Haters be Hating the Trades, Sailors be Loving Them!

"Exhilarating," Paul said. He had a good point, I could hardly deny that. It was around midnight and we were somewhere between the Turks and Caicos and Hispaniola, rapidly approaching Luperón, our destination in the Dominican Republic. We were screaming through the water at 8+ knots on a not-very-comfortable beam reach. Paul was in heaven. I was seasick and tired, but could nonetheless appreciate the excellent sailing opportunity we had been dealt.

As we approached Luperón, we realised we were going to get there in the dark. The entrance to the harbour is straightforward and well charted, but we had never done it or seen it before. We had sailed so fast that we were getting there 6 to 10 hours before expected. It was the fastest 150 miles we had ever sailed. But, refusing to enter the harbour in the dark, we decided to heave-to and wait for daylight. Even hove-to for about 4 hours, we averaged 5.9 knots that passage. Exhilarating indeed.

The harbour in Luperón. Great protection, but beware those moorings! (we dragged ours)

Paul, a salty dog if I ever met one, landed in George Town, Bahamas, with the sole purpose of helping us get Taia safely from the Bahamas to the Virgin Islands. His plane landed at 2 pm and we were sailing away from George Town by 5 pm.

The passage from George Town to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, took 44 hours. It was good sailing, although the wind died and we had to motor for 17 of the 44 hours. We took a cursory look at the Turks and Caicos, meaning that we didn't even check in or get off the boat. A one-night break and we weighed anchor early the next day to take advantage of the favourable winds that would help us get to the Luperón, Dominican Republic. And get there we did.

The north shore of the Dominican Republic

From Luperón, cruising boats typically wait for a good weather window to go east and cross the Mona Passage, which is notorious for kicking up very uncomfortable seas. We chose a short window that promised to be bumpy the first few hours but quite easy after that. Bumpy is an understatement, as we motored against 15 to 20 knots of wind and 4 to 5 foot seas that seemed to be about a millisecond apart. The whole boat shook while the crew held on and took the beating stoically. A few hours later the wind died and the seas flattened out, giving us an easy power ride through the Mona Passage to Boquerón, Puerto Rico. That passage was 46 hours long, with 40 of them under power.

Cabo Samaná, eastern Dominican Republic, from the Mona Passage

After a one-night break in Boquerón, we continued on to Ponce, only 40 miles to the east. Fancying ourselves old salts, we decided to beat into the wind through the night. That is how you tack through 80 miles when in reality you just want to cover 40. But the wind was good and the sailing fun. After fueling in Ponce we motored into the Trades (and its waves) to Puerto Patillas, in the south east corner of Puerto Rico.

Good morning Puerto Rico!

In Puerto Patillas we got some fitful sleep, everyone annoyed at the swell that made it into the bay and gave us a rolly night. The Trades were making us pre-pay for the great sailing we were to have the next day. We weighed anchor early in the morning and enjoyed a nice beam reach and run to Fajardo, in the north east corner of Puerto Rico.

Sometimes Paul relaxed. Sometimes...

While Paul stayed aboard in Fajardo, the rest of the crew took a couple of days off in San Juan, visiting friends and touring around the city. From Fajardo we expected an easy upwind power ride to Culebra, only 20 miles east. It started off well, but the Trades again decided to slap us around a little bit. The closer we got to the end of the Thornless Path, the better we understood how unforgiving the Trade Winds can be. We made it to Culebra unscathed, though tired.

There are another 20 miles between Culebra and Saint Thomas, the western-most of the US Virgin Islands, where Paul needs to catch his plane back home. After a single night in Culebra, we decided to take advantage of a rare opportunity: the Trades were mollified by a trough, so we motored the last 20 miles against 5-knot winds. An easy power ride into our final destination.

Overall, we covered 850 miles in 1 day short of 3 weeks. Our average speed was 5.6 knots and we ran the engine almost 50% of the time (76 hours); the sails and wind kept us moving the rest of the time (82 hours).

This post is just about the sailing, but we did plenty more when we weren't sailing. Throughout the last 3 weeks, Paul was the impetus behind endless boat projects that he executed flawlessly (with my help most of the time); too many improvements to the boat to mention. We also did some sight seeing and enjoyed Natalia's excellent cooking.

Paul is a salty dog, no doubt about that. We are very thankful to him, for the hard work, the great company, and the friendship. The decision to invite him to transit the Thornless Path with us was the right one.