March 25, 2006
Well Boqueron on Puerto Rico’s west coast is a sheltered harbour on a beautiful palm lined beach but, it is a wild place on the weekends
This is a major hangout for the college crowd which is really great for them but not so good for cruisers who usually fall asleep just after 8:00pm every night. In fact that’s late some nights but it was time to unwind a bit after the trip from Luperon and easy to get into the swing of things on shore. They close the side streets on the weekend and the main drag along the shore is just a steady parade of every conceivable vehicle all vying for attention. One minute dressed up Harleys the next motorcycle gangs made up of scooters, all the riders in the latest designer gear. Most of the women look like they have been poured into their clothes. Seafood restaurants line the shore. By Monday morning things return to normal and the town quiets down. We spent five days there from March 25th to the 29th mostly doing boat repairs, provisioning and refueling. Our vhf acted up on the crossing so we cleaned the grounds, the wash down pump would start and quit, which was virtually unused but I suspect it is a pressure sender so I unhooked it to tinker with later. The big issue was the macerator which wouldn’t prime it self. We finally gave up and disarmed the waste holding tank. It just wasn’t working well with the salt water and after a while you find out this is basically the big unspoken amongst cruisers. It doesn’t seem to matter whether you have an old boat or a brand new one everyone gets it in some form. We went to direct discharge and haven’t had a problem since. The only place it would become an issue again was in the Virgins who have a thousand yard rule. Well try telling that to 2000 charter boats. The extent of our worry was what kind of tank gets installed now water or diesel. We will put a small holding tank elsewhere when we return to no discharge dedicated waters. Moving out of Boqueron to the east had to be done the same way as the DR north coast the difference being that Puerto Ricos south coast is littered with good anchorages allowing you to do short 3 to 4 hour runs before the sea breeze kicks in at 9:00 am. We left Boqueron, March 29th late at 6:00 am after sleeping in and rounded the corner at Cabo Rojo moving into one of the anchorages at La Parguera. It took an hour to get into the bays because of the reefs but the route was well buoyed. Only trouble with that is it is an hour in the morning and six miles to get out again. There were a couple of exits through the reefs, but that early in the morning the light is not high enough to allow you to see properly so we took the safe but longer way. We spent a very calm night in a bay east of town moving on to Gilligans island early the next morning. Gilligans is another weekend area where people ferry to this very small mangrove island for day outings. Evidently one of the local fishermen looked a lot like Bob Denver hence the name. Again you have to enter the anchorage through a breaking reef. We went for a long walk here on an isolated park beach to the east of the anchorage having a swim, but then got weathered in for a couple of days which led to a little domino tournament with Ticketoo which was moved to a local hotel which resulted in a substantial bar tab. By Monday morning the seas had laid down enough to move out of the anchorage at daybreak heading for the largest city on the south coast, Ponce. In Ponce there is a very small and full harbour with two marinas one for small boats, one for larger. The harbour is part of the cities’ shore redevelopment with lined with restaurants and bars. Lucky for us there pretty well closed the day we pulled in. Ponce is a good sized city with an interesting historical center and a large industrial section where we were hoping to buy gasketing and fasteners. Since the harbour was small and really geared to the large sports fishers we decided to go further along the coast to Salinas and rent a car to do shopping in Ponce later.
Departure was delayed the next morning, had the boat all ready to go for 5:30 am when Wes our engine wouldn’t get out of bed, turned out to be the fuel filter which was clogged pretty well to the point of collapse. It took a while to bleed the lines but in the end he started up. I really don’t have any complaints on this as it was only the second filter change since leaving Toronto. Not bad for a thirty four year old engine some mechanics were telling us to replace before we left. I don’t think it was bad fuel as much as accumulation. Unfortunately this put us at 8:30 am for departure with a 20 mile trip as the crow flies, but we had an option of anchoring off Caja De Muertos (Coffin Island) if conditions got to brisk. Again entering Salinas is around a couple of reefs so that is always a concern. The thing is, it is always nerve racking and tense the first time into any anchorage that presents any navigational issues, but after you have done it and seen it there is no big deal. But my theory is “worrying works”. Well when we passed Caja De Muertos things were still doable. Half an hour later the winds piped up and it was still two hours at our speed but if we tried passing through the inside of the cays skirting the reefs and going inside Media Luna reef we could cut the trip in half, so off we went clearing everything well and pulling into Salinas at noon.
Salinas is part of a large mangrove reserve park which stretches along the coast to the east to Bahia De Jobos. These mangroves are well known as a hurricane hole and have a history of having boats emerge relatively unscathed. There are other hurricane holes further along especially at Vieques but their proximity to the charter trade in the Virgins makes them crowded and dangerous. Salinas is just far enough away to keep it uncrowded. Alot like Luperon for anchoring the major difference here was the harbour has openings on both sides allowing it to flush, so it is clean, as well as protected. There is a small community of cruisers here, again somewhat like Luperon. Some like the area and stay, some are just tired and some feel it is a safe place to refit. There is a great marine store here called Playa Marine and in fact even though there are two West Marines on the island we bought more in Salinas. We had a small tear in our main 12” and managed to get it repaired for $45.00 at the loft by Maryann whose husband Frank runs a small bar and restaurant right across the road. The mainstay of the town for cruisers though is known as The Cruisers Galley. Internet, laundry, all day breaky through to pig roasts on the weekend all at great prices. Again the Galley is run by ex-cruisers, and is a fairly new establishment hopefully it makes it.
You can’t do Puerto Rico without getting a car and touring.
So we went in with Ticketoo and picked up a car for the weekend. We were told to stay away from San Juan during the week because of a permanent rush hour. On Saturday we headed north crossing the mountain range to the north coast and San Juan. There aren’t many tall trees in the central south coast mountains although there is green everywhere in the center of the island but there are rainforests on the north and east side in the mountains.
The historical old city of San Juan was a lot different than colonial Santa Domingo.
The Spanish made this their main gateway into the new world for years since it was much easier to reach on the trade wind belt than Santo Domingo. In fact Puerto Rico means Rich Port, so according they poured more money into this city. After parking we walked through the beautiful old city with all of its colonial buildings intact. You can also see Ponce De Leon’s grave at the cities oldest church. As we headed towards the fort we came upon one of the most surreal scenes I have ever witnessed with scores of people flying kites on the killing grounds in front of the fortress of El Morro which itself is the most impressive fortification I have ever seen.
All this was back dropped against a blowing white capped sea against a blue sky. The kites were in an informal competition being flown to amazing heights by both old and young. The fortress walls are tiered into three layers over 12’-18’ deep having a complete command of the harbour entrance. There were excellent tours and a video explaining it’s history. They are very proud of the fact it was never fully taken, especially by Drake and actually claim in their literature to have seared his beard with a cannon shot. I couldn’t help notice though that it was engineered and built under the supervision of two Irish mercenaries. We managed to score some good English books on local history. The next day we did it again headed up to the northeast coast to the mountain
El Yanque which means, Holy Place, to the Tainos, kind of their Mount Olympus. On the way we passed dozens of roadside vendors roasting pigs and fish to sell. This is a big thing every Sunday and you have to get there early. El Yanque is the only rain forest park in the American National Park system and it is Puerto Rico’s highest point. The park has an interesting visitors center, very informative explaining what a vital part the forest plays in the islands ecology.
Major attempts are being made to save and enlarge the parrot flocks. Another interesting point was how the mountain acts as a buffer absorbing the energy from any crossing hurricanes. The damage acts as a regeneration thing, much like our forest fires.
We went on many of the trails but passed on the last one to the top since it was already mid afternoon and everyone was dripping with sweat. The views were gorgeous looking out into the Atlantic. We finished the day by driving down the east coast by the Naval Base at Roosevelt Roads and see the Spanish Virgins in the distance. Coming back along the southern coast we saw some boats we knew anchored at Puerto Patillas a small fishing village with a bit of protection behind a small reef. It was Sunday night and still the fiestas seemed to be happening as we drove through all the small towns on the south coast. Hundreds of motorcycles were out cruising. This is one thing about Puerto Ricans they really know how to make use of their weekends and fiestas. They are going through some political turbulence right now. As usual taxes lie at root. I couldn’t quite work it out but the bone of contention is the looming introduction of a sales tax. The other thing I should mention about Salinas, is that it is the cock fighting capital of the country. When you walk the neighborhoods you can see the cock pens in the yards. Not that you have to see them they start up crowing every morning around 4am. This is a characteristic of almost all Caribbean and Bahamian villages, kind of like back ground muzak. Well in Salinas it is more like Ludwig V’s 9th symphony.
Well when it was time to get moving again and on April 12th we moved five miles to Boca De Inferno and staged behind the reef for the day snorkeling. We did this because from the harbor in Salinas you can’t see the conditions outside, which is important when you want to lift the hook at daybreak. You have to be able to see the reefs breaking on the sides and judge the swell. Too much and the hook stays down. Next day was no problem and we had a quick three hour hook to hook run dropping behind the reef at the fishing village of Puerto Patillas just before a steady downpour started. After a rolly night it was up and at it, crossing the 26 miles to the west coast of Vieques in the Spanish Virgins and arriving around noon at Punta Arenas where we looked back across the channel at El Yanque in the distance. We had the option of going up the east coast of Puerto Rico or over to Vieques direct. Since time is now becoming a factor and the weather permitted it we went direct. At one point the wind shifted and for a while we were hanging just thirty feet off a lee shore with three foot waves surging in. A little too late in the day to move so we rode it out at watch and by evening it had calmed down as expected. Since it was Easter weekend we figured we would just bay hop the few miles each day and leave the eastern edge of the island for Culebera on Tuesday. The other thing I should mention here is that Vieques is under the supervision of the US navy who use it for bombing practice. The sailing guides all seem to indicate that this practice was to end by 2005 but were unsure which anchorages on the eastern end were permissible to use. As Toronto residents we were aware of this since our old blue jay first baseman Carlos Delgado comes from these islands and had created quite a stir years back by refusing to stand for the American national anthem in protest.
Well my old friend Murphy showed up the next morning by refusing to let us weigh anchor. After trying to pull Seacycle’s bow nose down into the sea the right side of my brain had a discussion with the left side and I realized the anchor was snagged. On went the snorkel gear and down I went seeing our chain rode trapped tight under what the day before appeared to be coral, but on closer observation turned out to be concrete slabs covered in coral. I had made a note of this the previous day but thought the distance and angle were great enough so I let it go, big mistake. The next four hours were a job and a half. I almost gave up at one point but at a thousand dollars for replacement cost for the 3/8 chain alone the moths in my wallet started fluttering. I eventually snorkeled down the sixteen feet on my fifty-three year old abused lungs cursing a misspent youth and buoyed the 45 pound delta anchor, unshackled it, and led the bitter end out of the anchor locker tying it off on Seacycle. Then it was a couple of hours of tug and pull from both ends using the dinghy and Seacycle, fueled with lots of dextrose tablets, maneuvering the chain out from under the slabs. By eleven am, mission was accomplished and we took the opportunity to reverse the chain in the anchor locker retrieving and hooking up the delta on the old bitter end.
Finally on the road again we bypassed the first two bays at Esperanza and took a very narrow entrance into Puerto Ferro, a protected mangrove bay which impressed us so much I noted for future use in case of a storm. This bay was strongly phosphorescent and we got quite the show later that night driving the dinghy around like an old Bronte boy up on the moose trail with the wake and exhaust leaving a bright showering trail. The next day we checked out Ensenada Honda, again because it is suppose to be a hurricane hole. It does have a few good mangrove creeks but only one is useable if your draft is like ours and you draw less than six feet. It is also open to the west although the reefs are substantial and it does take a while to weave your way in. We had Easter dinner with Ticketoo and Rhiannon, another couple from New Brunswick. Where to anchor the next day was decided for us by the US navy at Bahia Salinas Del Sur. We saw a couple of larger trawlers in there and went in since it has a reputation as one of the nicest beaches in the Caribbean. Well as we went in there was a lot of arm waving and yelling on the shore and finally a channel on the vhf was established where the arm waver told us, the blue Canadian flagged sailing boat, not to anchor but leave right away. Such a nice looking beach so I asked why, and was told we were holding up fifty men from working. Since it was already nine in the morning I couldn’t stop wondering whatever happened to reveille or was the US navy down here on island time. I also thought enough to ask what time the men would be finished for the day thinking we could come back, anchor and snorkel their unexploded ordinance later but they weren’t having it and told us to stand off at least two miles offshore right around the eastern tip of the island. I guess with all the trouble since 9/11, the Bushes have decided they aren’t quite ready to give back this piece of real estate yet. That left us with only one choice which was to move on to Culebra making it a twenty two mile day and finally getting a nice sail across. Culebera has a lot to offer and is another vacation spot for the Puerto Ricans. It is still undeveloped but has a good selection of supplies along with an internet café which has become important since our pocketmail device bit the dust in Salinas. Phones are expensive since leaving the states if you can find one working at all, with the exception being the D.R. where it was very reasonable. We figured we had finally moved into the right neighborhood when we found ourselves anchored next to Eric Clapton’s motor yacht Blue Guitar. His captain obviously didn’t moving the next day. We spent two days here and when we tried to clear for the US virgins it turned out that the local customs man had just quit and walked off the job. This led to some confusion and a bit of a line-up at the phones as we all had to call back to Fajardo in PR. to report the clear out. Sailing out of Culebera you could see all the Virgins quite clearly as we crossed to St. Thomas where we dodged a couple of cruise ships and pulled in to Charlotte Amelie anchoring off the long sea wall on April19th. We weren’t expecting a nice time here because of all the cruise ships, but were pleasantly surprised having a good time before moving on to St. Johns bay where we took a mooring in fifty feet at St. Francis bay for two nights. We had been here in the BVI twice before, five years earlier the last time and had been warned that things had changed. Well yes and no. The islands and the water surrounding them are still the same, great for sailing. The major difference is now everything is a mooring ball at twenty US a night with very little choice for anchoring and very crowded. Compounded this with the huge number of charter boats (mostly cats) who all seem to be in a heighten state of anxiety to have that supposedly laidback holiday. There are no rules of the road where these guys are concerned and everything is fast especially in the anchorages where you can see every type of foolishness from speeding to anchoring crazies. Anyways we still had a good time spending time at Marina Cay, Jost van Dyke, and two great nights at Little Harbor tucked right up to shore watching all the fish and birds. On April 28 we went to Spanish town and checked out for St .Martin with a clearance charge of seventy-five cents. I paid the officer with a dollar and told him with a smile to keep the change figuring it would cost his government more to give it back. We moved up to Virgin Gorda to stage for our crossing of the Anegada passage (also known as the OhmyGoda Passage) later that night, a little apprehensive since this another crossing with a reputation.
To be continued,
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