Vieques to PR

03.01.13

Yesterday was a day of adventure filled with joy, excitement, frustration, anxiety and accomplishment, all within 35 nautical miles.  But first, let’s get up to date from our last post.  On Sunday, Darrell, Ann, Roxy, the Wonder Dog, Dave and I set out on a walk for Flamenco Beach, touted as one of the best five beaches in the world by a travel magazine.  (Dave and I had seen it before…nice but a bit too crowded for us.) 

 

Ann, Darrel, Linda and Jamie

First we walked past the Culebra airport where, in order to land, planes must fly through a pass between two hills, make a slight turn to the left then quickly line up with the runway.  It’s always impressive to watch. 



We then hitched a ride on a golf cart type vehicle with a young guy named Jamie from Utah.  He said that on his last trip to Culebra, he was offered a ride to the beach, so that is why he stopped to offer us a ride.  ‘Twas quite a sight with five adults and a dog crammed on. 

 

 

Carlos Rosario Beach

Alas, when we arrived at Flamenco Beach, Roxy was not allowed, so the only reasonable thing to do was to walk to nearby Rosario Beach where none of us were allowed. Apparently there was unexploded ordnance in the hills, so we were sure to stay on the path.  Slipping through a locked but obviously well used chain link gate and onto a well worn path, we walked about 20 minutes over rustic terrain to a lovely beach on the north side of Culebra.  Just one other couple and a couple of kayakers were there.  This was our kind of beach.  We sat in the shade of small trees at the water’s edge and enjoyed the view.    

 

Dave with old fan coral adornment

On our way back, we stopped by a snack kiosk where Dave picked up a couple of frozen pina colada (sans alcohol).  Delicious and refreshing!   We then started the trek back and who should pass by but Jamie and his girlfriend.  So we topped our previous golf cart record with six adults, a dog plus two folding beach chairs as we wound our way over the three miles back to the town of Dewey. 

Anchored behind the reef at Dakity

The next day, after lunch, we motored over a mile to the mooring field called Dakity located behind the large reef at the entrance to Ensenada Honda.  Alibi was already there.  The water was clear and clean.  Dave cleaned the barnacles off of the bottom of the boat and prop.  It had gotten pretty bad in the warm Caribbean waters.  I took a little swim and also did a little cleaning.  Dakity is a beautiful and peaceful place to moor with only the sound of waves breaking over the reefs.  And that night the orange full moon rising over the reefs was spectacular.

Roxy taking Darrell for a swim in Ensenada Honda, Vieques

Early the next morning, Alibi and Wayward Wind hoisted sails, weighed anchors and left Culebra for another Ensenada Honda (deep cove) in Vieques.  It was a bouncy and blustery but beautiful sail due south and around the eastern tip of Vieques.  For many years the US military used the waters off of eastern Vieques for artillery practice.  And for the last several of those years, the locals protested.  Finally the practice ended and now our tax dollars are going towards cleaning up the thousands and thousands of unexploded ordnance.  The talons of developers have yet to clutch the uninhabited eastern half of the island, so for now it provides lovely and quiet anchorages.  Ensenada Honda is a huge, mangrove-lined cove.  Aside from a small local catamaran bringing snorklers for about an hour, we were the only two boats there for the night.  So peaceful. 

That evening, Ann and Darrell invited us over to share our photos of the past year.  Many memories of good times and maintenance.  “Ah, yes.  Remember the line splicing lesson?”   And so on.  It was so peaceful, we both thought we’d stay another day and night.

The next morning, after listening to Chris Parker’s weather report, Ann and Darrell decided that they’d better take advantage of the weather as they were going upwind and against the current to St. Thomas and the following day the wind would be too light for them.  So another hard good-bye – this time short and sweet – and off sailed our good friends on Alibi. 



Fair winds, Alibi!

After a short discussion, Dave and I decided that we’d go to the next spot, Ferro Bay, about five nautical miles west.  After we left the cove we spotted Alibi tacking to the northeast.  They also spotted us and radioed another farewell.

Ferro Bay dolphin swim-by

Ferro Bay is about halfway down the south coast of Vieques.  We could now see signs of civilization with houses and roads towards the west.  We entered the bay through the narrow opening and anchored – one of five boats.  Several paddle boarders paddled by then were whisked away in a van.  We soon could tell that the other four boats were not occupied.  Again we were alone in this beautiful bay.  That evening, after dark and before the waning fullish moon arose, I passed the boat hook through the water to see illuminated turquoise twinkles of bioluminescence trailing like sparks on a Fourth of July sparkler.  That’s why we’d stopped here.

Ferro Bay entrance

On Thursday, after listening to Chris’ weather report, we left around 7:30 for mainland Puerto Rico about 35 nautical miles to the west.  Chris had said that the winds would be light, so we knew it would be a slow sail and were glad for the early start.  Thus began our day of adventure sailing.

Fishing off of the southern PR coast

The seas were between three and five feet and on our starboard aft so mostly worked to our advantage.  The winds were indeed light, so it took a bit of adjustment to get the wing-on-wing sails to take advantage of the downwind air and not flop in the rolly seas.  Once set, we slowly sailed along.  As the morning passed, we were a bit concerned with time and knew that later we might have to turn on the engine to speed us up but thought we’d wait until the passage between the two islands where hopefully the wind might pick up.  It was almost boring and lunch broke up the monotony. 



Hello, Dolphin!

 

Dolphin Trio

Right after that I spotted a dolphin off to starboard and looked to port and saw three more, all converging on our bow.  I shouted to Dave, “Dolphins!”  We looked and saw many more coming in – a virtual dolphin play convention.  Dave went to the bow and shouted, “Fifteen!”  The dolphins jumped and dove and surfed the bow wake in seemingly utter joy.  Dave, alias Whistles with Dolphins, was hanging off of the bow pulpit communicating with his aquatic mammalian brethren.  With a big grin, he then came back to the helm and said, “Your turn.”  I sat and hung my feet over the side and watched the show in awe.  What is amazing is how they swim in undulating tandem.  Baby swims directly under Mother in unison movement.  A side-by-side trio, the same.  A couple of times, one big guy (or gal) turned to look at me just below my dangling feet.  I looked into its glossy gray eye.  After a good fifteen minutes of cavorting, their energy waned – like children, were they getting bored with this game? – and slowly they peeled off and went on their way.  We never tire of dolphins. 

Dave had his line out and was hoping for a fish.  Just off the east coast of PR, we turned on the motor to make a better time as we did not want to arrive past 4:00.  Figuring that the passage between islands would probably be the most likely place to catch a fish, Dave was beginning to feel disappointed.  He said, “Here fishy, fishy.  Let’s get a nice Mahi Mahi.”  Not long after, ZING went the line and Dave landed a 44-inch Mahi Mahi.  This was turning into a great day!

Ziing!  Pole is bending!

It's a Mahi Mahi!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you, Mahi Mahi, for giving your life up for us

This photo almost captures the unbelievable fluorescent display

Gaffing the fish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just five miles from Puerto Patillas, our destination, Dave and I were talking and unfortunately Dave missed seeing the floats to a fishing trap.  I happened to look up as the trap was hitting the bow.  “Neutral!” I shouted and hit the lever to neutral.  Too late.  We were trailing a line beneath the stern.  We decided to sail farther offshore, drop sails, then Dave would snorkel to hopefully remove the lines.  Because the wind was so light, it was hard to gain enough speed to turn into the wind without the help of the motor.  We sloppily dropped the main and loosened the sheet on the jib.  Fortunately the sees though rolly were not too high.  Dave held onto a line from the boat and snorkeled under and found that the line had tightly wrapped itself around the prop.  He tried to cut it with a sharp knife but was unsuccessful.  At this point it was nearly 4:00, so on to Plan B.  We would have to sail in and drop the anchor hopefully before dark.  The trick was to avoid the reefs.  We called our friends, Janis and Don, on the cell phone and alerted them to our situation – not a panic situation, but certainly a new one for us.  Don’s dinghy wasn’t working, so he asked a local fisherman to stand by in his small motor boat in case it was after dark before we arrived to help guide us in.  We had the route programmed in our chartplotter, but you never know when it might fail you.  And, yes, we did have our paper chartlet of the bay as well.  Still it was a bit anxiety-producing.   

Dave and I went over our plan several times and luckily sailed in just before sunset.  I got the anchor ready.  Fortunately it is a wide open bay with only three other boats anchored far ahead of us. When we got to our spot, we dropped the main, dropped the anchor then dropped the jib. All went smoothly.  Another first!  Sailors who are reading this are probably thinking, what’s the big deal, but having never done it, it was a bit thrilling! 

Even though we weren’t far enough in to the bay to benefit form the protection of the reef, we didn’t mind the rolly seas and slept soundly that night. 

On Friday morning, we dinghied in to visit Don and Janis in their sweet new home.  It’s a fixer-upper, but they have the vision and the chops to get the job done.  Don and Dave went back to Wayward Wind to try to unfoul the prop.  It was so nice to “let” the guys take care of this, while Janis and I sat in beanbag chairs on the patio and visit before the gorgeous view of the bay.  The guys were out there a long time, so we were worried that things weren’t going well.  A couple of hours later they came back with a thumbs up.  Don said that Dave dove about thirty times to finally get the line cut and free the prop.  Whew!  Good work, Dave!

Leaving Culebra

Just a quick note before we unplug from the internet.  We will leave our anchorage near the main town of Dewey in Culebra this afternoon and motor to the entrance of this big bay to take a mooring ball for the night tucked behind a reef.  The water there is much clearer and Dave will go under the boat and clean the prop as well as some of the growth that we know is probably flourishing on the hull.  Tomorrow morning, we'll leave Culebra with our buddy boat, Alibi, and sail south around the eastern corner of Vieques and anchor in Ensenada Honda, meaning "deep cove," which is why you see this name on many islands.  We'll spend the night, do a little exploration and then move on to another bay or two for a couple of more days.  By Thursday or Friday, we'll head over to Patillas to visit Don and Janis for a few days.  Don't know if we'll have phone connection on Vieques, but maybe.  Probably no internect connection though till we get to the main land (Puerto Rico) at the end of the week. 

Hope all is well with everyone.  Much love to all.

Isla Culebrita

View of Culebra from the Isla Culebrita lighthouse

Don and Janis, our good friends on Plane to Sea, visited us here in Culebra for a few days.  They took the ferry, which at the senior rate is $1.00 and $2.50 for the regular fare, from the "main land" of Puerto Rico.  On the cargo ferry, it takes almost two hours, but on the passenger ferry, it is just about one hour. 



Dave on upper deck of ferry near truck decorated with flag of Culebra

(On a side note, the week before last, Dave and I took the express passenger ferry to Fajardo on the main land to buy supplies at West Marine.  We caught the cargo ferry on our return to Culebra.  As we descended the ferry ramp and walked onto the concrete ramp on shore, we notice several men picking up a shiny blue casket and loading it into the bed of a pick-up.  Apparently the casket had slid out of the pick-up bed and onto the ground as the pick-up hit the dip between the ramps.  We suppressed our giggles at this morbid yet funny situation.)  Anyway, despite my catching a horrible cold with fever - the first time I've been sick in two years -- we had a wonderful visit and spent many hours telling of our adventures over the past several months since we'd last seen each other.

Janis and Don and old friends aboard Wayward Wind

The first evening of their visit, we invited our old cruising buddies over to Wayward Wind for sundowners.  We had 12 people aboard.  We then went over to Azaya, a lovely aluminum boat from Alaska, where we each brought something to BBQ, and I brought a big green salad.  It was a special evening to reconnect.  Back in April, Don and Janis left Luperon, Dominican Republic, on Plane to Sea with Axel and Mary Claire aboard Azaya and a couple of other boats.  I told about this fateful night in more detail in an earlier post.  After crossing the challenging Mona Passage, about 28 miles west of Puerto Rico in the dark early morning hours, Plane to Sea was hit by a large ferry and demasted.  Axel and Mary Claire were a few miles behind them but heard all of this on their radio. They immediately dropped their sails and motored to get closer to Don and Janis, if needed. They were also able to give accurate coordinates to help the US Coast Guard spot Plane to Sea, which they did.  Fortunately Plane to Sea stayed afloat, Don and Janis were not seriously hurt and the US Coast Guard was nearby and able to tow them the rest of the way to Puerto Rico.  They were so lucky.  Aboard Azaya, W\we all listened intently as Don and Janis recounted their horrific experience.  We all are so grateful that they were not seriously hurt or lost at sea.  They have spent these past months in Puerto Rico repairing Plane to Sea, which is now looking spiffier than ever.

Don and Janis on the bow of Wayward Wind on our way to Isla Culebrita

On Saturday morning, Alibi and Wayward Wind went to Culebrita or Little Culebra, just one hour away.  Culebrita is a lovely, uninhabited island with a couple of white sand beaches, nice snorkling and a rustic but working light house with fantastic views.

Dave and Don atop the lighthouse after climbing the rusty spiral staircase

On the opposite side of the island is a protected bay where the "Puerto Rican Navy" hangs out on Sundays.  Actually it is a haven for weekenders coming from the mainland in their power boats to spend family time, a favorite Sunday activity.  The weekender power boats are known as the Puerto Rican Navy.  And they know how to have fun!

'Puerto Rican Navy' at play

Come on, Fish!  Bite!

While in the anchorage, turtles continually popped up their heads all about the boat.  Yellow fin tuna teased us as they swam by.  We dropped a line with bits of bacon but no bite! 

It was the perfect place for all of us to chill and relax, especially me, the sickee. 

The big news is that Don and Janis like Puerto Rico so much that they decided to buy a house here.  It is on the coast in Patillas, a place that brings back not-so-good memories for us.  We stopped in the little bay last May on our way south with Dream Walker.  We'd arrived mid-day with the plan to go to sleep early and wake at midnight to make the upwind run to Vieques.  It happened to be Mother's Day and it seemed that everyone and their mother decided to celebrate at the local karaoke bar until late into the night.  Frustratingly funny or funnily frustrating, I'm not sure which, but not much sleep was had.  Don and Janis assure me that there is more to Patillas than karaoke and they have the photos to prove it.  They've bought a sweet little house, actually with a couple of units that they will rent out.  They are now busy doing land things such as buying a washer and dryer.  They still plan to sail but just to the US and British Virgin Islands for now.  I think they enjoyed sailing with us back from Culebrita.  We sure did. 

Wayward Wind and a catamaran on a mooring ball at Isla Culebrita

And now we are back to work on our exterior woodwork.  Last week, Darrell and Ann helped us get started with the prep work and showed us what to do.  The woodwork was looking pretty shabby.  Darrell brought his heat gun and scraped off all of the old finish.  We sanded, taped, cleaned and then put on the Cetol (not varnish).  The wood is actually very beautiful but we never saw it because of the previous dark finish.  Yesterday I applied the first coat of gloss.  It's looking good!

Darrell with heat gun and Dave and Ann.  Note stripped wood on right side and old dark finish on left side

Applying gloss to the window screen frames.  (See, Mom, I'm wearing my hat whilst in the sun.)

Here in Culebra there is a lovely little library and movie theater.  We've seen two excellent films, which I highly recommend.  The first was Beasts of the Southern Wild, a new film that is nominated for several Academy Awards.  The second was In a Better World, a brilliant Danish film that raises the age-old debate of turning the other cheek vs. standing up and fighting back, which won an Oscar for the best foreign film of 2010.  And back in Red Hook, we saw Lincoln, also excellent.

Oh, and I can't forget about changing the lightbulb yesterday...64 feet up the mast!  Yes, it was my first time to go up the mast.  Loved it!  Great views, too.



There's Dave on deck

Ensenada Honda anchoarge looking toward entrance

Next stop will be mainland Puerto Rico, maybe this weekend.  Adios.

Culebra

On Monday we had a brisk sail from Red Hook, St. Thomas to Ensenada Honda, Culebra and anchored off the town of Dewey.  We were supposed to have a substantial north swell which would have hit us slightly aft of the beam making for a rolly ride.  The wind was supposed to be around 10 to 15 knots, almost not enough to have a good sail and from the NE.  What we got was 15 to 20 in the lee of St. Thomas from the NE and 10 to 15 in the passage between St. Thomas and Culebra from the ESE, which was a surprise as well as no noticeable north swell and instead a SE swell that was on our stern so just pushed us along.  Ya nevah know!  We really enjoyed this sail.

It’s nice to be coming to familiar anchorages, or more accurately, familiar harbor entrances, especially where reefs are nearby.  The well-bouyed entrance to Ensenada Honda is flanked by reefs on either side, and the bay extends for a couple of miles into the island of Culebra so makes for a calm anchorage even when it is gusty.  The dingy dock is nearby, so it’s easy to get into town.  

We’ve been to the vegetable market that has local and imported vegetables and fruit.  This morning we were walking down the road and an American guy pulled up and asked if we were going to the beach.  We weren't but, on a whim, said, “OK,” and hopped in.  From Buffalo, NY, Jimro is a retired bartender who now lives full time on Culebra.  We drove past his house, a lovely two story yellow home surrounded by plants and palms, as he drove us three miles to the north side of the island to Flamenco Beach, popular for locals and tourists.  Mr. Curmudgeon didn’t want to take off his socks and shoes, so I enjoyed a barefoot beach walk by myself.  All of the beach-goers looked so happy especially this father and son. 

 

 

St. Thomas

We are now in the USVI.  We left St. Martin at 3:00 pm with our new friends, Pam and Nick from Tennessee aboard Not Yet.  It was a good downwind sail although our jib could not decide on which side to stay so flopped a bit.  The seas were about five feet but aft of our beam so gently pushed us along as we rode up and down on the swells.  Right before sunset, Dave caught and cleaned a not too big but chubby black fin tuna.  Several cruise ships and freighters and a couple of sailboats and luxury yachts passed by us in the night.  I radioed one freighter captain just to be sure he saw us, which he did.  I thanked him and told him to have a nice night.  He closed by saying, “OK.  Ciao.” 
 


Beautiful Great Lameshur Bay

Around 8:00 in the morning we arrived in Great Lameshur Bay on the south side of St. John, my favorite in the USVI so far.  What’s so great about Great Lameshur Bay and its surroundings?  Nothing.  That’s right, other than a small environmental station and dinghy dock and some hillside ruins, there is no evidence of humans within sight – just lush green hills, rocky shores, small beaches and reefs.  And the only sounds you hear are the waves lapping against the shore and the frogs chirping -- yes, chirping -- at night.  The bay has about a dozen mooring balls with only six occupied at most.  After we settled in, we napped and then had Pam and Nick over for a sundowner and  to share our stories.  The nice thing about this spot is that you can actually watch the sun go down over the Caribbean Sea.  Beautiful. 



Hi Turtle!

Pam and Nick left the next morning to continue to Puerto Rico.  We stayed three more nights in part to wait for weather but mostly because it is so peaceful there.  I read Dreams of My Father by Barack Obama, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Such an interesting look at someone of Kenyan and American descent who was born and grew up in Hawaii.  Not easy to find an identity.  It made me respect his quest for insight and admire him more.  Anyway Great Lameshur was the perfect place to read such a work. 



Little Lameshur Bay, just over the point from Great Lameshur Bay

 

On Monday morning we telephoned Customs from the boat, but they would not allow us to check in by phone (as they had when we entered Puerto Rico) and insisted that we come in.  We thought about going around in WW to Cruz Bay on the other side of the island, but I really wanted to stay longer in this restful retreat.  I asked the Customs woman if there was a bus from this side of the island to which she said yes.  So off we set, walking about a mile over the dirt road to the paved road.  We happened to meet a young American guy walking from his driveway to work at the nearby eco-resort where he is a chef.  He showed us the bus stop, labeled “The Last Chance” where we could wait for the bus.  He also said we could continue walking and point our finger in the direction we were going as people are friendly and are happy to give a ride.  We chose to walk farther.  The road, however, became really narrow and windy, not conducive for a bus to stop.  We passed a café that was closed, but saw the owner in back who said that the buses weren’t running because it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Uh oh.  We decided to continue walking and try out the finger pointing hitching technique.  We ended up getting three different rides to a camping resort where we caught a taxi bus to Cruz Bay.  We cleared customs but, as it was a holiday, had to pay $35 for overtime fees.  Grrr.

The town of Cruz Bay is a compact and funky tourist town but easy to negotiate on foot.  We walked over to the beautiful National Park Center, which I rhapsodized in a previous post, and bought Dave a Golden Age Passport.  Yep, the old man is 62, which means half price on the National Park moorings and other discounts.  One very cute thing we saw at the center was a soft puppet of an iguana made by Folkmanis of Emeryville where my friend Colleen’s brother works. 

Virgin Islands National Park Visitor Center

Feeling hungry, we spotted a Mexican restaurant but nixed the idea of paying $17 for a burrito.  Instead we ate $8 sandwiches at the only reasonably priced restaurant, a deli.  I may be repeating myself, but somewhere I saw a poster that said, “Paradise isn’t cheap.”  True here.  Speaking of which, as it was getting late, we decided to take a taxi truck along with another couple back to the southeast side of the island to the tune of $25 each.  It was about a thirty minute trip over the twisty high backbone of the island so had great views.  I told Dave to think of it as a tour.  I also reminded him that we were saving $7.50 a night on the mooring.  Mr. Thrifty had a hard time swallowing this day’s expenses, but by the next morning, he was over it.

The other couple was dropped off at the eco-resort called Concordia.  It looked pretty nice and had beautiful views.

For the next two days, we hung out on the boat, went swimming, did some maintenance, read, and did a little hiking.  We enjoyed the tuna for several meals.  It was a wonderfully relaxing respite.

Hello Bird!

On our last morning, a friendly neighbor visited our boat for a very long time.  He or she didn’t seem to mind when we walked around the cockpit.  We considered it a good omen.


Beautiful Bird

St. Martin by Land

In saving this blog entry, I noticed I’d saved an entry one year ago today.  Back then we’d been in the Abacos for five days and I was enjoying a cup of Roastaroma tea.  We’d left Charleston on January 7, 2012 at 4:00pm and after three nights and two days, arrived in Marsh Harbour at 8:30am on January 10.  On so many levels, we’ve come a long way from there.

 

Roxy and her people on Alibi

 

Marigot Bay waterfront

On December 8, 2012, we arrived in St. Martin along with Celtic Rover and Alibi.  We were glad that we’d arrived in the protected lagoon when we did as the wind and wave really picked up for the next several days.  We worked on boat projects, most notably the galley faucet (Note to self - add “basic plumbing” to the resume) and readied the boat to leave it at the dock for the two weeks we’d be in California.  Our dear friends on Alibi and Celtic Rover continued north to St. Croix and then to Culebra for the holidays.  Right before they left, Jan, Ann and I had a gals’ afternoon at a Marigot café to raise a glass of wine and try not to cry as I would not be seeing them for a month or more.  This may not seem like a long time, but when you become so closely entwined in one another’s lives, saying good-bye is tough.  But say good-bye, we did, and off they cruised.  Just to cut through some of the romanticism, my parting “gift” to Jan and to Ann was a roach hotel.  Not only does reality suck, as some of my high-schoolers would say, it sometimes crawls. 

My gals, Jan and Ann

Fair winds, Celtic Rover and Alibi!  See you up-island.

 

We moved the boat to the dock at Island Water World on December 18 and hooked up to shore power for the night as we’d be leaving the island for two weeks for a California visit.  Kim and Scott on Bella Blue had just arrived in St. Martin, so we got together for a visit aboard WW and caught up on our adventures of the past two months.  In the morning, we arranged for Tony, a local boat broker, to keep an eye on WW, particularly watching the voltage on the batteries to see that they were staying charged.  Dave and I flew out that afternoon.

Marin hills with a lone modest ranch with travel trailer



Jessica and Nick hiking the hills and gathering greenery for the weddin'

 

Dad and dot

 

Despite the chilly weather, we were warmed by seeing our family and friends in California where we attended Dave’s daughter’s wedding in Mill Valley.  It was charming and rustic and laced with lots of greenery and love befitting Jessica and Nick.  Dave enjoyed speaking on the phone with son Cody who lives and works in Montana.  It had been two years since Dave had seen his close friends, so he really enjoyed himself.  On my side, we had a family gathering at Mom’s house including cousins Jon and Ron.  We feasted on our local Napa favorite – malfatti from Lawler’s Liquor Store.  The weather cooperated nicely, and we were able to take a couple of beautiful hikes in Marin County.  Hiking the hills on sunny winter days with rain washed air made for fantastic views of our beloved North Bay, Golden Gate and Pacific Coast. 

The three bears...Lester, Dave, Willie

Dave visited Leo, his mentee of Mentor Me Petaluma

 

The only hitch is that three days after our arrival, we got a call from Tony who said that there was a problem with the battery charger and batteries.  For a few days we had anxious emails back and forth and I considered flying back.  Fortunately he was able to stabilize the situation so that we could finally relax and enjoy the wedding and the rest of our visit.  He is an angel, to be sure.  We flew back to St. Martin and stayed at the dock another week during which time two super electricians solved our issue with the battery charger and installed two new batteries.  Now all is charging smoothly. 

Cute town of Grand Case

Turquoise wall mirrors turquoise waters of Grand Case

 

A few days ago we came back out to the lagoon and anchored not too far from Bella Blue.  Yesterday the four of us rented a car for a little land excursion.  We circumnavigated the 39 square mile island, checking out the small bays on the north and east sides.  We had a too expensive though delicious meal at a beach café called The Bikini Beach Bar, but the view and ambiance was pretty nice. 

Yummy lunch and The "World Famous" Bikini Beach Bar

We tried to go to the butterfly farm but it closed early.  Darn.  That seems to happen a lot around here. -  sign says “Open till 3:30” which means 3:00.  We were surprised at how dry the north side of the island is – Mediterranean, sort of.  Most locals live in modest dwellings made of cinder block smoothed over and painted in pastels or white. 

 



Orient Bay view

Not too fancy resort and fan palm trees

Kim found a favorite...donkey!

 

 

On the north and east sides, life is more laid back.  Even the resorts are subdued and smallish, unlike the west side where “glitz” is the operative word and casinos and fancy shops and restaurants abound.  We liked the small town of Grand Case, and Orient Bay had the most beautiful shades of turquoise because it is a shallow bay with white sand below.   Again we are glad to be in the protected lagoon as the swells were coming from the north at eleven feet.  The few boats anchored out were rolling quite a bit.  We ended our travels at the spot that thrills cruisers – the BIG grocery store!  Aptly named Grand Marche is on the French side.  It is nice to have a car so as not to have to schlep our goods several blocks.  Back aboard Bella Blue, we raised our rum punch-filled glasses to the setting sun and to good times with good friends. 

Four friends

 

Now on January 15, 2013, after much consideration we have a new plan that is quite different than what we thought a year ago in the Abacos.  Though we’ve had many wonderful times aboard Wayward Wind, for personal reasons, the time has come to put her on the market and move on to other adventures.  We will head north to the Chesapeake, roughly following the route that we took getting here.  Who knows how long it will take to sell her, and we don’t know exactly where we’ll end up afterward -- perhaps back in the North Bay Area.  For now we’ll continue exploring and planning as we head north and get her in ship shape for the market.  She is a wonderful vessel both for living aboard and for cruising.  Any takers? 

 

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