Month: May 2010

Cooooolebrita!

bearcruzer

May 19 – 22nd

The next day while Persephone said their goodbyes to their guest we traveled to the nearby Island of Culebrita or should I say Cooooolebrita!   It is a nature preserve and so there are no buildings besides an old decrepit but still working lighthouse.    We pulled into the bay next to Tortuga Beach and were able to snag the only mooring and spotted several turtles of various sizes swimming around the boat and in the bay.   There was one other catamaran in the anchorage and they left the next morning leaving us with the place to ourselves.   That same morning we also discovered a huge disturbed area on the beach  in front of our boat and obvious tracks and diggings made by a very large turtle.   By the width of the tracks we determined it was probably a large female leatherback that had come ashore to lay her eggs.   There are signs posted along this beach stating it is an active turtle nesting area.    We hiked up to the old lighthouse on the hill overlooking the anchorage.   It was built in 1882 by the Spanish and is one of the oldest in the Caribbean.    It is made of Brick and Stone and has a lot of Character even though it has been abandoned to the elements.    Hurricanes Hugo and Marilyn took their tole on the old place as well.   Although it’s beautiful Fresnel Lens is gone, its light has been replaced by the Navy with a Solar Panel, batteries and a small beacon supported tenuously by the ironwork that used to hold the previous light.     We wandered around the building and then tentatively climbed the metal staircase to the top of the tower and sat atop her taking pictures and looking out over our pristine anchorage.   In the distance we could see a sailboat approaching the island from Culebra and waited and watched as it grew close enough to determine that it was David and Trudie on Persephone.   So much for having the place all to ourselves but I don’t blame them one bit as it is truly a world class anchorage.    We made our way back down to the beach and then walked over to a place called the Jacuzzis, where the warm Caribbean ocean spills over the rocks into large pools filled with little fish and bright red sea urchins.    The anchorage, we found, is not usually so remote as it first appeared.    Soon 3 more catamarans joined our group,  Suzi & Mike on S/V Awakenings,  Peter & Weebee on S/V Muse,   and Charlie and Liz on S/V Kaya who we had seen anchored near us in green beach Vieques.   We left David and Trudie to settle in while Michael and I went to cool off and do some hunting around the reefs.    We found a great spot and it wasn’t long before Michael yelled for me to come quick as he had speared the first lobster and saw a second that he left for me to spear.    I dove down to about 10ft and looked into the hole he pointed at.   It looked really big!  I surfaced  and then stretched my spear to the maximum I could hold it at and took a deep breath and dove down again trying to stay relaxed so I could make the shot and not have to come up for air so quickly.    I was able to get a good shot but the lobster was too big for the tip of my spear to penetrate all the way through the body but enough that it was caught.    It took a little work to get it back out of the hole.       We made our way back and showed off our spoils to Persephone.     We were also immediately approached by our neighbor Charlie so we gave him directions, albeit vague, on where we found them.    We went out again in the afternoon and I found two more big lobster.   One I was able to force out of its hole before Michael helped me finally catch him and another I pointed out for Michael to spear.    A 4 lobster day in a beautiful anchorage……..Epic.   Over the next few days we enjoyed many hours of snorkeling and exploring the reefs.   Evenings were filled with wonderful visits aboard, DD, Awakenings a beautiful 43ft Catana Catamaran and Kaya, a 40ft Catana along with the crew from the other boats in the anchorage, sharing many stories and camaraderie along with drinks and of course plenty of lobster dip.    We even had a book exchange while we were all there.      The weekend arrived and we discovered that our pristine little anchorage is actually very well known as a not to miss destination with the power boat and charter companies.    As the crowds converged we decided it was time to move on to St. Thomas and St. John to visit with our friends there.  Goodbye Culebrita,  you definitely hold a special place in our hearts as one of our favorite destinations.

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Mighty Mouse

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May 18th -Dewey

Here I come to save the daaaay!!!!! Mighty Mouse is on the way!  If there is a wrong to right, Mighty Mouse will join the fight.   Yesterday, While I was busy bringing you all up to date….Mighty Mouse was performing another rescue.   Seems a gentleman who had taken his date to the beach for some snorkeling had is boat go on walkabout across the channel.   He was able to flag down Michael on DD from the beach and Michael and Mighty Mouse took them across the bay to retrieve their boat that was drifting precariously close to the rocks on the nearby Island of Luis Pena.   We spent the evening with David, Trudie and their friend Mike as he must return to the States tomorrow.    We enjoyed a few drinks at the Dingy Dock Restaurant and then walked over to Mamacita’s for dinner and drinks.   Mighty Mouse patiently waited for us  at the Dingy Dock Restaurant and so we made our way back by 9:00pm before they closed.   It began to rain and so we waited for a regional weather window while shooting the breeze with some of the local expats that have chosen to make Culebra their home.  We chatted with Gregorio who sails his little 17ft trimaran over to the Dingy Dock Restaurant every evening for a drink and then home again across the bay after dark.   He happily boasts that his little trimaran has happily carried over 225 people on sails across the bay.   He just takes folks out for the fun of it.     Mighty Mouse sat quietly not boasting about the rescue.    When the rain began to diminish,  Mighty Mouse waited until Mike and David finished their water fight using the Dingy Pumps and gently wisked us back to the boat between downpours and delivered us safely back to our floating home.  All in a days work!

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Culebra

bearcruzer

May 16 & 17

We left Ensenada Honda and even though the winds were predicted to blow around the 20 kt range out of the East…..they were expected to continue and even increase for the next few day and bring a number of thunderstorms as well .    Sooooo…..we plunged ahead and ploughed our way through 7-10 ft seas until we rounded the eastern end of Vieques and turned north where we were able to used the winds to our advantage and made great time up to the Island of Culebra.   On our way we rigged and trolled both fishing poles behind DD and again both pole were hit at the same time and we pulled in a couple of Little Tunny the smallest but most prevalent tuna in the Atlantic waters.    We picked up a mooring outside of the main bay of Dewey in a Marine Reserve here.   So no fishing off the boat for the next couple of days.    Mighty Mouse took us to town where we walked around for a bit to acquaint ourselves with the town.   Being Sunday,  most everything was closed but we did meet a local ExPat here who gave us the skinny on where to find good food, drink, & WiFi.   We stopped at Mamacita’s Bar and Grill and enjoyed a couple of beers, They will also sell cigarettes but discourage it as you can see.    On our way back to the boat we had a large Iguana swim by us.  The reefs off of the boat are shallow but very beautiful .   We enjoyed a great fresh Tuna Steak dinner.   Today,  well here I sit in the Pandeli, a very nice little coffeehouse and bakery, known for some great Cuban sandwiches and wonderful coffee and paistries taking advantage of their WiFi.  Michael is running errands,  while I bring you all up to date with the latest happenings of the last two weeks.     Sorry for the Delay but I do try to write daily so our experiences stay fresh in mind and then I post when I can.   Keep the feedback coming and I’ll continue to do my best to share our adventures when I am able.

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Ensenada Honda

bearcruzer

May 13 -15

We traveled another few miles east and made our way into a favorite anchorage of Michaels cruising friends, George and Paula Capra.   They loved Ensenada Honda and so we felt we needed see for ourselves what all the toodoo was about.   It has been a wonderful anchorage.   We spent many hours snorkeling & hunting the reefs and enjoyed a great meal of fresh Rock Hind on our first evening  there.  Our friends on S/V Persephone along with their guest, Mike caught up with us there when they heard we had also seen lobster.   The first evening together we enjoyed painkillers aboard S/V Persephone,  those of you who attended our wedding will remember our favorite rum drink.   We all went out together the next day and between the Michael and the David, the Orkin Man….we caught 5 bugs!  A wonderful  5 star dinner was enjoyed by both crews aboard DD.   Again great recommendation by George and Paula…….Thanks you two!  Got any more favorites we should see?

Ferro Bay

bearcruzer

May 12, 2010

We travelled 4 miles east to Ferro Bay,  one of the 2 phosphorescent bays here on Vieques.  Our timing was much better to experience the beauty of this bay as we are only one day off of the new moon and the nights are very dark and the light pollution from the homes on the island is minimal.  We had the place to ourselves.   There were 3 other boats anchored back in the mangrove bay that looked to have been there for some time and were stripped for hurricane season.      We spent the day snorkeling the reef at the entrance to the bay and found them to be plentiful with corals and fish.   We even found a number of Hogfish which Mike says are great eating.    They were a bit on the small side so we left them to grow up.   After nightfall we took Mighty Mouse out for a sparkling cruise around the bay.    We played in the phosphorescence by placing our hands in the water as we motored around the bay.  It gave the appearance of greenish/yellow fireworks shooting from our fingertips across our hands and snaking up around our arms.   Matrix stuff and really cool.   We have also been able to see the Southern Cross from this latitude so we have enjoyed amazing light displays from above and below.   Wow!

Sorry No Pics…..you’ll have to use your imagination.

Bicycling on Vieques

bearcruzer

May 11, 2010

Michael and I rode our bicycles to the Northern coast of Vieques  and to the town of Isabel ll.   The  Island is beautiful and we took a loop route that would take us through the verdant hills of the island and by a farmers market that we read about.  We got a good workout on the 4 mile ride across the island.   We arrived at the farmers market which consisted of two venders, a produce vender and someone selling baked goods.  The produce was exceptional and we commented so.   The young couple that was running it, said they had seen that no one was providing decent produce on the Island and so they purchased a refrigerated truck and bring it from PR on the ferry.  We loaded my bike basket and rode on to Isabel ll.   We rode to the tourism office to clarify whether or not boats were allowed in the phosphorescent bays before we visit them tomorrow.   We had heard both yes and no when asking in Esperanza.   People were correct on both counts as there are 2 bays one that allows boats with gas powered engines and one that doesn’t.    We rode down to the bay where the ferry departs from and up the hill to the lighthouse.   On our way back we stopped at the gallery of a local artist Siddhia Hutchinson.   Her gallery, with an open air apartment and a studio above, looked out over the bay and her paintings were a variety of landscapes and flora and fauna of the area.   We got to talking with her about real estate in both PR and on Vieques as she and her husband have property in both places and we always like to stop and peruse the local listings in the windows of the Real Estate brokers offices.    We both like Vieques.   We rode back across the island and saw quite a few of the local paso fino ponies loose along the roadsides.   We stopped at the park next to Sun Bay where a number of them were happily keeping the grass trimmed.   They would let us come up to them but would only tolerate being petted or scratched for a few moments before intimidating us by laying their ears back and turning their hind quarters toward us.     We rode back into Esperanza and enjoyed an early dinner.   The bikes have proven themselves a great way to experience more of the local flavor of the islands.

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Esperanza – Vieques

bearcruzer

May 10, 2010

We made our way to the small town of Esperanza near Sun Bay on the southern side of Vieques.   We picked up a mooring in about 5 feet of water near the town pier.    We took mighty mouse over to the town and walked the main road next to the bay.  It is a quaint place with lots of small colorful  restaurants with names like Belly Buttons, Bananas, Joost, and Lazy Jacks.   There are also a number of tour companies offering scooter, & kayak rentals as we are close to the phosphorescent bays on this side of the island.  We walked through the small museum at the historical society featuring pictures of the early history of Vieques and a sampling of Taino Pottery and stone and shell tools.   After a brief rainstorm we were relaxing on the boat this afternoon and had a great photo op come our way.   Three young Paso Fino Ponies were loose and running and play fighting , running rearing up and nipping at each other on the beach right next to DD.  A rust and white pinto along with a smoky dun and an almost white dun.    They were joined by a small brown local dog who touched noses with them and then danced around them and they all played chase for about 5 minutes.   Mike grabbed his camara and began shooting and then switched to his telephoto lens to get a few close ups.  Why might you ask am I describing this scene for you in such detail when from where we stood it looked like we would have some great shots to share with you all!   Well, just as the Ponies and dog ran off into the trees, I remembered that Mike had called me from working on the blog where moments before he had handed me the card from his Camera to input his sunrise shots into the computer and in our delight and excitement of the moment we forgot to put it back in the camara.    Lesson Learned, transfer and then back into the camara immediately!

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Playa Punta Arenas – Vieques

bearcruzer

May 7-9

We left Salinas the Friday afternoon after picking up our still non-functional spare alternator.   We anchored out at the mouth of the reef in front of Bahia de Jobos about 5 miles south of Salinas with the plan to leave in the early morning for Vieques.    The easterly tradwinds have been reliably on our nose since we rounded Cabo Rojo on the southwestern corner of Puerto Rico and they  have continued the length of the Southern coast of PR and as we now motor our way  from the southeastern tip of PR bound for Vieques.   The wind and waves were not bad at 9 – 16 kts with swells of 1-3ft as we motored to Playa Punta Arenas also known as Green Beach on the North East corner of Vieques.    We left our anchorage in PR at 4:30am and made good time, arriving at Green Beach just before noon.      There are 3 mooring balls in the anchorage and we were able to pick one up thus alleviating the need to drop or haul our anchor with our unreliable windlass.    The water is clean and clear and we were able to run our water maker to supplement our fresh water during our passage from PR to Vieques.    Green beach is surrounded by numerous shallow reefs close to the beach and large beds of sea grass, perfect conch habitat.   We jumped into the water with our masks and snorkel gear and within minutes had found 3 large Conch.  I have been Jonesin for Conch since we left the Bahamas.   We are out of Goat Peppers for the conch salad so fritters for dinner it is!   During the day we shared the anchorage with, what we have dubbed, the PR Navy.   The many small power boats that come from PR to enjoy the beach for the day by tying their boats stern to the beach and lounge around in the water picnicking.   But by Saturday evening we were again alone in this exquisite corner of the Island.    The quiet beauty of the anchorage at sunrise, prompted Michael to row Mighty Mouse out for some great shots of DD in the glassy water.   We spent Saturday and Sunday swimming the reefs which we found to have a wonderful variety of different types of living coral including an intimate experience with Stinging Coral.  OUCH!  We were on the lookout for a lobster to invite to dinner, but unfortunately did not find any here. We were on the lookout for a lobster to invite to dinner, but unfortunately did not find any here. We were on the lookout for a lobster to invite to dinner, but unfortunately did not find any here.   We did enjoy the company of many colorful reef fish including my Mom’s personal favorite Sergeant Majors and my favorite Yellowtail Damselfish.    We also hiked along the dirt road that paralleled the beach.   I got to see an Antillean Crested Hummingbird, a new species for me.   We made our way around the point where we could see Culebra in the distance and further on the faint outline of St. Thomas in the USVI.   Travel now is primarily line of sight which adds a new dimension of anticipation to the journey.    It is exciting to look out and see a shape in the distance knowing we will be visiting soon experiencing new adventures and creating new memories to share with each other and our family and friends.

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Anthony Bordain eat your heart out!

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On Thursday David and Trudie from S/V Persephone rented a car and drove down to Salinas from Ponce where they are still anchored awaiting the arrival a friend from the states.   We made arrangements to meet up with them and the Crew from the S/V Leahona, Mark and his lovely wife Willie.   Willie has family that lives here in Puerto Rico and knew a fantastic place up in the hills of Guavate that is known for a traditional Puerto Rican specialty, Roast Pork.   It felt strange moving along at highway speeds after traveling at the top speed of 6-7 kts for the last few months.   The terrain we drove through as we left the coast and headed into the interior of the Island reminded me of the hills of southern California in the springtime when it is green.  We then turned onto a windy road that led us deeper into the hills and into a verdant forest complete with large stalks of bamboo and vines hanging from the branches of the trees.   David, Trudie, Michael and I followed close on the heels of Mark and Willie as I don’t think we could have found our way there or back without help.   We pulled up to an open air pavilion/restaurant with gazebos and tables set next to a beautiful mountain stream.   We walked over to the front of the pavilion to order lunch and found ourselves face to face with a couple of large whole pigs tied to a spit over an open fire.   We placed our order for 3 lbs of pork to be shared between the 6 of us which they proceeded to remove from Porky via machete and serve up with a variety of other PR delicacies, Blood Sausage, Tostinos, Sweet Potato,  Pigeon Peas and Rice….etc.   But the Pork…….Wow,  juicy, tender, flavorful,  with bits of crispy pork skin to munch on as well.    Anthony Bordain always professed to be in heaven whenever he came across a great local place known for their roast pork, I now understand.  Eat your heart out Tony!    Lunch that day was also reminiscent of the traditional Caribbean fare served by our good friend Eddie at our damp but delightful wedding reception this last summer in the mountains of Pagosa Springs.   If was a great afternoon of shared stories and great food.   Thanks Mark and Willie for inviting us to experience this PR Specialty!

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Maintenance and Reprovisioning in Salinas , PR

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May 3-7, 2010

We were up at 4:30am to try to make some miles further east before the trade winds really kick up around 8:30 -9:00am.   It was still dark and we were treated to an amazing lightening show just south of the Island with bolts streaking across the sky and down to the water.    The winds were blowing around 16 – 18 knots out of the east but some of that was created by the storm moving by us.    I placed the coordinates into the Chartplotter GPS to mark our waypoints and we headed out.   Mike went below to start the water maker and the Ice maker…..two things that we run only when underway as they draw a lot of power.   With the seas a bit spirited in those winds, he came up after getting both appliances running, looking a bit green.    A few minutes of deep breathing, followed by a quick nap in the cockpit and he was fine.   We entered the entrance to the harbor at Salinas and were met by the sight of at least 40 – 50 sailboats.   We suspect that the rumors we heard about Salinas being more cruiser friendly were correct.   We caught up with 5 other boats we have crossed paths with before.   S/V Sanctuary, S/V Just Imagine,  S/V Cativa, S/V Leahona,  and S/V Nauti- Nauti.  We walked around town near the marina to do some exploring on foot and stopped by to talk to a few of our friends.    Still no Wifi available in the harbor.   Drakes Bar and Grill has Wifi available and is located just outside of Marina de Salinas,  their burgers are some of the best ever and so we were able to make a couple of skype calls and we signed our boat name on their wall and recognized many of the signatures of those who had come before us.     The harbor was calm and so we spent much of our time on boat maintenance projects.   Michael took our non-functional spare alternator that was one of our great e-bay finds (Buyer Beware) into the alternator shop here to see if they could get the parts to repair it.   He has also spent quite a few hours dismantling and reassembling our windlass, which is the device that we use to pull up the anchor.   It is slipping and we have had to pull the anchor up by hand which is rough on the ole back.   Michael has isolated the problem, unfortunately our windlass is also no longer in production and so we have had to order spare parts from Scotland to be sent to us in the USVI hopefully in about a week or so.    We also decided it was also time to invest in a new length of main line for the headsail.  Michael had noticed some chaffing and had cut off part of it already but when we did rerun the line we found that the old line was brittle and nearly worn through in a critical location.  It probably would have broken at the next haul of the mainsail. (Whew!)  There is a small marine store here in Salinas and we have put a number of miles on our bicycles riding around between there, the alternator shop and the grocery store.   We reprovisioned with some of the harder to find items that we enjoy on the boat along with cases of beer and soda.   All this we were able to tie onto the back of the bicycles or carry in backpacks and the basket I keep on the front of mine.  On more than one occasion we looked like a couple of pack mules as we made our way back to the marina with our supplies.   I purchased and installed the zipper on our Cockpit Sunshade but had to get some help from the sail repair shop to fix the zipper on the dodger as the material was too heavy for my machine to handle.

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