Crossing the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico

We have been told many times that the crossing to Puerto Rico is a tough one.  We agree!  After waiting in Samana for several days for optimal weather conditions, we had a two day window, which is short.  However, the weather forecasted was NOT what we experienced.  This is a 150 mile passage with unpredictable currents everywhere, deep, rough shoals and thunderstorms, often severe from Puerto Rico during the night.  We departed Samana on Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at 8:15 am with moderate winds and seas.  The wind and the waves started to pick up about 11:00 am and we had 20 knots of sustained winds with higher gusts and 6 foot seas and higher for the next 24 hours.  We were not able to sail as these winds and waves were directly on our nose the entire time.  During this time, our stern rail broke, the set screw on the tubing holding the wind generator was moving around and caused the stern rail to break.  Chuck took some dock lines and tied everything together to avoid any more loss or damage.  Our engine stopped twice due to dirt in the fuel, so Chuck had to change the fuel filter both times, bleed the engine, and re-fuel from jerry cans while we were rocking and rolling.  As we neared the Puerto Rico coastline, the conditions improved with less wind and smaller seas about six hours before we made the anchorage.  We traveled with two other buddy boats, China Rose and Ever After, and called each other on the radio every hour for a status check.  We made our anchorage in Boqueron, Puerto Rico on Wednesday at 5:15 pm after 152 nautical miles and 33 hours.  There are no pictures, but I did make an attempt to take a video of one of our buddy boats to show how rough it is crossing the Mona Passage. 

                                

Passage on the North and East Coast of the Dominican Republic

Well, after a long wait for good weather, we departed Luperon, Dominican Republic on December 9, 2015 at 5:00 pm.  The best time to travel is during the night and early morning in this part of the DR.  The officials made us leave the harbor prior to sunset, however, the seas are still rough until hours later.  After 55 miles and 14 hours later, we arrived at Rio San Juan at 7:00 am to anchor for the day and get some rest.  We pulled anchor at 7:00 pm that day and traveled 82 miles and 16 hours to reach Puerto Bahia Marina in Samana, on the east coast, at 11:00 am the next day.  This is a great marina with pools, restaurants, fuel, laundry, Wi-Fi, boaters lounge and a mini-market.  We traveled with several other boats and two of them, China Rose and Ever After, joined us in the marina.  We met up with some other cruising friends we had met in the Bahamas, Honeymoon Forever, and they showed us the ropes and helped us get supplies.  Of course, all this calls for a jello shot celebration! 

Waiting for Good Sailing Weather in the Dominican Republic

We have been in Luperon, Dominican Republic, for close to two months now and Silent Dream is ready to move on to the next adventure!  Our only issue is good sailing weather to travel east to Puerto Rico.  Although hurricane season is about over, the wind and the waves are not cooperating.  So, in the meantime, we spend our time here in Luperon.  The pictures depict all the restaurants and bars we frequent for wi-fi, the local culture, the places we shop for groceries and hardware, the ice cream shop and even the barber shop where Chuck got a Dominican haircut!

Return to The Dominican Republic

We spent just over three months in the U.S. visiting our family and friends traveling through Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Colorado, Missouri, Texas and Florida.  Our time with everyone was the best as we have missed everyone so much and every goodbye was tearful.  While in the States, we received a very sad phone call from our very close boat buddies on Circe, their boat caught on fire in Luperon while they were away and is a total loss.  They are in the process of finding a new boat and hopefully will rejoin us as soon as possible.  We have returned to Luperon in the Dominican Republic where Silent Dream has been waiting for us and being cared for by a local couple.  We have been slowly putting her back together after removing and storing canvas, sails, etc. in preparation for this year’s hurricane season (which was uneventful).  She now looks like a real sailboat again!  We will be departing Luperon in mid-November heading east across the north coast and then down to the east coast of the Dominican Republic waiting for a good weather window to cross over to Puerto Rico.  In the meantime, we took a driving road trip with another sailing couple, Rick and Pam on s/v Forever, on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic.  This part of the country is very beautiful with picturesque beaches, mountains and tropical flora.  The pictures shown are just a sampling of the country’s beauty which should not be missed by any visitor.  Finally, Chuck received his Dominican tattoo this week – last picture.