We arrived in Salinas, Puerto Rico yesterday afternoon. Our plan was to stop somewhere along the way for an overnight stay, but we carried on and made it from Esperanza, Vieques to Salinas in 8 hours. It was a wild ride the last 2/3 of the trip, with mixed up seas between Vieques and Puerto Rico proper as the winds built from 10-20k. As we sailed down the south coast of PR the seas became more consistent out of the ENE but the wind kept building into the mid 20k range, capping out at 28k for the last few hours. We went from being in 1000' of water to an abrupt drop down to 50', causing the seas to get short and steep with breaking waves. Thankfully we were going with the wind and waves but being pushed at 7-8k in those conditions was somewhat unnerving when the water got so shallow. As we rounded the mangrove islands of Bahia de Jobos, we encountered a tug pulling a barge occupying the very channel we wanted to scoot in to get out of the heavy seas. We opted not to share the channel which would have required us to cut in front of him because there was no slowing down to go behind him. We stayed out in the seas and once we passed the mangroves, we rounded up towards Salinas. Whew!

This photo was taken just as we approached Salinas. In this shot, look for the choppy seas, mangroves, sun on the incredibly stunning mountain range, clouds building and storm clouds on top. It pretty much sums up the moment. A lot going on at once.

We'll be here a few days, renting a car and exploring Old San Juan tomorrow or the next day. Our friend Pip on s/v Picaroon is here while his wife Heather is off consulting in Indonesia.