Month: May 2020

Saturday we awoke to a weather report suggesting leaving soon is better.  This was predicated on the possibility that a storm system could develop about 5-6 days into the trip just off of cape Hatteras.  We fueled up and left immediately.

Sailing for first day was through the islands and straits around Puerto Rico.  We had to maneuver around various obstacles such as shoals, sand bars, and wrecks.  The autopilot, George (we were informed that George was the given name of the autopilot on all proper UK flagged boats) did his duty tirelessly and with aplomb.  The scenery was amazing sailing along seeing uninhibited islands with beautiful beaches as well as the hilly coasts offering occasional glimpses of the only rainforest national park in the US.  

Late afternoon, we got out past the coast and into the “Briney”.  All went well for the afternoon with wind coming off the back on a run for most of the day occasionally shifting to a broad reach.  We set the pole out for putting the Genoa sail on starboard, the main sail on port. When the wind occasionally shifted we would bring the genoa over to port and leave the pole up for later.  With this setup, we were able the chew up miles at a rate 6.5-7nm per hour, not bad for 15.5 – 17 nm wind speed.

We left this morning at 5:30, made all the way to Puerto Del Ray on the east side of Puerto Rico. All in all, a very pleasant downwind sail with the mainsail out to port, the jib out to starboard, and staysail between.

During our 6 hour sail we hung out fishing lines and caught 2 barracudas, not good eating. They did provide some dramatic moments though. We instituted the watch schedule and I had watch from 8am to 10am. The nap afterwards with the rolling of the waves was great! The boat performed beautifully, after all it is an Oyster, darling (inside joke.)

Upon reaching PR, we soon realized that the quarantine requirements were much more strict. The marina’s staff and immigrations officers were very standoffish and masks were worn all around. At 7pm we all received an alert about the quarantine curfew, we were at anchor for the night so it was not an issue. After checking in with the marina and immigration we had to head back out and anchor because the fuel dock was closed and would not open until tomorrow.

Tomorrow we fuel up and depending on the weather leave either Saturday or Sunday!

Today we are doing last minute preparation to leave the USVI. One more trip to the store. Ian kitted up in the diving gear and gave the boat bottom a once over to add to our speed. All the trip paperwork is organized to checkout of the USVI and into Puerto Rico. We are cleared for a cruising permit upon arriving in Hampton, VA. We will be stowing the tender and removing its outboard for the passage. All clothes and personal items need to be stowed because at this point we don’t know what sailing conditions we be like.

There are a total of 200+ boats going back to the states with various start dates. There 55 boats leaving at the same time as we are. The 3 popular routes are south of the Bahamas, north of the Bahamas (but crossing the gulf stream while still in Florida) or further north over open water up to the Chesapeake Bay and further north. We are heading on the third route along with 15 other boats. The flotilla gives us weather forecasts tailored to our route as well as Coast Guard tracking. There is a radio call every morning at 7 and every evening at 8 for all boats to check in and confirm their positions. Traveling by flotilla definitely has advantages if you schedule permits.

We will certainly miss St. Croix! If you wish follow along with our progress, our position will update every 4 hours at www.yantina.com

VESSELS CONTEMPLATING DEPARTURE:
WEEK OF MAY 10th
the WEATHER PATTERN CHANGE we began discussing about a week ago will indeed happen next week, and this passage is now favorable.

We received the above message this morning which means we are out of here on Friday!! Heading to Puerto Rico and on the Hampton, Virginia

We went for our longest sail yet venturing north into the Caribbean Sea. We practiced upwind tacking utilizing the jib, main sail and staysail. We also learned the operation of a running backstay in relation to the staysail. We experienced a front of clouds with rain and chose as a crew to stay the course and sail through the rain. We sailed downwind in a narrow channel and practiced anchoring on coral.

We lunched at anchor and sailed back to harbor only to discover anchor spot “pinched” by a charter catamaran. Finding a new anchoring spot in the harbor proved difficult, but in the end, we prevailed and called it another learning experience.

We spent a couple of days getting things done around the boat. The big project was replacing the rail screw plugs as described above. This project brought into to sharper focus the language barrier between the captain and crew. An example, I was given the instruction: “Give each plug a good bash, but leave them proud for sanding.” Which translates to, hammer in the plugs being careful to leave it sticking up a bit so it can be sanded level.

We were also oriented on the process of preparing the boat for sailing for daysailing verse passage making. Like properly stowing sunshades and securing items that can fall and break. Anchoring up and down procedures, we had a little learning on the job situation when the power windlass overheated and we had use the halyard (line up the mast) along with a power winch as a substitute. We also were oriented on the proper way to wash down the boat after a sail to clean the salt off the gel coat and chrome.

Ian treated us to quite the meal as I described above. Evening we continue to choose between canasta, Mexican train. Dominos or sometimes just heading to bed with the day in the sun taking enough out of you.

In looking around the island, there is a lot to see and notice even during the lockdown. The local fisherman are at it all the time. Not sure if they are living off their catch or selling it? The roosters walking around and sparsely populated streets give the place a tropic almost third world feel, but when head out for a sail you can see palatial homes high up in the hills. Beautiful hotels dots the coast. Definitely a place to come back to!

Today was a great day filled with a practice sail out of the harbor to work on our sail handling skills. First we tacked upwind with jib and Ian introduced the staysail to our portfolio. Yantina is a very powerful sailboat and handling the lines takes practice and respect for the forces at play. After sailing upwind, we anchored at Buck Island National Park for lunch. We are very fortunate to be in St. Croix, USVI during the lockdown because most Caribbean Islands do not allow you to return if you leave the harbor for a sail. Most island won’t allow you in for anything more than an emergency or fuel if you are traveling. Island Hopping is out of the question. So we are staying put here until weather is favorable to make it all the way to the mainland via Puerto Rico.

The sail back was with the wind of ‘downhill’ a very nice ride back into the harbor. It allowed us to experience the scenarios of sailing upwind and down wind in the same day!

Once back in the harbor we washed down the boat from the sail. Did some maintenance work on the boat until dinner. After dinner it was Canasta followed by Mexican Train dominos. A full day!