Charlette Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI

We had a great sail to St. Thomas from Culebra with SE winds at 12-14 kts and 1-2 ' seas.

A tanker along the way to St. Thomas. That is Culebra in the background just in front of the tanker.

Some of Charlette Amalie as we entered the harbor.

The harbor from a bus as we returned from shopping. Liquor is duty free here and about half price.

This is a cruise ship destination and there are usually 2 to 3 coming in and out every day so the anchorage is a bit rolly at times.


Sunset in Charlette Amalie.

We met up with most of the boats that we had sailed with off and on along the way here in Charlette Amalie and promptly got together for boat drinks and story telling. It is good to visit again with the "Luperon Class of 2009" as we now call ourselves. The group includes Opel, Sasura, Loafers Glory, Te Oigo, LaLa, Sarabande, Markelle, Central Park, and of course Moondance.

Wishing everyone a great Holiday season.

On to Culebra, PR

We finally got going and left Salinas for the east coast of PR. After a couple of days in Bahia de Jobos we sailed on to Patillas, a little fishing village and got stuck there because of weather for six days. There is not much to do in Patillas so reading , walking to the grocery store and having a cold beer with the locals sums up our stay in Patillas.

Anchored in Patillas.

The weather broke and we headed for the east coast of PR.

On our way to Green Beach on Vieques Island. From there we sailed to Cayo Icacos for the night and left bright and early for Culebra.

Carolyn baked this carob cake in her pressure cooker while in Culebra and it was very good.

Culebra as we entered Encenata Bay.


Culebra from Moondance. Culebra was an interesting place. It reminded us of sort of a hippy hangout. Most businesses were owned by and frequented by old hippies and boat people. I believe there were more gringos in Dewy (the town) than Puerto Ricans.

Bahia de Jobos, PR

We did get to do a little sailing while Babs and Tim were here. These are pictures of our trip to Bahia de Jobos, a bay about 5 miles away. We anchored there for the night and sailed back the next day.

Sundowners in Bahia de Jobos.

Babs and Tim

Tim on the helm

Sunset in Bahia de Jobos near Boca de Infierno (Mouth of Hell) the entrance to the sea. Babs and Tim left for the states and I think they enjoyed their stay, I know we did.

El Yunque Rain Forest, PR

Babs and Tim came to visit for a week while we were in Salinas. We toured the island, ate street food and drank rum and a beer or two. One of the places we went was the Rain Forest. We were not expecting much and were very much surprised. It is a very beautiful place and we all enjoyed it very much.

View of El Yunque from a tower.

Carolyn and I in front of one of the water falls.

Babs and Tim in front of the water fall.

Flowers everywhere.

Lush greenery and ferns.

Bamboo grew 30-40 feet tall.

All in all, a very memorable trip.

Ponce, PR

We made a trip into Ponce with Larry and Ann Marie. It is different than San Juan and has as much history as San Juan.

The old fire station has been turn into a museum/monument. It is located on the square in old downtown/ art district.

An original fire truck for the station. I forget the year and model.


Bomberos means pumpers. That is what firemen are called.

One of the beautiful local churches.

This tree is reported to be 1000 years old.

Spanish color and architect.

The tour bus we took from the square. Not expensive and very informative. We took the tour given in English.

Back in Salinas and the end of another great day.

Old San Juan, PR

We traveled to San Juan with Larry and Ann Marie of Loafers Glory. A very interesting place with a lot of history.

Down town Old San Juan

A view of Old San Juan from San Christabol Fort.

Cannon balls at San Christabol Fort.

The dungeon at San Christabol Fort. There are wall drawings that are encased in glass to preserve them in this dungeon. The drawings were done by captured soldiers and officers before they were executed.

Boqueron to Salinas

We left Boqueron with sadness, it is a very captivating place. We sailed with Loafers Glory, Sarabond and Te Oigo bound for Salinas on the south coast where we will spend some time on boat projects and entertaining friends. We made short early morning jumps between stops so as to be tucked in somewhere before the trade winds kicked in and the seas got a little uncomfortable. The jumps were 15 to 20 miles at a time and very nice. One of the stops was Ponce and was welcome but not that great. The yacht club harbor where everyone stays is deep (30 ft.) and crowded. We left the next morning at 0730 for Caja de Muertos, a very beautiful island that is a state park. Lobster season is open year round in PR so everyone was hunting. We had caught a small tuna called a tunny, Te Oigo had caught a Spanish mackerel and Sarabond caught a huge lobster so that night we all went to Loafers Glory and cooked up a feast. Life is good.

Cabo Rojo light house is a very demanding site as you round the west coast of PR and turn east along the southern coast.

Houses on the water in La Parguera.

Cana Auroara (Gilligans Island) is a state park and here is where everyone swims and comes to BarBQ. We are about 5 miles from Encienada.

Anchored off Caja de Muertos (coffin island). Notice the light house in the background.

Coming into Salinas. The bay anchorage is very quite and protected.

Puerto Rico

We are in Boqueron, PR. The bay faces west so it is normally a calm anchorage and good holding. We got in early Friday and called in to customs. The check in was easy and done over the phone. The next night was Halloween and Boqueron came alive with hundreds of people dressed for the occasion. We also dressed a little and had a great time. The difference in the the DR and the PR is striking. We enjoyed the DR but Puerto Ricans are truly wonderful people, very gregarious and friendly. PR is very beautiful. Here are a few pics of Halloween night in Boqueron.

Locals

Locals

Joe (local pub manager of Los Remos) and LaLa and mother Mariola from SV LaLa.


Somebody's new bride.

Just having fun.

The Mona Passage can be a very hard sail and getting to Puerto Rico or visa versa an ordeal. Fortunately we had a very good crossing. We sailed with Loafers Glory and Sandy Annie as a group. We made the crossing in 30 hours. It can take as long as 60 hours or longer. Samana was OK and is a cruise ship stop. The Port Authority and Commandant of the Navy were very nice and check-out for our dispachio for PR was a total cost of $20 US. The bay has very good holding but you have to lock up your outboard and put your dink on board every night because theft is prevalent.

Crossing the Mona

Loafers Glory and Sandy Annie

Sun set in Samana

Boat info.

A few peaple have been asking about the cost of cruising. I will try to give a decent idea of what to expect. Please remember that things can change. First of all, The Bahamas are NOT cheap. Load your boat down with all your favorite foods like peanut butter, paper goods, coffee, chocolate, etc., etc. Most things are available but very expensive. Beer is $5 per can. A case is $5 per can at 24 cans = $120 US. Learn to drink rum which is very cheap and good. Some cruisers bring beer to trade for lobster, fish etc. Understand that this is illegal but alot of people do it.

As you move on to the DR things are more readily available and less expensive. Most prices are the same as the US and many home grown or handmade things are much cheaper.Beer becomes reasonable again, rum (very good rum) is still quite cheap. Eating out is close to or in some places cheaper than buying the produce and cooking it yourself. However, here in the DR you must be willing to learn your money in spanish and bargaining is the name of the game or you will be taken advantage of.
We will be leaving the DR soon and will have been here for close to 5 months. I expect our Immigration, Customs and Harbor control fees will total about $300 US. I'm on a mooring which costs me an addition $60 US per month and I get my bottom and prop and thru-hulls cleaned about once a month for about $20 US each time.

I hope this helped. Carolyn and I try to keep our costs down to $1000 per month and so far we have not had much trouble doing so. We get to do pretty much what ever we want to on this budget.

One of our propane bottles about to be taken into town to be filled. It is about the same here as in the US, but much cheaper here than further down island.

One of the propane bottoms hooked up and ready to go.