Weather windows: two words that plague the life of a sailor. To get to Puerto Rico we have to cruise (almost) the entire north coast of the Dominican Republic and then cross the Mona Passage which is notorious for its whirlpool waters over shoals and for funneling storms between Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. Of course all of this is against the prevalent easterly trade winds, which are incredibly strong right now (the Christmas winds). We have been in the Dominican Republic for three weeks and during that time we had only seen one, maybe two, winds to get to Puerto Rico. So between the guidebook, the weather forecasts, the Luperon net, and other cruisers we really had no idea when to leave. Bruce VanSant, thorn less passage guidebook writer and eastern cruising guru, recommends using night lees, where the wind dies down a bit. But overall it really seemed that everyone had conflicted viewpoints on when to go. Or maybe we, ourselves, were just conflicted. The point is moot now, but we ended up leaving Friday morning with Margi heading to Santo Domingo to pick up the Sunday ferry to Puerto Rico.
We also managed to pick up a stray. Chris is a 37 year old guy trying to make it down to the end of the Caribbean, so he hailed us and offered to crew. The man eats like he hasn’t been fed in years, but was incredibly essential in what turns out to be quite a miserable semi-passage. We leave Friday morning at 8 am and are beating into 20 knot eastern winds and northerly swells. The highlight of the day was passing by Cabarete and having the kitesurfers come out and circle the boat.
Around ten hours after we start the engine overheats and has to be killed. We have to start sailing as the engine won’t take much strain. We tack out on a mostly eastern heading which takes us far away from land when we tack back after an almost 4 hour tack we are forced to go almost directly west. We spent most of the day wasting time like this, but we did get to see some big humpback whales leaping out of the water. Finally Saturday night, after a day and a half at sea we get a strong wind which gives us between 4-6 knots with the boat fully reefed. Thank goodness this wind helped us cover some ground, because around 2 am the winds completely died and never came back. Here is our weather window. Here is where we should be motoring across the Mona Passage.
But of course not. The engine now will only run for 20 mins at 1500 RPMs before it overheats. The RPM gauge has also bit the dust and there seems to be some sort of leak in propeller’s stuffing box as the bilge pump is running very frequently. After dealing with fluky winds of 5-9 knots we give up and start using the engine. After it quickly surpasses 180 degrees Fahrenheit (too hot, but not so hot that the buzzer goes off), we pull it down to 700 RPMs and with winds literally at 0-5 knots we continually motor into Samana anchorage. The engine stays hot but doesn’t need to be killed. Unfortunately, since we are only going 2 mph getting into Samana takes all day. What should have been a day long passage (or two nights) has taken us two and a half days of either very strong easterlies or no winds what-so-ever. We considered going back to Puerta Plata or Ocean World or possibly anchoring in Escondido or Sosua, but all of these possibilities would have either caused us to backtrack or be in danger (the anchorages are open to northern swells).
Samana
Dad and Chris going a whopping 2 knots
A great ad for Cruising WorldOf course, now we have the problem of fixing the engine. The RPM gauge, the leak in the stuffingbox, and whatever the heck is causing the engine to overheat. Oh also, I forgot the mention, after we had the jib sail recut it began to stick when it is unfurled, so that is another thing that must be repaired. The next problem is finding Margi. As she is in Santo Domingo when we get into Samana and will soon be boarding the 8 pm ferry to Puerto Rico (where we will not be). We have no idea if there is anyone who repairs diesel engines in Samana or even what is in the anchorage there at all. Also, I was supposed to be in New Orleans on Tuesday and we are currently pulling into the anchorage on Sunday night. The final problem is the fact that we are going 2 mph when the New Orleans Saints are in the Superbowl, what a shame we have to be chugging along like this when something epic is happening.
Thus is the nature of boats.
Chris has been a lot of help, except for his loss of one of our winch handles which he knocked overboard as we were raising the main one evening (also, the fact that he eats everything and I have to deal with continuous cigar smoke). But doing two hour shifts then having four hours off has been incredibly helpful, but you usually didn’t get to sleep or sit for all of those four hours off as someone needed to be up with the helmsman to trim the sails. Nevertheless, we made it. We got in just at dusk, meaning we ran the engine on basically idle, getting around 2 knots for almost 12 hours. It was a long, long day. But come around 6 pm we pull into the anchorage in Samana Bay. We circle looking for a slip, but there are none. The area is beautiful with big palms and rolling hills. The city lights the mountainside so it looks like a pile of multicolored stars. It really is a breathtaking anchorage with a mix of both natural and urban landscapes. We get into town and attempt to find a place to change money and eat. After being hassled by Joe, the guy we bought a $5 per night mooring from and who is helping us find a diesel repair man, we settle on a Snack Bar (La Carracho or something like it) which is showing the Superbowl. After three days and two nights at sea, beer, pizza, and the Saints winning the Superbowl really soothed this girl’s heart.
Now all we have to do is #1 fix the engine, #2 find Margi, #3 get Nea to New Orleans, #4 cross the Mona – oh what an eventful few weeks we have coming up!
For your consideration - our last two meals in Luperon. They were pretty great!
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