MUTUAL FUN - A SAILING ODYSSEY

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FIRST MATE'S LOG - JAN 2002

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March 2, 2002

It’s getting blowy again. We’re having a good time here so we haven’t moved on yet. They’re calling for higher winds and seas so we’ll just stay put unless this anchorage gets untenable. Only problem is we’re running out of bread and it’s too choppy to dinghy over to Tortola. We could walk over to Francis Bay, where there is the campsite and store and we may just do that. It’s about 2 miles each way. All for a loaf of bread. Well, good planning. If the suns stays out, Bob has promised to go find the shark with me. Meanwhile, there is a husband and wife ramora team living under the boat. The husband has a big gouge out of one side. The wife is perfect. I thought at first that they were some kind of shark but Bob knew what they were. They look like they are swimming upside down. They have a dorsal fin underneath and their mouths are bigger on the bottom. In talking with the national park people, we found out they don’t have any teeth and they attach themselves to sharks by some sort of suction. I know one thing about them, they love cookies. They ate some stale crackers this morning but not with the same gusto as stale cookies. They also devoured a slightly-off salami. Had Gord and Sue over for a long game of dominoes. By the time they left, it was pitch black out and they couldn’t find their boat. We shone a flashlight for them and they made it back safe. The moon is waning and almost full but didn’t come out till 10pm. The wind started at 10:30 and by 1am, I was still wide-eyed. I think a nap is in order today. Hopefully I’ll get it before the 3pm cocktail hour on the beach.

March 4, 2002

We did take that 4mi hike to the campsite and got 3 loaves of bread and made some phone calls. It was relatively flat until the very end where the campsite sits way up in the mountain. Yesterday we rested; swam read and played cards aboard “Lady Simcoe” after dinner. They have Whiskers the Cat so I got my fur fix for awhile. Believe it or not, the pair of Remora fish are still living under the boat. All I have to do is throw food over and there they appear. The boy-fish sure is aggressive when it comes to feeding time. If I don’t throw a bunch out, he slaps his wife so she doesn’t get any. They like salad too, although they have to eat it whole so I have to cut it in small pieces. We’re now working on 3-yr.-old graham crackers. I also have a box of vanilla wafers that is that old so that’s next. Bob can’t believe they’re still living with us and that I have turned them into pets. I’ll be sad when we have to leave them. The biggest is about 3-31/2 ft. and the Mrs. Is about 11/2 ft.

Today we are taking another hike; this one a bit longer. Destination: Coral Bay. To be more precise: The Connections, which is an Internet place so I can mail this log off to you. It’ll be about 6 miles of mostly uphill. OK, so maybe we will reward ourselves with a burger from Skinny Legs while we’re there.

March 5, 2002

We dinghied to the beach and picked up another 3 couples to make a total of 8 of us. We were asked if we had ever made this hike and when we replied, “no”, we got hooted and cheered. “Just wait”, they said. Well, the trail sign said it was 1.8 miles from Leinster Bay to Coral Bay. How bad could it be? I could do 1.8 miles in my sleep. But in my sleep I never dreamed it would be straight up. And it was. Maybe 700-1,000 ft. up. There were 3 of us lagging behind and 5 were out of sight pretty quickly. I didn’t pace myself. After the first “hill”, I found one of the guys sitting on a rock waiting for me. I really didn’t understand why as he didn’t look the least bit tired. Sue and I had a rest with him (Tom) and lamented about how stupid we were to both have sent our water bottles with the men, who were by now out of sight. The next “hill” really took its toll on me and I had to stop every 5 minutes. It was straight up and I was dying. I was dizzy and nauseous and mad at myself. Sue had gotten her water bottle and she came back down with Tom and gave me some. I told them to go on, I would be along soon. They did and I sat for a bit, walked a few steps and sat for another bit. I guess it got to be longer than a bit because I heard voices and then Tom was coming back down. I was dripping sweat and very wobbly. He asked what I had for breakfast and I told him toast. He said my blood sugar was down and to take it slow. Bob was at the top of that crest but was too exhausted to come back for me. I stood up and went almost immediately back down. I was so humiliated but also on the verge of being sick and passing out. When I was sitting alone on the hill, before Tom came, I wondered if I passed out, would the animals know I was still alive or would they start eating me when I still had a heartbeat? I thought they might go for the eyeballs first so that was some motivation to get moving again. Once Tom got me up to where Bob was waiting, he told me that was the worst of it and we would be starting down. I drank some water and tried not to puke. What Tom didn’t tell me but I soon made out was that down was pretty much straight down. My legs were shaking and my knees felt like they were going to shoot right through the skin. I still was unable to talk and I had a man on either side but no one took my hand until I started to slide. Bob would grab me on a downslide and then let go when I got my footing. Tom was such a support without laying a hand on me to steer or guide; he was just there. When we hit sort of a plateau and I could talk again, we started exchanging information. Turns out, Tom is a nurse. I should have known with his gentle questions and support. Bob and Tom both gave me a wonderful surprise by telling me there was another option to get back. We could take a dollar bus to the ice-cream stand and walk DOWNHILL the rest of the way back. God bless them. When we finally made it to Skinny Legs, the rest of the bunch were having a cold drink and looking no worse for the wear. They all applauded and I wanted to crawl into a hole. We ordered burgers but I could only down ½ and gave the rest to Bob. We did our Internet business and caught the bus. The return trip was uneventful. Decided to have a dinghy raft-up book exchange in 45 minutes. Bob was beat and took a pass but the rest of us went and had a ball. We had soup for dinner and I thought I would die in my bunk but for some reason I didn’t get to sleep until 3am. Why? Today my legs are just a bit sore, some of my toes are sore and I have a million mosquito bites. I’m sure a nap will help. Our boat papers came in and will be sent to Cruz Bay, 2-day delivery. We’ll have to go check out of BVI’s and then go pick up our mail and head to St. Thomas. But today, we don’t have to do a thing!

March 6, 2002

I had to leave my friends, Mr. and Mrs. Ramora fish today. I was actually sad and as I sit here in our new anchorage, I miss them. I gave them a good-by handful of Nilla Vanillas, which they appreciated. We had a quick motor over to Tortola to check out, throw trash, buy hamburger patties and have lunch. We motored back to St. John’s to see if the notoriously rolly anchorage of Caneel Bay was too rolly. It’s not and we’re here. Bob dinghied into Cruz Bay to check for our documentation papers but they’re not here yet. Hope they come tomorrow. If so, we’ll take the boat to St. Thomas and prepare to leave the VI’s. We’ve really enjoyed our last 3 weeks here and we’ll be very sorry to leave.

March 8, 2002

Hurray! Boat papers arrived; we had lunch and dinghied back to the boat. Off went the mooring line and we had a nice motor to St. Thomas. Current Cut is my infamous area to catch fish but I swung and missed so no tuna for dinner. We arrived at Charlotte Amalie about 2:30pm and did our ceremonious drive by the cruise ships. There were 3 monster ships docked and we went slowly by and waved up at passengers and workers alike. They think it’s fun and so do we. We then circled the anchorage and ran into (not literally) about 8 boats we know. We were going to anchor around the corner at Crown Bay and do laundry but it looked like too much fun to pass up. We anchored right in the main town and Bob set about gathering people for dinner and drinks. Our friends on “Duchess” are stationed here where they are working. They do day charters for the cruise ships, taking up to 6 people out to a nearby island and snorkel. They do this twice a day, 7 days a week, if possible. They are in their 50’s and have the energy and looks of half their age. I’m going to have to ask them what kind of vitamins they are taking because I want some. Anyhow, we were happy to see each other. “Windshepherd”, “Sojourn”, “Crusoe”, “Capt’n Ron” and “Lady Simcoe” made 13 of us for great hamburgers and drinks. It was a great reunion and last good-byes to some. 2 of the boats left for Culebra this morning and John on “Sojourn” went back to St. John. We won’t see John again and we’ll miss him. “Windshepherd”, including Slater the cat is leaving tomorrow and we won’t see them again.

Today we need to dinghy over and do 2 huge bags of laundry that we didn’t do yesterday. When we get back this afternoon, Ginny and I may go shopping. Well, it IS duty free gold. We’ll be waiting for weather and leaving soon, as well. Culebra is new to us so that will be fun. It’s a mixed bag of emotions, though, leaving the VI’s.

March 11, 2002

Yesterday’s passage from St. Thomas to Culebra was almost uneventful. Culebra is a small island, which is property of Puerto Rico, which is good ole USofA. The winds were perfect, about 15k but they were from behind and so we couldn’t sail without the motor. The seas were a bit rolly, maybe 5-7ft with an occasional 10ft’r knocking into us and knocking stuff around. I had set out my fishing line right out of the Gregory channel of St. Thomas. I used a new lure with a clean hook (most of mine are rusty), which was a blue plastic jobbie with a blue skirt. I’m not nuts about blue but a friend made me buy it. Nothing happened for a couple of hours and I was kind of hoping nothing would, as going up on deck to bring in a fish would be a bit tricky. The drag was set light and all of the sudden it went whizzing out and I was up and screaming to Bob for my gloves. In the panic I didn’t set the hook. I grabbed the pole and headed to the deck. My reeler is broken and I had to begin to reel it in by this little stub, which I did. After a short time, I was reeling in just line and very sad. I lost him and he was BIG. I reeled in the rest of the line and even though the line was all messed up, I let it back out and sat down again in the cockpit. About ½ later, out went the line and I was determined this time. I turned the wheel and tightened the drag and could barely get the pole out of the holder. I did and managed to get it and myself up to the deck, where once again I screamed for my gloves. There was not time to get them on and I reeled and reeled my little heart out. My left wrist was getting numb and my right forefinger and thumb were getting raw from where the skin was wearing off. Still, I reeled. Bob came up with my gloves, I gave him the rod and he reeled while I put them on. I took the pole back (he likes me to bring in my own fish) and he went below to get the gaff hook. We saw a big slice of silver and were salivating over a possible king mackerel. When I finally got the fish to the boat, we both looked over at a 4ft fish with 3” pointy teeth. It was a barracuda. Bob went below and got a knife. “Where do you want me to cut?” I hate to do this to a fish but there was no way we were bringing a 4ft barracuda on the boat and trying to get a lure out of those pointy, angry teeth. Cut he did and I sat back and moaned. My left wrist was limp and my right thumb and finger were sore as can be. Let alone the fact I had these nasty wounds and nothing to show for it. Meanwhile, we get back underway and are right on the SW tip of Culebra when a powerboat starts shouting at us and holding up a gas can. Bob tries to get them on the radio but apparently they don’t have one. We don’t carry gasoline, only diesel so we couldn’t help. We did call a pan pan (help but not a mayday or SOS) and some friends of ours answered and set about getting some gasoline out to these guys. We are trying to direct all of this from our VHF radio when our whole electrical system goes down. We’re just about to go in and anchor and we have no electronic charts, GPS, depth sounder or windlass to work our anchor. We fiddle with it and it comes back and we anchor and have lunch. We met some friends at the Dingy Dock bar for cocktail hour, came back to the boat and zonked out. This morning, our electrical system went out again. After tearing the boat apart, checking batteries and looking for shorts in connections, we give up and go check into Customs. Also, we are looking for an electrician. We strike out with the electrician and come back to the boat to try some more. Somehow, some way, Bob gets everything working again. He’s not sure how he did it but we’re not that dumb to try to fix what’s working so right now we’re just fine. I slept like a baby but my right hand is throbbing. And nothing to show for it but some stupid fish story.

March 16, 2002

Much has happened in the last few days. No big deal; just our boat was on the verge of sinking. Well, I’m being a bit dramatic. Actually, the packing for out prop was leaking a bunch more water than Bob even told me about. I hadn’t looked lately so I was in the dark. It’s supposed to drip a little but when I did look, it was gushing. Our bilge pump was going on 1-2 times every 15 minutes and to make things completely scary, our electronics kept going down. The bilge pump is electric, if you catch our dilemma. We made arrangement to hightail it to Ponce, where there is a good boatyard, to have the boat hauled and the packing redone. Well, cocktail hours come in handy because we found a friend has redone his twice, while the boat is in the water. See, the prop goes through the boat, of course, and if you remove it, you have to know what you’re doing so the boat doesn’t sink. Well, this process can be done and Paul from “Crusoe” came over and he and Bob conquered the problem and the situation is all fixed without the hassle and expense of hauling out. Next, I sweet-talked a VERY busy electrician by telling him we were going to sink and he came over and almost fixed the wiring. That is, everything was working great when he left but the next morning when I went to turn on the SSB radio, it didn’t. Another friend offered to help and once again, the cruisers came through and we’re all fixed. Now, that just leaves a couple more problems: 1. The bottom is filthy and we’ve found yet another cruiser who will dive tomorrow and clean it (for pay) and 2. The generator is overheating and shutting itself off after 10 minutes (considerate of it, I think.) Bob got in there and checked that out and the fresh water that cools the engine seems to be gushing out a hole where a bolt has gone missing. Another cocktail hour later, we have several solutions. The bolt is nowhere to be found so Bob plans to stick a piece of dowel in there and glue it. Well, a temporary solution, at best. On the brighter side, we rented a car today and after an hour and a half detour, we went to Old San Juan. It was quite nice. The El Morro fort is old and the history of it quite interesting.

The old city itself is redone and might have a taste of Italy (I’ve never been, only read). Inside these old building are, of course, jewelry stores and Coach handbag stores.

The island of Puerto Rico is very diverse. Where we are in Salinas is quite poor and run-down. There is a lot of litter but the people are super friendly. The main highway is mostly repaved and driving to San Juan, looks like any modern American city. McDonald’s, Burger King and K-Marts abound. Anything you want is here and the stores are very modern. The landscape is quite diverse as well. On the north side, it is very lush and green with beautiful flowers and trees. The south side is scraggly, dry and brown. I did all of the driving today and Bob navigated. I noticed while driving on the expressways, people drive fast but are polite when they cut in and out. There is no road rage here. Also, there are these bumps in the pavement without notice. Like in the US, you are warned and can slow down. Not here. You just scurry past them at 65mph. The signage is poorly executed, as you are given almost no warning when your exit is ahead. The mountains aren’t too steep and I was glad, as I am a real baby about heights. There were only a couple of hairpin curves and I managed fine. Our ears did a lot of popping. It was a good day but I will say that we are very happy to be back aboard in our quiet anchorage.

March 18, 2002

Friends on “Swan” came in yesterday after an overnighter. We had cocktails and dinner together along with many laughs. Seems they were in someone’s company who was witness to our Annapolis fiasco where we pulled up a gear and 3 pilings in Spa Creek. When these people mentioned “Mutual Fun”, Thomas and Robin said, “oh we know them.” I know we have quite a reputation down here. I’m just not sure if it’s good. Thomas and Robin are the nurses and Thomas is the one who made sure I didn’t die on the Coral Bay hike.

We had a short motor-sail today to Caja De Muertos (island of the coffin.) It’s absolutely beautiful here. It’s deserted but the locals use it for a weekend get-away. The beach looks irresistible so even though we weren’t going to dismantle the dinghy, I think we’ve changed our minds.

March 20, 2002

We got a good night’s rest and got up at 5:30am for the 50-mile sail to Boqueron. The winds never did pick up in the daytime like they were supposed to so we had to motor-sail the whole way. I was very excited to use my new fishing lure even though I had to use my old reel with the broken handle. I fished for 2 hours with an old lure and had no bites so I changed to the new lure right before lunch. I had a hit within 20 minutes and boy did it take my line out! I turned the wheel to let less drag out and went to get the pole out of the holder and couldn’t even lift it out. This fish was BIG. Bob had to get it out for me and then we walked together up to the deck where he handed it back. It was all I could do to hang on to the pole, let alone reel it in. I would hold it for 2 or 3 minutes and then set about trying to reel without a handle, by just turning the wheel. I would get in about 2 feet of line and be exhausted and sweaty and just have to hold the line awhile longer. This went on for about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, Bob is running below for the gaff hook and the camera. He can see I’m running ragged but he loves to watch me bring it in. Next, I reel in another couple of feet when my reel jams and it won’t reel anymore. I still have another 100 feet or better of line and fish to get it and no more reeling. I ask Bob to grab the pole and sit and then I start hand-reeling the line in. It’s much easier this way but it is still the biggest fish I have ever caught. I’m hand-reeling, the pole is on the deck and Bob has the camera ready. He saw green and thinks it’s a Dorado (he saw the lure). I saw silver and think it’s a mackerel. From the weight of it, I’m sure it’s a whale. Finally, we can see the fish near the boat and we look down, Bob is ready to snap a picture, and, wham! He snaps the line right near the end.

I think I’m going to cry. This would have been IT, except for the fact that the fish only got close enough to see part of him, not head or tail. We can’t identify him. We go below and Bob pulls out books and we check our fish card but still can’t decide what he was. His body was about 4 ft. long and he was shaped like a wahoo. Only thing is, he had long and wide brown stripes. On top of a grey or dark silver color. He was not shaped like a tuna and we didn’t see any bill like a swordfish. I figure he weighed between 50 and 75lbs. My rod and reel sit in a big heap of line and my new $7 fishing lure is gone. That fish fought harder than I’ve ever seen, other than an amberjack. He gave me a real fight and he won. I am chucking my rod and reel. I’m sick of getting fish to the boat and losing the battle. Today we went to a real bona-fide mall, here in Boqueron and I priced the reel my friend, Eric told me to buy and it was $125. I took a pass and bought a round, plastic reel with 60lb. test already on it for $5.99 and a new lure. There is a weather window for the Mona Passage tomorrow but we’re going to take a pass and wait for the next one. Friends on “Swan” are coming in a couple of days and possibly we’ll do the crossing with them.

March 21, 2002

When at home, you might find a spider in your sink. Maybe a millipede, or centipede. Last night in my bathroom sink I found a baby crab. Well, that’s a first. Four cases of fish poisoning have been reported. We are warned to watch what fish we eat between here and Florida. Good thing I didn’t bring in that big fish. I would have certainly eaten him.

March 25, 2002

We’ve been biding our time here in Boqueron, PR waiting for that perfect weather window. I sincerely don’t know why we bother but we try to be diligent. Tomorrow looks like the day we’ll be making our 48hr. passage through the Mona Passage to the Dominican Republic. Should we happen to not be exhausted and having a wonderful sail (yea, right), we’ll go right on to the West Caicos. Should the weather beat us up real bad (more likely), we’ll stop after 24hrs. in Samana, DR.

Our friends on “Swan” came in a couple of days ago and we’ve been playing with them. We played some pool and then had happy hour aboard their 44ft. Gulf Star. Robin made fish fingers out of the king mackerel they caught and it was delicious. They gave us a big bag of fish that maybe we’ll dip into tonight. Last night I made a spaghetti dinner complete with garlic bread (well, actually hot dog buns) and a salad. We had a good laugh as we told them more of our disastrous escapades. Bob was mentioning (with a bit of disdain) how people we knew had hit a huge channel buoy and I said, “oh, like you’ve never hit a channel marker before.” That all led to the number 4 marker Bob hit in Vero Beach. And that reminded us of when we came into Camden, Maine and tried to pick up a channel buoy to moor on. And lost our boat pick. And met Mary Morgan (Spock.) And that all came round to upping our anchor with Eric and Susan on “Elysia” on board and picking up a 300lb. gear shaft on the first anchor and 3 pilings on the other, while people on shore got out their lawn chairs and sat and watched as not one, but two Tow Boats came to our rescue. After telling some of these stories over the time we’ve spent with Thomas and Robin, they firmly believe we should write a book. I actually woke up this morning thinking when we get home that I might. Not that I know the first thing about it but it would have to be funny.

We’re leaving the land of cheap telephone rates ($.05 per minute) so I called and talked to my mom for about an hour. My life is going downhill fast. I’m sitting here eating a Moon Pie at 10:30 in the morning. What happened to good eating habits? More after the Mona Passage.

March 28, 2002

Two days and two nights, no mishaps and not even that exhausted. The first day we had a beautiful sail, topping out at 8. 2k. The wind died sometime that night and we had to take down the headsail and motor. Bob thought he was hilarious when he said, “we’re bobbing in the Mona.” The next morning we had to take down the mainsail and finished out the trip motoring. Bob timed it perfectly and the total trip was exactly 48 hours. Some thunder and lightning at the end to keep us entertained. We had no mishaps, no close calls and no collisions. Luperon, DR is yet to be explored by the likes of us. An old pal from Vero Beach, Fla. Is here. So are “Lady Simcoe”, “Crusoe”, and “Swan”. I better rest so we can party tonight.

March 29, 2002

We both had naps yesterday and Bob got up just in time to go out for dinner. He was so tired and groggy when I woke him. He got up and put on his fanny pack and looked at me like I was crazy when I was laughing hysterically. There he stood all ready to go, only thing was, he was stark naked. Except for the fanny pack, that is. That camera was just out of reach! Then, he put on his shorts and T-shirt, inside out and backwards so the tag was under his chin. Poor guy. We’re getting too old for these long sails.

Today was a fun day for me. The girls decided to all get our hair cut. Robin is the only one that speaks Spanish so she did all of the communicating. We all stayed and watched each other and it took about 2-½ hrs. Then, the girls met the guys for lunch but they were already eating so we had lunch at another table. While the guys were supposed to get haircuts, the girls went for ice cream but when we got back, they hadn’t moved. Not only hadn’t they moved, they had ordered more food. And beer, but that pretty much goes without saying. We decided to go swimming so we took 2 of the 4 dinghies and did just that. We went to a beach and when I stepped into the water, I sank about 3ft. and Robin had to pull me out. This terrible sulfur smell arose and the water was bubbling. We moved on to another spot and had a nice dip. I am back with a nice hot shower and freshly coifed but I’m afraid Bob is still on the loose. He’s not going to feel too well tomorrow.

- MORE TO FOLLOW -