Sailing Baby Blue

We landed just ten miles shy of our planned destination in the Dominican Republic and instead anchored at La Isabela. We read in our twenty-year old guidebook that cruising boats aren't supposed to anchor just anywhere, but when we came in around sunset and saw another boat in the bay, we thought we might get through the night without any problems. But then around 8:00pm, we heard a boat pull alongside of us and my heart started pounding. Two guys in fatigues and one in plain clothes boarded our boat asking for paperwork that gave us permission to be anchored there. Of course, we didn't have anything like that yet and it wasn't clear what we were supposed to do about it. We asked if we needed to leave and were told they could make up the proper paperwork for us after taking down our information. The two guys in uniform spoke only Spanish but the other guy spoke English and cut us off each time we tried to say anything other than yes or no. I decided it might be best...

Well what do you know, once we decided we would be happy no matter where we ended up this year, the weather gods opened a window and we made it all way to the Dominican Republic in one shot. That one shot amounted to the longest time out at sea so far: four days and three nights. Before setting out we took advantage of our week waiting for weather at Salt Pond, Long Island to re-provision with food, water, and diesel. Salt Pond turned out to be a very enjoyable stop with friendly people, a bona fide marine supply store, and free wifi fast enough to further our Game of Thrones addiction. Because our stop there coincided with the annual cruising rally from Georgetown, we also took part in some of the planned activities, like two school bus rides to one of the bars down the road where we ate our fill of appetizers and I became kind-of-a-big-deal with the local karaoke scene. (Apparently when you see the same three guys singing the same ten songs week after week, fresh blood is pr...

After taking our best shot at reaching Rum Cay under sail from Conception, we had only progressed about three miles in two hours. Although we had all day to get there, it was just too frustrating so we gave up and motored into the wind. As we neared the island I noticed on the chart that we were running along a ridge where the water went from very very deep to relatively shallow and mentioned to Jon that maybe he should check the trolling line. The last time we caught a fish there was no other indicator, I just grabbed the line and realized there was something on it. So Jon checked, and sure enough, we'd hooked another fish of many colors and names, the dolphin-fish/mahi-mahi/dorado. This one was much bigger than the first, and male. Jon brought him into the boat as we neared the coral head-strewn shoreline and the sky grew dark with clouds. We managed to anchor safely without hitting any coral heads or tripping and falling onto the dead fish in the cockpit. As we were setting ...

Jon finally catches a fish for lunch. And dinner. And second dinner. I am in charge of the filming and shrieking. Our self-steering gear is featured and keeps us from crashing into anything.

After our beautiful sail to Calabash Bay, across the Exuma Sound from Georgetown near the tip of Long Island, we went to bed full of fish filets, fish tacos, and ceviche. In the morning we got the boat ready and set out into the Atlantic with no clear destination. We had hopes of making whatever southeasterly progress we could and were prepared to stay out overnight if we got lucky with the right conditions. But we had little reason to hope based on the forecast, and as expected, going the right direction would mean motoring painfully slowly into the wind and bashing into the waves. We tried for Rum Cay, but the point of sail that was working best for us was leading straight to Conception, so that is where we went. Conception is a small island of only six square miles and is a nature preserve. After we anchored and hauled the dinghy off deck we spent the very hot afternoon wandering up and down the beaches on each side of the island, with sand that felt like sifted flour un...

We arrived in Georgetown just in time for the Annual Cruising Regatta. It should come as no surprise that the weather interfered with some of the planned activities which were delayed several times during our week-long stay, so while we left before the big boat race we were able to see some of the other events. Incredibly, out of all of the available anchorages in Georgetown's giant harbor, which during the week we were there was filled with well over 300 boats, we pulled up right behind Godspeed ! We all thought we would probably never see each other again, when suddenly a familiar looking boat was spotted, drawing closer and closer… I guess it shouldn't be too surprising considering we both heard the forecast, and great minds think alike when it comes to finding the best protection from the wind. Our first order of business upon arrival was to get to the grocery store for some much needed fresh food, and then to the dock for free water. We spent a day running around...

Underwater adventure montage.