We left San Juan at around 5:30, just as the sun was starting to make an appearance. The lights from the land were bright but we were still quite nervous heading out in the dark. We had been so protected in the mooring field that we didn't know what to expect when we got out to sea.
The waves were quite big and the sky looked gloomy and heavy with rain clouds. We put up the main sail and hauled out the Genoa in preparation for some wind. And then we motored! and motored! and motored! We motored for 18 hours! We knew that we would need to do some motoring, but the weather forecast was at least six hours out, if not more! Finally at midnight, we switched the Donk off. Relieved that the wind had finally filled in, we enjoyed the silence. The waves were still quite big and the time between each wave was a few seconds. The wind lasted 6 hours before it dropped again. We had to motor for another few hours when the wind filled in again. The waves settled and we made good progress.
Fifty hours after leaving Puerto Rico we could see the land of the Dominican Republic and dark grey clouds ahead of us. The waves picked up again as the first squall hit us. The wind screamed around us, gusting up to 35 knots.
 |
| Worried skipper |
We struggled to keep the boat on track and going forward. At one stage we were getting blown closer to shore. We pushed up the revs on the engine as much as we could and tried to get through the waves.
 |
| Top right hand gauge |
We had to monitor the temperature of the engine as it tends to overhead when put under pressure. I kept a beady eye on the temperature gauge while Andrew fought the waves.
 |
| Always seems to be raining when cruise liners are in |
After three squalls eventually passed, we saw the entrance to the harbour. We had booked a berth at the Ocean World Marina as there was more bad weather coming and we wanted to be tucked away somewhere safe. We actually never planned to go to the Dominican Republic, but as I have said many times before, weather is our guide.
Initially we were told by the harbour master that we would need to tie up to the fuel dock as there was no space for us, even though we had booked a week prior to our arrival. Thankfully, just before we got in we were called on the radio again and we were told that they had found a space for us.
 |
| Calypso |
We have only been in a marina once since leaving home. It was quite nerve wracking, but Andrew parked Calypso like a pro!
Soon after arriving, the armada (navy) arrived at our boat, took pictures and told Andrew to go and check in. After handing over more $$$ in cash (the card machine wasn't working), we were free to explore. Did I mention in my last post when Andrew checked out of Puerto Rico he was told that he should not have paid anything to leave the Spanish Virgins? Only pay on arrival. Nice to know after the fact when we have forked out a fortune. Moving swiftly on...
There is high cement dock on one side and poles between the boats on the other.
Andrew managed to miss both targets and Calypso glided into the berth.
 |
| Gives "Jump ship" a whole new meaning |
 |
| Fishing boat neighbour |
Soon after arriving, the armada (navy) arrived at our boat, took pictures and told Andrew to go and check in. After handing over more $$$ in cash (the card machine wasn't working), we were free to explore. Did I mention in my last post when Andrew checked out of Puerto Rico he was told that he should not have paid anything to leave the Spanish Virgins? Only pay on arrival. Nice to know after the fact when we have forked out a fortune. Moving swiftly on...
Ben on Kintaro had arrived a few hours before us. They had caught fish along the way and gave us a few fillets for supper. Delicious!
They put us on the far side of the marina. The walk to anywhere was quite long but it was good to get off the boat after two days at sea.
The water was the dirtiest we have seen in a long time. Rubbish floated along the canal, washing back and forth with the flow of the tide.
The marina offers a shuttle to the shop but they only take one person per boat. So Andrew and I decided to try and get an Uber so that both of us could go. How hard could it be? Uber was easy and reasonable in Puerto Rico, so it should be the same, right?
The uber fair was about $4 on the app. Andrew agreed to that price, but soon afterwards got a message from the driver saying he wanted $25, because we were tourists. We cancelled that driver and Andrew lost rock, paper, scissors, and went to the shop in the free shuttle. Nothing worse that the feeling of being ripped off!
Ocean World Marina has a huge section which has been developed into a waterpark.
I am not a fan of animals in captivity nor performing for the public. We wouldn't normally have gone as it is around $70 per person for a day pass, but was free as part of the package for those who moor in the marina. I went on the premise that I was checking up on the poor animals.
 |
| The only "snake" we found |
 |
| Feeding the nurse sharks |
 |
| Not my best |
It was very impressive and the animals were well trained to do their tricks. I kept thinking of the vicious seal attack in Cape Town during the seal show. A lot of fish was used to bribe the seal and the dolphins during their shows.
Dolphins are always a treat to see but I prefer to see them in their own habitat, the open ocean.
 |
| I hope they swim in the big pool after closing |
The birds were brilliant and Laura loved them!
 |
| Regal look! |
 |
| Poor toucan looked so sad on his own! |
 |
| Through the bars of his cage |
You could swim in the beautiful blue water of the man-made pool or snorkel with the fish in the large aquarium.
No fingers or hands but you could introduce your whole body and snorkel with the fish!
 |
| Andrew on the phone to Jim |
We went for a walk and found a small supermarket selling hard tack, huge avocados, big bottles of beer and a few other things.
 |
| Beach front on the main road |
 |
| Interesting murals |
 |
| Entrance to the harbour |
 |
| Calm before the storm |
We kept being told by the local fishermen who came down to check on their boats that the bad weather was still coming. Apparently we would be quite protected from the wind, but the surge was what we had to look out for. A bit concerning when at low tide our boat was below the level of the concrete dock!
We decided to head into the town and go up the cable car. We had been given the number of a taxi driver who was used a lot in the marina. (No thanks to the Marina staff who expected us to use Uber!)
In his message to Andrew he said he would charge $12, there and back. That seemed very reasonable so we agreed.
It was very busy and we waited over an hour to get into the cable car. There was lots to entertain us while we waited.
 |
| Finally our turn |
 |
| Views from the top |
Mt. Isabel de Torres towers 793 meters above the city of Puerto Plata. Christ the Redeemer seems to embrace the visitors as the statue stands with arms outstretched. The statue is one of the main features on the mountain.
 |
| A typical house |
The mountain was beautiful with lots of trees and greenery.
Unfortunately we couldn't stay long as we had arranged for the taxi driver to return at 2pm to collect us. As it had taken so long to get up there we only had about an hour to walk around.
By the time we got down the taxi driver was there, waiting for us. When he dropped us off he said that we owed him $24. When Andrew questioned him he said he had told us $12 there and back, meaning $12 back!! We ended up paying $20 as we had no small money and he didn't have enough change.
We judge a country on the way we are treated as visitors and this wasn't going well. Considering the marina is far away from anywhere, one has to take a taxi. A trip costing $25 is R461! Rather a lot of money for a 20 minute trip to town.
We waited for the surge and the bad weather which didn't really affect us. We did get some wind and the waves crashing over the wall in front of us gave us an idea of how big the waves were. We were very protected in the marina.
Sadly others in the Caribbean were not so lucky. It seems the bad weather was extensive reaching as far south as Martinique and all the way to Colombia.
We heard of a few boats that were in trouble during this spate of bad weather. One boat was Yellow Bird, which was in Trinidad with us. The huge waves pulled their anchor loose and threw the boat onto the rocks. Ben was alone on board. His partner, Vicki was away. He was unable to do anything to save the boat but managed to get ashore. He lost everything, except his passport and the dinghy!
Watch his video recounting his story on Instagram:
After a few days the weather had calmed enough for us to leave. We prepared for an overnight sail to Matthew Town, Bahamas, 140 nm trip.
One is only allowed to leave the DR with permission and papers from the navy. Andrew checked out but they were only going to give us our papers at 6am the following morning. The evening before we left, they came to our boat and presented us with our papers. About ten minutes later they were back, saying they needed the papers back.
About twenty minutes later four chaps from the armada arrived with our papers. One asked if he could come on board and have a look around. After shouting down to Laura that a strange man was coming aboard we said no problem. He got into the cockpit, peered down the companionway and then said it was okay and got off the boat. They gave us our papers, hovered around for a bit and then moved on to Ben's boat. We are not sure if they were expecting something else from us or not.
In the next installment we reach The Bahamas. We have talked about sailing to The Bahamas for more than a year, so it was wonderful for us to finally be there.
No comments:
Post a Comment