Boqueron
19 March 2008 | 18 01.2'N:67 11.07'W
Written last week.
Will update later regarding Vieques.
WE made it across the Mona, I was sweating that one. So many people like to regal you with tales of woe that is was beginning to shake me a bit. We took a twenty four hour window that kind of popped up unexpectedly and had a great trip.
We waited for the window in Samana, DR which is famous because 10,000 humpback whales travel there from Jan-March to mate. We were hearing people all over the radio talking about seeing whales breaching in the water, coming too close for comfort to their boats etc. We did not see ONE SINGLE WHALE!!! We zigzagged across the bay twice carefully scanning the waters and NOTHING. We thought we saw a dolphin tail but it could have easily been flotsam. However, when we were leaving to cross the Mona on a moonless night our depth sounder was showing twenty ft when it should have been hundreds of ft which totally freaked us out. It was most likely due to a whale or other sea creature being under the boat. So, yes, at the worst possible time and in the most anxiety ridden way, I guess we may have 'had contact' with a whale. There is nothing like navigating out of a harbor in pitch black when your depth sounder reads drastically different than what it is suppose to!
Oh yeah, while we were in the Mona our port engine started acting up.the revs started fluctuating, when we had the engine reving at 2400 it dropped to 2000. We brought the engine down to 2000rpms which kept it at bay until we pulled into Boqueron, PR. When it started happening again, we were almost there so we didn't stress too much. After thirty hours we dropped anchor and slept like a rock.
When we woke up we saw that some of our friends were in the anchorage, which was a nice surprise. However, we needed to beat feet to Vieques to pick up Rachael so after listening to the weather and hearing that there was a moderation in the trades, we pulled anchor and tried to make our way to Ponce. Once we rounded the corner we had thirty plus knots right on the kisser...not the moderation we had anticipated and to top it all off our port engine died!! Yeah, this is the type of situation O loves....thirty kts, five ft wind chop and one engine. Anyway, he turned us around and we headed back to Boqueron where we stayed for the week waiting for that next 'moderation'.
It turns out that quite a number of boats had received bad fuel in Luperon. It was easy to narrow it down because out of all the boats that had problems(about six) Luperon was the the common denominator. O changed the filters and she was thankfully as good as new(knock on wood). Then sure enough starboard started acting up. O will have to write about that.
Because we were picking up Rachael and then my aunt Mary in Vieques we provisioned in Boqueron. Make no mistake, I hate provisioning. It is a pain to carry it all to the dinghy, then load in onto the boat where it all has to be washed, unpacked and stored. UGH. We provisioned for three days!! We rented a car so did things other than food. O got marine supplies, kids clothes and all the other little things that a Wal Mart has to offer. Naturally I had forgotten my list on the boat so I was shopping blind but we managed to get it all.
Boqueron is a cute little seaside village. Most things are closed during the week and it is kind of eery how quite it is. However, during the week the college kids fromt eh nearby University invade, street carts selling oysters and empanadas open and of course Medella, the local brew.
After a week we pulled anchor and again set off for the twenty four hour trip to Vieques. It started off OK but quickly detereriated. We pulled into Isla de Muertes, or Coffin Island which was about half way down the coast for eight hours waiting for the night lee. Once evening came the winds died and we set off. Twelve hours later we were in Vieques, what a relief.
Sorry about the delay in posting but I have no internet access...ugh