Monday, February 15, we made the 50 mile run from Esperanza, Viequez over to Salinas Bay, on the south coast of Puerto Rico. We woke early, and left the bay at 5:30am, arriving in Salinas harbor at1:15pm.
Salinas, on the southern coast of Puerto Rico is a long, narrow harbor, surrounded by mangroves. It is fairly shallow, but the barrier islets and the mangroves offer complete protection from sea surge and wind from any direction. It is as still as a mill pond in there. The main harbor is thick with mooring balls, which we seldom use because of KINGDOM's size and weight. So we anchored in the outer harbor in about 11 feet of water.
Tuesday morning, Feb 16, we were on our way at 8:00am for the 60 mile leg to Boqueron Bay, on the Southwestern coast of Puerto Rico. We had a following sea, with 5' waves powering us along. We were making 8+ knots most of the way. But it is a bit disconcerting to have the stern lift up five or six feet, which points the bow down, and then up again as the wave passes under the boat from stern to bow. Sort of riding a roller coaster backwards, if you can get the picture.
We arrived in Boqueron at 4:00pm, tired and thirsty. We had a beer aboard and went to bed.
We had made friends with some of the local folks on our way down-island. So on Wednesday evening we arranged to meet them (Stan and Rita) for drinks at the "Sunrise Sunset Bar" near the dinghy dock. We put our dinghy in the water, all ready to go, and the battery was dead. Fortunately, we have a portable battery charger, which put a nice fresh charge in the battery in 45 minutes. (We had inadvertently left a switch on when we loaded the dinghy in St. Thomas.)
A great time was had by all, along with many cervezas.
We stayed in Boqueron until Wednesday, February 16th, awaiting perfect weather conditions to cross the Mona Passage to the Dominican Republic. It rained for several days, and we mostly hibernated aboard the boat, reading and relaxing.
Walt also researched an electrical problem with our small generator, aided by two new friends, Tony and David. They are from Michigan, and have family in PR, whom they visit for a couple of months each year.
Speaking of pictures, we didn't take any in Salinas or Boqueron. We photo-documented these places pretty well in previous blogs on our way South. And they haven't changed much.
Still beautiful...
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
St. Thomas to Esperanza, Vieques
We departed St. Thomas on Valentines Day, February 14th. It was only a 40 mile run to Esperanza, on the Spanish Virgin Island of Vieques (Part of the USVI, governed by Puerto Rico). We pulled up our hook at 9:10am, and were in Esperanza Bay by 3:15pm.
The bay is on the southern coast of Vieques. It has a wide entry, and is protected from the East, West, and North. Guess which way the waves were coming from...You guessed it - the South!
We tucked in as best we could behind this spit of land, but spent a somewhat rolly night. Not too bad, since the waves were quite small.
The local guys know how to do it. They drop a bow anchor, then run a line to shore, keeping their bow into the waves.
We were there on Sunday afternoon. The locals were definitely enjoying the beach.
This is just another example of the thousands of wonderful beaches in the islands. Even though it was Sunday, there were no crowds.
The beach here in this bay is about a mile long.
The bay is on the southern coast of Vieques. It has a wide entry, and is protected from the East, West, and North. Guess which way the waves were coming from...You guessed it - the South!
We tucked in as best we could behind this spit of land, but spent a somewhat rolly night. Not too bad, since the waves were quite small.
The local guys know how to do it. They drop a bow anchor, then run a line to shore, keeping their bow into the waves.
We were there on Sunday afternoon. The locals were definitely enjoying the beach.
This is just another example of the thousands of wonderful beaches in the islands. Even though it was Sunday, there were no crowds.
The beach here in this bay is about a mile long.
Marina Mascot
At Sapphire Bay Marina, in St. Thomas, this iguana was sort of the Marina Mascot. We think he liked hanging out with us, since the big iguanas on the beach were mean to him...
Wha 'chu lookin' at, honky?
This guy was about 3 feet long. Probably just a teenager. We saw much larger ones on the beach, but didn't have the camera handy.
Wha 'chu lookin' at, honky?
This guy was about 3 feet long. Probably just a teenager. We saw much larger ones on the beach, but didn't have the camera handy.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Decison Time - Do We or Don't We?
Upon arrival in the Virgin Islands, we had hoped to have at least a couple of charters booked. Unfortunately we have been unsuccessful in our endeavors, in spite of Susie's most ambitious marketing venue which was putting ad brochures into empty wine bottles and pitching them overboard at regular intervals. Our gorgeous website created by Rod Houk gets plenty of lookie-loos, but no serious inquires.
We also learned that the government of the British Virgin Islands has enacted a host of new regulations applying to charter yachts, to be enforced starting February 15th. We looked into the new rules, and have found that it would take an additional substantial investment on our part in order to bring our boat into compliance.
Given the fact that we have no revenue stream to offset the expense, and none in the pipeline, we have decided to abandon our plans to enter the charter business.
What to do?
We are nearing the three-year mark on our voyages aboard KINGDOM. Our mutually agreed commitment was for three years before we would decide on a new venture, and here we are. We have enjoyed a first class experience, and trying to curb our appetite for the good life is not very attractive to us; go big or go home is our philosophy...so it's time to come home.
In addition, we miss our families. We feel we are neglecting our kids, grandkids, Susan's father, and our many friends. We had hoped to have more of them visit us aboard, but those visits have been few and far between.
After much discussion and consideration, we have decided to return to the U.S. and offer KINGDOM for sale. We will be moving the boat to Melbourne, Florida, where our favorite boat broker, Jim Guin, has arranged a slip for us in a local marina, where it can conveniently be shown to prospective buyers.
Walt will stay with the boat until it sells. We believe it requires constant attention to maintenance, cleaning and polishing to show well.
Once we are established in Melbourne, Susan will return to Scottsdale and work to re-start her real estate business. She will probably rent a small apartment initially.
After the boat is sold, we will use the proceeds to buy a small home in the Scottsdale area, and we will both be back to stay.
Please know that we have absolutely no regrets. Not about our decision to go to sea, nor about our decision to go ashore. Personally, I was never overly enthusiastic about the idea of running a charter business. Having paying guests in your home is not the same as having invited guests in your home. I think t would feel differently if the boat had been purchased with that purpose in mind, and if it were not our only home.
We have had a wonderful time cruising the Caribbean! We have lived the life many people only dream of living. We could go on doing this for years to come, but it is just not practical without generating more income. We love our boat; we love the cruising community; we love the people of the Caribbean; we even love the challenges we have faced, since we have grown from each of them.
Our fuel tanks are full. The larder is stocked. All we need now is a good weather window, and we will be headed home!
Look for us to come steaming over the horizon one day soon...
We also learned that the government of the British Virgin Islands has enacted a host of new regulations applying to charter yachts, to be enforced starting February 15th. We looked into the new rules, and have found that it would take an additional substantial investment on our part in order to bring our boat into compliance.
Given the fact that we have no revenue stream to offset the expense, and none in the pipeline, we have decided to abandon our plans to enter the charter business.
What to do?
We are nearing the three-year mark on our voyages aboard KINGDOM. Our mutually agreed commitment was for three years before we would decide on a new venture, and here we are. We have enjoyed a first class experience, and trying to curb our appetite for the good life is not very attractive to us; go big or go home is our philosophy...so it's time to come home.
In addition, we miss our families. We feel we are neglecting our kids, grandkids, Susan's father, and our many friends. We had hoped to have more of them visit us aboard, but those visits have been few and far between.
After much discussion and consideration, we have decided to return to the U.S. and offer KINGDOM for sale. We will be moving the boat to Melbourne, Florida, where our favorite boat broker, Jim Guin, has arranged a slip for us in a local marina, where it can conveniently be shown to prospective buyers.
Walt will stay with the boat until it sells. We believe it requires constant attention to maintenance, cleaning and polishing to show well.
Once we are established in Melbourne, Susan will return to Scottsdale and work to re-start her real estate business. She will probably rent a small apartment initially.
After the boat is sold, we will use the proceeds to buy a small home in the Scottsdale area, and we will both be back to stay.
Please know that we have absolutely no regrets. Not about our decision to go to sea, nor about our decision to go ashore. Personally, I was never overly enthusiastic about the idea of running a charter business. Having paying guests in your home is not the same as having invited guests in your home. I think t would feel differently if the boat had been purchased with that purpose in mind, and if it were not our only home.
We have had a wonderful time cruising the Caribbean! We have lived the life many people only dream of living. We could go on doing this for years to come, but it is just not practical without generating more income. We love our boat; we love the cruising community; we love the people of the Caribbean; we even love the challenges we have faced, since we have grown from each of them.
Our fuel tanks are full. The larder is stocked. All we need now is a good weather window, and we will be headed home!
Look for us to come steaming over the horizon one day soon...
St. Thomas at last!
Since arriving in the US Virgin Islands January 14th, we have been quite busy! First order of business was to find our friends and catch up on our doings since we saw them last year.
Dick Shirley and his wife, Jill Lambert are here aboard their 44' Island Packet sailboat, "Changin' Tags". (Dick owns auto dealerships in Burlington N.C.) Jill and Dick brought Molly to us last year from Virgina, and have become dear friends.Edit Pages
We met Jay and Bernadette De Shay last year, while they were managing the charter catamaran "Tachyon". We finally found them while anchored in Christmas Cove on their new boat "Vivo", a beatiful 60' catamaran. They are now salaried crew for the owner, and are not having to do charters anymore. A wonderful couple, and we have become great friends.
We've also caught up with Ana and Wolfgang Boehringer. They are a young and energetic European couple whom we met last year at American Yacht Harbor. They purchased "Second Wind", a 56' Angel Yacht-Fish motor yacht while we were there. Since then they have purchased a home with rental apartments attached, fixed up their boat, and have been working hard as Dive Masters for the Ritz Carlton Hotel. In fact, they were the first people we saw as we came into St. Thomas. When we rounded the reef at Little St. James Island, there they were, hosting a group diving the reef! We had no sooner dropped our anchor at Christmas Cove, than their dive boat approached and hailed us! Who could it be? Sure enough, it was Ana on the bow, and Wolfgang at the helm!
We found Dick and Jill at American Yacht Harbor. Since then, we've enjoyed meals together , sailed out into the BVI's together, and swapped more sea stories than Popeye!
We are currently tied up at Sapphire Bay marina, where Ana and Wolfgang live aboard their boat. It is a small, protected marina on the Northeastern tip of St. Thomas, just around the corner from Red Hook.
This is Walt on the dock in front of our boat. The dock is separated from the bay by a small strip of beach and a rock jetty.
View of Sapphire Bay marina and some of the condos
Another view of Sapphire Bay Marina, looking toward the hotels
You can almost spit in the ocean from our bow pulpit. From this angle, it looks like we've run aground, but we are actually in a slip at the marina.
Jill Lambert, Dick's better half
Walt and Dick, hoisting a couple in Virgin Gorda
From left - Dick, Jill, Susan and Walt, ashore in Virgin Gorda
Cruise Ships docked in Charlotte Amalie harbor, St. Thomas, where we have been anchored for a few days at a time
Yacht Haven Grande Marina, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
Bernadette and Susan on KINGDOM's aft Deck
Dick and Molly (his granddog)
Jill Lambert and Jason De Shay, feeling no pain
Dick, Molly, Bernadette, and Susan (she's the grumpy one...)
Dick Shirley and his wife, Jill Lambert are here aboard their 44' Island Packet sailboat, "Changin' Tags". (Dick owns auto dealerships in Burlington N.C.) Jill and Dick brought Molly to us last year from Virgina, and have become dear friends.Edit Pages
We met Jay and Bernadette De Shay last year, while they were managing the charter catamaran "Tachyon". We finally found them while anchored in Christmas Cove on their new boat "Vivo", a beatiful 60' catamaran. They are now salaried crew for the owner, and are not having to do charters anymore. A wonderful couple, and we have become great friends.
We've also caught up with Ana and Wolfgang Boehringer. They are a young and energetic European couple whom we met last year at American Yacht Harbor. They purchased "Second Wind", a 56' Angel Yacht-Fish motor yacht while we were there. Since then they have purchased a home with rental apartments attached, fixed up their boat, and have been working hard as Dive Masters for the Ritz Carlton Hotel. In fact, they were the first people we saw as we came into St. Thomas. When we rounded the reef at Little St. James Island, there they were, hosting a group diving the reef! We had no sooner dropped our anchor at Christmas Cove, than their dive boat approached and hailed us! Who could it be? Sure enough, it was Ana on the bow, and Wolfgang at the helm!
We found Dick and Jill at American Yacht Harbor. Since then, we've enjoyed meals together , sailed out into the BVI's together, and swapped more sea stories than Popeye!
We are currently tied up at Sapphire Bay marina, where Ana and Wolfgang live aboard their boat. It is a small, protected marina on the Northeastern tip of St. Thomas, just around the corner from Red Hook.
This is Walt on the dock in front of our boat. The dock is separated from the bay by a small strip of beach and a rock jetty.
View of Sapphire Bay marina and some of the condos
Another view of Sapphire Bay Marina, looking toward the hotels
You can almost spit in the ocean from our bow pulpit. From this angle, it looks like we've run aground, but we are actually in a slip at the marina.
Jill Lambert, Dick's better half
Walt and Dick, hoisting a couple in Virgin Gorda
From left - Dick, Jill, Susan and Walt, ashore in Virgin Gorda
Cruise Ships docked in Charlotte Amalie harbor, St. Thomas, where we have been anchored for a few days at a time
Yacht Haven Grande Marina, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
Bernadette and Susan on KINGDOM's aft Deck
Dick and Molly (his granddog)
Jill Lambert and Jason De Shay, feeling no pain
Dick, Molly, Bernadette, and Susan (she's the grumpy one...)
Anguilla to Virgin Gorda
We departed Road Bay, Anguilla at 6:30am, Wednesday, January 13th. This is a long run of about 80 miles, and we dropped the anchor at 5:00pm in Gorda Sound, Virgin Gorda, after nearly 11 hours underway. This passage can be ugly, but we were lucky to have excellent weather, relatively calm seas, and we breathed a sigh of relief when we made it before dark.
Actually, this was the last day of decent weather we have had for several weeks! Thank goodness we were not delayed any longer...
Sunset in Virgin Gorda.
Lunch in Anguilla
Lunch in Anguilla
Yes, I think I will have another Vodka Grapefruit cocktail
Actually, this was the last day of decent weather we have had for several weeks! Thank goodness we were not delayed any longer...
Sunset in Virgin Gorda.
Lunch in Anguilla
Lunch in Anguilla
Yes, I think I will have another Vodka Grapefruit cocktail
Les Saintes to St. Barth's to Anguilla
Because of our longer-than-planned stay in the Saintes, we needed to move rather faster than we would have normally. We left the Saintes at 9:00am on January 6, making the 31 mile run up to Deshailles, on the NW shore of Guadaloupe in 5 hours. We arrived there at 2:00pm, and departed the next morning at 8:15am, bound for Jolly Harbor, Antigua, a 49 mile run. We ran into the harbor, looking for the customs and immigration dock. We found it, but there was no one around to take our lines and help us dock. So we turned around and headed back out to the outer harbor, and anchored in about 8 feet of water. Next morning, Friday, January 8th, we departed at 6:30am, headed due East to Basseterre, St. Kitts. Although this was a 51 mile run, we had following seas and following winds all the way, making this a romp! All the way, we could see the smoke plume from the volcano on Montserrat to the Southeast, and were glad not to be downwind of it! We pulled into the marina at Basseterre at 2pm, and were awarded the last available slip. We checked in with Customs and Immigration, and had our customary anchor drink...
We had hoped to visit with our friends Mike and Beth Smith when we arrived, but they were off-island. They were due back on Sunday afternoon, so we hung out in the Marina, visited the local grocery store, and washed down the boat. We also met and visited with a couple of other cruisers in the Marina, hob-nobbing until Mike and Beth arrived. We did in fact meet up with them on Sunday afternoon, and they took us over to a Sports Bar on one of the popular beaches. We were able to see the Arizona Cardinals squeak out an overtime victory over Green Bay, while visiting and munching on very large cheeseburgers, and an enormous mound of french fries.
Monday morning, January 11th, we pulled out of St. Kitts, bound for Gustavia, on St. Barth's, a 44 mile northerly run. We arrived at 2:00pm, and anchored in the outer harbor. We had planned to spend a day or two here, as it is a delightful French island. However, since we were already far behind schedule, we reluctantly pulled out at 8:00am, heading for Road Bay, on the north side of the island of Anguilla. We bypassed St. Martin entirely. We had not visited Anguilla before, and we were interested in this tiny British island. We also knew that this was a great jumping-off place for the long 80 mile run to Virgin Gorda. Here we dropped our dinghy, went ashore to clear in with Customs and Immigration, and had a nice lunch at a lovely beachside restaurant.
An interesting side note about Anguilla - When the British were attempting to get rid of their Caribbean "protectorates", they decided to lump St. Kitts and Anguilla into one new Government for both islands, even though they are about 100 miles apart, with St. Barth and St. Martin in between. The Anguillans were outraged, and wanted to remain British! After making many official protests, all ignored, they decided to invade St. Kitts! So a small party of men in small boats sailed to Basseterre, St. Kitts, shot up the police station, and escaped back to Anguilla. Nobody seems to have been hurt in the "invasion", but the British, fearing a communist takeover, sent an amphibian armed force to Anguilla to put down the insurrection. Wading ashore on the lovely beaches of Anguilla, they were met by a few small boys catching crabs. The islanders welcomed them, and in the end, the Brits decided that Anguilla would not be forced to leave the protection of the British Empire.
At anchor off St. Bart's
Sunset off St. Bart's
View of the Gustavia outer harbor. This is as close as we went on this visit.
While at St. Bart's this enormous Tri-Maran anchored nearby. It must be 100 feet long, and is one of the most unusual boats we have ever seen.
A second view of this Tri-maran, bow-on. From this angle, it is hard to get a sense of its size.
We had hoped to visit with our friends Mike and Beth Smith when we arrived, but they were off-island. They were due back on Sunday afternoon, so we hung out in the Marina, visited the local grocery store, and washed down the boat. We also met and visited with a couple of other cruisers in the Marina, hob-nobbing until Mike and Beth arrived. We did in fact meet up with them on Sunday afternoon, and they took us over to a Sports Bar on one of the popular beaches. We were able to see the Arizona Cardinals squeak out an overtime victory over Green Bay, while visiting and munching on very large cheeseburgers, and an enormous mound of french fries.
Monday morning, January 11th, we pulled out of St. Kitts, bound for Gustavia, on St. Barth's, a 44 mile northerly run. We arrived at 2:00pm, and anchored in the outer harbor. We had planned to spend a day or two here, as it is a delightful French island. However, since we were already far behind schedule, we reluctantly pulled out at 8:00am, heading for Road Bay, on the north side of the island of Anguilla. We bypassed St. Martin entirely. We had not visited Anguilla before, and we were interested in this tiny British island. We also knew that this was a great jumping-off place for the long 80 mile run to Virgin Gorda. Here we dropped our dinghy, went ashore to clear in with Customs and Immigration, and had a nice lunch at a lovely beachside restaurant.
An interesting side note about Anguilla - When the British were attempting to get rid of their Caribbean "protectorates", they decided to lump St. Kitts and Anguilla into one new Government for both islands, even though they are about 100 miles apart, with St. Barth and St. Martin in between. The Anguillans were outraged, and wanted to remain British! After making many official protests, all ignored, they decided to invade St. Kitts! So a small party of men in small boats sailed to Basseterre, St. Kitts, shot up the police station, and escaped back to Anguilla. Nobody seems to have been hurt in the "invasion", but the British, fearing a communist takeover, sent an amphibian armed force to Anguilla to put down the insurrection. Wading ashore on the lovely beaches of Anguilla, they were met by a few small boys catching crabs. The islanders welcomed them, and in the end, the Brits decided that Anguilla would not be forced to leave the protection of the British Empire.
At anchor off St. Bart's
Sunset off St. Bart's
View of the Gustavia outer harbor. This is as close as we went on this visit. 
While at St. Bart's this enormous Tri-Maran anchored nearby. It must be 100 feet long, and is one of the most unusual boats we have ever seen.
A second view of this Tri-maran, bow-on. From this angle, it is hard to get a sense of its size.
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