CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored in Ensenada Honda, off the town of Dewey, on the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico

18 18.245' N, 065 17.867' W

The anchorage here in Ensenada Honda is packed with cruising sailboats. Just as soon as all the regatta-related boat traffic departed, NOAA weather forecasts called for big north swells (10-15 foot seas are sufficient to get our attention) through the mid-portion of this week.

If you haven't looked it up on Google Maps already, our CURRENT LOCATION is very well protected from any northerly swell. Consequently, the cruising sailboats flocked here in droves yesterday afternoon. Since we did not need to seek shelter, we simply enjoyed the increased breeze through the boat while we watched the other boats conducting the anchoring drill. Fortunately, nobody elected to position themselves too close to Prudence, and we can continue the recent habit of sleeping soundly throughout the night.

One of the wonderful things about having guests visit us here 'on island' is the potential to transport items from Stateside. Robert and Tammy were kind enough to bring us several items, including a new-to-us laptop computer. When we departed New Bern, I happily sent my work laptop back to the company on my last day of employment. I was elated to be rid of that ball-and-chain. We were a one-computer boat for these first months of cruising. Not surprisingly, I suppose, Sheryl and I found that we often wanted to use the computer at the same time. The purchase of an inexpensive refurbished IBM laptop was the solution (almost exactly like the one I sent away). I now have a familiar keyboard under my fingertips and could not be happier.

Unfortunately, our wireless booster was configured to serve only one computer via an Ethernet cable. Today, we spent some time reconfiguring the booster. The goal was to make it possible to connect both laptops to the internet using their internal wireless cards, while the booster served as a wireless repeater (boosting the WiFi signal from land). It was with some trepidation that we undertook the process of changing settings on the booster. We generally like to operate with the policy, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Especially considering all the troubles we experienced early on with our booster. However, those troubles turned out to be in our favor, as Sheryl became very well acquainted with resetting the booster. Each time we hit a dead-end, she was able to return us to 'square one.' Eventually, we found the desired settings and now both of us can surf the internet, no wires attached.

With this newfound capability, Sheryl took some time to post an old video which did not manage to find its way into previous blog entries.

Please enjoy her recent swim with a Spotted Eagleray here on Culebra: