The Wanderings of Legacy: February 2011

Feb 17
Ponce, Puerto Rico

Today Kathleen and I rented a car and stocked up on provisions as the cost for food in the Virgin Islands is at least triple that of PR. We went to Wall Mart, Sams Club and the local cash and carry and we think we have enough to get us through at least a month in the Virgin Islands if we decided to stay that long. Tomorrow we will return the car and top of the fuel and water tanks and leave the harbor at about midnight.

Fe b 19 The weather was no

problem as we took advantage of the night lee of Puerto Rico. The wind was under 17 knots most of the time and the seas were less than 2 feet. As we moved beyond the three mole limit the seas became a little rougher so we stayed about 2 moles off the coast as we moved to jobo. We arrived at our anchorage at about 05:30 and had the hook set and were able to get some sleep before the next leg. We plan next to go to Vieques which used to be ( still is?) a test range for the US Navy with certain areas off limits due to unexploded ordinance. Sun Bay where we will anchor is outside the zone so we should have no problem with the Navy.

Feb 21Since the next leg will be outside the lee of Puerto Rico we will leave at 0600 and arrive at Sun Bay at a bout 1430 with plenty of time to get snugged down on our anchor.

This morning some rain showers passed behind us and we witnessed a spectacular rainbow. At the terminus of the rainbow the sea took on the colors as if the rainbow continued below the surface of the water for a short distance. At times there were actually two rainbows in the sky.

There were a few boats anchored here in Sun Bay with us and several of their passengers took to the beach.

Tomorrow morning we will make the trip to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands and plan to anchor in Lindbergh Bay for a few days. It is about 40 nautical miles from here and should take us about 10 hours as we will be going into the wind and current and if lucky will be able to make bout 4 knots.

Feb 22

We arrived at Lindbergh Bay and set our anchor down at 16:30. The bay is situated out form the runway of the airport but the air traffic seemed to

die down in the evening and wasn't really too bad. The main port of Charlotte Amalie is the next bay over and is where all the cruise ships make port.

Feb 25

This morning we are moving to St Johns, Caneel Bay where we will stay for a few days. The state park provides mooring balls for 15.00 per day and dos not allow anchoring unless in 60 feet of water for boats over 60 feet in length. The moorings are right off the beach and just around a small cape is Cruz Bay with a small town and lots of bars. Kathleen and I have been indulging in swimming and relaxing and yesterday as we went in to Cruz Bay to check it out we saw a Hawksbill Sea turtle swimming along.

The weather is great with plenty of sun but the air temperature is moderated by the trade winds and at night we still need a blanket to keep warm as the temperature drops into the mid 60s, while the wind maintains 10 to 15 knots.

Jan 27 Provodinciales, Caicos

We left Mayaguana and the wind was about 20 knots right on the rhumb line for Sandbore Channel and the seas at first were about 8 feet, so we crashed to weather making about 2 knots VMG( velocity made good) (ie on our rhumb line), Later in the afternoon the sea state calmed to 3 foot rollers with about a foot of chop and we were able to speed up to 6 knots. The distance was only 48 miles but it took us from 7:00 AM to 7 :30 PM to cover that distance. The route from Sandbore Channel to Sapadilla Bay is only about 9 miles but it was pitch black and there are coral heads to be avoided. Fortunately I had laid down a track from Sandbore to the Bay and I followed it but I was still tense as

the darkness was pretty complete and I hoped that the track I laid down last year allowed enough error to keep me off the rocks. In addition to everything else we lost our front nav light cover and it was showing a white light out front so I was concerned in case we should run into any fools other than ourselves out on the banks at night.

We dropped anchor down in the bay in 8 feet of water and finally at 9:30 PM were able to get to the mess down below that was thrown about by the high seas early in the morning.

We went to South Side marina the next day and were able to check in with customs and Simon took us into Provo to the grocery store to get some necessary provisions.

Later that evening Southside provided a grill for the cruisers to grill their own meats and the cruisers brought a dish to pass, and Southside provided ice cream and the toppings for desert. A great time was had by all.

We plan to hang out here in Sapadilla until Sunday and then take a slip for a few days at our favorite marina south of Florida, Southside, before moving on the Puerto Rico

Feb 2

We hooked up with Daniel and Chantal of Que Syrah for our trip to PR.

As we left the anchorage the wind was blowing at around 20 knots on the nose and it took us about 16 hours to make Great Sand Cay to anchor for the night.

Feb 3

At 09:30 we left the anchorage and headed out for PR. The wind was consistently around 25 knots and we ended up tacking a few times to make the rhumb line for Cape Cabron on the NE tip of the DR. As dawn broke in the morning we saw the steep mountains and we came up to Cape Cabron at about 1300. Just as we were passing the point we lost all of our navigation instruments, yep, wind speed, direction, depth sounder, chart plotter, all went dead.

Fortunately Daniel took the lead and lead us safely past the rocks and shoals of this area. About two hours later, one by one, the instruments started to come back on line and by 16:00 all were working. Don't ask me what happened , I have no idea but I was grateful to have the GPS and chart plotter back.

As we were coming out of hourglass shoals headed for Montague we sighted a pod of humpback whales cavorting about a mile away. The whales would leap out of the water and splash and roll. As I took my eyes off of the whales a pod of dolphins passed under us.

Henry Morgan indulging in his

favorite activity

Passing Ila Desecheo into Mayaguez there was a line of rain showers we passed through and we finally anchored at 17:00 local time.

Feb 5

We called customs to check in the next morning and were able to get cleared in over the phone so we then headed for Boqueron .

Kathleen indulging in her favorite activity

On Sunday they set up a rear projection TV in the main street of Boqueron and we watched the Superbowl right there in the streets. In Puerto Rico it is legal to sell beer on Sunday so I was right were I wanted to be with the Superbowl on TV and a cold one in hand.

Daniel got his outboard fixed today as the rubber inside the prop was worn and would not allow the prop to turn. He ended up having to buy a whole
new prop and his dingy is running as good as new.

We have moved on to Ponce and Daniel has rented a car and invited us to accompany them to San Juan.

The day was quite nice and Kathleen and I had a fun time sightseeing in the old town.We are still in Ponceas I am waiting for a part for the generator and weneed to get our mail. After we get our mail we will move on to Vieques and then to the Us Virgin Islands