like a roller coaster ride with amazing highs and frustrating lows. And this season has started off the exact same way.
Tomorrow is the Day: Goodbye Puerto Rico, Hello Adventure
Tomorrow is the day we’ve been counting down to all hurricane season. Tomorrow we’ll wake up with the sun, set sail, and start Part 2 of our sailing adventure. To say that we’re excited is an understatement. We’ve been busting our butts and knocking out boat project after boat project the last two weeks to prepare us for this moment. We’re exhausted, but we know how rejuvenating the seas can be and tomorrow all our hard work will pay off.
8 Reasons Your Next Vacation Should Be in Puerto Rico
If you can’t tell, I’m having a love affair with Puerto Rico. We’ve been fortunate enough to spend the last 3 months here and I’m amazed at how much this territory has to offer. The island is only 100 miles by 40 miles, which is one tenth the size of my home state (Indiana), but it has everything from pristine beaches to tropical rainforests. The only thing it’s missing is some snowy peaks.
A Hike, a Waterfall, and a Swimming Hole: Exploring Inland Puerto Rico
It is now low season in Puerto Rico. Tourism season is from November to May. This actually works out great for us, because we often get to enjoy even the most popular Puerto Rico attractions all to ourselves. We recently discovered that we can rent a car from the Enterprise down the street for just $16 a day (all fees included). When we rent cars from marinas, we typically spend around $40 a day, so this is a bargain. Of course the price will go up in November. But since renting a set of wheels is so affordable right now, we’ve been exploring inland in search for rivers, waterfalls, and more.
El Yunque National Forest: Jurassic Park Sans Dinosaurs
With the power out all over the island, many Puerto Ricans woke up Thursday (9/22) morning in the smothering heat without air conditioning. Since most businesses were closed, people had the day off and needed to find a way to cool off. So everyone flocked to the beach, but Rob and I had different plans. We’ve been wanting to visit El Yunque National Forest since we arrived in Puerto Rico. What better way to beat the heat than to hike up into the clouds and swim under waterfalls?
Life as Landlubbers in San Juan, Puerto Rico (Part 2)
In yesterday’s post, I discussed how life in San Juan, Puerto Rico is similar to life in any other US city. While Puerto Rico is part of the United States, its history and culture make it unique. Here are a few differences we’ve noticed during our stay.
Life as Landlubbers in San Juan, Puerto Rico (Part 1)
Although I grew up in a small Indiana town, I’m no stranger to living in a city. Both Rob and I have spent our adult years living in cities, from Chicago to Pittsburgh to Denver. While we enjoy escaping to the outdoors for isolation, we also love all of the conveniences of city life: easy access to an airport, walkability, music and art scenes, public transportation, restaurants, and nightlife.
Discovering Puerto Rico’s History in Charming Old San Juan
Old San Juan is a town you WANT to get lost in. You can wander the cobblestone streets among the bright, colorful houses for hours without getting bored. There are historical landmarks, amazing restaurants, and great shopping around every corner. Animal lovers can’t help but notice the hundreds of healthy stray cats that roam the city adding to its charming ambiance. Old San Juan is an incredibly romantic place and a trip to Puerto Rico isn’t complete without a visit to this historical city.
Utuado: Exploring Inland Puerto Rico
With nearly 300 miles of gorgeous beaches, it’s no wonder why many people visiting Puerto Rico never leave the coast. Even though the coastline is breathtaking, there’s also a lot of beauty to explore inland. Puerto Rico is only a third of the size of Massachusetts, but it has several different ecosystems, including tropical rain forests, tropical dry forests, coastal mangrove forests, seagrass beds, coral reefs, and coastal plains. We rented a car last week and after checking on Kairos (she’s doing great by the way), we decided to head inland to explore the mountainous forests in Utuado.
Amazing Street Art in San Juan
Cities are proof that people need to be together. Sure there’s pollution and grime, but cities also inspire creativity. Among littered streets and run-down buildings, you’ll find some of the most amazing artwork. There’s no need to visit a museum, these incredible pieces of art can be viewed just walking the streets of San Juan. The street art is as colorful and vibrant as the Puerto Rican culture and we are happy to share it.
The Pet Import Process: Our Experience So Far
Before starting this adventure, we were a little nervous about sailing with our two pooches. It wasn’t living in a small space or on water that worried us. We knew our pups would adapt to their new home with us by their sides. It was navigating the pet import process in each country that made me uneasy. We researched and worked with our vet prior to setting sail to ensure we had our ducks in a row. We gathered the following paper work:
Hauling Out is Hard to Do
Our first sailing season has ended and Kairos is sleeping safely on land in the Puerto Del Rey boat yard. She’ll get some much needed rest here and some TLC over the next four months before she splashes back into the water in early November. I was dreading haul out day. The amount of work required to prep a boat for storage can be overwhelming. I knew it would be hard work and I was right. However, with a little up front planning and organization, the process can be smoothly executed.
Looking Back at Our First Sailing Season: Our Five Favorite Places
After 5 months at sea, our first season sailing is winding down. As we finish prepping Kairos for storage on the hard in Puerto Rico, we reflect on all of the gorgeous places we’ve visited. We’ve loved almost all of the 50 plus anchorages that we have visited over the last 150 days. We’ve seen pristine sandy beaches, inviting turquoise water, breathtaking mountains, and lush forests. We’ve met some crazy cruisers and some incredibly sweet locals. We’ve hiked, swam, fished, lobstered, and snorkeled our hearts out. We’ve experienced a lot, but for one reason or another these locations stand out as our top five favorite anchorages. They are listed below in chronological order.
A Day in the Life of a Boat Dog: Jaela
Baxter and Jaela are best friends, but they couldn’t be more different. Baxter is very intelligent and extremely moody. Jaela doesn’t share Baxter’s intellect, but she is loving and sweet and always happy. She also has some killer hunting instincts. A day in Jaela’s life looks a little different than Baxter’s.
A Day in the Life of a Boat Dog: Baxter
We get a lot of questions when people discover we are sailing with our two pooches. How are they adjusting to life on the boat? How do they exercise? Where do they do their business? Where are they while we are underway? Boat dogs are intriguing. When we meet new people, half of our conversation ends up being about our two furry anchors.
Cruising Life Revealed: Answers to Our 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions
When we first revealed our cruising plan to our friends and families, they were full of questions. Regardless of how we phrased it, explaining that we were quitting our jobs and selling our house so we could sail the Caribbean with our two dogs made us sound crazy. A cruising lifestyle can be strange and has its own challenges. For us, it’s all a part of the adventure. Below are the answers to our 10 most frequently asked questions.
Two Salty Sailors in Paradise: Our First Two Weeks in the BVI
The Thorny Path to Windward is well behind us and we are in the British Virgin Islands. We did it! We sailed here from the Tampa Bay area, covering 1600 miles. We battled lightning storms, repaired boat issues, gathered paperwork for importing the dogs, withstood our fair share of high seas, and spent several sleepless nights behind the helm on overnight passages. We are no longer the greenhorns who had trouble setting the anchor and who laid awake all night checking every 15 minutes to make sure it was holding. Nor are we the newbie sailors that didn’t realize that 20-25 kt winds on the nose in open water is near suicidal. We are no longer intimidated by docking in tight slips. We are now intimately familiar with our boat’s systems. We now have a good understanding of Kairos’s and, more importantly, our own limits. We have learned a lot over the last 130 days at sea. We’ve learned about our boat, about sailing, about liveaboard life, about ourselves, and about each other.
The British Virgin Islands are a cruising Mecca. There’s no shortage of beautiful anchorages, the water is an inviting teal color, the underwater sea life is incredible, there’s always a party at the beach bar, and the beaches are pristine. The islands are so close together that our next destination is never more than a couple of hours away. We have finally arrived safely and in one piece, but quite a bit saltier than when we left.
We’ve been in the British Virgin Islands for 2 weeks now. Most of our days look more or less the same: Sail to a beautiful anchorage, snorkel the beautiful anchorage, play on the beach with the pups, happy hour at the local watering hole, dinner on the boat, watch a movie or play cards, sleep, repeat. Not a bad life, huh? We’ll be hanging out in the BVI for the next 2 weeks continuing to do more or less the same before we return to Puerto Rico for hurricane season.
The BVI are very special, but if you are looking for solitude, it is difficult to find here. The secret is out! Vacationers, Spring Breakers, and Honeymooners all flock here because it’s the perfect cruising paradise if your time is limited. Thus the anchorages are full of Sunsail and Mooring charter boats. Some are experienced sailors and others are very inexperienced newbies (just like we were not too long ago). Just yesterday we had someone anchor so close that their boat was hovering over our anchor. When we pulled up the anchor to leave, we had to ask them to move forward. We’ve still been able to find some quiet anchorages off the beaten path, but it’s more difficult to do here than it was in the Bahamas. But on the other hand, the crowds certainly make for a great beach party.
Below is a little about each anchorage we visited over the last two weeks.
West End (Tortola)
We pulled into West End Tuesday, May 31st in the pouring rain. We made arrangements to meet the vet at 9:00am, so we left Leinster Bay even though the sky was darkening with rain clouds. The sail over couldn’t have been more than 30 minutes, but we were soaked to the bone. We picked up a mooring ball and Rob rode to shore to check us in. The vet was 45 minutes late (island time), but we had no issues checking Jaela and Baxter into the country. We had the required USDA endorsed health certificate, rabies titer results, and rabies certifications. We had to pay an extra $10 to customs and immigration for the dogs ($31 total). We also paid the vet $10 for each dog.
After checking in, we hit up the grocery store to provision. We were all out of fresh vegetables and protein (expect for a little lobster left over from Maho Bay). One thing we certainly miss about land life is access to fresh vegetables. We sometimes find ourselves discussing how amazing a Jason’s Deli salad bar sounds. It will certainly be one of our first stops when we return to the states.
That evening we met up with Peter and Jody from Where the Coconuts Grow for dinner. They started cruising 3 seasons ago with their dogs and now work for Aristocat Charters out of West End. I can honestly say if it wasn’t for blogs like Jody’s, I would have laughed in Rob’s face when he brought up the crazy idea to move onto a sailboat with our two dogs. Their experiences inspired us and it was wonderful to finally meet them after following their adventure for so long.
Guana Island
The next day we had some strong southeast winds, so we decided to sail on the north side of Tortola to Guana Island. When we jumped into the water at Monkey Point we were instantly surrounded by thousands and thousands of tiny fish. As we swam, they parted, making a path for us. The snorkeling was great at Monkey Point, but we actually preferred Muskmelon Bay around the corner. It was a little deeper, but less crowded. Once our fingers were all pruned, we dried out on the gorgeous beach in White Bay with the pups.
Cane Garden (Tortola)
Our laundry was piling up and we needed to scan some paperwork for insurance, so our next stop needed to have some facilities. Cane Garden is a beautiful anchorage surrounded by large lush green mountains. Friendly stray dogs roam the street in this cute beach town. The palm tree lined beach is stunning, making it a great place to spend an afternoon at the beach bar.
Virgin Gorda
We stayed in two equally amazing anchorages in Virgin Gorda. The pups ran and ran and ran up and down the very long white sand beach in Savannah Bay. We were the only ones anchored there and we had it all to ourselves for two nights. We day sailed over to Fallen Jerusalem and the must see Baths. It was fun weaving in and out of the rock formations at the Baths, but it was very crowded. Fallen Jerusalem on the other hand, we had all to ourselves. The island is small and very beautiful with similar rock formations as the Baths. It was a lovely place to spend an afternoon.
We also anchored in the Gorda Sound near Saba Rock. We drank painkillers at happy hour and then watched the sun set on our boat. We knew we were in a special place when a flock of flamingos flew right over us and landed on the nearby beach.
The snorkeling in the Eustatia Sound is some of the best we’ve seen yet. The water is so blue; it rivals the Exuma water in the Bahamas. The visibility was amazing. When picturing paradise, the Eustatia Sound now comes to mind. We could have stayed weeks, but we were excited to continue exploring this beautiful country.
Anegada
Unlike the rest of the BVI which are mountainous volcanic formations, Anegada is flat and sandy. It resembles the Bahamas more than the other BVI. We rented a scooter for the day and visited the breathtaking beaches on the north side of the island. Our scooter was held together with duct tape and we questioned if it was going to survive driving on the dirt roads, but it got us around. I didn’t even have to ask Rob to slow down—I’m pretty sure it topped out at 15 mph.
Jost Van Dyke
After visiting Anegada, the mountainous view of Tortola from Jost Van Dyke seemed more magnificent. It was a scorcher while we were visiting Great Harbor, so we spent most of the day lounging in the water with the pups. For dinner we visited the well-known beach bar, Foxy’s. They had a BBQ buffet and we ate a gross amount of food. They gave us two plates and told us that we only got one pass through the line, but we could take what we didn’t eat home. Being budget cruisers, we piled our plates high with chicken, ribs, mahi, and pasta salad.
Once again we ran into our friends on s/v Delancey. The following day we all visited the Soggy Dollar Beach Bar and spent the afternoon sipping on painkillers and catching up.
Peter Island
Peter Island is a private island and has a very nice, but very expensive resort. We anchored in Deadman’s Bay near a beautiful white sand beach and settled in for a quiet evening. Unfortunately a northern swell kept us awake, rocking all night long. We booked it out of there first thing in the morning.
Norman Island
We snorkeled the near-by Indians before heading to Norman Island. It was spectacular. It’s clear to see why this is on everyone’s must see list. Afterwards we headed to Benures Bay for a nice quiet evening.
While Benures Bay may be a quiet anchorage, two bays over, Bights Bay is partying 7 days a week. We finally visited the William Thornton (aka The Willy T). The floating bar is rowdy, loud, and guests are encouraged to jump off the second story. Clothing is optional. The drinks are strong and women walk away with temporary pirate tattoos. If you are looking for a party, look no further. The Willy T will not disappoint.
We have seen and explored a lot in our first two weeks in the BVI. With its beach bars, stunning beaches, and vibrant snorkeling, it’s clear to see why this country is so well loved in the cruising community.
A Short Visit to the US Virgin Islands
We only spent 5 short days in USVI, but they were fabulous. Now that we are in the Virgin Islands, everything is so close. We are no longer tackling 140 mile overnight passages. We aren’t island leaping anymore, we are truly island hopping. We stayed in three mooring fields in USVI: Christmas Cove, Maho Bay, and Leinster Bay.
Christmas Cove, St. Thomas
Our first night in the Virgin Islands did not disappoint. We spent the day snorkeling the south end of Great St. James Island and Fish Cay. We saw turtles, rays, and little squids. The coral was different than what we’ve seen in the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. Instead of large coral heads, the coral grows on large rocks and is full of tropical fish and sea life. It was also the first time we’ve seen elkhorn coral. With fish circling in and out of the horns, it’s easy to see why snorkelers adore it.
On our second night in Christmas Cove we met up with Allison and Bo (Sailing B+A) for happy hour aboard their boat, Selah. We love swapping stories with fellow cruisers. We’ve had many great experiences and a few bad ones over the last 1600 miles and it’s always fun to share and laugh with other crazy sailors. To top off the night, we ordered take-out from the pizza boat. Yep, we took the dinghy over to the order window and picked up our pizza. It was almost like being back on Tennyson Street in Denver ordering at Atomic Cowboy.
Maho Bay, St. John
It’s difficult to find places as beautiful as Maho Bay. Palm trees line the white sandy beach and the clear turquoise water is breath-taking. Despite the beautiful scenery, Rob had a single mission in Maho Bay and that mission was to find LOBSTER. Searching under every rock and crevice, he stumbled upon a sea monster. A battle ensued. The lobster put up a good fight, losing two legs and both antennas in battle, but Rob emerged victorious after wrestling it out with his hands.
The lobster was more than enough for dinner (we actually ate it for four meals), but we had one problem. We were out of butter. Luckily there’s a campground in nearby Cinnamon Bay with a mini mart. While we were there, we helped ourselves to the outdoor showers. With butter and a monster lobster tail on board, even the monsoon like rainstorm that followed couldn’t keep us from enjoying a well-earned lobster dinner.
Leinster Bay, St John
Our last stop in the US Virgin Islands was Leinster Bay. While snorkeling Watermelon Cay, we were once again amazed by underwater sea life. The water was clear, the visibility was great, and the colors were vibrant. It’s a wonderful snorkeling spot just off the beach.
That evening we hiked the trail to the main road, which led to the Annaberg Plantation ruins. With the pups, we walked around the stone remains of the old slave quarters, horsemill, rum still, and windmill. It’s difficult to imagine this plantation in full operation, extracting sugar cane 200 years ago. Life and culture on St. John has greatly changed since that time, but the island’s beauty remains pristine.
14 Items Under $50 that Make Life Aboard Better
We certainly got our money’s worth out of our Amazon Prime Membership back at the Regatta Pointe Marina in Florida. We spent two months there getting Kairos cruise-ready and we received packages daily for our journey. The UPS man knew my name and the marina ship store had my number on speed dial. Of all the things that we purchased, here are the top 14 items under $50 that make our lives better aboard.
1. Color Coded Tool Bags (4 pack for $32)
We quickly realized that rigid contains are not easy to store on board. We have lots of storage space on the boat, but those spaces are small and odd shaped. Soft, flexible bags are the way to go. Since we couldn’t use a toolbox to organize our boat tools, we needed a new solution. The color coded tool bags we purchased from Amazon are perfect. We organize the tools by type into each bag. Orange-electrical, Blue-box wrenches and sockets, Black-screw drivers and plyers, Yellow-engine tools. The bags fit easily into our storage space and we can quickly access the right tool using our color coded scheme.
2. Luci Lights ($15-25 each)
These inflatable solar lights are perfect for lighting up the cockpit in the evenings. We use them while we are eating dinner or when we invite other cruisers over for drinks. We’ve also used them as a stern light for our dinghy and even as a backup anchor light for our boat. You can never have too many solar lights on a boat and these are durable, weather proof, and fun.
3. Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Instant Film Camera ($52)
Okay, so this one sneaked in a few dollars over $50, but this little camera is certainly worth it. In addition to this blog, we’ve been keeping a scrap book of the wonderful places we visit and the amazing people we meet using our mini instant camera. The pictures are a nice small size (2” x 3”) and the camera is easy to carry around. As much as I love filling up my scrap book with polaroids, I love giving these pictures away just as much. In a word filled with digital images, there is something so charming about an instant polaroid pictures. The camera is a huge hit everywhere we go.
4. The Buddy Bowl ($15-25)
The Buddy Bowl is our favorite boat dog item. Keeping the pups hydrated is a must, but as you can imagine a water dish can be pretty messy while underway or in a rolling anchorage. Not to mention how many times the water dish gets kicked with four of us living in such a small space. The Buddy Bowl is the perfect solution. No spills! It’s also very sturdy and has held up very well over the last 6 months at sea.
5. Garmin BlueChart Mobile App with Active Captain for North America ($45)
I can’t imagine route planning without the Garmin BlueChart mobile app with Active Captain. We have it installed on both our iPhone and iPad. It is easy to zoom in and out on the iPad and plot our course. Many cruisers use an iPad with Garmin BlueChart as their primary chart plotter. For us it’s a great back up. Active Captain information is overlaid on the charts, providing updated information for marinas, anchorages, and sites. Other captains can add reviews, making it the Yelp of the boating world. Having all this information at our fingertips has made route planning a breeze.
6. 1.5 Gallon Shop-Vac ($10-$35)
A vacuum is a must on our boat. Dog hair quickly accumulates in our small space, which means we vacuum frequently. We picked up our 1.5 gallon shop-vac used for $10. I ordered vacuum attachments and it sucks up dog hair like a champ. In addition to keeping our floors and cushions clean, we’ve used our shop-vac for cleaning the bilge and water tanks. We even used it to dry out the engine when it flooded with water. This vacuum is so versatile and I can’t imagine boat life without it.
7. Lingerie Bags ($13)
In order to keep our fridge cold, we try to keep the door shut. Using lingerie bags to organize food helps reduce the amount of time we’re in the fridge. For example, we keep all of our sandwich food in one bag: mayo, mustards, deli meats, sliced cheese, etc. When it’s time to make sandwiches, we can quickly pull out all of these items by removing the lingerie bag instead of searching for the items individually. We also have bags for veggies, fruit, and cheeses/snacks.
8. GoPro Camera Filter ($30)
We love capturing underwater sea life on our GoPro camera. The places we visit are gorgeous, but many times the most magical sites are found below the surface of the water. At first we were disappointed in our footage. The bright colors we saw while snorkeling were washed out and dull. We ordered a red filter and it made all the difference. Now our underwater footage captures the beauty we see below.
9.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South: The Thornless Path to Windward
Adios Puerto Rico
We spent a fabulous four weeks in Puerto Rico filled with street food, lighthouses, sandy beaches, and amazing snorkeling. Puerto Rico really has it all and we are looking forward to returning in a month for hurricane season. After our weekend get-a-way in San Juan, we were ready to leave Salinas behind and sail to Culebra, PR. However, mother nature had a different plan for us. The trade winds were blowing strong, creating the choppiest seas we’ve seen yet. So instead of a 75 mile sail to Culebra, we broke the journey up into three legs, stopping in Puerto Patillas and Palmas Del Mar.
Puerto Patillas
Our first leg was the roughest. The wind was once again blowing fiercely on the nose of our boat. Kairos’s bow smacked hard into each wave. For the first time ever, she couldn’t exceed 4 knots. We had the wind, the waves, and a dirty boat bottom all working against us. Our 20 mile sail turned into a 5 hour slog. We were all relieved to take refuge in the well protected Puerto Patillas anchorage.
The town at the anchorage is cute with a handful of restaurants and a cute park development along the waterfront. However, we arrived on a Monday and like all the other coastal Puerto Rico town’s we’ve visited, Puerto Patillas is dead during the week. We stayed 3 nights and spent our time playing on the beach with the pups or panicking in the park.
Palmas Del Mar
On Thursday, May 19th we pulled up our anchor and set sail for Palmas Del Mar. The trade winds were still up, so we opted for another short leg. The wind chop was less than our previous sail, but the swell was greater. Baxter, Jaela, and I felt pretty nauseous the entire trip. But luckily, Rob was able to clean the bottom of the boat while we were anchored and Kairos was cruising through the waves at 5+ kts. We made it to the marina in just four hours.
We spent two nights at the marina cleaning Kairos and prepping for our time in the Spanish Virgin Islands. After knocking out some boat work, we rewarded ourselves with frozen drinks, a soak in the fresh water pool, and hot showers. After two rough sailing legs, it was just what we needed.
Culebra
We set sail for Culebra on Saturday. Once again the trade winds were blowing, but the seas weren’t nearly as choppy as what we saw on the south side of Puerto Rico. Five and a half hours later, we arrived at Carlos Rosarion Beach in Culebra. I’ve been looking forward to visiting Culebra ever since we started this journey. Fabulous snorkeling, Bahamas-like water, and pristine beaches—Culebra is known to be the Bee’s Knees and Carlos Rosarion Beach did not disappoint.
We grabbed a mooring ball just a stone’s throw away from the reef. No need to take the dinghy out searching for a snorkeling spot; we jumped in right off our boat. The reef was huge and in great shape. The DRNA (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental) added mooring balls to protect the reef from boats anchoring and it was obviously working. We loved exploring all of the beautiful coral and spotting eagle rays. Even the pups spent their free time in the water, swimming to and from shore.
On the south side of the beach, you’ll find a trail that leads to Flamenco Beach. We hiked the trail on Sunday and 20 minutes later we were squeezing through a chain linked fence that leads to the most pristine beach we’ve seen since the Bahamas. The beach was a little crowded (more people than what we are used to), but it is gorgeous and well worth the hike.
On Monday, we moved to the Ensenada Honda anchorage in order to visit the town. We stocked up on groceries, had a nice dinner, and celebrated our arrival to the Spanish Virgin Islands at the Dinghy Dock Bar. We final received our pet permit for the BVI’s and needed to print it, so we even got to check out the Culebra library. This is a very nice anchorage and a cute town, but we were too excited about exploring our next anchorage to stay more than a night.
Culebrita
Culebrita was our last stop in Puerto Rico and what a magical place it is! The white sandy beach is even more beautiful than Flamenco Beach. There’s a reef that surrounds the anchorage full of sea life. You can’t look out from your boat for more than 10 minutes without seeing a turtle head pop up on the surface of the water. The “Jacuzzi” on the north side of the beach is the perfect place for an afternoon swim. The hike to the lighthouse provides jaw dropping views. And if a pristine beach, great snorkeling, sea turtles, swimming holes, and lighthouses aren’t charming enough, wild goats roam on the island and graze on the hillside in the evenings. Even after dark, we could hear their “bahhhhs” from our boat. We loved this island!
We anchored in Culebrita for two nights and enjoyed everything the uninhabited island had to offer. Our last stop in Puerto Rico turned out to be a true paradise.
From Isolation to the Big City: Coffin Island and San Juan
Coffin Island
Leaving the party towns of Boqueron and La Parguera, we set out for Isla Caja de Muertos (translation: Coffin Island) on May 8th. It was Mother’s Day, so we both called our moms while in route despite the choppy seas.
If it wasn’t for the lush green hills, it would have felt like the Bahamas. The clear turquoise water was so inviting and once again we were the only ones on the island. We anchored so close to a white sand beach that we could almost swim to shore. In fact, Baxter actually tried to swim to the boat once when Rob left him on the beach in order to pick me up from the boat. The pups were ecstatic to play on a beach again and it was nice for us to be able to leave the leashes behind. We had the place to ourselves and the dogs were free to romp.
We anchored here for two nights. We enjoyed beach time with the pups in the morning and evenings and snorkeled in the afternoons. This time our hunting proved successful and we bagged two large lobsters. It’s days and anchorages like this that we envisioned when we first set out on this adventure.
San Juan
We could have stayed at Coffin Island for weeks, but we were nearly out of water and we had some business to take care of in the city. In order to travel to the BVI’s, the dogs require an international health certificate endorsed by the USDA. This is in addition to the FAVN titer testing and rabies certificates, which we already had.
On May 10th, we pulled into the Salinas anchorage before lunch time. We had been chatting with Monday Never over email and I instantly recognized their boat, Paradox, in the anchorage. We had watched their first few sailing videos before we even left Denver. Later that evening they invited us over for drinks and we swapped sailing stories. They are the first young couple we’ve met traveling north, so we were eager to pick their brains about their experiences down island. As it turned out, they were also making plans to visit San Juan for a few days.
The next day we rented a car and headed an hour and a half north to San Juan. The green mountainous landscape is still surprising to see. We had about an hour to kill before the pup’s veterinarian appointment, so we stopped for some street food. We had some amazing arepas—we were off to a good start in San Juan.
After the vet appointment, we checked into our studio apartment. It wasn’t much, but it was still a lot bigger than our boat. It was clean, had a comfy bed, and a large hot shower. The first thing we did was close the windows and crank up the AC. It felt like Heaven. I honestly think we could have laid in bed in an air conditioned room for three days and had the most amazing time. But we were also excited to explore the city, so we dragged ourselves out of bed and walked to a nice dinner.
After the last 5 months of living on the boat, we had nearly forgotten all of the conveniences of living in a city. We could walk to EVERYTHING. We didn’t have to worry about how to dispose of trash or where our water was going to come from. We hadn’t realized it when we booked the apartment, but 3 days away from the boat was like a vacation itself.
Our time in San Juan was a mixture of play and work. We got the USDA endorsement we needed for the dogs, picked up marine parts at West Marine, and provisioned for the BVI’s. While food is more readily available than in the Bahamas, we hear it’s expensive. Therefore, we wanted to stock up before leaving Puerto Rico. We also got to explore charming Old San Juan and had a night out on the town with our new friends.
We loved San Juan so much and felt so refreshed being back in a city that we have decided to return. We’re going to explore the Virgin Islands and then haul our boat out in Puerto Rico at the beginning of July. With our boat secured on land, we’re going to rent a place in San Juan. We hope to learn to salsa, improve our Spanish, and find work to replenish the cruising kitty. We were sad to say goodbye to San Juan, but now we’re even more excited to return.
Celebrating in Puerto Rico: Boqueron and La Parguera
Boqueron
We were back on US soil after surviving an electrifying Mona Passage and it was time to celebrate. Many cruisers stop in Mayaguez to provision after the Mona, but it was Saturday and we heard that Boqueron was the place to be on the weekends. Although we were sleep deprived and exhausted, we quickly perked up when we went to shore. The streets were full of artists, food vendors, and musicians. We spent the day sampling everything Boqueron had to offer. Oysters, meat on a stick, empanadas, tacos, chicken wings—no street food went undevoured.
The next day we spent some time with the crowds on the beach. Because the beaches in the Bahamas are so isolated, it was the first time we’ve shared a beach with more than a handful of people. However, we didn’t mind. Ice cream vendors, Latin music, and domino tournaments at each picnic table made for a very lively scene. As we were cooling off in the water, we saw a sailboat pull into anchor. It was our friends on s/v Delancey.
That evening we went back into town with Deb and Pete. Again we bounced around between bars and street vendors, filling up on fried foods and cheap beer. The highlight of the night was watching people salsa to a lively street band.
The following day, Boqueron looked like a different town. Most of the stores and restaurants were closed and there wasn’t a soul on the beach. This town certainly lives for the weekend.
Cabo Rojo
We left Boqueron on Tuesday, May 3rd. We refilled our fuel and water tanks at the marina in Puerto Real and set off for La Parguera. As we were rounding the southwest cape, the wind and waves picked up, making our ride very uncomfortable. By now we were used to motoring into the wind and waves. But we decided to spare ourselves from 4 hours of hull bangers and upset puppies. We anchored in Cabo Rojo near Faro Los Morrillos lighthouse.
Built in 1882, the lighthouse marks the southwest cape of Puerto Rico. It is built on red cliffs with a drastic vertical drop of over 200 ft. The lighthouse and surrounding grounds are breathtaking and made for a lovely evening walk with the pups.
La Parguera
We were up early the next morning headed towards La Parguera for a second time. The winds had calmed down, but as we rounded the cape, we found the seas to be pretty choppy. We weren’t traveling far, so we powered through it and dropped our anchor before lunch time.
La Parguera is a cute place. Many homes are built directly on the water and the town is more developed than Boqueron. However, like Boqueron, the town is quiet during the week and comes alive on the weekends. It was Wednesday and we were the only boat in the anchorage.
The next evening, two more boats joined us. It was Imagine Squared and Westwind, who we first met in Luperon. We had read about a nearby bioluminescent bay. The last bioluminescent bay we saw was in Luperon and the water was much too filthy to touch, so we were excited to go play. Lori and Paul from Imagine Squared joined us and we zipped over to the bay in our dinghies at dusk.
As we entered the bay, we wondered what all the fuss was over. We sat in the dark, waiting for the light show to begin. We were feeling disappointed and about to call it quits when I dangled my feet over the side of the dinghy. Gold fakes lit up the water all around my toes. I felt like Tinkerbell. A few minutes later, all four of us were wiggling our hands in the water and watching in awe as fairy dust left our fingers. Rob jumped in and swam a few laps around the dinghy with the water lighting up as he agitated it. We continued to zip around the bay in our dinghy, mesmerized by a blue glow in our wake. We honestly can’t get enough of the bioluminescent waters.
The water in La Parguera was very nice. It wasn’t as pristine as in the Bahamas, but much better than the Dominican Republic. All four of us were excited to swim. We tossed the pups right off the boat so they could cool down in the afternoons. Rob and I went snorkeling and lobster hunting. While our hunt came up short, we had fun exploring the mangrove islands and snorkeling the nearby coral heads.
Once Friday arrived, the town came alive. I get the feeling that this town celebrates something almost every weekend. This weekend it was the Pineapple Festival. The streets filled with vendors and there was a stage, where live music was played late into the night. We roamed the streets, window shopping and listening to music. Puerto Ricans know how to throw a party and we were happy to join along.
Passagemaking: The Northern Coast of the Dominican Republic and the Mona Passage
In order to travel from Luperon to Puerto Rico, we had to cross 300 miles of some of the most grueling and unforgiving seas. It’s the thorniest part of The Thorny Path to Windward. Bruce Van Sant provides excellent instructions on how to sail these waters under prevailing conditions. However, we decided to wait for weather windows with light winds and motor sail across as quickly as we could. We broke the journey up into two long overnight passages.
The Northern Coast of the Dominican Republic (Luperon to Samana)
We read tons of horror stories about sailing the Northern Coast of the DR. Sailing along the coast line into 20+knt winds and 8 foot seas is suicidal. So we waited for a window of light winds and calm seas. We detached Kairos from the grimy mooring ball in Luperon and left the anchorage at 7:00am on April 24th. Our friends on Westwind and Imagine2 had left just a couple of hours earlier. The water was like glass as we motored out the channel into the Atlantic Ocean.
Motor sailing at 7 knots, we quickly caught up to the other boats. About 3 hours into our uneventful sail, we spotted an Endevour 40 off our starboard side. We hailed the boat on the VHF, and just as we suspected, it was our friends, s/v Delancey, that we had met back in Turks and Caicos. They had just left Ocean World Marina (15 miles east of Luperon) and were also heading to Samana. For the first time, we’d be crossing a passage with multiple buddy boats nearby. This gave us a warm and fuzzy feeling as the sun was setting.
Except for our dolphin visitors, the entire passage was pretty uneventful. We did run into one squall at night, which s/v Delancey was kind enough to warn us about since we couldn’t see the clouds approaching. With their warning, we were able to get the pups below deck and put away the cockpit cushions. The storm brought heavy rains, but the seas remained calm. The squall also brought 20 to 25 knot winds aft of the beam allowing us to sail on a broad reach. While motor sailing during the squall we were able to maintain a speed of about 8.5 knots!
We made great time and arrived in Samana at 4:30am in the dark. The marina didn’t open until 8:00am, so we decided to anchor in the harbor and get a few hours of much needed sleep. We were abruptly awoken at 8:00am on the dot by 2 men knocking on our boat. The man wearing a camouflage uniform was the Commandante (DR navy officer) and the other man was the harbor master. In the DR you must travel with a despacho, which is a form that the Commandante issues to your boat stating your departure port and your destination port. We quickly presented him with our despacho and explained that we were just resting until the marina opened. He wanted to search our boat, but after meeting our two viscous boat dogs, he decided against it. Despite all of the local strays, people in the Dominican Republic are still scared of large dogs. The pooches earned their dinner that day. After giving us some grief about not staying in the harbor, the men left and we booked it straight for the marina.
The Puerto Bahia Marina is located in a fabulously luxurious resort with infinity pools, nice restaurants, and upscale bars. The marina was well kept and incredibly clean. It was a nice change from Luperon. People can vacation at this all-inclusive resort and relax in the sterile environment without ever experiencing the Dominican Republic culture.
We stayed at the marina for four nights. We hired some locals to clean our hull, deck, and stainless steel. Kairos looked as good as new. We rented a car to explore Samana and the nearby waterfall. We also got caught up on laundry and soaked in the infinity pools with frozen drinks. It was a relaxing time, but anxiety about the upcoming Mona Passage was in the back of our heads.
The Mona Passage (Samana to Boqueron)
Driving and Waterfalls in the Dominican Republic
Our scariest experience to date occurred during our time in the Dominican Republic. It wasn’t an ocean passage or a building squall we braved. The dangerous experience that we conquered was riding motorcycles through the Dominican Republic. Most Dominicans get around via motorcycles. It’s normal to see a family of five on a single bike or someone hauling two dead goats. The street conditions are poor with the roads covered in pot holes. Motorcyclists fail to obey elementary road regulations and pass on the left, the right, and sometimes side by side with two other vehicles. To complicate things more, stray dogs and livestock wonder into the streets. All of this combined creates a chaotic obstacle course that’s exciting to navigate.
We had two different driving experiences and visited two different waterfalls. During our stay in Luperon, we visited the 27 Waterfalls (27 Charcos) via motorcycle. Then we braved the crazy Dominican roads again in Samana when we rented a car to explore El Salto Del Limon.
27 Charcos
We rented a motorcycle (450 pesos or $10 USD) with two other cruising couples, Lori and Paul from Imgine2 and Julie and Jason from West Wind. They rented motorcycles earlier in the week, so they showed us the ropes. The one thing to remember is to get off the bike on the left. The bikes don’t have a guard on the muffler. Many cruisers end up with a “Dominican Tattoo”, a nasty muffler burn on their right leg. Luckily Rob and I walked away without any scars.
The ride to the waterfalls was chaotic, but gorgeous. The green country side was breathtaking. We arrived early and decided to see all 27 waterfalls. Our options were 7, 12, or 27. The more waterfalls, the longer the hike. But we didn’t mind, we actually welcomed the exercise.
Two guides helped our group of 6 navigate each waterfall. We jumped off rocks, slid down waterfalls, and swam in fresh water pools. We had a blast in this natural water park.
After 3 hours of playing in the waterfalls, we continued to explore the DR on motorcycles. We rode to Agua Verde and met other cruisers for beers. When we left our motorcycle gang had grown from 3 to 8 bikes. We continued to explore, stopping for 15 pesos ($0.33) empanadas and crossing over a river. As the sun was setting, we returned to Luperon. We had a wonderful day exploring the countryside and even though I must have asked him to slow down about 100 times, Rob did a great job navigating the chaotic roads in the Dominican Republic.
El Salt Del Limon
We braved the Dominican roads a second time when we rented a car in Samana. We drove to Las Galeras to explore the northern beaches with the pups. We stopped along the way for more fried chicken. We really can’t get enough of the food in the Dominican Republic. While in Las Galeras, we picked up a few paintings from a local artist. I’m a horrible negotiator, but Rob was able to score us a good deal.
The next day we decided to hike to a large waterfall, El Salto Del Limon. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, we were bombarded by locals looking to be our guide. Most people opt to travel to the waterfall on a horse. However, we were looking forward to the exercise and passed on the guided tour. The previous day’s rain made the trail very muddy. We slogged up the trail through puddles, mud, and horse manure. It wasn’t pretty, but it was nice to get a hike in. We were hoping to swim and soak in the fresh water pool at the base of the waterfall, but the rain carried the muddy run off into swimming hole, turning it brown. We decided to hike out and return to the resort for a soak in the infinity pool. As much as we love the ocean, nothing beats relaxing in fresh water.
The roads in the Dominican Republic are poorly maintained and chaotic, but are worth braving to explore this gorgeous country. We barely scratched the surface of what the Dominican Republic has to offer. Two days exploring certainly doesn’t do it justice, but we’re happy we got a peek of the country side.
Luperon: The Grime, the Beauty, the Culture
We absolutely loved Luperon, but for very different reasons than the Bahamas. In fact, the two couldn’t be more different. The Bahamas had stunning beaches, turquoise clear water, and isolation. Luperon’s water was filthy, but the green country side was magnificent, the town was lively, the food was delicious and inexpensive, and it was full of puppies. Here’s a rundown of our time in Luperon: the grime, the beauty, the culture.
The Grime
The first mooring ball we picked up in the anchorage was covered in scum. As I lifted it out of the water with a boat hook, a family of crabs came rushing out. Disgusted, I released the mooring ball and told Rob we needed to find another that was maintained. Surely that ball couldn’t be in service. But the second ball turned out to be equally grotesque. I slipped our line into the loop, or so I thought. The loop wasn’t intact and we floated away. Well, the third time’s a charm. We secured Kairos to the third mooring ball we picked up and it too was covered in sludge. One thing was clear, the water was filthy.
We heard about a stomach bug that goes around Luperon and I’m certain it’s because of the water. The anchorage is calm and well protected from storms. Many people leave their boats in the anchorage during hurricane season. What makes it a great hurricane hole also limits the amount of current in the anchorage. Because of the reduced water flow, the stagnant water collects grime and bacteria. We washed our hands after each dinghy ride. The water is the one thing we really disliked about Luperon.
As gross as the water was in the light, at night it transformed into a magical light show. The bioluminescence glow surrounded our dinghy and lit up when agitated. When using our saltwater head at night, the toilet appeared to be full of lighting bugs. Though disgusting, the bioluminescence water was a beautiful sight at night.
The Beauty
Okay, so the anchorage water was grimy, but the landscape was gorgeous. The country side was lush and green. We were delighted to see mountains on the horizon again. Rocky cliffs with crashing waves surrounded the anchorage. The Dominican Republic is a beautiful country and we were in awe of its beauty during our entire stay.
Just north of town is a pristine beach along the coast. Luperon Beach is covered in white sand and the clear blue water is very different than the anchorage water. It’s a beautiful beach and it’s obvious why this location was once an all-inclusive resort.
The Luperon Beach Resort was comprised of 662 rooms, 6 pools, tennis courts, disco, gym, multiple restaurants and bars, and horse stables. The once magnificent resort has drastically deteriorated over the last four years since it closed. The accommodations have been stripped of all valuables and the resort land is now grazed by cows. We can see why someone would want to share this paradise with others, so it’s very sad to see the enormous resort abandoned (well, expect for the cows).
Luperon Beach Resort Before….
Luperon Beach Resort Now….
The Culture
As much as we loved the landscape, we adored the people and food of the Dominican Republic even more. The Dominican Republic culture is lively, vibrant, and colorful. The people are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Everyone wears a smile.
Most people speak Spanish, so Rob’s been dusting off his Spanish speaking skills. He knows enough to get by and after only two weeks in the DR he’s able to carry on conversations. As for me, “el pollo frito por favor” is about the extent of my vocabulary.
General elections will be held on May 15th in the DR and you can’t look in any direction without spotting election posters. Campaign trucks drive the streets with enormous speakers in the bed blasting loud music and exciting crowds. Motorcycle parades would gather to celebrate and rally behind a candidate. It was wonderful to see the Dominican people so enthusiastic about their politics.
We love eating cheap street food and the DR did not disappoint. After a 22 hour passage, we were sleep deprived and hungry. Our first stop was the chicken shack. There was no menu, only a plate of the day that could be ordered. We shared a meal called “The Dominican Flag”, which consisted of fried chicken, beans, rice, and cabbage salad. This meal cost 125 pesos ($2.75 USD). After 2 months in the Bahamas, where everything is expensive, this was amazing. It turned out to be the best fried chicken we’ve ever had. We visited the chicken shack 4 more times during our 9 day visit.
If kind faces, vibrant music, and cheap and delicious food are not enough reasons to love Luperon, it was also full of dogs. If you don’t like dogs, then Luperon is not the place for you. You’ll see two or three dogs on every street corner. The dogs are sweet and well behaved. They are only looking for attention and any leftover food scraps you might be willing to share. I’m certain that most Luperon dogs survive on chicken bones alone. Each dog has its own territory it stalks. Buttercup was one of our favorite pups. She hung out at Wendy’s Bar most of the time. She would meet us at the dinghy dock and walk around town with us. One night she followed us to dinner and slept at our feet while we ate. If we didn’t already have two pups on board, I’m sure we would have left Luperon with a boat full of Dominican dogs or at least little Buttercup.
Luperon may have dirty streets, grimy anchorage water, and poor infrastructure, but the people, food, music, and lush landscape more than make up for these deficiencies. We are very glad we had the opportunity to experience the Dominican Republic. We are envious of the simplicity of life in the DR and we understand why some cruisers choose to live there year round. It’s not for everyone, but Luperon charmed our socks off (or would have, if we wore socks).
Passage to the Dominican Republic
Rob is 30! Finally! He would often remind me of our age difference, but now his jokes won’t have the same effect since we are both in our early 30’s. We pulled away from Providenciales in the early hours of Captain Rob’s birthday (April 14th). The wind was nonexistent and the water was very calm; almost like glass. We always want to sail, but without wind, we had to motor across the Caicos Banks. The calm conditions and blue still water reminded us of our trip across the Great Bahama Banks.
We exited the banks around 1:00pm and started to head south along the shelf. It was time for the fishing lines to come out. So far Rob’s birthday was proving to be pretty boring. The only gift he had received so far was some burnt chocolate chip oatmeal cookies that I made despite not having any butter. It’s the thought that counts. We were testing out a new cedar plug lure and it wasn’t long before we had a fish on. It had been awhile since we caught anything, so we would have been happy with any edible fish. As Rob reeled it in, we realize that he finally scored the tuna he’s been after since we left Florida. It was a nice size skipjack tuna and the birthday boy was thrilled. Only a few minutes later and we had another dolphinfish on. It was a great birthday present, but mother nature had one more gift to deliver.
Shortly after the fish were filleted and stored in the freezer, winds picked up to about 12-15 kts from the east. This meant for the first time since leaving Florida, Kairos was sailing on a beam reach! We are so used to sailing with the wind on our nose, we forgot how lovely a beam reach can be. We shut off the motor, enjoyed a peaceful dinner, and watched the sunset while Kairos kept cruising south. We were able to sail throughout the night, making much better time than we had anticipated. It was the best sail we’ve had so far on this adventure, but we were going to arrive in Luperon at 4am. Navigating the anchorage in dark is not a challenge we wanted to take on, so we slowed down and waited for the sun rise.
As day light broke through the night sky, we could see the outline of the mountains in front of us. After seeing flat sandy islands for the last two months in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, we couldn’t believe the drastic change in scenery. As the sun rose, we could see the lush, green forests and smell the earthy soil.
We entered the anchorage and grabbed a mooring ball for $2 per day from Papo, the harbor master. Papo told us that the navy (comandante) would come out shortly to check us in. We took a much needed nap and awaited their arrival. When they didn’t show up after 4 hours, Rob went to clear us in. He visited 5 offices (Agriculture, Immigration, Customs, Tourism, Port Authority) and paid a total of $140 in fees. Agriculture only needed to see our rabies certificates to allow the pups into the country. No one asked to inspect our boat, so we were good to go. It was now time to take the pups to shore and explore this exciting new country.
7 Things We’d Do Differently
We’ve been liveaboards for 100 days now. Wow, I can’t believe it’s been that long. Time is flying by and it seems like only yesterday we spent our first night on board. Over the last 100 days, we’ve learned a lot about Kairos, about the countries we’ve visited, and about each other. We are so grateful for this opportunity and despite the ups and downs, it’s been amazing. Looking back, however, there are a few things that we could have done better. For those of you considering setting out on a similar adventure, here are the 7 things we’d do differently if we could do it all over again.
1. Buy a Well Maintained Boat. We previously read that it would be difficult to get boat insurance if we purchased a boat over 30 years old. That became the cut off for us. Now we are convinced that the age of the boat doesn’t matter as much. What DOES matter is how well the boat has been maintained. New and old alike, boats have problems. There’s always going to be something to fix or improve. The marine environment is very harsh on equipment. But a well maintained boat will have a lot less headaches.
Kairos (formerly known as “Kansas Out of Oz” and formerly, formerly known as “Clever Skiff”) was in her prime about 15-20 years ago. She was all decked out in the latest systems and electronics. We aren’t taking her anywhere she hasn’t already been. She cruised these islands for many years while we were managing our awkward teenage years. It’s nice to think that our boat is the one taking us to new places and not the other way around. But now many of her systems are outdated and she was not well maintained the two years prior to our purchase. We’ve spent a lot of time repairing/replacing pumps, electrical systems, wiring, hoses, and teak brightwork. All boats require maintenance, but we started off this adventure fixing several years of deferred maintenance on top of the normal stuff. It turned out to be more than we expected.
2. Consider Buying a Boat in the Caribbean. It never crossed our minds to look for boats in Grenada or the BVIs. The boat hunting logistics seemed too difficult. However, we now think fellow cruisers Monday Never got it right when they purchased their boat in the BVIs.
The route from Florida to the BVIs is known as the Thorny Path to Windward. The trade winds blow from the East/Southeast, so we are constantly trying to sail into the wind and waves. It can be brutally uncomfortable and means we have to wait for good weather windows. It’s the most frustrating leg of our journey and here we are trying to tackle it with minimal experience. By purchasing a boat in the Caribbean, we could have skipped the Thorny Path all together and sailed comfortable up the island chains with the wind on our beam.
2. More Space.
Provisioning Update and Boat Meals
We had heard how limited and expensive groceries are in the Bahamas, so we provisioned before leaving the marina. We did some final provisioning in Marathon. Here’s our updated provisions list. The rumors turned out to be completely true. A local once told us that the Bahamian way is Kraft dinner and tuna salad with crackers. Fresh produce is difficult to come by. So how did we do? What did we wish we had more of? What meals did we eat on the boat?
Planned Meals. As much as I love the challenge of cooking a dinner with refrigerator and pantry left overs, for most efficient provisioning, plan meals in advance. I made a list of meals we like to eat and then developed my provisioning list assuming we’d eat each meal 3-4 times during our stay in the Bahamas. This ensured that we always had the correct ingredients to make our go-to meals and prevented over provisioning. We really didn’t pack anything that we won’t use.
Just Add Water. Freeze dried meals are amazing after a long passage or after a day full of exploring. Sometimes we just didn’t feel like cooking and it’s not like we could order take out. Freeze dried meals are perfect for these times. We brought 15 Mountain House dinners on board. Although a little pricey, they came in very handy. We used to eat these all the time on backpacking trips in Colorado. Just add boiling water to the bag and let it sit for 9 minutes. I would often add onions, potatoes or carrots to spruce it up a bit.
Freshly Caught Fish. Some of the best fish I’ve ever had has been aboard Kairos. So far we’ve caught 5 dolphin fish, a lobster, conch, and a tuna. While you can’t always rely on catching fish, you should set yourself up for the opportunity. We don’t use a lot of fancy fishing gear, but we do have a few hand reels and a variety of lures. Our new cedar plug is a favorite. Before taking off cruising, do a little research and ensure you’re stocked up on the right fishing gear for the area.
Spare Parts. It’s impossible to prepare for every possible scenario. We would never have predicted that our braided fuel line on the engine would spring a leak. However, we left the marina stocked up on common spares, such as, rescue tape, pump impellers, fuel filters, oil filters, oil, an alternator, fuel pump, water pump, equipped ditch bag, belts, gaskets, and a mixing elbow. We did replace our filter system in Clarence Town. It was difficult to find fuel filters for our old system, so we swapped it over to a Racor system, which can be found at most marine stores.
Overall I’m very pleased with how much we provisioned. We were in the Bahamas for 6 weeks and we were never close to starving. We had enough provisions to last us about 8 weeks. Though expensive, both Nassau and Georgetown have large groceries stores where you can get almost anything you want. The other inhabited islands have very small stores with a very limited selection, but you can usually get cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions, bread, eggs, and tomatoes for reasonable prices. These produce are great to have on a boat, because they tend to last awhile.
What We Did Right
An Unexpected Stop in Turks and Caicos
As sad as we were to leave the Bahamas, we were equally excited to visit the Dominican Republic. We couldn’t wait to hike up the mountain side, explore waterfalls, and devour cheap street food. We pulled up our anchor at 12:50am on April 8th. It would take us 32-36 hours (our longest sail yet) to get to Luperon. Leaving in the middle of the night would ensure a morning arrival on April 9th. The pups were confused why we were up moving around so much at such a strange hour, but once we turned on the motor, they assumed their passage positions. Jaela took the cockpit floor, while Baxter settled into the side cushion.
We sailed into the dark, once again relying on our instruments and spotlight to guide our way. Once underway, Rob took the first night shift (2am-4am) and I tried to sleep. The key word here is TRIED. I didn’t sleep a wink. The boat was rocking so much that rest was impossible. We were expecting 3 foot seas with 11 second intervals, but the loud banging of the hull onto the water surface every few seconds told us it was much choppier. We knew it would be a long night. After being tossed onto the floor while I was “resting” on the salon settee during a particularly bad hull-banger, I knew there was no point of trying to sleep. I took the next night shift (4am-7am).
Sailing in choppy seas is different at night than during the day. Since we can’t see the waves coming, we were constantly tense with anticipation. On the other hand, it’s impossible to steer into them, so our only task at the helm is to ensure the autopilot kept us on track. This made for a very uncomfortable, but boring night. Thankfully our fuel supply issues did not reappear (is it safe to say that we might have fixed it?), so we only had to concentrate on keeping course.
After a very colorful sunrise, Rob took over at the helm and we began discussing our course. The last 7 hours were pretty miserable for all four of us and the thought of another 24+ hours of the same was disheartening. That’s when we made the call to bail out to Providenciales (Provo) in Turks and Caicos.
We previously decided to bypass Turks and Caicos, because of their expensive fees and pet import requirements. T&C requires dogs to have a Lyme disease vacation and to be tested 10 days prior to arrival. Considering we were in the Exumas 10 days ago where there is ONE vet clinic that is open ONE hour a week, this was impossible. They also have breed restrictions and Baxter’s fierce pitbullness could prove troublesome. However, we decided to chance it, thinking that worse case the dogs would be quarantined to the boat.
We pulled into South Side Marina around 1:00pm on Friday (April 8th). They called Customs and Immigration for us and we waited 3 hours for them to show up. We kept the pups below deck while Rob checked in with Customs in the nearby gazebo. It was Friday afternoon and the officer had her son with her, who was anxious to get to soccer practice. I’m guessing we were the last stop on her way home. Rob was prepared with the pups’ Rabies certificates, health certificates, and FAVN titer forms; but the officer never asked about pets and Rob never volunteered the information. That was it. Our passports were stamped and we were cleared into the country. All that worrying and they didn’t even ask about pets.
After being isolated in the Bahamas for the last 5 weeks, we were excited to go out to dinner. A taxi took us to the Grace Bay area, where we experienced culture shock. Just 24 hours ago we were in Mayaguana with one small bar and a “restaurant” (really just Reggie’s house) and now we were surrounded by a plethora of posh restaurants, ice cream shops, gourmet groceries, and boutique clothing stores. It was difficult to wrap our sleep deprived heads around the sudden change. We ordered the foods we had been craving and stocked up on fresh produce and quality meats. One thing is for sure—we ate well and a lot in T&C.
We stayed at the South Side Marina for 5 nights waiting for the next weather window to cross to the Dominican Republic. During our stay we rented a car and explored the west side of the island with the pups, found an isolated beach all to ourselves, had drinks with our new dock neighbors (Sailing Delancey), played boccie ball at Bob’s Bar, and went downtown to a local Spanish bar. It was a relaxing and fun stay. Despite our rough passage, we were happy that we got a chance to experience Turks and Caicos. We were reminded of the convenience of the Western world and it felt like a vacation. But we were ready to move onto new experiences.
To really do this country justice, we would have to visit multiple islands and do some diving; however, if we were to stay more than seven days, then we would need to purchase a cruising permit for an extra $300. This was not in our budget. So when a nice clam weather window appeared, we jumped on it, even though it meant we would be traveling on Rob’s 30th birthday.
We said goodbye to Sailing Delancey on Wednesday (April 13th) afternoon as we left the marina. We anchored nearby and prepared for our early morning departure. We pulled up our anchor at 6:50am the next day. It was Captain Rob’s birthday and we were bound for Luperon for a second time. We both knew this would be a birthday to remember, we just hoped it would be for good reasons.
Mayaguana: Our Last Stop in the Bahamas
After topping off our fuel tanks at the Flying Fish Marina, we left Clarence Town around 10:00 am. Even though we replaced our fuel filter system and tightened all of the hose connections, we weren’t convinced that our fuel supply issues were fixed. This would be our first overnight sail and we expected to change filters and bleed fuel lines along the way. Sure we’ve left anchorages at dark before, but this would be the first time we’d watch the sunset while in route. The last thing we wanted to do was repeatedly bleed the engine fuel lines while underway in the dark, but there is only one way to test fuel supply issues—and that’s to run the motor. We planned to bail out into Atwood Harbor in Acklins Island if things became too difficult. All of our safety equipment was set up, we emailed out our float plan, and we had a backup plan if something went wrong. We were prepared for our first all-nighter.
We immediately began taking two hour shifts at the helm, which left me with the first night shift and Rob with the last. Things were going well, so we passed right by Atwood Harbor without even discussing stopping. Neither of us would say it out loud for fear of jinxing ourselves, but after 8 hours of problem free motoring we began to wonder if our fuel supply issues were finally solved. As the sun set and we put on our harnesses, the butterflies began fluttering in our stomachs.
Wow, it was dark. Really dark. We could no longer see the sea and had to trust our instruments. The moon was only a small sliver that barely glowed. Oh but the stars! The stars were amazing. With no nearby light pollution, the sky seemed to contain twice as many stars. On a night shift, with nothing else to do, it was easy to get lost in them. Then I noticed the glow in the water.
As our boat parted the water, we could see green specs light up in the wake. Bioluminescence! I was so memorized, that I spent nearly every minute with my head hanging over the side watching the light show. Don’t worry, I was still on the lookout for other boats, but the glowing lights in the water saved me from complete boredom during those wee hours.
18 hours after leaving Clarence Town, we arrived in Mayaguana at 4:00am. It was too dark to make out land, but our charts and noses told us it was there. We could smell the muddy soil. We decided to anchor in Betsy’s Bay for a nap. As we got closer, we were finally able to spot land with our spotlight.
After a little bit of rest, we motored down the coast into Abraham’s Bay anchorage during daylight hours in order to avoid the coral heads. I wonder if Christopher Columbus was as in awe of this gorgeous island as we were when he first made landfall here. Mayaguana is the eastern most island in the Bahamas and the least developed of the inhabited islands that we visited. Abraham’s Bay anchorage is surrounded by coral reefs. As we were anchoring in the turquoise water, we watched the ocean waves break on the miles of reefs. Absolutely gorgeous.
We were preparing for our dinghy ride to shore, when Jaela decided that she couldn’t wait any longer. After 26 hours, she marched right over and peed on the doggie pad. She’d known this entire time what she was supposed to do, but it took an overnight passage to make her do it. We were thrilled. The dogs clearly prefer to do their business on land, but it’s nice knowing that they can use the pad when we can’t take them to shore.
We also found a stow-away on deck. This little guy must have jumped on the boat in the middle of the night. We tossed him into the freezer to use later as bait.
After taking the pups to shore, we took showers and decided to check out town. The Abraham’s Bay settlement is the largest of the three on the island, but there’s very little there. The mail boat comes once a week to deliver supplies. Even though it had just come that day, the shelves in the grocery store were bare. We purchased a couple of apples from the store’s owner Reggie. We learned that Reggie also owned the restaurant next door and we made arrangements for dinner. Our options were cracked conch or chicken. We had our fill of conch in Clarence Town so we opted for chicken. He said it would be a couple of hours so we wandered over to the bar.
You might starve in Mayaguana, but you don’t have to be sober for it. While the grocery store was lacking supplies, the bar (really just a liquor store with picnic tables outside) was well stocked and had an impressive selection. We enjoyed a few drinks while we chatted with locals. That’s when we met Scully. Scully is the unofficial ambassador of the island and the go-to guy for anything. Diesel is not readily available, but he said he could track some down for us. If we were going to make it to Luperon, we needed another 15 gallons.
Reggie’s dinner was fabulous. It’s my favorite meal we’ve had on this adventure. We were the only ones in the dark, poorly decorated, small restaurant. Reggie was cooking just for us. We had a salad as a starter and then stewed chicken with crab and mystery meat rice. It’s a special feeling when someone cooks for just you. It was absolutely nothing like our favorite restaurants in Denver, but we loved our dining experience all the same.
After dinner, we returned to the boat in our dinghy. The sun had already set and we were surprised with a light show again. Bioluminescence waters are pretty cool.
Over the next four days, we walked the shores with our dogs, snorkeled, had drinks in town, and even caught a lobster. The clear waters and vibrant underwater reefs in Mayaguana are a fisherman’s dream.
Before we left, Scully came through for us. He was able to get 15 gallons of diesel from a relative that works at the water and sewage plant. He brought it to the dock in a barrel and then siphoned it (using his mouth) into our jerry cans. Islands, like Mayaguana, that have very little make us appreciate how convenient our previous lives were.
Now that we were stocked up on fuel, we prepared for our 36 hour sail to Luperon in the Dominican Republic. The last 5 weeks in the Bahamas had been amazing. We saw the most beautiful turquoise water and white sand beaches. It’s easy to see why cruisers never leave. But we are looking forward to seeing the Dominican Republic’s mountains and lush, green forests and experience a different culture. Leaving the Bahamas was bittersweet, but even our courtesy flag was telling us it was time to go.
That evening we watched our last Bahamian sunset and set our alarms for 11:30pm. We pulled our anchor up at 12:30am and sailed into the dark. Our next stop would be Luperon…or so we thought.
Where There is Yin, There is Also Yang: Conception Island and Clarence Town
Where there is Yin, there is Yang. Where there is good, there is bad. Chinese philosophy believes that these contrary forces are actually complementary and interconnected; that they give rise to each other. This is probably true for most things in life, but it is especially true for sailing. For each wonderful day we get to lounge on a pristine white sandy beach, we also have days of frustrating boat maintenance that make us want to throw in the towel. Our first two legs after Georgetown are a perfect example of the boat life Yin and Yang.
The Yin: Sailing to Conception Island
Our 7.5 hour sail to Conception Island was tranquil. We had waited for the perfect weather window to leave Georgetown and the day couldn’t have been better. We were even able to shut off the engine and make great time with just the wind in our sails. Sailing can be so peaceful with the sun on your face and the sound of water rushing by your hull.
So far, we’ve done more motoring than sailing on this adventure. You can sail any direction, EXCEPT directly into the wind. Because the trade winds blow from the east/southeast, most of the time we are traveling directly into the wind. Not only can crashing straight into the waves be uncomfortable, but it also makes it impossible to put sails up. It is for this reason the trek from Florida to the Virgin Islands has been named the “Thorny Path to Windward”. But from Georgetown to Conception Island, we were traveling NORTHeast for a change and it was magnificent.
We dropped anchor only 100 feet from a pristine white sand beach on the west side of the island around 3:00pm. It was nice to anchor so close to shore. For once, walking the dogs would be a breeze. Hell, if we really wanted to, we could just toss them off the boat and watch them swim to shore. We played on the beach for the remainder of the afternoon and then returned to the boat for dinner, drinks, and a sunset view. Life was good.
The next day we finally busted out the dive hookah and dove the reef on the north side of the island. There was a ridiculous number of coral heads lined up and full of colorful creatures for us to explore. We were looking for one creature in particular—L-O-B-S-T-E-R. We came home empty handed, but it was still fun to snorkel such a beautiful area.
After we cleaned up, we took a ride in the dinghy to the nearby creek through the mangroves, where we saw hundreds of turtle heads popping up out of the water. They would come up for air, then head right back down again. It resembled a giant game of WHACK-A-MOLE.
We returned to the boat to course plan for our trip to Rum Cay the next day. The weather forecast was calling for 15-20kt winds. We knew it would be a little rough, but Rum Cay was only 4 hours away. We could handle it. That’s when I realized that the marina on Rum Cay was CLOSED. It has actually been closed since before last year’s hurricane. With the marina closed and hurricane Joaquin wiping out the other services on the island, we would not be able to get fuel or water in Rum Cay. This was alarming because we did not have enough fuel to make it to our next stop, Mayaguana. Our options became 1) return to Georgetown, or 2) head further south to Clarence Town on Long Island. Not wanting to depart from Chicken Harbor twice, we chose option 2.
The Yang: Sailing to Clarence Town
As wonderful as our sail to Conception Island had been, our sail to Clarence Town was the exact opposite. The 3-5 foot seas we saw when we left the anchorage grew into 8 foot seas. Once again we were traveling directly into the wind, our bow smashing into the waves. Kairos was bucking and rearing as our hull crashed back to the water surface after each surge.
The safety gear came out: life jackets, personal locator beacons, dog life jackets, and dog tethers. With the pups secured on the cockpit floor, Rob and I braced ourselves for a long 9 hour day.
Not even 2 hours into our trip, we heard the dreaded sound of our engine RPMs dropping. A few minutes later our engine had completely shut off. By now, we are no longer strangers to fuel supply issues. There was the incident in Marathon when we had to call Boat US for a tow. We also changed filters near Chub Cay and again in Nassau. We were going through fuel filters so quickly, we purchased a whole new filter housing set up so we could swap out our current system for a more readily available Racor system.
However, after researching and reading the Boat Galley’s post on this topic, we were convinced that the problem wasn’t particulate in our fuel. We believed that we had a leak somewhere in the vacuum side of the fuel supply line and air was getting into the system. Fuel supply issues can be notoriously difficult to diagnosis and resolve. Once “fixed”, the only way to test the solution is to run the motor for a long period. Not to mention that there could be multiple issues. Maybe it’s both an air leak and particulate fouling. Maybe there are multiple air leaks. Our engine died four times during our 9 hour trip. One thing was certain—we had an issue that needed to be resolved.
We quickly realized that there was no need to change the filter out. We could bleed the system and run for a couple of hours before it would shut down again. Under pleasant conditions, this may have not been as big of an issue, but we didn’t have pleasant conditions. Each time the engine would die, we’d let out the jib, turn 90 degrees off our route, and set our autopilot. With the boat under full sail, Rob and I could then go down below to bleed the engine. The last place you want to be in rolling conditions is below deck. We were both getting nauseas and couldn’t stand to be down there more than a few minutes at a time. We’d go through the routine of bleeding the fuel line. I manned the mechanical fuel pump while Rob cracked open the bleeder nut. As soon as the task was complete, we rushed upstairs for some fresh air and relief.
By the time we reached Clarence Town, we were banged up, exhausted, and defeated. As if the sailing gods wanted one last laugh at us, it started to rain as we were trying to scope out the anchorage. It was such a relief when we finally dropped our anchor. It was a long, long day, but we were safe and finally resting. Then we noticed the sailboat behind us in the channel had run aground. We couldn’t believe it. They were just behind us. As bad as our day was, it looked like theirs was worse. Luckily a VERY large mega-yacht was able to help them off the reef. As we were getting the boat settled for the night, the rain let up and a full rainbow appeared across our gorgeous anchorage—reminding us that if you want to see a rainbow, you have to deal with a little rain.
While we were in Clarence Town, we removed our filter housing and filter and replaced it with a Racor system. We have since run 20 hours on our engine with no issues. My guess is that there was a leak in the filter housing or coalescer. We know better than to assume it’s completely fixed, but it’s certainly better.
Like Rum Cay, Clarence Town was also severely damaged by hurricane Joaquin. Many homes, the grocery store, the co-op, and the school were flattened. The town is trying to rebuild, but progress is slow. The town’s children have been relocated to other settlements to attend school. A town without children sounds incredibly sad, but the locals we talked to were pretty optimistic. “Sure the hurricane destroyed so much. But these things are just materials that can be replaced. No one lost their life. No one lost a limb. In a way we were lucky”. The Yin and the Yang.
Great Exuma
Being at anchor on a sailboat is pretty amazing. Your boat is always facing into the wind, so there’s a nice cool breeze running through. Bugs like land, so I don’t have to worry about any more noseeum attacks. And the views are usually spectacular. My favorite moment is after we’ve eaten dinner in our cockpit and we are watching the sun set with cocktails in our hands. Life on the hook can be pretty magical. But there are some pretty nice things about staying in a marina: hot showers, laundry access, free internet, unlimited water, no long and wet dinghy rides to shore to walk the pups, and better protection from strong winds. When we pulled into the Emerald Bay Marina, we figured we’d stay a few nights…we had no idea we’d be staying eight!
We met Will, Tori, and Ryder (Sailing The Button) before we even secured our dock lines. I think they were just as excited to meet another young cruising couple as we were. Not to mention that they were traveling with a very adorable Boxer. It was St. Patrick’s Day evening and I was on a mission to find green beer. We all walked to the one bar/restaurant in the area. Mission complete—they had green beer. Little did I know that instead of food coloring, they added shots of apple pucker to achieve the color. It was horrendous, but I choked it down in the spirit of St Patrick’s Day. Just one though. I ordered a normal color yellow beer for my second round.
Over the next few days, we did a lot with our new friends. We had dinner at each other’s boat, we snorkeled, let the pups run on the beach, and hung out by the nearby resort pool. While we love the ocean, it felt amazing to soak in fresh water. We’d been moving fast for the last month and traveling can be exhausting. It was nice to relax. We spent several nights sunk into the most comfortable couch I’ve ever sat on in the boater’s lounge watching Netflix.
With the green beer mission complete, our next mission was to drive to Georgetown to get medication for Baxter’s ear infection and the replacement fuel line for our engine. The fuel line had sprung a leak about a week ago and rescue tape was the only thing preventing diesel from spewing all over our engine compartment. Getting these two items turned out to be a bit of a challenge and demonstrated how unorganized things can be in the islands.
There is one vet clinic in the Exumas. The vet flies in from Ft. Lauderdale once a month and we had just missed him. However, the clinic was willing to sell us the Zymox we needed to clear up the infection. We tried spraying vinegar in Baxter’s ear, but it wasn’t helping. The clinic’s hours are noon-1pm on Wednesdays. That’s it. They are only open 1 hour a week. And of course we pulled into the marina on Thursday evening. After leaving a few voicemails, the clinic called me back and said that I could pick up the medication from a “colorful hotel on the north side of town”. The woman couldn’t remember the name of it, but there was a restaurant on site called “Splash”. Well, I can’t say I had a high level of confidence that I we’d be able to get the Zymox, but we had to try. We rented a car and drove to town looking for a colorful hotel. And sure enough the medicine was waiting for me at the front desk.
That was strange, but easy enough, now it was time to find the engine part. I had called a Yanmar dealer in Nassau and they shipped the part to the Exuma Market in Georgetown. The woman from the Yanmar dealer told me the part would be $53 and that shipping would be somewhere around $35. She didn’t have a total for me, but she was confident that it would be around $100. We went to the market, which is really just a grocery store, and asked if they received a package for us. They hadn’t. I then rang the Yanmar dealer again and she told me that I needed to “go to the dock and it will be in the shack”. What dock? What shack? We had no clue where to go. I wasn’t even sure how to form a question in order to ask someone. “A dock with a shack” sounded ridiculously vague, but I gave it a shot. Shockingly the woman at the market knew just what I was talking about and escorted us to the dock. We picked up the package and was informed that there was no charge. The shipping had been paid. I called the Yanmar dealer once more so that I could pay for the part. She still didn’t have a total price for me yet and she would call me back to collect payment when she got it. That was two weeks ago and we still haven’t paid for the part.
Getting the medication and engine part was a random adventure. While we had the car, we also stopped at the hardware store and the market. The market had the best produce we’d seen in the Bahamas yet.
While at the marina, we also took the opportunity to complete some boat work. We fixed the generator, replaced the fuel line, replaced the mast boot, replaced transom shower, re-bed a sanction that had been leaking, and oiled all of the downstairs teak. There is a lot of teak on this boat!
The Emerald Bay Marina was pretty convenient. At $1.00 per foot per night, it was very inexpensive for the Bahamas. There was FREE laundry and wifi. The showers were hot and amazing. The boater’s lounge was very nice with comfy furniture and a pool table. And on Monday, the marina brought in food and drinks for “Happier Hour”. So when the forecast called for strong winds, we didn’t mind staying a few more nights—in fact it gave us a chance to watch a few more episodes of House of Cards. But after eight nights, we were ready to move on once the winds died down.
On March 25th we left the marina and set sail for Georgetown along with half of the other sailboats at the marina, including our new friends Will and Tori. We spent 3 nights in Georgetown. We provisioned, hiked, and enjoyed the gorgeous beaches while we waited for the right weather window to leave the Exumas.
Georgetown has everything you need. Great groceries, free water, fun tiki bar, fabulous beaches, volleyball courts, a water taxi, and Sunday pig roasts. It’s easy to see why cruisers love the many nice anchorages here. Georgetown is also known as “Chicken Harbor”. Many cruisers arrive here with plans to sail the Caribbean, but then turn back. Sometimes it’s because of a broken part or bad weather. For many it’s because the passages become long and require overnight sails. For others it’s because they have already found a convenient paradise in the Exumas. To be honest, we also seriously considered turning back and just cruising in the Bahamas. Cruising has its challenges. Some days it’s magical and we can’t believe this is our life now. Other days it can be incredibly frustrating and we question why we are even doing this. After much thought, we pulled up our anchor on March 28th and left Chicken Harbor behind as we continue heading Southeast.
There is No Such Thing As a Free Lunch
Just 4 short months ago when I was working for an engineering firm, I would attend “lunch and learns” one or two times a week. A company sales rep would bring in lunch and present their products to us engineers. Engineers are like college students and love “free” food, so we’d come out by the dozens to attend these “lunch and learns”. But the lunch wasn’t free. In exchange for lunch, we gave up an hour of our day to learn about the company’s products and potentially specify them on the projects we were working on.
We are very fortunate that we get to travel to exotic and beautiful places, but don’t let our gorgeous pictures on facebook fool you…cruising is hard work. It’s actually more difficult than either of us had imagined. But cruising is like everything else in life, you can’t get something for nothing. Here are some of the less glamorous aspects of our new lifestyle.
1) Water Conservation
Our water tanks hold 100 gallons and we have an additional 20 gallons in jerry cans. While we really wanted to install a watermaker, we couldn’t swallow the $5,500 price tag. If we do a good job of monitoring our water usage, this amount will last us about 10 days. This means rinsing dishes quickly with low pressure water, very quick showers, washing the deck with a bucket of water instead of a hose, and never leaving the water running.
2) Showering
Showers on the boat are not particularly pleasant. Our hot water heater has two heat sources. One is AC electric power and the other is heat from running our engine. We don’t have the battery capacity to run AC power to the hot water heater, so I try to only shower on days when we’ve turned on the engine. The downside is that the water is lava hot and our shower temperature control is touchy. Finding a temperature between lava hot and freezing is a skill that I’m still developing. Because water conservation is important, we can’t leave the water running. So, we have to take navy showers. Get wet, shut off the water, lather up, rinse, repeat. Even though I only used our bathtub 3 times in the 2.5 years we lived in our Denver home, I would have killed for a soak in a hot bath when my legs were covered in bug bites.
3) Manual Toilet
Without going into too much detail here, modern day toilets are amazing inventions that add comfort to our lives. But most heads (boat toilets) have manual pumps. This can be rather unpleasant. Privacy on the boat is nonexistent, so if you weren’t already aware of your partner’s bathroom habits, you will be after a week on a boat. We thought it was ridiculous that some boats our size have two heads on board. Now we sometimes wish we had a second.
We also have to avoid flushing any toilet paper. It will plug our waste system and who wants the job of unplugging it. We have a small trash can with a lid in the bathroom to dispose of toilet paper. It’s really not as gross as it sounds, but it’s less convenient.
4) Dog Hair, Dog Hair, and More Dog Hair
Dog hair is everywhere. I’m sure we had just as much dog hair in our Denver home, but it was much much bigger. The dog hair would just gather in the corners and vacuuming/sweeping once a month kept it out of sight. Now that the four of us live in a much smaller space, there is dog hair everywhere despite constant vacuuming. We have to vacuum and/or sweep every few days just to stay on top of it.
5) The Motion of the Ocean
We haven’t seen any major storms while at anchor yet, but we have certainly had some rocky nights. In Shroud Cay we couldn’t even cook dinner, because of the waves. It’s really impossible to do anything other than watch movies to pass the time.
6) Dinghy Rides
If the boat is our house, then the dinghy is our car. It is the vehicle we take to shore. In flat clam waters, it’s a lovely ride. But typically there’s wind and where there’s wind, there are waves and when there are waves, we get soaked. Despite wearing raincoats, we rarely arrive at our destinations dry. Getting a face full of salt water each time we walk the dogs gets rather frustrating. We are on the hunt for a larger dinghy which should help some.
7) Laundry
Staniel Cay and Black Point Settlement
Our first stop after exiting the Exumas Cay Land and Sea Park was Staniel Cay. As we neared the island, it was obvious that Staniel Cay was going to be a very different atmosphere than the solitude we just left behind. Surrounded by all of these mega-mega yachts, we instantly felt a stroke of jealousy. I wish our boat had a 3 story slide into the water, jet skis at our disposal, and cool vintage Italian speed boats to zip around on.
The mega-mega yachts were certainly an experience, but I couldn’t wait to do the ONE thing that I’d been looking forward to since leaving Florida. Swim with the pigs! We took the dinghy over to pig beach where we saw about 10 pigs hanging out in the water. These pigs are obviously very well fed by the tourists. They were HUGE. We don’t have a lot of food to spare on the boat, so I only brought one granola bar to offer to the piggies. As soon as we landed the dinghy, there were 10 GIANT pigs charging at me for my granola bar. I was so excited to feed the pigs, but in the moment I just dropped the food and ran. My experience with the pigs wasn’t exactly how I imagined it, but it was still pretty cool to see these wild animals swimming in the crystal clear Bahamian waters. Rob offered a pig some of his beer and made a drinking buddy for life. The pig continued to follow him demanding more. Once the pigs realized that we were out of food, they lost interest in us and moved on to the next boat that was coming to shore.
After the piggies, the next must do at Staniel is snorkeling Thunderball Grotto. Now the rock doesn’t look like much from the outside, but inside, the cave opens up and rays of sunshine beam through the top. If you don’t like swimming near fish, then you won’t like the Grotto. There are hundreds of fish dancing in the bursts of light. The coral was gorgeous and it really felt like we were in our own life size aquarium. It’s easy to see why the producers of the James Bond movie, Thunderball, chose this location for filming.
With the swimming pigs and the Grotto checked off our list, it was time to find some fresh produce. We took the dinghy to shore and walked around the town. There were three small grocery stores and a bakery, where we picked up a few supplies. The general store even had the fuel filters we needed for the outboard engine. This was the first time in over a week that we saw a single home on an island, let alone an entire town, so we were happy to stock up and dispose of some trash; even if it cost $6.50 a bag.
While we were on Staniel Cay, we decided to grab a bite and a beer at the Yatch Club bar. It’s a cute and lively bar with pool tables and a water view. We hadn’t been out since my birthday pie at Lorelie’s nearly 3 weeks ago. It was nice to get away from the boat and meet some people. All and all, we enjoyed our stop at Staniel Cay, but after a couple of nights, we were ready to leave the crowds behind.
Our next stop was just a few miles south at Black Point Settlement. Now we have been told my multiple cruisers that Black Point has the BEST laundry. I know what you are a thinking, what could possibly be so wonderful about a laundromat that it becomes famous in the cruising community!?! We too thought it was strange that laundry at Black Point was a must do, but we saved all of our dirty clothes for this stop. We washed everything on our boat, even the cushion covers. This amounted to three loads. And I will say that it was a very nice laundromat. The dinghy dock provides easy access, there is free wifi, you can get a haircut for $15, order conch fitters (5 for a $1), and take a hot shower.
There was a cruisers happy hour at a nearby restaurant, Scorpio’s, so we decided to grab some Caribbean chicken wings and drinks. We met a couple of young cruising couples and exchanged boat stories. It was very nice to meet people with similar experiences. One couple had to replace their boat engine, not once, but TWICE, which made me feel fortunate that are boat issues weren’t nearly as severe.
We really enjoyed Black Point Settlement and would have stayed longer, but Baxter developed an ear infection and despite cleaning it with vinegar, it wasn’t getting any better. We knew he needed some antibiotic cream, but it was going to be difficult to come by. I was able to contact the ONE veterinarian office in the Exumas, which is about 45 miles south in George Town. A vet from Ft. Lauderdale flies in once a month, but we had just missed him. However, they did have some antibiotic cream that they would sell us, so we left Black Point Settlement early on St Patrick’s Day morning with a mission to find Baxter some relief.
On our way, Rob put out some trolling lines in hopes of scoring a tuna. We are now out of the Exumas Cay Land and Sea Park, so fishing is permitted. FISH ON! Another dolphinfish (mahi mahi). Well, it’s not the tuna we were hoping for, but were happy to have the protein. Fish tacos for dinner!
Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park
We left Palm Cay Marina in Nassau on Sunday March 6th and headed to the Exumas Cays. The Exumas are arguably the best cruising in the world and we couldn’t wait to get there. The first places we visited are inside the Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park. These islands are all uninhabited and are protected by the Bahamas National Trust. It’s considered a NO TAKE ZONE, so fishing and lobstering are not permitted. You aren’t even allowed to take shells out of the park. These are absolutely gorgeous islands and the Trust does a great job of protecting and managing them—so we were happy to obey the rules. Not to mention we still had a freezer stocked with mahi mahi to consume.
Shroud Cay
Even our sail to the Exumas was magical. We were soaking up the sun’s rays when we had another visitor. Baxter really loves all of the wildlife in the sea. Dolphins are his favorite and I thought he might go overboard trying to get this one.
When we arrived at Shroud Cay around 2:30, it was obvious that the Exumas would not disappoint. Holy crap is this place beautiful. We packed a cooler with a few beers, grabbed Baxter’s frisbee and went straight to the beach—which we had all to ourselves. We made it! This is paradise.
And then the wind shifted. It was now coming from the south and we didn’t have any land to protect us. From the beach we could see Kairos bobbing up and now and we knew it was going to be a bumpy and wet dinghy ride back to the boat. It was one for the record books. We arrived back to the boat soaking wet and I was already feeling nauseous. We struggled, but managed to get the pups on the boat and rinsed off. We both goggled down some Dramamine.
It was by far the rockiest night we’ve had on the boat. We had planned on eating mahi mahi (of course), but neither of us could stay standing, let alone prepare a meal. We ate some salad and let the Dramamine put us to sleep. This is the one time I actually welcomed the drowsiness.
The next day we decided to go exploring a bit. It was still very rocky out, but this time we were prepared. We put our raincoats on and loaded the pups in the dinghy. We found a creek through the mangroves that took us to a gorgeous beach on the sound side of the island. Again, we had it all to ourselves. By the time we returned to the boat, the wind had shifted back to the east and the waves had died down. We knew what we would be eating for dinner…mahi mahi!
Waderick Wells
Our next stop in the park was Waderick Wells. While there were more cruisers in the anchorage, this island has no shortage of beaches. Pick one and have it all to yourself. The island has several hiking trails, with the most popular being Boo Boo Hill. It is a tradition for cruisers to paint their boat name on a piece of driftwood and leave it at the top. We didn’t want Kairos to miss out. When we walked the dogs, we were looking for some wood on the beach and found this colorful gem. I went to work customizing it with a black sharpie and white paint pen that we had on the boat. The next day we were able to add Kairos’s name to the pile of other cruising boats that had come before her.
Jaela has now replaced her love of squirrels with lizards. While Baxter was obsessing over his frisbee on the beach, Jaela was off hunting lizards. She raced off into the brush after one. We called and called and called for her and when she didn’t return after a few minutes I began to panic. I ran back to the dinghy to grab our shoes and we went in looking for her. We never have to worry about Baxter running away. He knows he is helpless and never wanders far. But when Jaela is in hunt mode, her instincts take over and staying near us is an afterthought. 30 very long minutes later, a very exhausted, thirsty, and scared Jaela emerged from the brush. We made sure to let her know what she did was bad, but we could tell that she was just as scared as we were and we were all just happy that she was back (even grumpy Baxter).
Cambridge Cay
We limped into Cambridge Cay. The braided hose that connects the fuel pump to the filter failed and we were leaking diesel. This isn’t a spare part that we carry and while wonderfully beautiful, Cabridge Cay is not the place you want to have engine issues. The island is uninhabited and doesn’t even have cell phone service, let alone Yanmar engine parts. But we did have some rescue tape on aboard. This stuff is awesome and will have to plug the leak until we can pick up our new hose in Georgetown.
Cambridge Cay was my favorite anchorage. It’s very well protected, so the lack of waves made it nice for us to explore in the dinghy. The waters are stocked full of rays and turtles. The snorkeling was superb! Check out the video below.
Here our morning walk with the pups turned into a half day hike around the island on the sound side. Our Coloradan instincts kicked in and we hiked to the highest point on the island for some jaw dropping views.
Before we left for Staniel Cay, we stopped by Compass Cay for a morning swim in Rachel’s Bubble Bath. It’s a beautiful swimming hole and when the waves crash over the rocks, the water bubbles up like a jacuzzi. And yep, you guessed it…we had it all to ourselves.
Our time in the park was truly special. Island hopping, snorkeling, and beautiful beaches is exactly what we envisioned when we began this journey. If you want to get a tan and get away from it all, this is the place to go. And when I say get away from it all, I mean everything. No cell phone service, no grocery stores, no souvenir shops, no bathrooms, no ice, no fresh water, no bar, no trash cans, nothing. You survive on what you brought with you on the boat. While we greatly enjoyed the solitude and pristine views, we are also looking forward to returning to civilization. We need to fill up our water tanks, throw out some trash, check email, and buy some meat and vegetables. After a solid week of mahi mahi for dinner, we finally finished it and have been cooking vegetarian dinners. Staniel Cay will have all of these services as well as swimming pigs!