So this is what they meant by "Easterly Trade Winds"...lol

Ahh! Puerto Rico "the Island of Enchantment", the smallest and most easterly of the Greater Antilles, approximately 110 miles long and 35 miles wide, with a mountainous interior that lies directly in the path of the easterly trade winds.

We are now transiting the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Experienced cruisers have told us that the southern coast is the toughest. We'll be heading eastward into the prevailing winds and seas and it is a TOUGH beat.
Ha! "We've read all about that" and "Haven't we heard that before?"

Yesterday, we left our quiet anchorage in Boquerón around 0600. We had a trip of 22 miles. "Don't sweat the small stuff"..right?

We had to round Cabo Jojo (the south western tip of Puerto Rico); safely pass by the Arrecife de Margarita (the longest reef along the Puerto Rican shoreline) and arrive at our next anchorage La Parguera (about 8-1/2 miles east of Cabo Jojo) before the trades picked up.

We left too late!

To our surprise (we now refer to ourselves as "Dumb and Dumber"), we encountered steady 25kt easterly trade winds and huge easterly swells at least 6-7 ft even though on the North and West side of the coast they were experiencing North-West swells. This is why we read that it is best to leave your anchorage at 0300 and get into our next anchorage by 0800-0900.
For those following us, when you look at the map and see the "staging" anchorage at Cabo Jojo is only an hour away from Boquerón, don't be fooled. Make the extra step to stage to Cabo Jojo the day before because you just can't make La Parquera in time.
We arrived by 11 am and dropped the anchor with white caps and 28 kts winds blowing.