Manzanillo

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Friday, June, 30, 2006, 06:06 UTC
Manzanillo

Stuart: Chapter 2 - Well, I left off with our departure from a lovely cove on Atkins Island for the Turks and Caicos. We had the option of stopping at Mayaguana around 5 pm or pushing on through the night to the T & C's. Winds were very favorable and we had a great sail to Mayaguana. Since the T & C's were on the same course line, we decided to keep on truckin'. Wrong decision. About 2 hrs later, the wind shifted to right on our nose, but we were already committed. Spent the next 12 hrs motoring at about 8 knots directly into 8 ft seas. I would describe this as 'imagine driving your car into a wall continuously for about 12 hours'. All part of sailing. Mark is amazing. During his off watches he actually slept with this going on. I found myself levitating in bed and sleep was definitely out of the question.

Anyway, arrived at Provencale, capital of the T & C's, the following morning and were immediately called by another cruiser at anchor to warn us about Debbie, the immigration witch. Apparently Debbie has this inferiority complex which she takes out by demonstrating her authority over anyone she can. As a custom's officer that authority is significant. She threatened to fine the other cruisers $2,500 for failing to report in the same day they arrived. To our knowledge there is no place in the world you have to report in the same day if you don't leave your boat. She gave them a really hard time and with this warning, we hot footed it to customs where Debbie asked us when we had arrived. Our response of 'about an hour ago' was apparently not suitable as we should have gotten to customs sooner. Our explanation of the time it takes to find a suitable anchoring place, anchoring, getting the dinghy out, getting to shore and walking to customs was simply ignored (as was us) while Debbie went about her important business. It's amazing how one little twit like this can bias your outlook toward a visit.

When we returned to the boat, we were immediately called by Paul (the guy who had warned us) to compare notes on the fabulous Debbie. Paul was traveling along with a second boat with the same general plan as ours (to get south and avoid hurricanes) so we joined up with him and his friends, rented a car for the day, did some shopping and saw the island. Tons of construction. Expensive place. For anyone interested, you can get a 2br. Condo starting at 1.2M. Didn't find this to be a particularly interesting island although didn't get a chance to meet local people. Following day was boat work trying to put us and Stray Cat back together for the next leg. Met with our new friends and went over some of the weather forecasts. Were unhappy to hear that there was an area of tropical disturbance off Puerto Rico (which was the direction we were headed). Since there is no shelter from bad weather for a boat in the T & C's, we decided to get out of Dodge the very next day. Unfortunately, this meant a trip to Debbie in the afternoon to get our port clearance papers. The gods smiled on us and Debbie was in a meeting (hopefully being fired).

Next morning our little pod of now 3 boats left for Manzanillo in the Dominican Republic. Quiet night at sea motoring with little wind and the sun is now coming up as I write this. Fortunately, the disturbance near PR has dissipated. Should arrive Manzanillo late morning and will continue with our progress through the DR as time permits.

Stuart

Manzanillo

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Friday, June, 30, 2006, 05:56 UTC
Manzanillo

Stuart: Chapter 3. Arrived Manzanillo late afternoon following an uneventful motor crossing from T & C's. Approach to the DR was impressive with mountains looming in the background behind the coastline. Were met quickly by 5 gov't. officials, including the port commandant in full uniform, all of whom had to come aboard all 3 of the boats. Very polite and accommodating, but, of course, all wanted a little money for their help. I expect this is the way it will be for a large part of the trip from now on. Mark describes Manzanillo best as a frontier town. A small port with a quaint little central plaza surrounded by a few streets of small shops and bars. People are generally shy, but once the ice is broken seem eager to interact with us gringos despite our very limited Spanish. There is a small open bar right where we are anchored and everyone is ready for an El Presidente and some relaxation. Following day was spent catching up on sleep and doing boat work. Were also joined by a 4th boat manned by a woman and her daughter who are making their way to Puerto Rico so now there are 4 in our little pod.

Everyone is ready to see some of the country so we rent motoconches (small motorcycles) and head out for Dharbon a town on the border with Haiti. Everything here takes time. About 2 hours to shuttle us from the beach to get the cycles, find gas and get started. No gas station here, but found a guy selling gas from a small shack. Gas was in beer bottles, so 4 beers of gas took care of each bike. Goats, chickens and cows everywhere. They have all decided they have the right of way and it's difficult to argue the point. Have no idea how the people figure out who owns which animals. Country here is arid and relatively barren. Poverty is the norm, but the people seem to not be bothered by much of anything. Very few cars and small motorcycles are the thing for going anywhere. Yes, Lisa, your father can ride a bike and will borrow yours when I get back. Were going to the Haitian market in Dharbon, but by the time we got there and took a quick look everyone sort of lost interest as the market seems to be mostly fruit and things like that. We are a bit of a curiosity as we are obviously gringos (and the only ones we saw during our stay here) plus one or other of the bikes seems to get lost from our group every few minutes requiring a major re-grouping which is difficult in a sea of motorbikes with no driving rules. Found a local restaurant for a late lunch and had everything from goat to fish. Food simple, but very good with a cost of $3-6 per meal. Stopped on the way back at a roadside bar for more El Presidentes and had fun talking with some of the local people in our limited way. Following day planned to get some diesel for the boats and go into town. I'll digress here for a minute so you can see how things actually work in this part of the world. Yesterday, we paid one of the guys who has been doing things for us to get the fuel. Fuel has to come in jerry cans from another town and is supposed to be here at 9:00. 10:00 no fuel and our guys are on the beach waving at us. Cost of fuel is 10 cents more/gallon then they thought so they didn't get it. Gave them the extra money (we only wanted about 30 gals) and they were off again. Returned about 2:30 with fuel in 2 large containers. Spent the next couple of hours transferring fuel to smaller containers and shuttling it from the beach to the boats in the dinghy. So passes another day in paradise. Planning on leaving tomorrow morning for Montecriste about 20 miles up the coast where there is supposed to be some beautiful reefs for snorkeling. Mark and the other captains went ashore at 8:00 to check out of the port and we had hoped to be on the way by 9:00. It's now 10:00 and no sign of their return. Ah well, as they say here, Manana.

For anyone interested in some of the more mundane aspects of the trip, I include the following. Since leaving Fla., we have been traveling southeast. Guess what the prevailing wind direction is in this part of the world? From the SE. So, since sailboats can't go directly into the wind, this is a difficult route to take. We have been fairly lucky and have caught wind shifts from other directions that have allowed us to sail about half the time. However, we are now in the Trade Winds which blow everyday from the E/SE. Since we are on the NW coast of the DR, we now have to go W directly into the Trades until we pass Puerto Rico. This is tricky, so the strategy is to look for unusual wind direction or move at night when the Trades die down and a land breeze from a different direction may allow you to sail. Once past PR, we make a right turn and should have glorious sailing with the Trades on our beam for about 800 miles through the Caribbean. Will check in later from our next stop.

Stuart

Crooked Islands, Bahamas

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Monday, June, 19, 2006, 08:44 UTC
Crooked Islands Bahamas

Stuart:Hi Folks,
Several of you probably thought I had fallen off the end of the flat earth. Not true! Mark (Pomerenke, captain and owner of Stray Cat) and I actually left West Palm Beach on June 7 and had a delightful sail across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. We arrived to find winds right on the nose so sat and bobbed on the shallow Bahamas Banks for 2 days. Finally pushed on to Nassau where we spent a day getting groceries and boat things. Then moved on to nearby Rose Island where we met up with 2 of Mark's former students and good friends, Jan and Wes who live on a catamaran there. Spent 3 days hanging at this lovely spot doing boat work (mostly by Mark, snorkeling and 'hanging out'. Decided we really needed to get south to avoid the hurricanes (purpose of trip) so left next morning. Wind on the nose, really lumpy seas. Back to Nassau for a few more boat things then Rose Island for another night. Did manage to make it out the next day and worked south finally arriving at Georgetown on Great Exuma Island. Georgetown is the last metropolis in the southern Bahamas. By metropolis, I mean a small grocery store, 2 liquor stores, a bank, 2 small hotels (although a number of resorts now exist nearby and several new ones are being built), an outdoor t-shirt and souvenir stand, couple of small restaurants and a few various other shops. Truly typical Bahamas, but very different from the world we live in. Usually 3-400 boats here in the winter, but now you can count the number left on your fingers and toes. Everyone is running from the potential hurricanes. Spent the night anchored here, topped off with gas and odds and ends the next day and headed south. Have now entered the Atlantic and since there is no place to 'park' at night are continuing south. Have now reached Atkins Island, one of the most southern of the Bahamas and are anchored in a cove surrounded on 3 sides by white beaches with no people. Tomorrow we push off for the Turks and Caicos, our last stop before the Dominican Republic. Will continue with more of a description of what we are doing when I next get a chance. Hope this finds you all well.

Stuart