July 10, Luperon, Dominican Republic
After being "stuck" in Provo, Turks and Caicos for a week due to weather we finally got our weather window opening to leave. Two other boats, "Reckless" and "Evergreen" were exiting as well going to the Dominican Republic and on. We were going to caravan, but they wanted to take the north route across the bank (shoal) and anchor in a more protected anchorage, while we wanted to take the south route which has less coral heads and shallows, and puts us much closer to our next destination. The trade-off being that the anchorage is more exposed and "rolly". We all left at sunup on 6-27, they motored, and we motorsailed to Ambergris Cay. We had radio contact and all arrived safely before sundown. Our target, the DR, lay some 100 miles away across some normally heavy seas.
We slept in the next morning waiting for the sun to be up enough to see the coral heads that lay at the edge of the bank. When we left, we slowly motorsailed looking for an opening out to the Turks Passage. Our guidebook said you could go south of Fish Cay and there were east-west "streets" of coral that you could follow. With Christine on the bow and both of us with our Polarized sunglasses we carefully proceeded to maneuver off the bank. We tried one route that looked promising but had to turn back as the "street" we took eventually dead-ended and we were surrounded by shallow coral. We backed out and went a couple miles further along and tried again. Almost out, but same thing - our "street" dead-ended and we were surrounded by coral again. This time though, we gently bumped a head turning around. The depth was several feet, but the coral heads were, maybe, a foot under the surface and although you could see them, it was difficult with the rough surface of the water and the sun being blotted out by clouds. They were basically everywhere and we maneuvered very slow backing out of the maze but they were too close so we lightly bumped during an ultra-slow turn around. I later found out we bumped the exact spot of our through hull fitting - our speed indicator, and it knocked the seal loose allowing water to seep in. We decided to take the long road and go to the north of Fish Cay - an easier route that only cost about 2-3 hours - a good decision. Along the way I spotted a "marker" indicating a coral bank. As we got closer I noticed it wasn't a marker, but a masthead from a sailboat sticking out of the water. Nice - a sailboat graveyard.
We heard via the radio that Evergreen and Reckless had left at about the same time from their anchorage and were having a rough time with the sea conditions in the Turks Passage. Evergreen reported high 20's wind and 6' seas and advised us to consider turning back. We took it under advisement but continued on to see for ourselves. Just before we made it out to the passage, Evergreen announced that it was too rough and they were turning back - again advising us to reconsider going. Reckless was going to try and continue. We pressed on. It didn't seem too bad and we could always turn around. And our weather window was closing and if we didn't make it out then, we would have been stuck at least a few more days- maybe a week, as another system was moving in.
Once in the Turks Passage, we set sails and were dialed in nicely. Yes, the seas were up but we were running good. And FINALLY, we had some straight east wind instead of constant SE on our nose. I was very happy to sail a close reach. Our plan was to stop at Sand Cay for a few hours and head out before sunset after a short nap. Instead, I decided to hold our course and shoot it straight (about 95 miles) - we were really on a good run. All day we sailed with the seas gradually building to 6' to 8' with some 10+ footers rolling in now and again. We took tons of waves over the bow, and a few breakers too. And yes, water poured in and we had to pump out a few times. The through-hull leak that we didn't yet know about didn't help either. But the wind didn't get over 30 knots and we didn't have to shorten sail. We fell off the wind midway as the wind southed a bit and we motorsailed the last 20 miles or so as the sun was coming up. The north coast of Hispaniola is rugged - even the great mariner Columbus lost the Santa Maria here (on Limonade Reef).
Entering Luperon, DR, I ignored my chartplotter as it was indicating we were going over land. So much for charts here. The harbor entrance is where Columbus' guys found Martin Pinzon and the stolen Pinta (or was it the Nina?). Luckily, it was not night, as the chart was so badly off. Rounding the corner into the harbor, we couldn't believe it. Tons of boats! Boats everywhere. And very few going in and out in this season. These boats were "locked in" for the season, at least. Everyone in Luperon (and such tight quarters) notices every new boat - we were no exception. And flying our "Q" flag for entry it was clear we made a crossing. We were hailed on the radio by our neighbors before we could set anchor. Jeez, let us anchor in peace. We made it!!!
A 25 hour wet crossing and we were tired. We pumped out, organized, cleaned, and took a nap. Reluctantly, I woke up late afternoon and went to clear into customs. It was the usual 3rd world "chinga-la chinga-la" affair. After clearing customs which is located in a trailer with all the windows shut and sweat pouring down both of us, and drained of $67, I had to go see the "Commandante". You go across a llittle ramshackle bridge up a hill and enter a completely empty "office" - a desk, a chair, a phone. Huge windows on either side, the wind was howling through blowing anything not nailed down. He asked for paperwork, which I handed over. He set it all down and out the window it went. I ran outside and retrieved it and we tried again. Out the window again. Hmmm. One by one I held it for him while he pondered what to do. Eventually, he found a piece of old scrap paper and slowly started jotting down random odd information like the width of our boat and, I think, my hair color or something . Oddly, he wanted to keep some of my paperwork for a few days. Eventually, he let me go. We negotiated on what he could keep - my Turks and Caicos entry receipt. A souvenir?
I was told that the agriculture guy and the animal lady would have to board later on. Ok. And so they did. They don't have a dinghy so they hitched a ride with a local. We all went together back to Gypsy Cat. There were four of us. $20 later, we were done, or so I thought.
The next morning, more people showed up boarding our boat (without permission). Another "Comandante", and two others. The Commandante doesn't have a boat either so he has to get a ride from someone too. I was told that although you don't have to pay, it is customary and advisable to do so. After my polite refusals, the "Commandante" ducked his head with a "poor me" look and would not look up after that. Meanwhile the other "official" finally finished playing with my bilge pump and they took off. But not before they told us that they wanted $20 to leave the harbor later when we exit. Jeez, are we finished yet?
Later our "welcoming party" arrived - all good. Christine joked that there was no welcoming party as we were kind of getting used to them. They were just a day late, that's all. "Exuma Grouper" had been here for years. He (Doug) had some horror stories though of the crossings - the one that we just did, and the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico. He had two multi-country rescues. He, like many, came for a few days, and decided not to leave - not an uncommon story. Great guy.
The next morning, we wanted to go to Puerto Plata, a nearby city, the 2nd
oldest in the new world. We dinghyed to the dock and walked into the town
here. The
customs officer was sitting under a tree with his buddy eating a mango. Again we were
hit up with fees. He told us to pay for a "tourist card". We politely refused and they let us go after
we told them we needed to verify the fees. We did go to Puerto
Plata
and it was a fun excursion. I love 3rd World countries. Where else can
you get products like these?:
Next day we went to the once a week fruit market,
but not after being approached by customs again. Ok, so we expected to
pay for the tourist card (which is "official" we found out -
although it looked like a lottery ticket that they sign their name to and
keep). But now, we were told we had to pay a "harbor entry fee".
Ok, when does this end? An hour of lively conversation with Christine
even being accused, in a friendly way, that she talks too much. The DR
is, hands down, the most ridiculous customs process we have been to, period.
So ramshackle, unorganized, disjointed, and retarded. But you have to
love it. Otherwise we wouldn't be here.
Luperon has a lot of fun things to do. Swim at the yacht club
,
hang out at the outdoor cafes
,
dancing at night
You
get around by gua-gua
when you want to leave town.
This is where so many cruisers, especially Americans and Canadians spend the hurricane season. It is probably the best "hurricane hole" in the Caribbean. Surrounded by mountains that disrupt the winds, and mangroves that are soft, yet you can tie up into them. The harbor is muddy and "fertile" with all the boats but it has incredible bioluminescence/phosphorescent properties. Any splash or movement of the water at night stirs up a bright green display. Going to the bathroom has never been so fun. Even flushing the toilet in your boat causes the seawater to fill the bowl with sparkly green color.
There is such a great community here. You are in touch with everybody on the radio, there are events going on all over, and you're easily caught up in it and "island time" is in full effect here with so little getting done (like errands and repairs and such). A simple repair can take days. With the lack of parts, the heat, the other diversions, you have to really have a discipline. Everyone's boat needs fixing - everyone's. For some it might take a week, others a month, and for some it turns into years. We are often coaxed into staying the season, or longer.
One of our guidebooks, "Passages South" is used or known by almost every
cruiser in the Caribbean. It has been very helpful in our travels here
picking routes, times, weather conditions, anchorages, etc. The author
is Bruce Van Zant. Here I am with him and his newest groupie
(Christine)
.
Twice a week he gives weather info and advice on transits. So, that's
what we are doing now. Waiting for a weather window. Hurricane
Bertha was on our latitude a few days ago and heading our way here but moved
north and is no longer a threat. There are other tropical disturbances
though and local conditions that we have to monitor. Our next passage
after the north coast of the DR is the Mona Passage. It is a 2 night,
1 day passage that can be very tricky with high wind, currents, shoals
affecting the currents, and lightning that moves off the west coast of
Puerto Rico. Quote from Wikipedia: "The eighty mile stretch of sea
between the two
islands is one of the most difficult passages encountered in the
Caribbean.
It is fraught with tidal currents of strange twists and turns that are
created by those two big islands on both sides of it, and by sand banks that
extend out for many miles from both coasts." Looks like we are heading
out Friday night transiting the north coast and will do "The Mona"
Monday-Tuesday.