Busy Week, Relaxing Week, in La Isla del Encanto

Time to move again and get some chores done. With that in mind, Taia and Nordic Belle II sailed to Culebra, one of the Spanish Virgin Islands (all of which belong to Puerto Rico). An uneventful sail, on the slow side, but quite pleasant. The stop in Culebra, however, wasn't part of the chores we needed to accomplish. Anchored in Ensenada Honda and enjoying a solid cellular connection, we could get some of the tasks started. Just some of them, lest we get bored.

The weather continued to be on our side, mellow as we've ever seen it in the Caribbean. So we took advantage of it and spent a couple of nights anchored in Culebrita, a smaller island a few miles east of Culebra. There's a beautiful lighthouse on Culebrita, unfortunately fallen in disrepair since it was replaced by a much more modern and utilitarian steel tower to prop up the light. The lighthouse, an actual house from the 19^th century where the person responsible for the light and his family lived, still stands proud and pretty.

In Culebrita we met with Sila, a boat we had met a couple of days before in Culebra. And we had a chance to go aboard another true ocean-going sailboat. Sila has been cruising for a few years, but not in your run-of-the-mill vanilla cruising grounds! They went roughly from France to Panama, thence Galapagos, Easter Island, southern tip of South America (can't remember if they rounded the Horn or went inside), Falkland Islands, South Georgia Islands and then back to the Caribbean. Real sailors, them Sila crew!

Young crews of Sila, Nordic Belle II, and Taia at the top of Culebrita

Some of our blog followers (all one of them) might remember that last year we spent a couple of nights anchored in Puerto Ferro, Vieques. Puerto Ferro isn't particularly beautiful, but it provides the best protection from wind and waves imaginable. Last year was very rough when we were in the area, and Puerto Ferro gave us two nights of well-earned rest. And the reason we went there was because it is just 2 miles east of Bio-Bay, or, more properly, Mosquito Bay. The bioluminescence in Bio-Bay is second to none. We had to see it.

The problem we ran into in 2015 was that the 2 miles between Puerto Ferro and Bio-Bay were too rough for a dinghy ride. And the anchorage outside of Bio-Bay was not tenable in those conditions. After 2 nights in Puerto Ferro, hoping that the swell and wind would give us a break, we called it quits and sailed away without seeing the water light up thanks to the bioluminescent dinoflagellates that inhabit the bay.

But it's 2016 now, and the weather has been most agreeable. After Taia and Nordic Belle II were safely anchored in Puerto Ferro, Torstein and I went on an exploratory dinghy ride to Bio-Bay while there was still daylight. We got a good GPS track of the entrances to both bays and confirmed that the dinghy ride, though on the rough side, was doable. Before it got dark we all piled up on the dinghies, motored outside to the entrance to Mosquito Bay, and then paddled into it—no fossil fuel burning allowed in the bay.

Waiting for dark in Mosquito Bay

When it got dark nature, once again, amazed our frail little minds. Any disturbance to the water excites the dinoflagellates and they light up. Hands went in and shook the water, oars went in, lit-up water was splashed. Watching bioluminescence is akin to staring at a fire, it's just as enthralling and mystifying. As we paddled in the dark and scared the fish that were under water, we could see the trail of light they left behind when they hastened away from the dinghy. Magnificent nature.

The way back in the dark, to the boats anchored 2 miles away in Puerto Ferro, was better than we anticipated. The waves we had seen in the afternoon had come down in the evening and the wind was also diminished. Even so, we came back slowly, both dinghies within sight of each other, and making sure we followed the GPS track we had saved earlier.

After seeing Bio-Bay, we got back in chore mode. We had reserved a slip at Marina Puerto del Rey, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. Taia had not been to a slip since December/2014 and we weren't particularly looking forward to it. However, the feeling of freedom that stepping off the boat onto dry land affords quickly obliterated our cruiser snobbery. We were instantly happy to be tied up to a slip. And when the wind died entirely, we were even happier to get shore power and run the air conditioners.

The sail from Vieques to Marina Puerto del Rey was fun and fast

We had several tasks to accomplish, mostly administrative to maintain our tenuous presence in organized society. Natalia and I spent several hours on the phone with various people, as well as writing and reading emails. Other manual maintenance tasks were also accomplished. We thought a week in a marina would be relaxing, and the error of our thinking quickly became apparent. It felt hectic!

Mixed with all those chores, we did some sight seeing in Puerto Rico with Nordic Belle II. We visited the Caves of the Rio Camuy, San Juan historical town, and tourist-infested El Yunque National Forest. All three sites are extremely interesting. I'll spare our readership the gory details of our sight seeing.

Having rented a car for all that land travel, both crews took the opportunity to do two or three provisioning runs. Taia is loaded up with enough provisions to last us through Haiti and Cuba, places where we expect little opportunity to stock up on frozen food and other first-world delights. Fruit and produce shouldn't be a problem, though.

Yet again, the time came to say good-bye to friends. Nordic Belle II was going north west while Taia needs to continue west. We said our good-byes, which gets ever more tiresome as we do it, and promised to meet up again when we're all back in Canada.

The busy week at the marina came to its end. We left it in the middle of the calmest weather we've had. The trusty Perkins engine isn't used to running more than 30 to 90 minutes at a time. Fortunately, it does it flawlessly and without complaining. We've come most of the way to the west end of Puerto Rico, 100 miles of westing, under sail and engine. Hurricane season will be with us soon and we still have a few countries to visit. Time to haul ass!

As soon as the wind returns we'll head to Ile-a-Vache, Haiti. We're very much looking forward to meeting the people from the Good Samaritan Foundation there. While in the BVI we connected with the founder and picked up all sorts of stuff to bring to the local community and the school that the Foundation built and runs.

Cavernas del Rio Camuy: stalactites, stalagmites, and local denizens

South entrance to Cueva Clara, Cavernas del Rio Camuy

Walking around San Juan Historical Site

Mischief on the ramparts

Street musician in Old San Juan, playing tango-ish salsa

Where did the Plaza de las Palomas get its name?

Cemetery right next to one of the forts. Omen for the soldiers defending it?

Part of the fortifications in Old San Juan

La Coca Waterfall, El Yunque National Forest

Some bird we saw in El Yunque. Pretty bird, pretty view, pretty photo

View to the east from El Yunque National Forest (do you recognize the bird behind me?)

The Virgin Islands

I re-discovered the Virgin islands and fell in love with them this time. It's amazing how weather conditions can impact our experience as cruisers. Exactly an year ago, in March, we got to the Virgin Islands. That time we had strong winds and north swells during our stay in the virgin islands. Finding good anchorages wasn't easy and we were rolling like crazy. This year, however, the conditions were much mellower and and our experience improved considerably.

This time, we stopped in Virgin Gorda for one night and then moved to Norman's Island to spend another night in The Bight. After that, we sailed 35 miles south to visit St. Croix for the first time and meet with friends. We had a wonderful day of sailing with calm seas and light winds that enabled us to fly the spinnaker all the way there. What a joy!

St. Croix, being the one US Virgin island that it's further south from all the others, doesn't see a lot of traffic in terms of charters and even cruisers, setting this island apart from all the rest.. The town is very quiet compared to the rest of the other islands and it even feels more authentic. We met up with our friends from So What, whom we last saw in August in Grenada. We spent a few great days with them and then sailed to Gorda Sound, in Virgin Gorda, our favourite place in the BVIs. 

Boardwalk in Christiansted, St. Croix

The old customs House.

Entrance to the fort.

Inside the fort.

The government house. This building still being used by the current government and, therefore, the 3 floor is not accessible to visitors.

Another view of the Government House.

The kids dancing in the ballroom, Government House.

We spent several days anchored behind New Eustatia island, the island rumoured to be owned by Google's co-founder Larry Page. The crystal clear water with sandy bottom and the protection of the reef makes this a great spot for anchoring. We had a beautiful beach close-by (thanks Larry for letting us used the beach!) and it was the perfect spot for kayaking and kite surfing.

New Eustatia Island.

Hike up Prickly Pear. View of Bitter End Yatch Club.

We saw the Michael Beans' Happy Arrrrr! Show again this year. And again, the kids won the conch blowing contest :)

After a few days anchored in New Eustatia, we decided to leave to go to Anegada with Wind Whisper, Korrigan and Nordic Belle II. Anegada is a pretty island with some beautiful beaches. The island is so flat that you barely see it until you're a few miles out. We rented a car and drove to the north part of the island, where we explored the two most famous beaches. The island is known for its flamingoes but we couldn't see a single one.

Walking around the town in Setting Pt., Anegada.

Matias and Elea building a fort.

The whole gang driving around in Anegada. I'm sure we looked as locals.

Playing soccer with a ball we found at the beach.

Bonfire time! Korrigan and Taia at the background.

After that we went to the north side of Tortola, to explore a few bays we haven't visited last year. We found a few very nice spots but finding a good anchoring spot proved to be difficult in most parts: we had trouble getting our anchor set or there were too many mooring balls and not enough spaces to anchor.

Next we decided to go to St. John and spend a couple of days in Cinnamon Bay. This is a beautiful bay, with crystal clear water, nice snorkelling and a great beach. It even has a nice camping space and small cabins for rent.

Our time in St. Martin

For different reasons, it's always hard to leave St. Martin. Last year we were going to stay for a couple of weeks and ended up staying a month. This year, we wanted to stay for a week and ended up staying three weeks.

The main reason for this is that you can get anything you need in St. Martin. Of all the islands in the Caribbean, St. Martin is the best place to get anything you need for the boat. And if you can't find it there, you can have shipped without paying duties. Another reason is, of course, provisioning. You find very good French food and for good price.

We left Barbuda at 10 pm on a very calm night. The seas were flat making the passage very pleasant. We had a full moon making the experience even more enjoyable. We had to use the engine for about 5 hours but then the wind picked up and we were able to sail the rest of the time. We got to St. Martin at noon but with the big swells coming in from the north, anchoring in Marigot Bay was very uncomfortable for us. With these conditions, we decided to seek the protection of the lagoon. The lagoon has two entrances, one in the French side and another in the Dutch side. The entrance to the lagoon is very well marked in the Dutch side but not so well in the French side. But because we were in the French side, we decided to give it a try and go to the lagoon through the French side. The entrance is very shallow and sure enough we run aground. Not only but twice. Luckily for us, the bottom is all mud and we were able to keep going with the help of some motor boats passing by and leaving a big wake for us. The beauty of anchoring in the lagoon, though, is that is very well protected and so it was flat as a pancake as Matias says. Very opposite to the big swells outside.

We were inside of the lagoon for about 5 days. We did the mandatory touristic visit to Maho beach and went out to see the airplanes land very close to the beach. And once again we enjoyed a very tasty hamburger at Sunset.

Lunch at Sunset watching the planes take-off and land.

The kids enjoying the beach at Maho while a small plane lands.

We got out of the lagoon on a Friday and went to Grand Case for the weekend where some friends (Lagom) were anchored. We had a lot of beach time, some very tasty ribs in a local restaurant and even some diving. We then went back to Marigot to spend another week there. Ernesto set up the swing on Taia and everyday we would have the kids from Lagom and Korrigan aboard Taia where they would spend hours jumping in the water.

Ernesto took the opportunity to install a salt water faucet in the kitchen. Now we can wash dishes using a lot of salt water without wasting some of our precious fresh water. What a luxury!

Teamwork! Ernesto (with some help from the crew) spent a lot of timing rigging a new vang and preventer for Taia.

Look at all that salt water running!

Our third week in St. Martin saw us going inside the lagoon for a second time as there were forecasts of winds of 20-30 kts and north swell coming in again. Going inside ended up being the right decision, as there were a lot of boats dragging anchor outside. We took advantage of being in the lagoon for a second time and had 2 bonfires with the crew of Day Star and Korrigan on a nearby beach.

With the 20+ knts of wind, Matias decided to take his bed sheet out and using it as a spinnaker!

We were told of this abandoned resort near the lagoon. The kids spent a fair amount of time exploring this huge place.

Overall, our stay in St. Martin was very productive and we had a great time. This being the last French island we'll visit, I did a lot of provisioning and I'm happy to say that we won't go hungry anytime soon :)

The BVIs await next.

Antigua and Barbuda

We skipped Antigua and Barbuda last year. Why you may ask? The answer to that is quite simple in fact: we were sick and tired of going against the wind. Ever since we left the Bahamas it was us against the wind and that's not a lot of fun on a sail boat. Someone once told us “When you get to the BVIs, it becomes easier and it's all downwind sailing from there.” Well, that didn't happen. And to get to Antigua from St. Martin you need to go 75 miles east and upwind. That's about 12 hours with the wind on the nose and pounding into the waves. Not surprisingly then, we decided to pass on that last season.

This year, however, the story is quite different. Going north, from Guadeloupe to Antigua, is a lot easier and the wind angle is a lot better. So we decided to go and visit Nelson's island and its sister, Barbuda.

The first impression I got from Antigua was how different it was from the other Caribbean islands. It's flatter and not as green. The land is made of calcareous rock which has the unfortunate side effect of making the water milky. The snorkelling wasn't great but found lots of protected anchorages and beautiful beaches.

We checked in in English Harbour and after spending a couple of days walking around the very picturesque town and salivating while looking at the mega yachts in the marinas, we started moving east to other anchorages. We spent a few days in Green Island, a beautiful and quiet anchorage, with lots of coral reefs protecting us from the swell and waves. Here Ernesto started taking his first lessons in kite surfing. First with Olivier, from Korrigan and then from a school.

While in English Harbour we saw a few people finishing the Atlantic Challenge. They crossed the Atlantic rowing in these special canoes. Antigua was the final destination. Brave people!

Visiting Berkely Fort, English Harbour.

With the crew of Korrigan, whom we met in Guadaloupe.

Nelson's Dockyard.

After that it was a few days in Great Bird island, at the north of Antigua and then all the way west to Jolly Harbour. We almost circumnavigated the island.

Green Island.

Look who's up on the board!

And wipe out! It's not as easy as it looks...

Great Bird Island, north of Antigua.

Hike up Great Bird Island.

Jumby Bay, north of Antigua

The east side of Antigua is full of beautiful beaches and anchorages, making this island a perfect place to charter a boat and hop from anchorage to anchorage without moving much.

Jolly Harbour

Canals in Jolly Harbour.

Deep Bay. Picture courtesy of Korrigan.

A rare picture of both of us, courtesy of Korrigan.

35 miles north you can find Barbuda. It only has about 1200 inhabitants making it look almost like a deserted island. The first thing to notice about Barbuda is the beach. It starts at the north-west side of the island and keeps going and going and going until the south-east part of the island. The second thing to notice is that water here is clear. Now imagine being in an almost deserted island with miles and miles of beach in front of you.... not bad at all.

Beautiful beach and almost deserted!

The kids spent hours playing here!