South...to the Dominican Republic! (May 26,2009)

On our way south again. Good. We’re headed to the Dominican Republic. Straight to the DR….not stopping in Mayaguana…not stopping in Turks and Caicos, as originally planned. Maybe we’re moving too fast? We do think of that, but the long wait in Rum Cay sort of tired us out. We want to see new country. Mayaguana and T&C are more of the Bahamas. As a matter of fact T&C used to be part of the Bahamas years ago. We decided instead to go on to the Dominican Republic. San Clés has decided the same, as noted in my last post.

We peeled out of the Rum Cay marina one by one on a still, quiet morning. Too still...the bugs were eating us alive! Conch Pearl lead us out, followed by Kwanesum, Mschiana and San Clés. The Hotel Rum Cay has let us go.

We are anticipating a good trip. We’ve searched the weather window and it called for 4-6 foot seas, winds starting at 12-15kts going down to zero at times. For 3 days or so. The winds we did have are out of the east which is not a good direction but it’s ok. Specially if they aren’t big. They are on our nose, or at best ‘close hauled,’ a sailing term for when sails are trimmed flat for sailing as close to the wind as possible. ‘Close hauled’ is doable but not great. On the nose is stupid bad. Works against you. We put up the main sail as it makes for better riding and any wind that might be to our advantage will pick up in the sail and help us move along. Would be nice at some point if we could strictly sail, but we shall see. We stacked up extra fuel. The direction we’re going doesn’t really play into a good sail. But we’re excited. Excited to leave Rum Cay and get on with our adventure.
We settle in for the duration. The 4 boats with our sails up… looking good. We chat back and forth on the radio to see how we’re all doing. Should take us about 3 days to get to the DR. I have made sandwiches and hard boiled eggs and other stuff to have on hand…particularly during the night shifts. You don’t want to spend much time down below (PPM…remember?) (Proactive Puking Management for those of you just joining us.) We will again do our 3 hours on and 3 hours off routine.

Our destination in the Dominican Republic is Luperón, on the north side of the island. It’s considered a“hurricane hole.” We had several options of where to spend Hurricane Season, which our insurance company defines as July 1 – November 1. The insurance companies give parameters for the zone you should be inside during this time in order to remain covered. Our insurance company defines the ‘zone’ as between the Savannah River to the southern coast of Grenada. [add latitudes here] So a decision needed to be made. At the time, when making this decision, we were in Nassau, with the beginning of May being our departure date south, depending as always on the weather. Do we go back to, say, Charleston, SC, which we loved, and then redo the miles we had already traveled? Do we head quickly down to Grenada? This would hurry our trip and determine it to be a little less relaxing. Should we head through the Gulf and straight for Panama? We would miss the Caribbean entirely but get to the west coast sooner. Should we keep on course, head down the Exumas and over to the “hurricane hole” in the Dominican Republic? The “hurricane hole”, or Luperón, would not be sanctioned by our insurance company. We could, if we spent more money, get a rider, but it had a huge deductible.

So what do we do? This is our home. We must make a good decision. We decide to email our weather guru, Chris Parker, and give him our options and see what he thinks. If you remember from my previous posts, Chris Parker is the expert on weather in the Bahamas and Caribbean and beyond. We have hired his services for the duration of our trip. Each day we get an email of weather from him and if we’re making a crossing or a long voyage we will contact him on the SSB radio and get his opinion on a weather window. We feel it is a good investment of our dollars. Chris immediately emailed us back and gave his opinion on our options:

1. Going back to Charleston? – That would be back tracking which doesn't really suit us. Chris said: You're also more likely to get a Hurricane there. With an April or May departure, there's no reason you couldn't be somewhere secure by July 1 (Luperón, the ABCs, Trinidad, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, the RioDulce).
2. Heading quickly to southern Grenada? - Would this even be feasible from Nassau? Chris said: yes, but not until late May or June do ColdFRONTs stop, making it tougher to get to the E Caribbean. We asked additionally…what route should we take if we did that? Chris said: it depends on the weather pattern in place when you're ready to go. If you want to enjoy the Bahamas, hop down the chain...but they you'll be more pressed for time in the Caribbean. If you want more time in the Caribbean & don't mind a longer offshore passage, go E or ENE from Nassau (or anywhere in the Bahamas), then make a gradual turn SE-S as you get far-enough East to lay the E Caribbean in the Trades.
3. Heading straight to the Gulf and the Panama Canal? - BUT we would miss the Caribbean, DR and PR included, which would be a shame. And Chris agreed: Yes, a shame. No need to miss areas to the East.
4. Heading to the Hurricane Hole in the DR? - Our insurance would not cover that if we get damage from a named storm, but they say there are good “hurricane holes” there. It might be nerve wracking. Chris’s response: Given the orientation of the Dominican Republic, the only way you could get a significant Hurricane in the Luperón area is from a SW-moving Hurricane (approaching from the NE), or from a Hurricane paralleling the DR's N Coast. While neither is impossible, both are highly unlikely. Plus, I believe there are reasonable "hurricane holes", though there's no such thing as a perfect "hurricane hole."
   

Obviously we made the decision. And it didn’t take us long. Let’s keep going. Let’s go to the DR and wait. And we’re on our way…pounding against the wind and the seas but happy as clams to be heading the right direction. We’re betting on the ‘Come Line.’ Kinda.

On we plod, pounding on the seas. We thought we’d have smoother sailing. We actually did have one great morning along the way. Woke up to nice, calm seas…coffee in the cockpit. I loved it. Wish it could be like all the way…wind at our back…sailing. Oh well…once we get down into the Virgins we can get the wind in a more favorable direction. Can’t wait.

We pass into the Tropics. The Tropic of Cancer, according to Wikipedia: one of five major degree measures or major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. It is the northernmost latitude at which the Sun can appear directly overhead at noon. This event occurs at the June solstice, when the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun to its maximum extent. The Tropic of Cancer currently lies 23° 26′ 22″ north of the equator. North of this latitude are the subtropics and Northern Temperate Zone. The equivalent line of latitude south of the equator is called the Tropic of Capricorn, and the region between the two, centered on the equator, is known as the tropics.

Kind of thrilling, passing into the tropics. Randy is down below sleeping, so I take a picture of the chart plotter passing the latitude mark. I notice something out of the corner of my eye. Something jumping in the water. Shoot I missed it! Wait…there it goes again!

I have my camera in my hand so I get ready, in case it jumps again. Holy cow! It’s big! It looks kinda like a dolphin but it’s not graceful like a dolphin. It’s very clumsy. Like a whale, but smaller like a dolphin. I get some good pictures. I still have no clue what this odd thing is that’s jumping in the water, but I’m so glad I had my camera in my hand. Later when I have time I’ll zoom in on it and try to figure out what it is. In the meantime, we continue…into the Tropics. (Turns out, it was a Bottle Nose Whale.)
Gets ‘hairy’ at night. Lots of lightening going on…in the distance, but at night it looks very menacing. Some people don’t like to sail at night. It doesn’t bother Randy and me. As long as we stay vigilant, watch for ships. As a matter of fact one night along the way I was concerned about a ship I saw…heading across our path. Even though I had it on the AIS (Automatic Information System) and it told me we were plenty far away, it looked like it was going to cross right in front of us! “Uhhh, Randy…can you come up here for a minute?” I wanted him to validate that we were far enough away. And as the ship got closer it looked like it was right in front of San Clés! That’s the weird part about night time. Things look closer than they actually are! We were fine, we were plenty far away, as the AIS said. And San Clés was, too. But better safe than sorry I say!

To divert here a minute I’ll explain the AIS. Not sure that I’ve done that before. It’s part of our chart plotter system and it’s very cool. It picks up any ships that are in the area and puts them on the chart plotter. They show up as a little triangle. By clicking on the little triangle you will get all the information about that particular ship. How big it is, what the name of the ship is, where’s it’s coming from, where it’s going, what it’s carrying, the closest point of approach…all the information you need to avoid it. Very cool and it wasn’t that expensive. It’s almost better than radar sometimes. We are very glad to have it onboard. And it’s interesting to use.

As we carry on the first night, we actually all changed course to try to avoid an oncoming squall. It seemed to work. As we stand now, San Clés is leading us…by far the fastest boat. We are next and Mschiana and Conch Pearl are behind us. We want to stay with San Clés as we’re heading to the same destination. San Clés, a Passport 43 with a fin keel, is hard to keep up with so we really push Kwanesum hard. We are motor-sailing and averaging about 5 knots, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. We want to make sure we arrive at our destination in the day light. Timing is important. Our rule, and one that is advised and used by most cruisers, is never to go into a new anchorage or marina at night. This is a general rule of sorts that cruisers follow, but there are some that dare to do it. If you are familiar with the anchorage or entrance to a harbor it is not as disconcerting. But we are not familiar with any of this so we must reach our destination before dark or stay outside until morning.

Next morning is the calm and wonderful morning I mentioned before. We are near Mayaguana and this is when we will part from Mschiana and Conch Pearl. Kinda sad! But we will catch up with them on down the road in the DR, PR or VI. We bid each other fair winds and promise to meet up later and stay in touch via email.

We have now changed our exact destination to enter the Dominican Republic. Instead of going into Luperón first, and checking into the country there, San Clés and Kwanesum will go into Ocean World Marina at Puerto Plata and check in there. We both researched it and decided this would be easiest. It’s easy to get into the marina, we can check into the country, refuel, reprovision, do laundry, fill with water…and relax after our long trip. Sounds good. That’s what we’ll do. Then Kwanesum will go on to Luperón for the season and San Clés will head to Puerto Rico. San Clés’ destination will be St John in the US Virgins where they will celebrate their anniversary.

So...on we go. Day three. Are we there yet? We’re getting anxious to get to our destination. Sandwiches are about gone. Boiled eggs are gone. 3rd day of wearing same clothes and no shower (it’s just easier that way.) It’s kind of hazy today…the seas are still big. Give us a break! Ugh. I think I spot some hills but I’m not sure. Hard to see through the haze. But I’m pretty sure I see hills. There are NO hills throughout the Bahamas and T & C. They say you can smell the DR when you get close. Smell the earth. My smeller’s not that good. But I’m testing it none the less. We’re now starting to worry about our fuel. We calculated we had plenty, but didn’t expect the seas to hold us back so much. We figure we use a little more than a gallon an hour. Our tank holds 75 gallons. And we carried an extra 10 gallons. We’ve already poured the extra in. Let’s see how we do.

Now we can see the hills. Hooray! Beautiful, green hills. It’s still pretty hazy but we can see them none the less. We aren’t far off now. But sometimes that last bit, when you know you’re almost there, takes forever! We radio San Clés and they informed us they alerted Ocean World that we’re on our way in. Cool. As we’re plodding along a fancy, schmancy power yacht zooms by, bouncing wildly on the water. “Oh yeah??!! What else’d you get for Christmas??!!!” We had boat envy at that time. Speed envy. “Show offs!!!”

We watch San Clés make their turn to approach to the entrance. We hail San Clés again. “Lyman, we’re coming in on fumes. Just want to let you know we may need assistance.” Our gauge registers…very…low. OK, Kwanesum…get us there. “She’ll get us there, Ran. She always does.” I’m at the helm and we make the turn at the yellow marker to head our way inside. Tired, excited, kinda smelly and ready to stop, we bounce our way in. It’s a straight shot in once you turn, but the seas are still very, very bouncy. Makes it a bit of a challenge to keep the boat straight. I’m on the helm and on the radio with the harbor master finding out where to go. “Make a port turn just after you enter and head to the back F docks.” “Roger that.” I make that left turn and it’s nice…so nice…and …calm…hooray!!! What a nice marina! Cement docks…lots of room. We decide to get fuel later as we’re exhausted and it’s already getting close to 6pm.

I find the spot they want us…F Dock…I pull Kwanesum right in. F12…our spot is F12. We tie up…there are many hands helping…we are so excited! So glad to be here. We have our DR flag up and our yellow quarantine flag. A golf cart is here to take Lyman and Randy to immigration. To their delight…the immigration person was a very, lovely Dominicana. Yeah, yeah, yeah…. Back to the boat…time for cocktails! We are so tired we just go down to San Clés with our wine and beer in hand and toast while sitting on the dock. “To our landing in the Dominican Republic!” “Cheers!”

Now we settle in. The first few days we sleep, clean, and sleep again. Do laundry and provision. We provisioned at La Serena, a big store in Puerto Plata, kinda like a Wal Mart. As a matter of fact, Wal Mart owns it or is buying it, I think. Obviously we rented a car. San Clés will not be here long so we decide to share the rent of a car and go exploring. So, first, we provisioned. “Let’s do the Falls,” Terri said. The Falls…the Falls…I read somewhere about the Falls, but I need to refresh my memory. “The 27 Charcos! It will be fun!” OK! I’m up for anything. I look it up on the internet and it looks really fun. Wonder how hard it is? Oh well…I can handle it. “You hike up the Falls and then slide or jump on the way down.” OK. “We will just do 12…not the whole 27.” OK.

Off we go. First we need to find our way there. Driving in the DR is not easy. There don’t seem to be many rules…there are a LOT of cars and even MORE motorcycles or scooters and not many rules. Or at least not many that are followed. They do drive on the same side of the road. That's helpful. There’s a great deal of faith put into the “other guy.” We head to the Falls full of anticipation. Get there…put our swim suits on…have our Teva sandals on. Now, what do we do? We need helmets and life jackets. OK. We acquire our guide, who brings along a helper. OK. Let’s get going. We have to hike for awhile to get to the falls…across a fun, rope bridge, through streams. “Come on Momma.” They called me ‘Momma’ and made sure I had sure footing crossing the streams, holding my hand. I appreciated that.





This was sooo fun! It was a beautiful, warm day. The area was gorgeous. The falls were magnificent. You had to fight against the current a few times to go up the Falls, and …you had to climb some pretty ‘hairy’ spots. And …you had to hold on to ropes to pull yourself up against the rush, rushing water. Climbing up to the 7th fall was the worst. Well…the one where we had to climb a precarious wall was kinda hard, too, but up that 7th fall was definitely the most challenging. The guides had to PULL us up. Not easy. They are very strong however. And were able to pull up this plus-sized ‘momma.’ We still had more to go. I decided not to go further. The 8th fall we had to climb was REALLY challenging. You had to act like a monkey to get up it while holding on a rope…against the current. I don’t want to push my luck. Randy decides to stay with me. Terri and Lyman go on up to the 12th fall while we waited. (They’re younger. =) ) It was still hard for them to get up. But they did it and went to the 12th one. They said we really didn’t miss much by not going that distance. The other falls weren’t any more fun that what we’ve already done. Good.

So now…down we go! Cool! We start jumping…very, very high some of them were…and sliding our way down. Really fun but a little precarious, now and then. Coming down was definitely faster and easier than going up! There was one fall…pretty tall. I look down. Well…gotta get down somehow! Kowabunga!! So fun. Great, great, great day. We end the trip with beer and great food at their little restaurant there. This experience was one of the highlights of my life, I tell ya.

Next day…we still have a car…agenda: the top of the mountain and Luperón. Remember Luperón is where we want to end up for the season. First we tried to find our way to Mount Isabel de Torres, a scientific reserve and a peaceful botanical garden. They have a teleferico (gondola) that takes you up but we decided to drive. I’m glad as you see more country and people that way. Mt Isabel de Torres is 2600ft up and it’s gorgeous. We had a wonderful clear morning and the views were spectacular. There is also a wonderful large statue of Christ similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro. Awesome.

Now we drive on to check out Luperón and see if we can find our friends on GravyBoat, Opal and Wanderlust there. It's a wonderful drive through the countryside to get there. Luperón is a small, little sleepy town northwest of Puerto Plata. Found the City Dock and we hailed our friends GravyBoat on the radio to let them know we were in town. They were at anchor there. They dinghyed in…so fun to see them. We hadn't seen them or Marc on Opal since Nassau. Lots of boats anchored here. We went to Capt Steves for a beer, where we ran into other fellow cruisers we have met along the way. Marc from s/v Opal and the Duncans off of s/v Wanderlust. Fun place…fun to see everyone.

Back to our home away from home. Ocean World. Terry and Lyman (San Clés) are waiting for a weather window to cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico. They aren’t getting one. They decide to stay. We decide to stay. We like it here. Wonderful people, a pool to use at any time, fresh water delivered, ice delivered, laundry done for you, electricity if we need it, guards 24 hours, restaurants close by, mini-mercados close by…nice. We all go up to talk to James, the marina manager to see what kind of deal he can give us if we stay for whole season. It’s a go! James gave us a great price on slip fees, electricity and water for the 6 months. Excellent. We will stay here for hurricane season. Now … to the pool with our adult beverages! Ahhhhh….

KWANESUM - the name

Kwanesum: kwah'-neh-suhm

Many people have asked about the name of our boat. And how it was chosen. I have yet to enter that on this blog. I shall remedy that right now.

When you name a boat it’s as if you are naming one of your children. You want to make sure it is an appropriate name as it will be with you forever. Or at the very least, as long as you own the boat; and sometimes beyond that. When we purchased our boat it was brand new…sort of. It was actually a 2004 model we purchased in 2006. It was used by Island Packet at boat shows, and now they were ready to sell it. As yet, it remained unnamed. We threw names back and forth at each other. Our last boat was MoonGlade, the name for the shadow a full moon makes on the water. Perhaps something along those lines…MoonShine, (umm…maybe not)….MoonGlow,….MoonDancer, MoonShadow… I immediately got online to be sure we didn’t pick a name that had already been used. I wanted us to be unique. A zillion Moons have been used. OK…let’s go another direction. Perhaps something with Packet in it…since we’re an Island Packet. Packet Inn! Been used…a few times. Packet Up! Used. Ugh.

Let’s try something else. How about Intrepid? That’s what we are…intrepid. Intrepid…used many times. Darn. I get out the Thesaurus to find other words meaning intrepid. None sound good. Arrghhh!

It’s amazing how many boats have the same name: Intrepid, Serenity, Indigo, Liberty …. And when you’re cruising, as we are, you are remembered mostly by your boat name. So you don’t want to be confused with another boat…with the same name.

The thinking process continues. “How about Popcorn!” (Randy LOVES popcorn and our boat is a similar color.) “Then we can name the dinghy Kernel!” I thought I was so clever. I actually really liked it! But we decided it was too cutesy. We aren’t cutesy people. You also need to consider how it sounds when you use it on the VHF and SSB radios. “Ocean World Marina, Ocean World Marina, this is the sailing vessel Popcorn.” “Yes, Popcorn, go ahead.” Nah…too cutesy.

Still thinking. Some people name their boats after a wife, girlfriend, or daughter. Always the woman, as boats are considered feminine. Maybe the daughter would be ok, but the wife or girlfriend might not stick around. The Lacey Jane (our daughter) sounds good, but you see mostly tugs or fishing boats with women’s names like that. And I didn’t want to slight our two sons.

Keep thinking. We set our thinking beyond the obvious. For many years Randy has been an avid fan of Lewis & Clark the great explorers and cartographers that Thomas Jefferson commissioned to explore and map the new frontier. “How about a name associated with Lewis & Clark,” Randy said. Great idea! OK…now…what name could we glean from that? Brain storming begins.

We get serious. We want a name that is both unusual and representative of our feelings about sailing. By choosing the Lewis & Clark thought process we’ve included our heritage, i.e. living and being raised in both California and the Pacific Northwest. With Randy’s interest in the Lewis & Clark expeditions, the Corps of Discovery, and specifically the winter they spent trading with the Chinook Indians, we decide to explore their language. The Chinooks created a ‘trade’ language that was universally used by the native groups and European settlers. It ended up being used by nearly all who traveled and worked there, thus bringing together many different cultures by a common language. This is what we’re doing in our own way…exploring and bringing together different cultures. Our common language...sailing.

Quote from National Geographic: The Chinook tribe had been trading with the British and American traders who came to the Oregon coast for decades. Their languages were mixed into "Chinook jargon," which the expedition members picked up. It became the lingua franca from Washington State to California.

MERIWETHER LEWIS January 4, 1806 "These people the Chinnooks [sic]...have been very friendly to us; they appear to be a mild inoffensive people. ..."

That would be us! Mild and inoffensive. =).

Now to explore their language for an appropriate word that might be used for a name. I jump on the internet. Skookum…I like skookum. I like how it sounds and it means strong and durable. But in researching further, there’s already a line of boats called Skookum. Shoot. We keep looking. I’m finding old documents that have the Chinook jargon in dictionary form. Interesting.

I happen on a word. I think this might be it: Kwanesum, kwahnesum - always, forever.

I explore it further. From one of the Chinook jargon books: Kwah'-ne-sum, -or Kw'an-e-sum, adv. (C). (Chinook,-Kwanisum; Yakima,- Kwalisim.) Always; forever; eternal; continual; everlasting; perpetual; unceasing. Example: Okoke steamer yaka kwanesum klatawa, that steamer is always going. Kahkwa kwanesum, as usual. Kwanesum mitlite, permanent; to keep.

I think it’s fitting. We like it. Our boat will always keep us safe, we will always be together…forever. Taa daahh!

We shall call our boat Kwanesum.

Welcome to the Hotel Rum Cay....May 12-26

OK…back to the blog. I took liberty with a long hiatus from writing but am feeling very guilty about it. I thought guilt from not keeping on task stopped when you retired! Apparently not. So…on with the story. We last left Randy and Ellen at anchor in Rum Cay…a bit breezy.

Rum Cay was to be just a brief stopover on our way south. It ended up being quite a bit more. More weather…more excitement….more new friends…more socializing…more learning…more patience.

As we motor-sailed in to Rum Cay, the weather was changing; bigger seas, bigger winds…still beautiful sunshine, but big everywhere else. We had huge waves coming in, breaking over the bow and onto the dodger; aqua blue, clear water but big waves over the bow. Waves don't often make it all the way to the dodger. We carefully picked our way into the anchorage. There are a lot of coral reefs around this island. Our technique in coral areas is to enter with the sun high and behind us and Randy standing on the bow of the boat, watching for the reefs, signaling which way to go to avoid them. As I left you in my last post, I noted there was only one other sailboat anchored at the time.

We dropped and checked our anchor, and we added an anchor bridle. It was suggested to add a bridle in the Rum Cay anchorage to keep from rocking/rolling so much. I inserted a picture to show this procedure. Add the bigger winds to rocking/rolling and it becomes even more uncomfortable. The bridle should help. We were moving around pretty good out there…adjusting our bridle to find the most comfortable position. The see-saw motion offered by the bridle is more comfortable at anchor than the cradle, sideways motion.

In the meantime we are joined in the anchorage …throughout the day…by 5 or 6 other boats. From listening to their conversations on the radio, some are going north and some are going south, like us. One boat, Sans Clés, a Passport 43, anchored in the late afternoon near us. I heard them on the radio asking the marina about coming in for dinner as they had a birthday to celebrate. I got on the radio and wished them a happy birthday and welcomed them to the ‘neighborhood.’ The day continued to be very windy and a little choppy. We decided not to put the dinghy down and go in to see the island. Perhaps it will be calmer tomorrow. All is well with the anchor so we relax and enjoy the evening.

Wind continues. Days are pretty, water is sparkling and clear, but it’s still windy and very choppy. We decide not to go in to explore the island yet. We are now on day two. We notice San Clés pulling up anchor. Shoot! I was looking forward to getting to know them. Ahhhh…it looks like they’re headed for the marina. Guess they decided to go in there for the duration. In checking with our weather guru…there’s no weather window opening to leave, so we’re still stuck here. Our trip from Rum Cay will get us eventually to the Dominican Republic, which is our destination for hurricane season. We plan to go to Mayaguana, then the Turks & Caicos on our way down.

Relaxing, reading our books in the cockpit on a lazy afternoon…rocking and rolling…boom! Hmmm….? Boom, again! OK…what was that? "!#$%^*! ...we're on a reef!" "Quick, El, start the engine. I’m going forward to the anchor." I look down and sure as shootin’ we drug onto a coral reef. Holy moly. This is precisely what you do NOT want to happen! OK. I started the engine and manned the helm. Randy cut the bridle loose and went forward, trying to see if the anchor will pull itself off. Try, try, try…. not to be. It’s pretty damn stuck on the coral. Crap. I decide to hail the other boats on the VHF radio to let them know our situation. My fear was if we kept banging against the coral we would eventually put a hole in the boat. Now THAT wouldn’t be good.

Within minutes I had other boats and the folks in the marina responding on the radio with concern. Zoom…over come 2 dinghies from nearby boats. It was amazing the help we got so quickly. The dinghies were pushing against Kwanesum to try to keep her off the reef while Randy struggled with the anchor. I’m trying to turn the boat to clear the reef, but the anchor held too tightly. Randy had to cut the anchor, and 250 feet of chain, loose. Heck sake…that’s an expensive bunch of equipment!!! Mind you, all this time, the seas that got us on there in the 1st place were still wreaking havoc. The dinghies were dancing around in the choppy water trying to hold us clear. With the anchor gone, I was able to back away from the reef to clear water. With my heart pounding I hailed the marina and told them we were coming in. We needed to assess the damage. Going in to this marina is not an easy task in itself. Lots of coral around that you need to avoid and the entrance is shallow in many places. A boat was sent out to help guide me in and the marina was on the VHF telling me what to avoid and where to go. And the water is still its old choppy self. Beautiful water, always beautiful… but big and choppy.

I follow the advice, and the buoys, head around to the marina entrance and slink my way in. There are still big winds that push us as I try to dock. I got her in at the first immediate spot. We decide we need to stay in so they directed us to a berth farther inside the marina. Problem is…the wind and current are strong against us. I make Randy take it from here. I have a lot of confidence steering our boat but thought he could better maneuver her in the tight spots. I need to trust my skills more. I could have done it. With lots of help, and some missteps, we are in our spot. Actually we are in an adjacent spot, but it will do. We had an experience ala my Southport docking, jockeying foray. Missed the first spot and blown into the second spot. This will do, thank you very much. Soon-to-be new friends were all there with their hands out ready to take a line and help us get in our berth. We are glad to be in here. Randy takes the box of wine (yes…box) up to the dock and offers one and all free happy hour for their help. The cruising way.

Now we worry. Worry about damage to the hull and worry about retrieving our anchor. But we are damn glad to be in the marina, safe and, what we hope is, sound. One of the dinghies, off the s/v Wanderlust, that came to our aid out in the anchorage, motored in to check on us and let us know they dove on our anchor after we left to make sure where it was. Fortunately the water wasn’t too deep out there. They put out a buoy to mark it. They attempted to pull it up, but it was in there pretty tight. One thing that is a given in the cruising community is that all are there to help. This is a perfect example of going above and beyond to help fellow cruisers. Wanderlust certainly did not have to spot our anchor or try to pull it up, but that’s the mettle that runs through the cruising backbone…always there to help. We were grateful to Bruce and Nick off Wanderlust for marking our anchor so we could try to recover it. Grateful, too, are we, for their quick response, along with s/v Indigo, to fend us off the reef. We’ll figure the anchor retrieval out in a day or two. Right now, we want to make sure the bottom of our boat is ok…doesn’t seem to be any leaks so far, but what does it look like?!

Here’s the dilemma we'll face….sharks. Normally Randy would put on his snorkel, mask and fins and dive the boat to check it out. But we’ve been warned. Sharks in them thar waters in the marina: lemon sharks, nurse sharks and bull sharks. Bull sharks are the 3rd most aggressive of the species. Oh yay! This marina sees a lot of big fishing boats…hence fish that are cleaned…hence sharks. And they’re smart, too. They make a little drive-by once or twice daily to see if any new fishing boats are in. Niiiiccee. Some big barracuda in there, too. Makes getting on and off the boat a little more deliberate. =)

So, again...as this exciting day ended and the evening progressed, we popped that beer, brought up that boxed wine to share with all who helped and joined others up at the ‘Nut House’ on the dock for conversation, analyzing the day, and how we should proceed. Nice to be in the marina.

A new day. Wind still blows so being tucked in the marina is comforting. As luck would have it, there was a boat at Rum Cay we knew from Nassau. Not a sail boat, but a funky, power, work boat that is based off of an old converted coast guard ship permanently anchored in Rum Cay. Their purpose…to keep Rum Cay full of fuel at the marina. The converted coast guard ship was originally here to house employees working on major construction on the island. It has been converted to a fuel storage vessel. The work boat had been in Nassau a few days at the marina where we stayed, and in usual Randy fashion, he got to know the guys. The next morning in Rum Cay, as we are trying to decide how we can retrieve our anchor and check the bottom of Kwanesum, the work boat pulls into the marina. Randy took his coffee up to the ‘Nut House’, again for good conversation. Before I know it, a very tall young man is standing at the dock near our boat, in his swim trunks with diving gear on. He’s going in. He’s going to check the bottom of Kwanesum. You’re kidding me?! Nope…he’s not afraid. He had his sidekick there…watching for sharks. It’s still early in the morning and the sharks don’t usually make their rounds ‘til late. O…K…… This should be interesting. In he went and very quickly made the rounds around the boat. And out he came with his side kick pointing to the marina entrance…."Shark headed this way." Those damn sharks must hear every time there’s a splash in the water! Looked like a nurse shark, which aren’t known to be dangerous, but who wants to test that one!?! Out just in time. "Kwanesum looks ok," he said. "Just some surface, cosmetic scratches." Whew! Dodged that bullet! High Fives all around. Such relief. …As the shark swam slowly by.

One of the worries down. Now…will we get our anchor back? We actually thought it was a goner. However, there were two very ambitious young men on a sailboat in the marina who thought they might be able to get it. Again, the cruising community rises to the occasion. Neil and Nick off of s/v Conch Pearl said they’d try to dive on the anchor and retrieve it. Fan-tas-tic! Off they go in their dinghy. Back they come. They found it but couldn’t get it up. "But we’ll keep trying!" Fortunately it’s not too deep, but the water is still pretty choppy and the anchor is stuck in there really tight…not to mention the 250 feet of heavy chain attached to it. At least we know where it is and we have help. Excellent.

Next morning…we see Neil and Nick go out again in their dinghy. We gave them our 'look bucket' to help spot the anchor and it was well marked by the guys on Wanderlust, so finding it again won’t be a problem. Bringing it up off the bottom, however, remains the problem. I notice the workboat parked next to us go out. Noisy, old workboat. Rasta-Man and his sidekick, Billy. Yes…he looks the part. A perfect specimen of the Rastafarian style. Out they go…back they come… with smiles on their faces and our anchor in the back of their boat!! Holy Cow! You've gotta be kidding me?!! They got our anchor! Chain and all. Oh my gosh! They didn’t even tell us they were going to try. With Rasta-man at the helm, the always-smiling Billy dove in and got it. Somehow they were able to dislodge it and pull it all up. Not sure if Neil and Nick were there to help but Randy and I are beside ourselves with glee! How unbelievably lucky are we!?! We are now whole. There will be no glitches in going forward as we now have an anchor again. This is so excellent. Randy gives the R-Man and Billy a large token of our appreciation. Later, Neil told us he and Nick renamed Rasta-man and Billy the Sneaky-Rastas. Neil and Nick were trying to find a way to carefully take the anchor and chain off the reef so as not to harm it. Rasta-man and Billy just man-handled it off when the Conch Pearl duo weren’t looking. Well…not to harm the environment is on all cruisers’ agenda, but apparently not the locals’. Either way…we were ecstatic to have the anchor and chain back on the boat in working condition.

Now we can enjoy Rum Cay. And wait for the weather window. During this hullabaloo we got to know some great new friends. Terri and Lyman off s/v San Clés. They were the boat originally anchored next to us. Mike, Karen and Samantha off s/v Mschiana who have been in the marina waiting for weather for a couple of weeks. Neil and Nick from s/v Conch Pearl, ditto. All great people. Not to mention the people that live on the island.

Not much to do on Rum Cay. Not much at all. It’s a small island, about 10 miles by 6 miles. Buildings mostly sparse and plain. Beautiful beach with interesting shells. I loved walking on this beach. I found some wonderful shells. A great cast of characters occupy the island. The marina area is great. Covered shelters off the docks where we sit to chat often (the 'Nut House')…at sunset usually with a cocktail. We play the 'cruising game', consisting of a ring…on a string…which you swing…up to a hook. If you’re really good…you can even do it backwards. I’m not good. Lyman was the expert, followed by Randy, Mike and Terri. Samantha got pretty good at it, too! There’s a nice restaurant and bar here that is not often open except for happy hour and dinner…if you let them know you’re going to be there. If you’re not there…they’re not open. Still… a great place to gather when we do all show up.

Terri and Lyman rounded us up to take a taxi tour of the island. And why not, since we had so much time on our hands. George’s Taxi…the taxi on the island is George’s Taxi. Not sure why they need a taxi on this island but we were glad to acquire his van and his knowledge for a tour. $40/hour… but if we share it, it’s manageable.

I’m going to digress right here a moment to say we learned a lesson. Cash on hand. Cash…not credit cards. We have a coffer of cash we keep on the boat. We should have beefed it up before leaving Nassau. You never know when you’re going to get stuck on a remote island for 2 weeks. An island that doesn’t have a bank... and can’t give you a cash advance on your credit card because there’s no expendable cash on the island... and the mail boat comes in only once a week, if it can get in,... and the cash it brings is for payroll. Dammit. Ok…we need to watch our cash. This lesson will creep up several times on our stay at Rum Cay.

But…back to the tour. We’re all now in "Us Against the Weather" mode, as Mike would say, so having a tour of the island is a great way to pass the time.

The land in the Bahamas is rugged and rough. These islands are made from atolls, which don’t offer a lot to foster flora and fauna. However, parts of this island found a way. What does grow is interesting and beautiful and often useful! Many of the plants are used for medicinal purposes. Terri and I had many questions about the plants we saw and George was very forthcoming in telling us about them and if they were useful…or dangerous. We learned of the island’s past…locals are descendants of slaves. Of yesteryear…plantations…cotton. Still a few remnants of cotton plants here and there. More recently…several attempts to make tourism prosper on the island, to no avail for various reasons. The latest attempt left big scars on the island where a huge marina was to be developed. Very sad when you look at the large dredged areas just left there. Expensive equipment sitting, rusting. An airport that doesn’t see much action. But the locals prevail with their wonderful attitudes.

George took us by the local grocery store…The Last Chance…so we could provision before returning home. Again, the money coffer rears its head. We buy just what is necessary.

“Welcome to the Hotel Rum Cay….
You can check-out any time you like,
but you can never leave!”

We wait. We form the Breakfast Club…or Coffee Club. Every morning at 6:30am we gather on Kwanesum for coffee and to listen to our weather guru, Chris Parker, on the single side band radio. (Glad I brought lots of Starbucks French roast.) We need to find a weather window to carry on. For reasons of location in the marina, our boat is able to pick up the broadcast on the SSB better than the other boats. We all need to get moving, but we want to have good weather and the tropical wave that went through is still hanging on with big winds and chop. As a matter of fact, 4 other boats that have been waiting at anchor decide to come into the marina to wait. The anchorage is getting uncomfortable. Now there’s a full house at the Hotel Rum Cay.

We learn a lot while we’re here…waiting. We learn more about weather. Karen on Mschiana is very skilled in the weather department. We learn more about our single side band radio and getting new weather reports using that medium. Lyman is skilled and experienced with that. He’s very tech savvy. Nice. Mike and Karen have many years of experience cruising beneath their belts. They share their knowledge. Terri shows me websites that are useful for my needs on the blog. We all become fast friends and it’s fun. We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. We watch the big sport fisher boats come in, clean their fish, and ‘play’ with the sharks. Then fill their tanks with fuel and leave again, $7,000 added on their credit card. (We were hoping they paid in cash.)

Randy carves his conch horn. There are many, many, many conch shells on the beach at Rum Cay. Randy chooses one, George (the taxi man of many talents) carves a hole in the end, Randy taps it out and the conch horn is born. Quickly, the conch blowing talents go from sick cow to… it’s 5 0’clock somewhere! Hooray! We have our official happy hour horn.

Still waiting….things happen: >>a cruiser falls in the water, missing his steps as he tries to get off his boat onto the dock. Not an easy task, that...getting off onto the dock. Not a young man, and sharks are about. He quickly scurries out of the water. Whew! >>A boat slams into the pier. And it wasn’t one of us! The fuel boat…reverse didn’t engage…wham! Another exciting moment. >>Nick catches a mahi mahi and fries it up as hors d’oeuvres for the evening happy hour…excellent. >>The South Africans, both boats of which were the dinghies that helped us when we were caught on the reef, come by to check on us. To see if we’re ok. Such delightful people. The guys off the S African catamaran Indigo come aboard for drinks and tell us great stories while enjoying wine. The delightfulness of times like these is hard to explain. What a rich life we lead. Even while stuck on a remote island…waiting for weather.

Hang on to your hat folks; I think we have a window of opportunity. The Morning Coffee Group…or whatever we decided we were…has spotted a weather window…of more than one day. And it’s been consistently forecasted for a couple of days, which is a good sign. If the weather states the same forecast for at least two or three days, it’s a good indication that it might be stable. So we set the date to leave…finally. Since we’ve been here so long Randy and I decide to forego the Turks and Caicos and head straight for the Dominican Republic where we will stay for hurricane season. San Clés is going to do the same, but they will then go on to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands after stopping in the DR. Mschiana and Conch Pearl will head to the Turks. Mschiana will leave their boat there for the season. Conch Pearl will continue on but want to see the Turks first. But we’ll all leave together. The other boats are leaving, too, but are heading North. Their weather window hasn’t been any better that direction either. They leave before we do. We wave goodbye to our fellow cruisers and wish them fair winds.

The plan is to leave first thing in the morning. The plan fails. We wait another day. The plan works. We’re all up early, getting ready to go…to peel off the docks one by one. We are being eaten alive by mosquitoes and noseeums…ugh. But we’re excited. The morning is calm, the water very still. This will make it easier to get out of the not-so-easy-to-get-into marina. Conch Pearl in the lead, then Kwanesum, Mschiana, and San Clés. Our next journey has begun.

The Hotel Rum Cay has let us go.