Caribbean Sea
It's 05:57 Wednesday 15 May 2013. I've woken in a cold sweat. The alarm is about to go off and soon Maynard will ask me again if we should head North to Chesapeake Bay, USA or South to Colombia. 3 minutes to go. Yesterday we cleared Customs & Immigration in the Dominican Republic but decided to drop anchor 13 miles south of Casa de Campo to get our sea legs again and just take a breath before heading out to sea. If questioned by authorities we'll say we're undergoing a repair. The weather is perfect for travelling in both directions. The previous crew who we trusted to stay with us have deserted us but we know we have more than enough experience to carry on and in actual fact we may be better off this way. It's tempting to go back to the USA where Direct TV and the phone works, people speak English and we're back in our comfort zone, but it's 1,500 miles and even though thousands of boats spend the summer on the east coast of the USA, there's always the threat of hurricanes. Colombia is only 540 miles and we can tick off a new Continent. 6:00 am.....decision made. We're off to Colombia.
We have a NE wind of 15 kn and seas of 1m. 35 miles from Isla Saona, we spot a panga heading our way at full speed. Michael looks in the binoculars and the two men are wearing hoods. They are an awful long way offshore in an open boat so Michael and I are immediately on guard. They turn the panga and shoot straight for our transom as Michael asks me what weapons we have on board. Before I can answer, they look at our home port and keep going and stop again at a white buoy we hadn't noticed bobbing in the sea. They are checking their fishing lines. Their hoods protect them from the fierce sun and are nothing for us to worry about. Whew. You can never be too complacent.
The wind steadily increases and south of Hispaniola, the beam east sea starts building. We are in 2 - 3 meter seas and the stabilisers are working easily. It's 29 deg C outside but we are comfortable in the air conditioning. Flying fish are everywhere. One morning we find 12 on our port side, the side where the beams seas hit the hull. One little chap ended up under the dinghy on the aft fly deck which is 12 feet above sea level. Large pods of Atlantic Spotted dolphins dance, leap and play all around the boat feeding on the flying fish. Michael checks the engine room every 6 hours and not a drop of water is found in the bilges. Half way across, Maynard is on the satellite phone talking to colleagues in Australia and the USA as work never stops for him.
Having a power vessel means we had the choice of doing this trip in 3 days or 1-1/2 days but because the weather was slowly moving away and was optimum for the departure in the Dominican Republic, Maynard choose the option of doing a slower speed to avoid a low moving off to the west. We pass through rain showers and storms during the first two nights. We stick to our watches of 3 hours on and 6 hours off for the 3 days it takes to cross to South America. As we near Cabo De La Vela, the beam seas are now 4 meters (13 feet) and the wind is 30 - 35 knots. Maynard has plotted a course SSW to avoid the ITZE low which had been sitting off Cabo for the past couple of days so we are in the messy leftovers from that. Just south of Cabo De La Vela, notorious for wind, we finally turn and run with the swell and immediately the boat feels fabulous. Our bodies are always moving in a beam sea so it feels great to be more relaxed.
Saturday morning and the above photo is our first proper view of South America, just north of Santa Marta. We call the Coast Guard and then Marina Santa Marta who provide us with 5 line handlers. Maynard has never brought Vanish into a berth solo but with our powerful bow and stern thrusters and his knowledge of wind, current and drift speed, we slide into the berth easily. Our 540 mile passage is over. This is home for the next few months and it looks fantastic. Santa Marta is the oldest European founded city in South America and has towering mountains overlooking the city. In fact, it has a 5700 m (18,700 ft) mountain called Pico Cristobal Colon 45 miles away with snow all year round overlooking the ocean, the highest peak viewable from sea level in the world. We all worked extremely well together to get here. We are the biggest vessel to stay in the marina in 18 months and the staff can't do enough for us. Michael is walking around with a grin as huge as South America itself and loves living his new life on Vanish. Maynard and I are now quite relaxed and think we'll do a couple of road trips before we fly to the USA for business. Stay tuned. As you know, those road trips are never dull.