CURRENT LOCATION: Tied to a mooring ball off of Tortuga Beach, Culebrita, Puerto Rico

18 19.141' N, 065 13.721' W

Yesterday, our DOR (day of rest) began with the best of intentions. We sat in the cockpit until nearly lunchtime, reading paperbacks and watching as other sailboats started to invade our private harbor.

Time on the boat was made a bit more comfortable by the addition of a mooring line to the stern, creating a swell harness (the theory of which was discussed in a previous posting). Keeping the boat pointed stern-to the swell, in this case, prevented the huge rolling motion we had experienced on our first night here.



In the afternoon, I got it in my head that I should try to do some spear fishing. I was hoping for lobster, but none was to be found among the coral at the edges of the harbor. So, I took a few shots at a perfect single-serving-sized bluestriped grunt, but he was too fast for me.

Meanwhile Sheryl did a little bit of snorkeling a good distance away from my spear, and caught some great photos of a big school of Blue Tang:




In addition to snorkeling, Sheryl also did a little casual beach combing. As I joined her on a sandy beach which curls around the southern-most tip of Culebrita, I found a boat fender washed up on the beach. It was in good shape, and I decided to tow it home behind my kayak. Once cleaned up a bit, it will be added to our arsenal of fenders aboard Prudence.



So, our DOR was not as much rest and reading as we had initially planned, and our paperbacks remained unfinished. In addition, I did not manage to get a fresh seafood dinner on a stick and had to resort to tuna from a can. Finally, our private anchorage was occupied by no fewer than 6 other boats by the time the sun had set. But, there are no complaints from the crew of Prudence. Life is good.

Our plan for today is to head back to our mooring ball in Ensenada Honda. So, just to tide you over until the next time, dear Reader, here is one more underwater photo. Taken in the Baths at Culebrita, this shot shows two Night Sergeant fish (the larger brown ones), and the rather ubiquitous bumble-bee striped Sergeant Major fish: