Welcome to the Turks and Caicos Islands. It took us 4 days to get here - the longest single trek I will have taken on the Pintita's voyage.  She took almost 2 weeks to get from North Carolina to St. Thomas so this was small by comparison.  There , be one or two more single over nighters before getting to Baltimore in mid March.  Since overnighting is a lot different than Island hopping, I'll give some details on what it's like.

Over the days, we were on a watch rotation (for the 3 of us). It was more strict at night than during the day.  We stood one hour watches and rotated on the hour.

1.       Ron at wheel, Tom on standby in the cockpit, Phil below asleep.
2.      Tom at wheel, Phil on standby, Ron below asleep.
3.      Phil at wheel, Ron on standby, Tom below asleep.

The first night, it took 3 to 4 rotations before we were able to sleep well (with all the banging and wind noise).  We would begin sleeping at around 7pm.  After a day or two, sleeping on standby was no problem.  During daylight, those not at the wheel were free to roam about.

We certainly miss Bri's gourmet cooking but Captain Phil has done an honorable job of keeping the crew fed.  Eggs to order and toast, French toast, for breakfast, great sandwiches for lunch, and tuna, pasta, dinners.  A well fed crew is a happy crew.

Conditions from Puerto Rico to T&C

Generally, winds ENE at 25 with sea swells at 10 to 12 feet.  Squalls every 4 to 6 hours (usually when Tom had the wheel) - more frequent at night.  Squalls had light to heavy rain and winds 30 to 50 knots.  The stronger winds created a big weather helm that made the boat round up into the wind and made it nearly impossible to turn the wheel back down.  Fortunately, they were all short lived.  The seas had a fair amount of cross swells (waves coming from 2 directions) that made for very choppy and uncomfortable seas. Yesterday was a welcome exception - the wind and waves moderating some and fewer squalls.

We left San Juan at 8am (dock at 7) Saturday.  Captain Phil had cleared us out of the US on Friday.  Leaving the harbor brought immediate rough conditions that persisted for the next 2 days.  We were on a course of 310 to 340 degrees day and night.  We were broad reaching on the same (starboard) tack for the entire trip.  We tied a boom jibe preventer onto the mainsail boom to prevent accidental jibes.  Depending on the swell direction, steering a straight course was usually difficult. On the third day, we sailed on the north side of three banks (under water plateaus).  On the last day, the wind moderated and we motor sailed for about 14 hours straight.  At 4am today, we shut off the engine and hove to about 20 miles north of the Providenciales bight at the west end of the T&C.  We had to wait till 8am for our guide boat to come out and lead us in through the reefs. 

Over the 4 days, we were greeted on two separate occasions by schools of dauphins.  On the second occasion, Tom and I went to the bow and I'm certain the dauphins could see us as the swam back and fourth across our bow - sometimes jumping out of the water. They seemed to tire after about 20 minutes and would fall off behind.  This morning, about 5 miles off our entrance to the reef, we saw a hump back whale jump and clear the water making a huge splash when she/he came back down.  It was an awesome sight.

We will be here at Turtle Cove Marina tonight and tomorrow night.  Tom will fly out tomorrow and Dewey and Mary will arrive tomorrow night.  We will be off again on Thursday morning.  The entrance through the reef was unreal.  I assumed having a guide was a local money maker but after all the twists and turns, we were all glad we had one. 

 

The steering has held up well but the main sail keeps breaking the plastic slugs that attach it to the track on the mast.   Phil has tried finding slides at ports since Antigua but has been unsuccessful. Coming in this morning, he noticed 4 in a row that were broken.  The plan is to start removing slides from the mizzen sail to install on the main.  Also, found another small tear near the head of the jib that will have to be fixed before leaving.

 

 

The weather in Puerto Rico is significantly different than that ESE of here.   We have had rain 2 to 3 times since we came in 24 hours ago.  It's also odd that there are such a limited number of marinas.  We are at the only "public" marina in the city.  The marina office didn't open till after 10am - you can ignore the 8:30am on the sign.  Tom, Brianna, and I took a taxi into Old San Juan around noon and toured the majestic Fort El Moro (see photos).  The fort was on our left as we entered the San Juan harbor and will be on our right tomorrow morning when we leave.  We walked over 2 or 3 fairly major highways this morning to get to the Pueblo supermarket where we got our last provisions for the next several days.  Brianna left at about 3:30 to catch her plane back to Baltimore (brrrr).  We will certainly miss her and I'm only hoping we can survive on the cooking of the remaining 3 old "salts".  Time will tell but I'm sure we could all survive for several days on what we have gained in weight.  The winds for the next 3 days look a little stronger than normal - East, 20 to 30.  The night sailing will be "fun".   Will likely not post again until we get to Providenciales on Turks and Caicos. 

Woke up to a rain storm around 6 am.  Got clothes off the lifelines and closed up the boat but it only lasted for 15 minutes.  Left the anchorage at around 9am and didn't get into San Juan till around 5:30pm, making this the longest sailing day yet.  Had the biggest seas yet with swells averaging 6 or 7 feet with infrequent 9 or 10 footers.  As we rounded the fort into Old San Juan, we were hit with a downpour and squall just as we were taking down the mainsail.  By the time we got to the marina, it had cleared up.  Since the marina closed at 5, we ended up staying on one of the T heads.   Had dinner at the Sizzler steak house overlooking the marina.

Since Brianna departs tomorrow at around 6, we plan to tour the city tomorrow.  Captain Phil, Tom, and I will leave early Saturday morning for a 3 day, two night sail to the Turks and Caicos.  

Anchored in a not so sheltered cove in Endanada Bay on Culebra last night.  Had lots of wind overnight but the wave action made it a fairly good anchorage.   It was surprising to come in and see 10 or 15 boats anchored with no shelter but the reef on the south side of the entrance.  Was lots of noise but the best night sleep I've had yet.

This morning we were up before 7 and after our first "light" breakfast.  Weighed anchor at around 8:30 and were off for my longest (in a day) sail yet - about 45 miles.  It's funny because that's my average distance single handing on the bay.  Of course, I usually start out before 7 and sail till 4 or 5.   We sailed to a small island just off Fajardo.  It is the largest town on the east end of Puerto Rico and the place where Joan and I caught the ferry to Culebra two years ago.  In fact, we can see the ferry landing from where we are anchored.  There were lots of wrecked boats of all sizes all over the island.  The place looks a bit of an eye sore.  It appears they are still recovering from some recent hurricane.   We dropped the dinghy and went for a ride around the island - looking for some good snorkeling. It was refreshing to get in the water but the visibility was very poor. 

Tomorrow, it's on to San Joan where we will be staying in a marina.

Around noon two days ago, I got a call that my Dad who lives in Florida had been rushed to the hospital in a coma.  The gardener had just spoken with him an hour before so finding him was some kind of divine intervention - thank you God.  My sister hopped on a plane from Pheonix and arrived yesterday at 3pm.  By the time she got to the hospital, Dad was conscious and talking.  That was a blessing.  But the doctors concluded from the MRI that he had a 2 brain tumors that caused the seizures.  He is doing better but more tests to  come.  Please pray for him.

Yesterday  broad reached  from the East end of St. Johns back to Charlotte Amalie.  We were in 20 to 25 knot trades with 7' swells when one of the previous repairs in a steering cable let go.  Luckily, Fred (the Pintita's trusted autohelm) is a direct drive to the steering quadrant so that we were able to limp back into port.  Of course, this was after some quick action by skipper and crew, we rounded up, started the engine, and tacked to a hove to position.  On a starboard tack, we motor sailed the 15 miles back to port where we dropped and anchor and re-attached the steering cable. This morning, Captain Phil purchased a couple more clamps that should hold the remainder of the trip. 

Today, it's onto Culebra at the east end of PR.

Left Jost Van Dyke early - but not too early to have some great French toast for breakfast.  Broad  reached  SW to the cut between the west end of Tortola and the east end of St. John.  Had a great view into Soppers hole (West End) where I remember clearing customs 25 years ago when chartering.  Sailed south along the east end of St. John, rounded the point on the SE corner and jibed over to a broad reach into Hansen Bay.  This was our original (3 days ago) first day destination.  Was sure glad we made it because it is a beautiful anchorage with good shelter.  We are not in but are adjacent to the National Park.   Snorkeled in the afternoon and had another fantastic meal, thanks to Bri.  See Photo page for shots from the last 3 days.

It's Wednesday, 2/26.  We were up this morning at 6:30, fixed coffee and took on water (Pintita holds about 200 gallons and we take on about a hundred every 3 or 4 days - with 4 people on board).  We had a nice breakfast and got underway around 9am.  We motored out toward Ft. Sumter and then headed north into the ICW.  As we did, one of the more interesting events of the trip began to unfold.  A good size tug pushing a small barge was gaining on us from the rear.  We assumed he was going somewhere else but started getting nervous the closer he got.  When he was about a hundred yards behind us, we radioed him and he told us that he, too, was going up the ICW.  He wanted to pass us before entering the narrow cut and told us that about 3 miles into the cut, he expected that we both would be running aground since the area was known for severe shoaling - we both drew 6'.  We followed him up the canal and soon, another tug with a larger barge came up from behind us.  We were now sandwiched in between two VERY large vessels with very little room to maneuver.  The tug/barge behind us asked to pass us and we obliged.  As he began to pass, the barge in front of us ran aground and stopped. We quickly stopped and were a little fearful of being run over by the one still behind. The three of us ended up spending about an hour, from 10:30am to 11:30am maneuvering around trying to get off the shoals all over the channel.  We exchanged positions in line twice with the second tug.  My video shows the two tugs jockeying around trying to break free.  Around 11am, the first tug made it through. We got off at around 11:15 and never again saw the second tug (who drew 7').  It was quite an ordeal with all three captains chatting and sharing possible strategies over the VHF on channel 1. 

It has been raining lightly all day.  Thank goodness for the enclosure that is keeping us dry.  The temp is around 50 so it's a pretty miserable day.  To add to the excitement, the ICW north of Charlestown is about the most boring part of the ICW I've ever experienced - mile after mile of treeless grasslands.

 

Note: posted this 2/27