Isla Vieques, Puerto Rico

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Teresa

We left San Juan harbor as planned followed closely behind by a ferry ship asking us to hurry it along or move over. Hmmm if only we could go as fast.

12 hours later we arrived at Isla Polominos off the northeast corner of Puerto Rico near Fajardo, which was a perfect place for a rest. There were a lot of power boats, anchored to the beach enjoying the clear waters.

After lunch we decided to continue on to Isla Vieques and chose Ensenada Sun Bay as home for a few days.

The beach was awesome with nice palm trees for shade and that Caribbean soft sand.

We wandered the beach down into Esperanza to find Internet and a nice cold one and low and behold found the final round of the masters at an open air bar called Lazy Jacks. Well we couldn’t resist settling in for the afternoon.

The south coast was very pretty with lots to do.

Esperanza is a small friendly town, busy in the evenings with numerous restaurants and bars along the main street. The Malacon (boardwalk) stretches along the main foreshore where the restaurants all are and you see all sorts walking along it.

We found our own private beach at Bahia de la Chiva, for the day later finding out that it had just been closed for 6 weeks to sweep for old military ordinance. Wondered why a guy in a uniform was watching us closely as we came ashore.

Sweep for ordinance….you ask why. For many years the US navy undertook gunnery practice in the area hence there are areas that are still blocked off. Needless to say a beautiful beach.

The are a couple of bioluminescent bays in the area so we headed along the rocky south coastline into Puerto Ferro for a night but didn’t see any sparkly blue lights just a nice sheltered quiet bay with Mangrove channels.

Lighthouse at Entrance into Puerto Ferro

The weather to St Croix is not looking too good over the next few days so we have decided to stay put & relax till things calm down for our sail. To be honest not a bad place to be….

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Teresa

We unfortunately had to motor from Culebra to San Juan as it was soooo calm, adding the screetcher (our dedicated downwind sail) only gave us an extra 0.5-1.0KN over the engines alone.

Rounding the Northwestern most point lays El Castillo San Felipe del Morro a sixteenth century forte that in its day was used to protect the city. Coming through the harbor you pass along side Old San Juan city and the walls and see the beautiful colors of the buildings. This gave us a different perspective over our previous shore based visit to San Juan in 2012.

We stayed at the San Juan Bay marina for a week and every day got up and went for a kayak ride into Laguna del Condado a popular place for water sports.

We ended up buying folding bikes in Condado after the first day as it took us too long to get anywhere by bus and we walked into a folding bike store along the way. We decided it would get us to a lot of places we wouldn’t otherwise go and would be a great addition to the boat. We have ridden them every day since buying them.

We went on a great ride through Parque Central over some bridges to Parque Lineal through to Plaza Las Americas for some air conditioning and a wander. While on the ride we found some wild Iguanas hanging out in the trees and swimming in the Mangrove Rivers.

We also cruised around Condado beach area and into old San Juan. We stopped for a refreshing Pina Colada at an open air market. The city/beach life style reminded Brett of Vancouver.

Time to move on and head to Isla Vieques so are provisioning up to leave Friday night.

Sailing Lessons

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Teresa

We were fortunate to arrange sailing lessons with Johan and Marlene when we purchased the boat. This was a great opportunity to not only get the obvious catamaran lessons and boat specific maintenance but also to get to know Johan and Marlene and understand more about the cruising lifestyle. We had fun along the way and by the end of the 6 weeks on the water Johan and Marlene felt more comfortable that we could be set free by ourselves to enjoy “soft seas and fair winds”. We enjoyed our time with them as you can see from the photos. The lessons extended beyond sailing which was great.

Since Brett has enhanced his boat maneuverability skills his next learning experience awaits; the galley, something he has been reluctant to enter but I know he would love to learn another new skill! I can then focus on continuing to improve my boat maneuverability skills too.

Thanks Johan, Marlene and Marco for the good times over the last 6 – 8 weeks or 700 NM of sailing. All the best, a new adventure awaits. We wish you well and hope to see you in George, South Africa one day.

Culebra, Puerto Rico

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Teresa

We left St Thomas, US VIs at 3:00am and had a nice downwind sail arriving at 8:15 am. Dewey, Culebra is a small really laid back town and you got that feeling walking around the streets. The houses and buildings were brightly colored which added to the ambience of the place.

The first night we stayed inside the reef at the entrance to Ensenada Honda. The water was amazing and there were some interesting other boats in the area. Time for some snorkeling along the reef and to spot turtles.

The next day we sailed around the corner to Isla Culebrita a wildlife refuge where we found paradise.

We stayed for the day and went snorkeling with the turtles a hike to the lighthouse (the oldest on the Caribbean) and lastly for a wander on the white sandy beach. It was really hot and the views were amazing from the top of the lighthouse.

We could have stayed for a week but time did not allow and we wanted Johan, Marlene and Marco to see old San Juan before they left the Caribbean. Next time……..

West bound to Puerto Rico from Tortola, BVIs

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Teresa

After sorting the engines out in Tortola we headed over to Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke to see those nice teal blue waters and to clear out ready to go over to St John, US VIs. Brett had a rest on one of the many comfy hammocks on the beach front.

Of course we wandered the beachfront down to Foxy’s for a beverage and all signed a Seismic Wave boat card for the roof of Foxy’s so our friends can try and find it when they come to visit. Brett had a rest on one of the many hammocks outside Foxy’s.

We cleared in at Cruz Bay, St John then went around to Maho Bay after snorkeling at Trunk Bay, which was a little rough. Maho Bay is a quiet little bay with nice white sandy beaches. We were all looking forward to going for a hike and ended up going to a scenic overlook where we could look down over Seismic Wave, on the far right.

We were around the corner from Watermelon Cay, island at Leinster Bay so we could not pass by without going snorkeling to see the turtles and the reef fish and to go for a walk along the Trail to the Annaberg Sugar Mill ruins.

We ended the night with another great braai and watched the sun go down.

Time to move on toward St. Thomas and Culebra, Puerto Rico.

Engine work needed in Tortola

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Teresa

We are in Road Town, Tortola on anchor at Inner Harbor between the Village Cay Marina and the Moorings Charter Marina. Brett has been in an out of the engine compartment for 3 days.

Why you ask?

1. It’s not a great idea leaving your boat on the hard for 7 months they are like Brett and need to be worked.

2. The engine’s saltwater heat exchangers should be serviced every two years or 1000 hours. They had never been done and the boat is 4 years old with about 1400 hours on the engines. The Yanmar service guy in Trinidad was to service them. But in reality they broke off a bolt and then made an excuse that they didn’t need to be done. Thus extra work here to do it correctly.

3. Our starboard engine is not charging the battery bank and there are some weird electrical problems. All were related to one alternator that needed a rebuild.

4. The port engine starter is sounding rough and needs a service as the salt water from the heat exchanger seal leak is dripping on it constantly.

So yes time for work…. It’s not all play there’s a lot of maintenance and upkeep in having a boat and keeping her in working order. Road Town was a great location to get the alternator rebuilt and pick up parts to service the heat exchangers on both engines.

Johan and Marlene caught sight of Paul a friend from South Africa who was delivering a 48ft Leopard to Moorings and was kind enough to give us all their provisions prior to leaving the next day. Thanks Paul, Malcolm and Jacob. Of course we had a party that night to thank them for all their goodies & sing happy birthday to Jacob.

Brett and Johan changed the oil & filters after finishing the heat exchange service. Marco even got involved and helped with the oil change and cleaning the compartments up after all the work was done.

We are now good for a while with less frequent engine room visits (we hope).

Virgin Gorda, BVI’s

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Teresa

Bound for Virgin Gorda, BVIs we left Bequia setting our sails to head NNW, switching out after a 2 hour shift. We had a good sail all the way spotting some dolphins and a few cruise ships along the way. Pretty quite and relaxing with good winds & no seasickness! We all had a good time on the passage.

Its dark out there at night but so peaceful and you get into a nice rhythm after a few days.

Just short of 3 days we spotted land and headed through the reef, past Saba Rock and the Bitter End Yacht club to clear in at Gun Creek, BVI’s. It was great arriving mid day into North Sound, Virgin Gorda with all the yachts and super yachts in the bay around Bitter End Yacht club.

There was a Regatta on while we were there so things were busy in the bay.

We anchored in Leverick Bay and in front of us was S/V Chinook Arch from Edmonton, Alberta relatives of friends of ours. We were all eager to hit land and have a few libations while watching the local pirate show, Michael Bean.

The recipe for the famous Painkiller. A tasty treat thats goes down way to easily.

The next day we hired a car and toured Virgin Gorda; snorkeling at The Baths, wandering some of the many beautiful white sandy beaches and stopping at many scenic stops along the way.

The walk into the baths is very dry and hot that you are so amazed when you arrive down at the that crystal clear water with the giant boulders.

We stopped at Hog Heaven, which overlooked Leverick Bay & Seismic Wave through to Necker Island (Richard Bransons private Island) and the Bitter End. It was so picturesque at the overlook.

By driving around Virgin Gorda we noticed a beautiful white sandy beach, Sevannah Bay with crystal clear waters, which was protected by a reef so headed there for some seclusion. It was beautiful.

Savannah Bay on Right

Heading to Tortola for Electrical work on engines.

St. Vincent

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Teresa

Brett and I decided to head over to Kingston, St. Vincent by ferry, which took about an hour.

Kingston has a lot of character, with friendly helpful people everywhere. We wandered the streets taking in the atmostphere as we walked around each street corner. There were food stalls and vendors lining the sidewalks along Bay street selling everything from fruit & vegetables, spices to clothing and household products . Each street or area had different groups of vendors and it was busy everywhere you looked. So much character.

And then sometimes you spot a little something from home.

There is also a Produce Market, which is a really noisy, colorful place.

There were people liming in the streets, playing chess and generally enjoying each others company. There are a number of historic churches and cathedrals around Kingstown and the outskirts.

As we walked up the hill to the Botanic Gardens you could hear all the children laughing within the walls of the various schools we passed. On arrival at the Gardens you are greeted by men in black pants and white shirts who guide you through these lovely gardens founded in 1765. Our guide was Jeffery and he was very informative and entertaining. He was great and we would recommend him.

There are many different species of trees including huge mahogany, rubber, teak trees and a lot of tropical shrubs. The national parrot which is rare has a small aviary within the Gardens. Jeffery explained about the medical and various uses of the large variety of shrubs. Brett found other uses for one of the seeds ….

Before we knew it it was time to get our groceries and head back to the ferry and Bequia. When we got back we heard from Annette a friend from Calgary who was from St. Vincent. She told us about the active volcano and a beautiful waterfall worth hiring a car and visiting. We will be coming back to St. Vincent & the Grenadines later in the year so we have obviously saved that for the next trip.

Birthday boy

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Teresa

Well March is a popular birthday month in our family. Brett started his birthday in Tobago Cays and loved hearing everyone sing happy birthday to him. No, really he did…..surprised? He even got his favorite cheese cake….

We decided to leave Tobago Cays and head North again; Brett was to relax for his big B Day and Teresa was to take lessons by being skipper. Oh yeah….

Trust me it wasn’t this relaxing the whole way I can assure you.

Brett relaxed, cooked lunch, read , slept and enjoyed his day sailing back to Bequia.

After 5 hours of tacking back and forth we arrived back in Port Elizabeth, Bequia where it was calm. We were all in need of a drink and some food. We started at the Whalebone Bar for a few drinks and then moved onto the Gingerbread House for curry dinner.

All in all a great B day and evening for the Birthday Boy.

Tobago Cays

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Teresa

We decided the swells in Port Elizabeth, Bequia from the storm were rough and rolly and forecast to be there for a few more days so Tobago Cays bekoned us. Turquoise crystal clear waters for snorkling around to spot the fish and turtles along the coral reefs was so inviting.

Brett skippered us down the windward side so we would get more experience with the swells, reefing and sail handling in rolly, windy condition. We saw some amazing boats along the way, which we are sure had quite the crew to handle them.

On arriving at Tobago Cays you see all the boat vendors who go between the yachts, selling wares from fresh fish & lobster to clothing. Their boats are all very unique and colourfully decorated so you remember who you have dealt with.

Mr Arrival

We spent 2 days at the Cays lazing amongst the other catermarans and yachts and all the kite/ wind surfers. Maybe theres a reason there are so many kite surfers. We snorkled,swam with the turtles and Brett rode the anchor chain for exercise. The waters were incredible.

After 2 restless nights from the winds, which seemed to really pick up at night we decided that we needed to head further north. Bretts birthday was also fast approaching and we needed to get to a bar and restaurant to celebrate his special day.