Gypsy Cat Stops

Even though this is a fun sail it is still a delivery and as such we have been forced move every day or so and as a result we have visited many islands in only a short amount of time. We have been to: St. Barths (Antilles), Virgin Gorda, Ginger Island, Norman Island, Cooper Island, Tortola, Salt Island (all British Virgin Islands), St. John, St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands), Culebrita, Culebra, Fajardo, Salina, Mona Island (all Puerto Rican Islands), Samana, Luperon, Santo Domingo (Republico de Dominicana), Santiago, Holguen, Havana (Cuba), Grand Inagua, Little and Great Exuma, Barracouta Rock, Staniel Cay, Waderlick Wells Cay, Allens Cay, Highbourne Cay, Nassau, Freeport (Bahamas, We are now is Beaufort (USA) and next stop Annapolis!

A Boat is a Boat After All

Sailing can be the most relaxing, even boring sometimes, thing one can do. Under bright blue skies, calm seas, and beautiful beaches flashing by one can easily adapt to this lazy freedom. However, one must remember that “a boat is a boat after all” and all this can be taken away in a mere instant.

On our crossing from Samana to Luperon we had one of those moments that reminds of just how quickly things can happen. The sky was a moldy grey colour with lightning off in the distance but we figured we would make a run for it. Our “run” ended up consisting of us on a tricky tack heading straight for the rocky coast. No problem, we’ll switch on the motor and make a quick jibe out of the danger zone. That was the plan, before the engine failed. Okay, Plan B. Let’s roll out the headsail and use that for some extra speed so maybe we wont have to jibe over at all. At least, that was the plan until we heard a giant ccCCRrrrACCCKKKKK!!!! That crack was the headsail splitting straight down the center, completely destroyed. During all this we began taking on copious amounts of water in both hulls. Eeeerrr…I think it’s time to turn back. We made a hasty retreat and spent the night switching sails, pumping out the bilges, and tinkering with the engine. So much for clear sky and calm seas!

Dominoes

I have been adopted! There is a group of old senors who sit along the pier in Samana all day every day, play dominoes, and drink Bohemias. One evening I was walking past and said my usual “Buenos Senors” when one called out. Soon enough I was sitting in among these old men; the men who had seen the road through their town be built, the men who had witnessed the developments as the “white man” came to bask in the “Bonita de la Republic de Dominicana”.

And so I found myself on a Friday night in the D.R. slamming down domino pieces as I tried my best to understand their rapid fire Spanish banter. “Lo siento senor pero es possible tu hables mas despasio porfavour!” was said more then a few times.

Back of a Bike

We are now in what is easily my favorite stop on the trip so far, Repulico de Dominicana (D.R.)! Customs was an excruciating procedure but we are finally cleared in. Today it was my job to go and get propane for the boat and I have never had so much fun with such a “simple” task.

Going to get propane goes something like this. Dingy over from the boat and lock up at the dock. Walk maybe 50ft before twenty different guys each rush me wanting to take me for propane. After wading through the crowd of adoring men “Mamasita I am best!” “Baby I take you!” “Mi amor tu es muy bonita!!” “Me me me!!!” I finally make it through to where the transportation is. Transportation consists of motorbikes, or motorbikes with carts on the back, very, very few are actual car taxis. I tend to pick the person with the fastest bike J

I hop on the back of the chosen bike, whose owner is beaming ear to ear that he is the one to take me, and try to familiarize myself with how to hold on before he races off . Bracing myself with one hand and holding on to the propane bottle with the other can sometimes be a bit interesting seeing as the motorbikes are all small and ancient but pushed to the maximum speeds every day. The world whips past me in a blur as I am raced through the streets dodging cars, people, dogs, and other bikes. Just as I am considering freeing a hand to wipe my eyes we arrive at the station. Because I am young, white, and female we wait only a few minutes before my tank is filled and we are once again on our way. The trip back however is much more interesting. I am now holding on my lap a considerably awkward, heavy tank and we are now RACING down the hill that before we had struggled to come up. Hair flying in every direction and holding on so tight my fingers are turning white I look up in time to see us squeeze down the middle line on the road between a large truckload of workers (whose hoots and hollers I can only briefly hear) and a large bus full of tourists.

“Only in the D.R.” has become a familiar saying on our boat.

Swim with Manatees? Yes please!

We are now in beautiful Puerto Rico after bouncing around a few of the surrounding islands including Culebrita and Culebra. We also managed to go to Salinas, a small island just outside of Fajardo (on the mainland), where I was put up the mast. At forty five feet above the deck, sitting in the “bosons chair” which is clipped in to the main halyard, it was my job to fix a line. Simple task turned extremely hard with winds that, on deck felt like a slight breeze, up top felt like a howling wind that shook the mast, and me, with each breath. I eventually succeeded and it was time to focus on my next task, scouring the waters for manatees! Unfortunately, I didn’t see any while up the mast (or maybe that’s a good thing, I probably would have been way too excited for it to be safe), but as soon as we were anchored we took off in the tender in search of them. We managed to find several groups and were able to go for small swims with some. The water was incredibly murky and they move very quickly for such lazy animals so it was a little difficult but also very rewarding.

Diving in the BVI's

We have been able to do two dives so far. One was Alice in Wonderland, a fifty five foot dive of the coast of Cooper Island. The other was the RMS Ruin, a 200 year old, 150ft ship lost by Salt Island. It was a double tank dive (90ft and 60ft) that allowed us to explore the two main parts of the ship. My Captain, Chris, is the only one on our vessel who is certified which ended up working out perfectly because he only has two sets of equipment. We have been snorkeling every day and I have since been able to get over my “scuba snob” status as I have been practicing freediving. We are hoping to catch lots of fish and lobster this trip so freediving has become essential.

A Pirate I Shall Be

Ever since I was little, as all my family and long time friends will attest to, I’ve wanted to be a pirate. I have dressed up as a pirate every second Halloween for as long as I can remember. On a trip to Disney World I went in to a gift shop, after having saved all my birthday and Christmas money, where a salesman tried his very best to sell me some princess something or other. Of course, I gave him a steely gaze and set out for the pirate section where I proceeded to purchase a very formidable skull piggy bank and a wooden shot gun. I have various eye patches from different years piled up in my basement along with a large collection of swords my father patiently made out of wood for me. I can make the freshest of bruises and cuts appear out of makeup in only a few minutes. My childhood heroines were Anne Bonney and Mary Reed, the two most famous (and ferocious) women pirates in history, who crewed on Captain Jack Rackhams sloop Vanity. I can remember whispering the lyrics of “Dead Man’s Chest” and other pirate ballads to my horse, Sassifrass, as I rode her on the “wild open ocean” of the fields behind my house.

And now, sixteen years after my fantasy began, I am sailing the very same waters the pirates I had idolized passed through. We sailed the Sir Francis Drake Channel passing by famous pirate spots such as Blonde Rock, The Bluff, Buck Island and Dead Mans Chest (the island made famous by the pirate ballad “Fifeteen men on a dead mans chest, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum”). We spent the afternoon snorkeling a pitch black cave where hundreds of pirates attempted to steal the gold and jewels allegedly hidden inside.

That evening we made our way to Tortola (a pirate central according to Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean) where my day of exploring pirate waters came to a close.

If I don’t make it home it’s most likely because I ran away to be a pirate J