Georgetown, Exumas

 

Another orange sunset on our passage from Fajardo, Puerto Rico to Georgetown, Exumas, Bahamas where we planned to stop for a quick rest before pushing on. It was an easy passage, with consistent 10 to 15 knot winds driving us downwind.

We were not going to make the somewhat tricky entrance to Georgetown by dark so we decided to stop for an overnight at an anchorage on Conception Island.  After having sunny skies everyday of our 4 day passage the weather decided to get gray and overcast for our stay on Conception. Not much opportunity to snorkel, but we did get in some good beach walks. Got up at 0:dark thirty and did the 6 hour sail to Georgetown.

It was an easy clear into the Bahamas. The Bahamas requires a Covid antigen test within 3 days of arrival. This is pretty tough when the passage time is longer. But we had no issues checking in: it was easy, if not a bit on the expensive side.

Just so we don't completely forget in our old age, here's a few pictures of the Old Town in San Juan that we visited in our brief stop in Puerto Rico. This is the view from the ramparts of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, known as 'El Morro'. San Juan city was founded by the Spanish colonizers in 1521 and El Morro construction began in 1539 to protect the entrance to San Juan from the sea.

The old town has street after street of colorful old buildings, many of the streets are paved with "adoquines" cobblestones made of blue stone cast from furnace slag carried to Puerto Rico as ballast aboard Spanish ships

An iguana guarding the old fort wall.

No HOA requiring that all the old town buildings be painted the same color resulting in a typical Caribbean color scheme.

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Our plan was to arrive on the East Coast within the next few days. However, the weather seems to be in our way. Above is a forecast from the ECMWF Euro weather model for this coming Sunday (downloaded 5/31) predicting a nasty low between us and North Carolina. There's a good chance we'd end up in the middle of it if we left now. So being the prudent mariners that we are, the plan is to wait a bit and let the weather models coalesce into some decent agreement, and then do the passage north when this low dissipates.  It is interesting that this low is basically the remains of the hurricane Agnes that just hit the Pacific coast of southern Mexico and passed across the isthmus to effect weather in the Gulf of Mexico.  With the major models being so divergent, it is anyone's call whether this low will become a serious event or just another bit of rain and wind.

Paul

Enroute Bahamas

We anchored at Conception Island, Bahamas this evening, as we were not going to make it to Georgetown early enough to get in the pass. We are about 40 miles short o Georgetown. Easy passage, with light winds, small seas. Still, it is nice to get anchored for the night. This is the first passage in a long time that we did not have flying fish carnage on the deck. We saw little wildlife since Puerto Rico.

Paul
--short

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Enroute Bahmas - Day 2 & 3

Noon to noon run day 2 158nm, day 3 137nm.
STill cruising along in light, almost dead down wind winds with small seas. Saw one French warship and 3 cruise ships on AIS. Other than those, there is just much out here. Timing looks like we would arrive at the entrance to Georgetown late in the afternoon. This is probably too late to negotiate the entrance safely, so we will probably anchor at one of the outer islands for the night. Maybe Conception Island. We'll see where we are tomorrow after tonight's moonless run.

Paul
--short

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Enroute Bahams - Day 1

Day 1 noon-to-noon run was about 168nm. We sailed along the north coast of Puerto Rico all day and then crossed the Mona Passage, the waters between PR and the Dominican Republic. All a mellow sail, except for some of the night lightning along the coast. We ended up about 50 miles off the NE coast of the Dominican Republic where the ocean depths are near 25,000 feet. At this point we decided to change our course and sail over the top of the Turks and Caicos islands instead of the original plan of going under them. This should give a bit better wind angle and a little shorter passage, and hopefully less lightning. The nights are dark with only a little moon showing up before dawn. Not a lot of wildlife out here.
Paul
--short

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Enroute Bahamas - Day 0

I didn't get a chance to post a blog with pictures of our time in Old Town, San Juan Puerto Rico. This was because I spent way too many hours navigating the convoluted Bahamas online entry application websites. I'll post some once we get settled in Georgetown, Exumas -- our current destination. We left Puerto del Rey, on Puerto Rico's east coast this morning after a nice two stay. The first half day was slow going, but this afternoon and early evening it has been a fast, easy downwind sail.

Paul

--short

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Leaving the US Virgin Islands

 

We had a great time swimming, snorkeling, eating and playing UNO (card game) with our granddaughter in the various anchorages and bays around St John, USVI. Quinn brought her Mom with her, so she wouldn't miss out on the warm water.

She is a really a good diver for five and three-quarter plus years old. She saw a lot of fish!

The reefs around St John are pretty much devastated from the 2017 hurricane. There are a few corals that are hanging on and trying to regenerate.

Strategy session to discuss shell hunting

Flamingo cowrie hanging onto a soft fan coral

The Hawksbill turtle population seems really healthy, we saw them all around the boat in every anchorage. They appear to know they are protected while in the National Park --- letting us hang around very close to them watching as they graze.

We dropped our fun guests off at the St Thomas airport on Friday. This morning we left St Thomas and are anchored behind the reef in Bahia de Almodovar, Culebra, Puerto Rico. Well not exactly anchored, we are tied to a fairly well used and in need of some tender maintenance mooring buoy that says Day Use . The local in the boat next to us says they are for overnighters.

We had originally planned to do the 8 or 9 day trip from the Virgins direct to Beaufort, North Carolina. After looking at the weather predictions and seeing the Atlantic high pressure system move more westerly, it looked like we were going to have to take a passage much more westerly to avoid days of motoring. So, instead of going direct, we've decided on Plan B: Sail over to mainland Puerto Rico, do a little visit to the San Juan old town. Then do a 4 day passage to the Bahamas. Spend 4 or 5 days moving north in the Bahamas and snorkeling. Check the weather and do another 4 day passage to Beaufort. While it is pretty easy to show the rationalization for this approach, there just might be a touch of not quite ready to re-enter life in the US.

Paul

 

USVI

 After a very mellow 3 day passage we arrived in St John just at sunrise. Grabbed a mooring in the National Park mooring field in Caneel Bay on St John. Next to get cleared in and get a little nap.

Paul

Enroute USVI Day 1

158nm noon-to-noon for day 1.
Having a comfy, beam reach sail in light trade winds and small seas toward the USVI. ALl is pretty empty tonight. Last night we had a lot of fish nets to avoid. They have AIS beacons on there buoys and are 3 to 10 miles long. WE dealt with them for about 4 hours and finally got clear. Should be in St Johns, USVI on Tuesday. Some time tonight we will pass close by Isla de Aves, a Venezuelan rock sized island sitting on its own in the Caribbean Sea.

Paul
--short

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Can't beat a double rainbow in the morning - Prickly Bay

After a couple of weeks in Grenada we are good and relax - almost totally forgotten the fatigue from 24/7 watch after watch at sea. We got our boom re-welded and riveted, replaced the tang on the vang (just gotta love that rhythm) . We are off today for a 3-day sail to the US Virgin Islands.

Shiny new rivets and a well fit gooseneck

Cocoa for chocolate is a major crop in Grenada

When we arrived we needed to get limes for our Gin & Tonics. Turns out there is a bit of a shortage on the island. The ones you can get are very small. Another unexpected event due to the Covid Pandemic. There was a thought on the island that limes protected you from Covid, so the trees were picked bare pretty quickly. Now all you get is the early, preharvest little ones-- but they're delicious, and we're fighting scurvy.

Paul