Viequez, Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands

We then sailed to Sun Bay on the south coast of the PR island, Vieques in the Spanish Virgin Islands. On the way we caught a four foot Dolphin Fish, a brilliant bright green and blue color and delicious eating. This was another overnight sail, livened up by conversations with Diesel Duck and Dreamtime. Nearby phosphorescent Mosquito Bay was spectacular! Dreamtime (that's them below with Scott) and ourselves took our dinghies over there, had drinks and a picnic supper on the beach. Impromptu sculptures made of flotsam and jetsam are a fun happening on many beaches (see above).
After dark we took our dingies into the bay and swam. Amazing! We lit up like fluorescent bulbs as we moved through the water and when you lifted your arm, the drops of water ran off sparkling back to the sea.

At that point the gremlins arrived. Our transmission oil cooler sprung a leak so we had salt water in the transmission and the impeller on the gen set went too. Then the engine itself wouldn't pump water; it turned out it was sucking air through from the generator, but we didn't figure that out for a few days. So we were without power and were worrying about our batteries. Luckily, we found parts over the phone in Fajardo on the main island and the shop drove them to the air port where the little airline flew them in for $5. It turned out that one needed an adaptor so Scott got up a 4:30 AM to catch a local bus to the 6:30 ferry to Fajardo, got the adaptor and then rather than waiting for the 3 pm ferry flew back for $23. We at least got the engine working then and took off. On the way a whale passed in front of us, evidently on a mission because it didn't slow down or pause - we sure did - it was only 50 feet away. Our boat brakes for whales! Once in St. Thomas, USVI, with much help from Benno on Diesel Duck, the generator went back together and all is now well.

We spent two nights in St Thomas provisioning and doing laundry, and three nights seeing friends on St John. Bill and Suzanne Osborne have been living and working there since we last visited them in 1987 with our family.
They have built a spectacular home high in the hills overlooking the British Virgins (see photo just above showing their hot tub and the view). They treated us to dinner two nights and came on board for a sail one day (Bill and Scott above) - a lovely visit.

Puerto Rico

We left just before dawn the next morning and had flat seas until we turned down the coast past Punta Nisabon, DR. The wind came up that afternoon and the seas were a little rough but calmed down as the sun set. We were able to keep the main up the whole way and shut the motor off for a while. We angled across the hourglass shoals and took one tack to get out across the narrow section. The next morning we were off Cabo Rojo, the southwest corner of Puerto Rico, motor sailing in calm seas all the way to Ponce. Thirty two hours to do just over 200 miles!

Ponce is a terrific provisioning spot. Benno and Marlene on "Diesel Duck" (that's it above) were already anchored so we arranged for a one day car rental from Popular Car Rentals for $39 (they picked us up at the Yacht Club and dropped us off) and shopped at Sam's, Wal-Mart and Pueblo Supermarkets.

We had to make two trips we got so much stuff! That night there was a sundowners party for boaters in the harbor at a small park. At least twenty boat crews were there - great food.
Diesel Duck and ourselves left Friday morning at 4:30 AM and had a beautiful sail down the coast to Salinas. This is a lovely protected spot but if we'd followed our charts' advice, we would have had
to skip it - they all showed much to shallow water The Salinas Marina has a Laundromat ($1 per machine), pool and snack bar which they let all the anchored boats use.We met up with friends from Columbia, Luis and Natalia, on Vagamundo and rented a car with them for two days to see some of the island. Ponce on the south coast was very different from San Juan. We appeared to be the only non Puerto Ricans in the city. The Museum of Art there was world class! The Castillo, built in the 50's for a prominent family that is now available for a tour is build high up on the mountain overlooking the city. The gardens and view were worth the trip alone.

San Juan was beautiful and at least until later in the day, not crowded. Once the cruise ships empty, the streets load with
tourists. We walked all around the city and toured the fort. Unfortunately I had a bad case of the stomach flu and was a bit of a party pooper. We found a very nice restaurant however with something for everyone. We drove through the island on the way there and back along the east coast - a very twisty road with lovely views.