Although Ocean is always suited up for a swim, some of her activities require some extra gear to get the most fun out of everything she does. Here is her Top Five list of “Must Have” Activity Gear for the Cruising Dog #1 Sunglasses These great sunglasses protect Ocean’s eyes from the saltwater spray when we take her around in the dinghy. Oh, and they look pretty cool too! #2 Dog Ramps Ocean has two! She has a sturdy one that she uses for swimming off the stern of Wild Horses. That plank won’t work for snorkeling off the dinghy so for that we purchased a Solstice PupPlank. Hot Tip – It also helps us get back in the dinghy too 😉. #3 Hiking Boots Trails are not always sandy and smooth! Our hike to the Pool Cave at Farmer’s Cay was full of sharp coral rocks. We needed our running shoes and Ocean needed her hiking boots. Problem solved!
#4 Fitted Lifejacket Ocean wears her lifejacket whenever she swims off the boat or off the dinghy. Styling as always! #5 Paddleboard This is one piece of gear that we haven’t yet purchased. Thankfully our buddy boat Caretta let Ocean borrow one of theirs. Ocean isn’t quite in love with this piece of gear yet but give her time! What else? Our time in the Exumas hasn’t just been about Ocean. Her staff (aka Me, Mike and our sailing buddies on Caretta) have also enjoyed lots of activities in the Exumas. At Rudder Cay, we got in some great snorkeling. One of the highlights there is “The Musician”, a full-scale sculpture of a mermaid and a baby grand piano. This was an incredible gift to snorkelers by the illusionist David Copperfield, who owns the nearby island Musha Cay. In 2011, he commissioned the sculpture and then had it sunk in 15 feet of water as a surprise for anyone who happened upon it. These days, its location is well-known and snorkelers, like us, make sure to dive down and get a good look. We also took our dinghies over to the nearby Guana Cay to search for conch and see some of the underwater beauty of the area. It was a gorgeous place to snorkel and we were rewarded with several conchs for a feed later that night with our boat buddy Caretta. At Farmer’s Cay, we got a chance to hike to “Pool Cave”. This is a well-formed cave with dripping stalactites and mounds of stalagmites (both are formed calcium salt deposits) as well as a natural swimming pool. We have done a bit more hiking at Black Point Settlement, getting to see the Atlantic side of the island. And, yes, a few cool aquatic and land animals have crossed our path. Oh and we may have enjoyed a few good meals and a couple of drinks in between it all! Check out where we are today and where we are headed next!
Getting Through a Weekend of Severe SquallsWe had a doozy of a storm this past weekend in Georgetown. It was big. It was scary. But it was also a great reminder of the fortitude and generosity of our sailing community. All forecasters were calling for a bad storm hitting the Bahamas from Friday through to Sunday. We personally use Windy and Chris Parker for our weather checks but we also pay close attention to any other info we may receive from friends and other cruisers. PredictWind, Mr. Weatherman, The Weather Network, Windfinder. You name it, our eyes and ears are open. And all of them were in agreement that we would get slammed with strong winds, which would be even stronger in squalls. But Georgetown is a great protected anchorage for most weather conditions so we weren’t overly worried. We were ready for 40+ knot winds. Oh, wait. What about lightning during the squalls? Well, yeah. Lightning is a serious thing. A boat struck by lightning is immediately disabled. Everything electrical gets fried. All electronics, the engine, the lights, everything. Yeah, its bad. So obviously those of us who cruise full-time have strategies to avoid lightning, right? Umm, no. Not only can we do little to avoid being in an area that might have lightning but we can’t do anything to avoid actually being struck. Especially us sailboats with a big old lightning rod attached to our boats (aka the mast). People talk about lightning avoidance gear but it has two significant disadvantages. First, most of the gear available is expensive. Second, it doesn’t work. So, the working equation goes like this…masted sailboat + electrical storm = sitting duck. Yikes! The storm this past weekend was predicted to start overnight on Friday and continue through to Sunday morning, with the worst of the storm activity occurring overnight on Saturday. On the Friday morning, Wild Horses and Caretta (our buddy boat) went into Georgetown, a 10-minute dinghy ride across the Sound from our anchorage in front of Honeymoon beach. Barry from Caretta had a physio appointment in the morning and we had booked a rental car to get him and Andrea to the appointment, and me and Mike to an amazing wholesale food store near his appointment. Returning back to the dinghy dock, we knew that the wind had started to amplify and we could see that the waves in the Sound were huge. We arrived back at Wild Horses soaking wet from the dinghy ride. No worries, we were safely back on our boat and ready to hunker down for the night’s wind event. Everything not tied down was removed from our decks. The dinghy was lifted and secured. Our full enclosure was zipped up tight. Everything was secured inside the boat (the same as we do for passages) and we had our foul weather gear at the ready. The winds only got to 33 knots that night so we considered ourselves lucky. All in all, it was comfortable, and only marginally scary 😉. The next day, Saturday, the wind stayed strong with gusts to about 25 knots, with the expectation that conditions would deteriorate throughout the evening and overnight. Forecasters were wildly in disagreement over wind strength (anywhere from 20 knots to 55 knots) and the amount of rainfall (from 5mm to 70mm). The possibility of lightning was also in the mix by a few forecasters. It is never good when there is such wide variability in the forecasts. We just have no confidence in what lies before us. It was, however, the forecasted strong west wind that had us on high alert, as it meant that we would be pushed towards our lee shore. Not ideal, but we chose to not re-locate our boat to an eastern shore in Georgetown where many boats were anchored. We were confident in our anchor set and we didn’t want to be in amongst a whole bunch of other boats that could drag into us. With over 300 boats in the Georgetown anchorages, we were happy to be in one that contained only 3 boats. The winds started to pick up just before dusk. Then the growl of thunder in the distance. The sky began to darken and flashes of lightening could be seen in the distance. Within 20 minutes, the worst of the storm was raging all around us. The wind was strong (but never over 35 knots). Sheet lightning and ground strikes were abundant. Heavy rain blinded us from seeing more than 20 feet from our boat. And, then, as strong as the wind was from the southwest, we had a 180-degree wind shift to the northeast. Our anchor dislodged as our boat and all its chain sailed over top of it. Thankfully the anchor reset itself after dragging about 20 feet. Our neighbouring boats reported the same anchor dislodgment/resetting event. Then all the weather stopped. No more rain, no more lightning, no more wind. It was dead calm for 5 hours. When the wind did pick up again, in the overnight hours, it was short lived and it came without any drama. No rain, no lightning. The next morning, we listened intently to the regular Georgetown cruising community network on the VHF. Six boats in the surrounding anchorages had been struck by lightning. Offers of gear, mechanical and electrical expertise, and just “get your hands dirty” help poured in from the cruising community. Within a few days, all six disabled boats had some power brought back to their boats, thanks to the help of their fellow boaters. We were happy that Wild Horses and Caretta had fared well through the storm. Getting through strong weather events is never fun and coming out the other side safely and with no boat issues is always the goal. One more storm in our sailing portfolio. We gain confidence and knowledge with each one of them. And when all else fails, we know that the sailing community will be there to assist in any way they can. Thank goodness. Enjoying the blog? Please share with your friends!
Our last time in Georgetown, one year ago, seemed like a blip. We were here for two weeks but, for us, the vibe was very different. We were exhausted from constant travel, still trying to get our bearings on how to do this liveaboard thing and we were nervous about making the leap to the Caribbean. Our two weeks in Georgetown was spent stocking up, fueling up, and checking out the “you-have-to-do-this” stuff like the “Chat n’ Chill” beach and exploring the island by car. We did manage to snorkel and hike a wee bit but, truly, our minds were on weather windows, planning our route south and connecting with possible buddy boats for the trip. We were in deep focus mode. This go-around is very different. Our days are sloooooooooooow. We rarely wake up with plans, yet we seem to get everything done that needs to get done, whenever it gets done. Every two or three days we will take the salty trip across the bay in order to go to town for groceries or fuel but, otherwise, we are beaching it. Or hiking. Or both 😉. We are in deep chill mode. One of our favourite haunts these days is the north section of Stocking Island, where there are a choice of beaches, one to fit whatever mood we may be in. One of the first beaches there is Starfish Beach. It is home to Da’Sandbar, a tiny shack at the tip of the beach which attracts lots of tours boats bringing weekend travelers and tourists from the nearby Sandals Resort so they can get a taste of the islands. The beach is postcard perfect and you can have a cold Kalik or Sands beer while you swim, play volleyball or just enjoy the view from the lounge chairs. It is not uncommon to have music blasting away from anchored party boats. Ocean, our pup, always gets lots of attention here from the dog-loving tourists who are missing their pups back home. Around the corner from Starfish Beach is Flip Flop Beach. It is a quiet, little oasis where hardly anyone goes. We have heard that there are little pop-up parties on this beach but it is likely that only occurs during the heart of the season (January and February). Our only encounter during the past week was a young family mixing swimming along with a few home-schooling lessons. At this beach we can swim and relax, in the shade or in the sunshine. Total tranquil bliss. And when we feel like exploring? We can take a trail from either Starfish Beach or Flip Flop Beach and walk to the windward side of Stocking Island. The ocean roars on this coast. There is no swimming or snorkeling, just walking along the shoreline, taking in the beauty and force of the ocean being slammed by the eastern trade winds. We will likely stay in Georgetown another week while another cold front pushes through. We are happy to have calm, easy days and lots of access to several amenities. We are happy to be here 😊. Enjoying the blog? Please share with friends! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to drop us a line.
Check out where we are today and where we are going next by clicking the buttons below. On Monday March 4th, Wild Horses and Caretta left our cozy spots in the south Raggeds after two glorious weeks. We had to time our exit from the anchorage with high tide as the channel leading out of the anchorage can drop below 1 metre in depth. Our keel has a depth of 1.7 metres so working with a flooding tide is critical. In fact, even with high tide, our keel momentarily touched the sandy bottom. No damage was done but it did make our hearts skip a beat! Our first two stops up the Ragged island chain were anchorages just a few hours from each other. The first was Double Breasted Cay (I have no idea who names these anchorages!!) and the second was Buena Vista Cay. Both anchorages were quite beautiful with lots of little sandbars, islands and reefs ready for exploring. We have made notes to make sure to stop at both of these anchorages when we return next winter and have lots of time to explore all their beauty. On Wednesday we were ready to make the longer jump to the island of Water Cay, at the top of the island chain. The day started well, with Wild Horses as lead boat and Caretta falling just slightly behind us, both motor sailing along in light winds. It was an easy day. That is, until it wasn’t. About 10 nautical miles from the anchorage, Caretta hailed us on the VHF. Their engine had stopped. Yikes! They knew it was likely a clogged engine filter but they wouldn’t be able to fix it underway. The wind was too light to sail so they dropped their dinghy and used it to push their boat along at 3 knots. They got to the Water Cay anchorage just as the sun was setting. We had arrived over an hour earlier and scoped out a spot for them to anchor. Once their anchor was well set in the sand, we chatted and both boats decided to stay an extra day at Water Cay so we could fix Barry’s engine. What we didn’t realize at the time was that we would also need the extra day to fix a problem of our own. During our passage to Water Cay, we kept catching a whiff of an electrical burning smell in one of our aft cabins. We checked the engine wiring, solar wiring, regulator wiring, anything and everything. Then the smell went away later that evening. Hmmm, weird. The next day, the sun was shining bright and the smell was back. Mike removed everything from our back cabin and there it was. Our three solar fuses were in full-on fondue mode. One quick visit with Barry (our solar and electrical mastermind) and fifteen minutes later we had the fuses bypassed. It isn’t a permanent solution but it will get us to Florida with all our solar energy intact. Yes! With boat issues fixed, we got to enjoy the rugged, wild beauty of Water Cay. The next day, we weighed anchor and headed away from the Ragged islands. We had decided to take a short cut to Georgetown via the Comer Channel. When arriving in the Raggeds, the only route we ever considered was the “long way”, via the Eastern shore of Long Island, which takes four long daytime jumps or a day and a half of constant around-the-clock travelling. It also exposes you to lots of ocean swell. But a few fellow sailors recommended that we take the shortcut route (the Comer Channel) which shaves two days off the journey but goes over some pretty shallow spots (below 2 metres) that we were a little nervous about. And, our timing for the tides wasn’t ideal. We would be going through the Comer Channel at dead low tide, which on this particular day was 0.1 metres below mean low water. Most of the channel was about 2 metres depth but a few spots were 1.9 metres so at dead low tide we would see 1.8 metres. That is very tight for our 1.7 metre clearance but water under the keel is water under the keel. We went for it. The result? A few “hold-the-breath” moments but we didn’t touch bottom. Not once. What we did get was delightful. A wonderful pod of four dolphins playing at our bow. In just two metres of water, the display was spectacular. I think those dolphins could feel our vibe and were there to tell us all would be okay and to chill out! We spent that evening and the whole of the next day on the western side of Long Island, at an anchorage called Thompson Bay. Here we had access to a great grocery store, a liquor store and a marine store, as well as several restaurants. As luck would have it, we were there on a Saturday and the local Farmers Market was open. Lots of fresh veggies! The next day, we headed for Georgetown. We were excited to be returning. It has been just over a year since we left this bustling anchorage, headed for Grenada. That day, so long ago, was full of emotion for us. We were saying goodbye to our buddy boats Sensai and Lola, and heading off into the crazy unknown-to-us ocean with our new buddy boats Kemana and Kesh. We were leaving safe, easy sailing waters and headed for bigger waters, challenges and new experiences. And we have returned as different sailors. We are more knowledgeable, confident, chill and happy. It has been a fabulous year and we are excited to keep doing this sailing gig and seeing where life and the wind takes us. These are pretty special days indeed. Click the buttons below to find out where we are and where we are going next!
Our days here in the Raggeds have been very relaxing. We wake up late and then slowly sip our coffees while checking out the beautiful scenery from our cockpit. Next on the agenda is heading to shore for Ocean’s first shore puppy play date with Josie, the 10-month old pot cake (mixed breed Bahamian dog) owned by Dale, one of our anchorage mates. The two dogs have become fast friends and exhaust themselves with running, tug-of-war, chewing on sticks and swimming. It is puppy nirvana. The rest of our day depends on our needs. We may do a load of laundry or make water or go to Duncan Town to drop off garbage and see if the store is open. Or we may clean the boat. Scratch that. We almost always clean the boat. We are mostly trying to stay on top of “sand intrusion” these days. Having a dog that loves the beach means that we are constantly trying to keep “the beach” out of our boat. Ocean gets a full fresh water rinse down on the swim platform of Wild Horses every time we return to the boat but it really isn’t enough. The sand is deep in her fur and only works its way out throughout the evening. We vacuum a lot! Besides puppy play dates, we have also made it a habit to head to shore during low tide. The depths in the anchorage are very “skinny”, just 3 to 4 metres at high tide and the adjacent shoreline is even more shallow than that. At low tide we can beach our dinghy on shore and walk half a kilometre into the sea, with the ocean being no higher than our shins. And the water is so clear, you can see everything. An incredible sea life ecosystem is revealed for us to enjoy. With the warm water moving against our legs, we stroll through the clean, silky sand and marvel at starfish, sand dollars, sea slugs, the occasional nurse shark, sting ray or turtle, and lots of shells. Including conchs (pronounced “konks”). Low tide makes hunting for conchs very easy. They are just sitting on the sand, slightly exposed above the water. These sea snails can be found throughout the Bahamas and although they look ghastly when extracted from their shell, they are actually quite delicious once they are cleaned and prepared. Most conchs that we come across are juveniles. Their shell is small and they haven’t yet developed the large smooth and glossy pink lip of a mature conch. Those conchs are left alone to keep growing (it can take up to five years). But we have been lucky here! Our wanderings at low tide have yielded us three mature conchs. What do we do with these creatures? We take them to the boat where Mike delicately extracts the meat. I then clean off all the nasty bits and tenderize the meat with a mallet. So far, we have only been courageous enough to make cracked conch, which is really just breaded and fried conch. It is such a tasty treat that we really don’t mind all the work that goes into getting it from sea to table. In fact, when our fellow cruiser Pierre snagged five beautiful mature conchs while snorkelling near our boat a few days ago, it was an easy “yes” from us to get the conch ready for a cracked conch feed on their beautiful catamaran “Umbono”. It was a fun time made even more amazing knowing we had harvested our own dinner 😊. Today we start travelling north again. We will head towards Georgetown, but it will likely take us a good week to get there as we plan to stop at several anchorages in the Raggeds/Jumentos along the way. We just aren’t ready to say farewell to this beautiful and inspiring part of the Bahamas. Enjoying the blog? Please share! And if you want more info on where we are today and where we are going next, click the buttons below.
After several weeks of being on the move, with mostly 24-hour overnight passages, the crew of Wild Horses is ready for a break. The Ragged Islands have proven to be the perfect solution. Here we can stretch our legs on long, sandy white beaches, catch up on a few small boat projects, or just have slow, quiet evenings on board Wild Horses. Also on our near-future itinerary is to get in the water and snorkel in the many beautiful coral reefs that surround the small flat islands of the Raggeds. We are just hoping that the water warms up a tad. It is currently a chilly 24 degrees Celsius and our Eastern Caribbean-acclimatized bones are not yet ready for that kind of cold 😊. Adding to these delights is that we are not entirely alone here. We do like our alone-time, for sure, but there is something comforting about having another boat or two moored near you, or to have a town to stroll around. Here we have both. In amongst the half a dozen boats that are anchored here, are our friends Barry and Andrea on Caretta. Barry is the reason we are even in the Raggeds, having talked up the remoteness and beauty of the area to the point that we couldn’t resist. Unfortunately, though, Barry had an old back injury flare up on the passage here and has been unable to do much moving about. In the week that we have been here, he has gone to shore only a few times. He hasn’t been able to fish, dive, beach walk or visit the nearby town of Duncan. Andrea is a capable sailor in her own right but until Barry feels well enough to weigh anchor and explore more of the Raggeds, and to head to Georgetown, they will be staying put. And, Wild Horses will stay put alongside them, just in case they need any assistance while Barry is still recuperating. Not a bad deal really as we are truly enjoying living on Wild Horses in this semi-remote anchorage in this very remote island chain. When we were preparing for our journey south, back in 2021 and 2022, we focused on trying to make Wild Horses, and its crew, as self-sufficient as possible. We bought a watermaker, upgraded our power grid with new solar panels and lithium batteries, we bought a go-fast dinghy, and we pulled together a few choice pieces of gear (washer/spinner, bread maker, extra diesel and gas jugs) that we thought we might need. Along the way, we have upgraded our gear portfolio to include a Honda 2200 generator and a Starlink unit. It has all worked incredibly well and has made our lives easier along the way but, to be honest, we have never been in the position to be fully reliant on most of it. The one exception is the Honda generator which saved our bacon way back in Carriacou when a blown fuse on one of our lithium batteries resulted in batteries so low that our BMS (Battery Management System) turned them off to protect them. Now that we are in the Raggeds, we are actually dependent on our gear and ourselves so much more than we have ever been. All of our “self-sufficiency” gear is getting at least a little bit of attention. There is nowhere to get water or fuel here. Laundry facilities are non-existent. There is no medical centre nearby (although one is being built!) so injuries must be tended to on the boat, with whatever medication and supplies you have on hand. Same with boat issues. Everything has to already be on board for all critical repairs, large or small. There are a few groceries that can be purchased at Maxine’s grocery but you can’t count on the store being open or that they have what you need. Right now, for example, Maxine is “off island” tending to family matters so the store is rarely open. And when it is open, there is no bread. There is no meat. No potatoes came in on the last mail ship. What is stocked on the shelves will feed you, although at a high cost. My bag of romaine lettuce (there is no local lettuce option) was $11 USD. Yup, pricey. How do we make do in this environment? For the most part, it is status quo for us. Laundry is done easily and quickly on the boat. Water is made every four days or so. Our bread maker is put into duty every three days and, for the rest of it, we pull our grocery items out of our own cupboards. We are fully stocked up on meat, shelf-stable milk, eggs, cheese, canned fruit and vegetables, potatoes, onions, pasta and sauces from our provisioning run in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We are working through our four gas jugs at a non-concerning pace (down 1.5 jugs as of February 26), considering it is used to run our dinghy and our generator, which we use for making water. Oh, and Ocean has plenty of dog food and biscuits. We didn’t forget her needs while provisioning in Puerto Rico! We will likely be a few more weeks in the Bahamas Out Islands (Raggeds, Long Island) and look forward to continuing the test of our self-sufficiency. So far, so good but we are excited to learn what works and what doesn’t in the long run. We will be making notes for necessary tweaks for when we return to the Bahamas Out Islands next winter. And in between note-taking? We are enjoying the beaches and are ready to jump into some snorkeling in the crystal clear blue waters of the Bahamas! Check out where we are today and where we are going next by clicking the buttons below!
Our time in Matthew Town, Great Inaugua was short. Just two days after we arrived, a good window to make the 24-hour sail to the Ragged Islands had opened up. It is the exhausting part of this lifestyle for me. Having not yet fully rested from our last overnight sail (from Luperon), we had to immediately start preparing for the next overnight sail. We kept our eyes on the prize though. The Ragged Islands are renowned for their beaches and active coral as well as their remoteness from the hustle and bustle of cruising life. We were excited to go there. The first thing on the agenda was getting diesel. Having just completed 28 hours of mostly motoring during our wind-less trip from Luperon, we knew our 55-gallon diesel tank would need topping up. We carry six 5-gallon diesel jugs on the deck of Wild Horses and, sure enough, it took four of them to fill up the tank. The Matthew Town marina doesn’t carry diesel but they will order a tanker to come in if you give them a few hours notice. That is, as long as the tanker itself has diesel. This was the issue we ran into last spring when we were in Matthew Town headed south. The tanker was empty and wouldn’t be filled for at least 3 or 4 days. Our only option for diesel then was to buy what ended up being sub-standard diesel from a guy in town. That diesel burned fast and made for a very interesting ending to our journey across the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico. This time, however, the diesel truck was full and ready to deliver clean, good diesel to Wild Horses and our buddy boats Caretta and Rode Trip. With our diesel tank and jugs full, next on our to-do list was to buy some “walking around” data for the Bahamas. We have Starlink on Wild Horses so we have unlimited data while we are on the boat. We have found, though, that we like to use maps on our phones while we are off exploring a town or trail. For this, we need a local SIM card and some data. Usually, this cost anywhere from $5 to $20. This is the Bahamas so our BTC SIM card was on the higher end. All three buddy boats then took a walk through town. There is just one grocery store on the main street of Matthew Town, and although there are many, many little shops along the way, most were boarded up or just closed. It was eerily quiet. Thankfully the grocery store had exactly what we needed – affordable cheese and eggs. We also picked up a dozen of the most tasty Gala apples we have eaten since Canada. Yum! On Friday morning, we weighed anchor and headed towards the Ragged Islands, a cluster of remote islands that are part of the Outer Bahamas. It was a rough and rolly trip, with a bigger swell than foecasted along with strong winds, mostly on our stern, making it difficult to maintain our point of sail. By the time we could see the Ragged Islands, we were exhausted. We put our anchor down in Southside Bay, a wide open and sandy anchorage near the southwest corner of Ragged Island. We quickly dropped our dinghy and took Ocean into shore for some relief and a walk to Duncan Town, a small village about 30 minutes from the anchorage. But this was no ordinary walk! After beaching the dinghy, we walked through brush to get to a dirt road that led us to the airport runway, which we had to cross to get to another dirt road that finally led to the main paved road into town. We have never before had to cross an active runway as part of a trail! Duncan Town was quieter than we expected for a Saturday. There was one restaurant, a defunct police station and several houses, some brand new and others just shacks. And there was Maxine’s Grocery Store. Although tiny, it was stocked with a variety of pantry goods and fresh vegetables. You couldn’t do a full shopping trip here but they certainly had enough goods to fill in a few missing gaps in one’s food stores. The next day, the swell was up a bit in our anchorage. This doesn’t usually bother us much when we are on the boat but getting in and out of the dinghy can be a bit of an adventure with the boat bucking up and down. We decided to check out the adjacent anchorage “Between Raggeds” which looked like a calm alternative to Southside Bay. We jumped in the dinghy and rode to the anchorage, which sits between Little Ragged Island and Ragged Island. All 15 or so boats here looked very comfortable. No swell and just minutes from beautiful white, sandy beaches. Yes! The only caveat was depth. Wild Horses has a 5’9” keel so we are not comfortable if we see a depth of less than 6 feet. Our charts had the anchorage depth at just over 6 feet but the channel into the anchorage was as low at 5 feet. We would have to wait a few hours for high tide where we would gain another 1.5 feet. Mike, along with Steve from Rode Trip, took a depth sounder and, from the dinghy, checked out the channel right as we were approaching high tide. There was enough depth! All three boats made the move in through the channel and into the anchorage. So far, we have mostly rested but we have found the time to do a few beach walks, make water, do some laundry and hang out at the evening beach get together where the dogs can play and the people can chat, all over a few sundowners. Over the next couple of days, we hope to get in some snorkelling to check out the active coral and sea life out here in the Raggeds. These are glorious days! Click the buttons below to know where we are today and where we plan to sail next.
At first glance, Luperon is not that appealing. The harbour water is dirty, garbage sits lumped at the side of the street, skinny dogs bark as you walk alongside the shack-like housing near the docks, venders in cars selling fruits and vegetables yell indiscernible Spanish through loudspeakers, motorcycles zoom in and out of streets and alleyways. Dirty, loud, confusing. There is no mistaking that it is a third world country. On Wild Horses, we say quite often that the best parts of a place are the people. Luperon is not an exception to this rule. In fact, it may be why the rule was created. The community here is lively and fun, and it is a blend of all sorts of people - true locals, “locals by default” (i.e. they sailed or flew in and never left) and transients like us. Everyone has been more than welcoming, sharing the best of their town with us yachties in transit. They know we are catching the first weather window out of Luperon but they still take the time to help us get oriented and to feel comfortable. We arrived last Monday February 5th after a long overnight passage from Samana. Immediately, friends we had met during our first stint in Luperon greeted us. We definitely felt the love! Even the Armada and Customs & Immigration remembered us. Okay, okay, I know. They remembered Ocean. Our “So happy to see you back!” fanfare was absolutely because we were standing alongside our unforgettable pup. We have now been here a week and it has been fun and full! Here are the highlights of our week in Luperon:
When you look at the week we had, you can see why some people never leave Luperon. It is affordable, there is lots to do and the Luperon community is second to none. It is easy to stick around! Yes, the week was great, but we were itching to get to the Bahamas. Our first plan was to leave Sunday, February 11 at 7am. The winds were perfect to make the 167 nautical mile trip to Great Inagua in the outer Bahamas. We went to the Armada on Saturday afternoon to get our Despachos so we wouldn’t have to wait for officers to arrive on Sunday morning. Only, the Armada would not issue “Despachos” on the Saturday. Or the Sunday. Or the Monday. Yikes! We felt a little stuck. We finally got our Despachos on Tuesday morning and left Luperon at 10am. We are now just an hour from arriving at Matthew Town, Great Inagua. We will be spending a full three months in the Bahamas and are excited to finally be here. Check out where we are today and where we are going next by clicking the buttons below.
This is the first blog post that I have written while we are underway to a new port. Normally, the seas have lots of swell (creating an uncomfortable washing machine-like experience), or I am busy assisting with the sails or it is nighttime. With those conditions, writing is just not tenable so I always wait until we are settled in our new anchorage. Today, however, the sea conditions are almost flat and the wind is non-existent. The sails are all tucked away while we motor from the port of Samana to the port of Luperon, both in the Dominican Republic. Even though we are moving within the same country, “clearing in” and “clearing out” is required. This is one of the unique aspects of the Dominican Republic that makes it both very interesting and extremely annoying. Every country requires that you “clear in” when you arrive in its territorial waters and “clear out” when you leave. It is sometimes an easy process (like in the French Caribbean countries) and sometimes long and tedious (like it is in Antigua). Sometimes you require on-line pre-clearance, sometimes you only clear in on-line but, most times, we have to get into our dinghy with our big bundle of boat and pet documents and present ourselves in person in front of Customs & Immigration. How do we know which process to use for each country? We usually google it. Noonsite, which houses a lot of cruiser information, is a good source as is the country’s government site. The vessel documents are nothing special. All countries, as a minimum, need to see the passport for all crew and passengers as well as our boat registration. The documents and the process for our pet dog Ocean are another beast. Check here for those requirements. And then there is the Dominican Republic. There is one extra step in this country, and it’s a big one. It is the Armada (aka The Navy). When we arrive in the Dominican Republic, it is the Armada we see first. They board the vessel and provide the okay to proceed with Customs, Immigration and Agriculture. And when you want to leave the country? You must get a Despacho (clearance paper) from the Armada. Actually, Despachos are required for all movements of your vessel, even if you are just going to another port. These Despachos and the rules around them are serious business. The Armada must be notified 24 hours before your departure. Once you receive your Despacho, you are required to leave the port within a few hours (every other country gives you 24 hours to leave). Despachos must be presented to any agent of the Armada who requests it. Oh, and being given a Despacho is not a right. The Armada decides if they will allow you to leave. You decide Tuesday looks like a good day to go sailing and you want to leave at 5am? The Armada can and do say “no”. Certainly, all departures from a port and all arrivals into a port must be done between 6am and 6pm, as per Dominican Law. But even if you change your departure time to 7am, they can still say “no”. It all sounds very authoritarian but, actually, it is a safety measure to protect vessels and their crew. They want vessels to arrive and depart from ports only in the daylight, where all obstacles can be easily seen by the Captain. They also want you only to travel when the weather is good. Yes, the vessel Captain should be able to make this call, and not the Armada, but I guess when your Coast Guard keeps having to save vessels in distress off your rough northern and eastern coasts, you pretty much want to stop mariners who think they can better the weather and the sea. The issuance of the Despacho also gives the Armada a chance to prevent piracy. They want to know where you are going so that they can counsel you about dangerous anchorages or known piracy issues. At 9am this morning, Wild Horses was granted its Despacho from the Armada to move from Samana to Luperon, as did our boat buddies on Rode Trip, Caretta and That’s It. The process took a good hour but with Despachos in hand, we headed out of the Puerto Bahia marina harbour at 10am. This was our second marina this week, as we had first cleared into the Dominican Republic at the Cap Cana marina further south on the Dominican Republic’s eastern coastline. There are very few anchorages on the east coast and all have reputations for minor theft. It was an easy decision to stay at marinas. While staying at the Puerto Bahia marina, we rented a car for a day with our boat buddies on Rode Trip and Caretta and took a drive into the towns of Samana and Las Terrenas. The towns were beautiful but the traffic was a bit crazy. We thanked our lucky stars that our boat buddy Steve from Rode Trip offered to be the driver for the day. Even with motorcycles and scooters and cars (and horses!) darting about from all directions, he managed to get us safely to and from the marina. Thank you Steve! Our trip to Luperon will take us around the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic and then west along its northern coast. When all is said and done, the passage should be about 24 hours. It is a long trip but the weather so far has been lovely, despite not having enough wind to sail. Even better, we have already had a pod of dolphins playing off our bow and a few humpback whales swam in front of our boat buddy Caretta for about 15 minutes. Saying it was mesmerizing would be an understatement. On Monday morning, February 5, we will arrive in Luperon harbour after several weeks of almost constant travel, mostly overnight. We are tired, for sure, and Luperon will be a great place to rest for a bit before we start our passage north to the Bahamas. Want to know where we are now or where we are going next? Click the buttons below!
Our past week has been spent in Puerto Rico, starting with the most eastern Spanish Virgin Islands and then moving along, east to west, to finally arrive in Puerto Real on the west coast. This anchorage will be our jumping off point to head to the Dominican Republic. In fact, when the early morning rises and you are perhaps reading this post with your morning coffee, we will be arriving at the Cap Cana Marina in the Dominican Republic, having successfully traversed the Mona Passage. We arrived in Puerto Rico eleven days ago and our minds have been pre-occupied with two very important things: Provisioning for the Bahamas and meeting up with old friends. Our first stop in Puerto Rico was Culebra which is part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. The anchorage there is wide open (lots of room) and is very close to the main town area with restaurants, grocery stores, cafes and great beaches. It is a great spot to rest for several days, only we had alternative plans. We had a few friends to meet up with over the next few days. In Vieques (part of the Spanish Virgin Islands), we met up with our old friend Matt on Kesh, who is heading south while we are headed north. We had first met Matt in Georgetown, Bahamas almost a full year ago, and travelled with him (along with Kemana and That’s It) from Georgetown to Luperon, Dominican Republic. At the time, Matt was newly engaged but doing his travelling as a solo sailor. It was wonderful to see him in Vieques alongside his new bride Charlie. They are headed south to Grenada this year. The very next day, we weighed anchor early in the morning and headed to Salinas on the mainland of Puerto Rico. This was going to be a major stop for us. Not only were we finally going to reunite with our good friends on Caretta but we would also be able to do all of our provisioning for the Bahamas here by renting a car and driving the one hour north to the city of San Juan. There we could shop at Costco, Walmart, Petsmart, Home Depot, and AutoZone. Wow! We haven’t had this kind shopping for the last ten months. Let the games begin! We did our “shopping” extravaganza to San Juan last Thursday. Wild Horses (including Ocean) rented a van while Caretta and Rode Trip shared a passenger car. In one wild day that started at 9:00am and ended at about 9:00pm, we drove to San Juan (an hour away), devoured Costco, stocked up at Petsmart, and got a few necessities at Home Depot and West Marine. We then returned to the marina and unloaded our very full rental cars. But we weren’t done yet! The biggest provisioning was done at Walmart in Isabel, just 20 minutes west of the marina. We even popped into AutoZone for some oil for the boat. Very tired from shopping, we still needed to load everything back at the boat via our dinghies and store it all away. It was an exhausting but very successful day! With all of our boats provisioned and fueled up, we left Salinas last Saturday for Boqueron on the west coast of Puerto Rico. We stayed there one night, which was just enough time to meet up with the crews from Kemana and That’s It, who were a day ahead of us. They planned to leave for the Dominican Republic the very next day, one full day ahead of us. The next morning, Wild Horses, Rode Trip and Caretta travelled just a few nautical miles north to Puerto Real. We will be leaving for the Dominican Republic at 6pm tonight. Overnight passages are becoming very familiar territory for us! We are looking forward to spending a few weeks in the Dominican Republic before moving onto the Bahamas. While we continue our journey west, it amazes us as to how chilly the nights are getting. It was just 21 degrees Celsius last night. While it is amazingly warm compared to January in Canada, it is very cold for us these days. It is a welcomed change though as we are still reeling from our hot, hot, hot days in Grenada. Want to know where we are in the world right now? Or our sailing plans for the year ahead? Click the buttons below!
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AuthorVictoria is a hiker, dog-lover, blog writer and planner extraordinaire. Oh, yeah and she is kind of fond of living on a boat. Categories
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April 2024
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