St Barths

We sailed from St. Martin to St Barth today. We didn't check out until 9am, and then had to have the obligatory croissants (chocolate of course) and fresh squeezed orange juice at the bakery before we could up anchor. As a result, we didn't arrive here until late afternoon. We are on a free mooring at Anse du Colombier which is part of the park system, north of the main "city". This is a cove with steep hills all around, with a small but very pretty beach; and snorkeling is supposed to be very good. T can hardly wait to try out her new snorkel. (No lobster hunting, as we are in a "no take" park). There were several day charter boats here when we arrived, but they all left by 5 pm. so we have the place pretty much to ourselves. Jumped into the water to cool off and get cleaned up. Just going to hang this evening and enjoy being away from the hustle and bustle of St. Martin....good to be back at a quite, uninhabited anchorage....we are enjoying the solitude.....

Will check into customs in the morning, and check out the island. Bon soir!! (think I am going a bit "skitzo"...trying to learn Spanish, remember high school/college French, and speak English !! yikes....!! Time for a sundowner !!)

THE CREW

Pictures.....

Mike enjoying the beach in the Spanish Virgins....

Sunset in Ensenada Honda, Vieques, SVIs.  Persephone is the ONLY boat in this bay!!

Hello from St. Martin

Good evening from the French side of St. Martin. We arrived just after 8am this morning. We spent the day clearing customs (easiest yet) and exploring the French side of the island. This evening we took a dinghy ride over to the Dutch side (about 3 miles away). A real glaring contrast....think of the difference between Newark, NJ, and Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills. The French side is boutiques, bakeries, baguettes, LaCoste, Adidas, Dior, Gucci, Prada, Versace etc., versus working boat yards, sunken boats in the harbor from long ago hurricanes, broken down sports bars, T-shirts and a giant multi-screen movie theater. Back we went to the French side !!

Been a long 36 hours, so to bed early. Just wanted to let our followers know where we are...more to follow....THE CREW

St. Martin <> St. Maarten

We have diverted course to head for the French side of St. Martin. Got an email from Bob of "Pride" and he made several suggestions concerning the French versus the Dutch side. As a result, we have decided to go to the French side to anchor, and use the dinghy to visit the Dutch side.

We are currently 13 miles off the island; and have slowed our speed so we will arrive around 7:30 am ish. Customs doesn't open until 9 am, so there is no need to rush.

We have sailed a good deal of the way, but recently, the wind has dropped, so we are motoring with the mainsail still up. We are making great progress in light wind and sea conditions. The only issue is it's HOT. With the engine running and the hatches closed to keep any sea spray out, the cabin gets very warm (95 deg) so sleeping and blogging in the cabin is uncomfortable. (I can hear the sighs, and see the eye rolls...this guy is sailing in paradise, heading to St. Martin, and he is complaining about a little heat...suck it up + shut up !!) OK....I will....

Quite watch...not much ship traffic, and the weather is beautiful. We had a watch change at 4 am....T has hit the rack, and I am now on watch for the duration. Having fun navigating, keeping an eye on the radar here at the nav station for other boats/ships, blogging and returning some emails....life is darn good aboard Persephone...all for now.

Current position: 18 08.43N 063 21.29 W SOG 4.5 COG 104 mag @ 08:50 utc

THE CREW

Underway Again.....

Hi All.....

Well, our stay in the U.S. Virgin Islands didn't last very long; 24 hours !!

Our last "major" hurdle is the Anegada Passage; the body of water between the east end of the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla which is at the north end of the Leeward Islands chain (Anguilla, St Martin, Neves, St. Kitts, Antigua etc.).

We had every intention of spending the week between St. John and the BVIs and then begin working our way south. I spoke via radio to our weather forecaster/router (Chris Parker) this AM and he said there was a GREAT weather window today to cross the Anegada Passage. The trades usually blow from the southeast at between 15-20 knots all day, all night; with a large ocean swell to match. Of course, the route between the BVIs and the Leewards is directly southeast; or directly into winds and seas....read: A SLOW, WET, MISERABLE 80 MILE SLOG !! No thanks....!!

BUT, a low formed off the east coast of the US, and was suppressing the trades, and the winds for the next 24 hours were forecast to be light from the south//southwest. That means a pleasant sail directly to St. Maarten...let's go !!

It took us about an hour to get the motor off the dinghy, the dinghy up on deck, and the boat squared away for an overnight ocean sail. We went into Redhook, St. Thomas, fueled up, took on water, and "hit the road". So here we are doing another overnight in the Atlantic (actually the Caribbean Sea).

We are bound for St. Maarten (Dutch side of St. Martin) and should arrive around daybreak. All is well aboard, and we've had a nice sail so far....

Our position at 19:50 is 18 13.05 N 064 10.38 W SOG is 6.2 @ 110mag

Later, THE CREW

St. Thomas, USVI

Good morning from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. We arrived St. T yesterday around noon, and spent the afternoon shopping for boat parts; nothing major, just consumables like varnish, filters, brushes etc.

We had some pub grub for dinner at a local cruiser hang out with the crew from Dancing Dolphin...big question among the locals is weather, hurricane season, water temp, and the tropical waves which have already started to roll through (apparently earlier than normal/usual)....THE CREW just ordered another coldie, figuring the herd paranoia mentality was not what we needed/wanted. So, we basically tuned it out.

We are deciding what to do....St. John ? British Virgins ? or head south to St. Maartin (Dutch side). We will talk to our weather router this morning, and will be guided by his advise. Will let you all know what we are doing as soon as we figure it out !!

More to follow...PERSEPHONE

Culebrita, Spanish Virgins.....

We are still anchored at Culebrita, SVI, really enjoying it immensely. (We have been here since Wednesday) During the week, there have only been a handful of boats here, but as the weekend approaches, the number of powerboats from Puerto Rico has increased sharply.

Our days have been filled with hiking, beaching, dinghying, snorkeling, and of course hunting lobsters. ORKIN MAN was back in the water yesterday on a successful hunt. (You can live here indefinitely living on the abundant fish, lobsters, and collecting rain. We don't want to go that far, but we have not been into the freezer much (except for ice for sundowners) due to our lobstering efforts...may do some fishing for a change in diet).

AND, Trudie (a/k/a) "Jacquet Cousteau" has completed her snorkel "training" and is now accompanying us on the communal hunt. She is doing great in the water, gets in and out of the dinghy unassisted, and is sighseeing the reefs far from shore and well away from the dinghy. Next, she wants to learn to free-dive and start hunting lobsters...."Orkin Woman" ?? Oh-boy !!

Our go fast dinghy is a real asset. It allows us to venture several miles from Persephone, and get well out on the reefs quickly while carrying all of our gear. Thanks Bob + Lori, your advise on the "go-fast" and the 15 hp engine has really paid off.

We concluded the day with a (another) lobster feast aboard Dancing Dolphin....picture lobster tails 12" + !! Yes, tails more than a FOOT long each. Two people can hardly eat 1/2 a tail. Simply, these creatures are BIG ! (Mike speared a giant, and the wounded lobster retreated deeper and deeper into its hidy-hole, dragging Mike's spear with it...(the spears are 4 feet long) Just as the spear started to disappear, Mike was able to pull the spear and dinner from the hole after several dives to 12-15 feet....hand to hand combat !!)

We plan on leaving here tomorrow AM and sailing over to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, for a day or two to stock up on some spare parts for Persephone; then on to St. John for Memorial Day weekend.

Hanging out in Paradise....THE CREW

Culebrita, SVI

Yesterday, we awoke on Culebra, a small island north of Viequez and east of Puerto Rico; located in the Spanish Virgin Islands. We had spent 2 days on Culebra where Mike was able to get a ferry back to Puerto Rico, we got to hang out and I was able to get "handsomed up" with a much needed haircut. We had hoped to take on water, gas, diesel, and propane. As it turned out they were out of gas, diesel, and propane was not available along the waterfront. We had to buy water at $.25 per gallon (a bit pricey). So, we decided to move over to the tiny island next to Culebrita ("small Culebra")for a few days. Culebrita is a nature preserve and remains in its natural state...ruggedly beautiful. When we arrived, Dancing Dolphin was the only boat in the anchorage. But, we were jointed by another boat just before sundown. T and I walked the beach, saw huge mounds where turtles buried their eggs the night before, and went to a formation of rocks surrounded by shallow water known as the "jaccuzzi". Other than that, there is nothing here...and we like it that way. So we have decided to stay here for the next few days swimming, snorkeling, and just maybe Orkin Man will return !!

Our next stop will be St. Thomas for a day to get some boat parts, and then we will move on to St. John, and the British Virgins by early next week. Having a blast....THE CREW

PUERTO RICO PICTURES....

Yesterday we sailed from Ensenada Honda, Viequez to Ensenada Honda, Culebra; yes two destinations, with the exact same name....go figure.  But, before we get to far from Puerto Rico (and we have some basic internet) we think you may enjoy the following:

This is looking along the east coast of  Isla Caja de Muertos.  You can see the lighthouse atop the hill which we hiked.

This is the view from the lighhouse looking over "Coffin Island".

Here is Persephone, the lone boat in the anchorage.

We are having a blast and will post more pictures of the Spanish Virgins later.  THE CREW

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Orkin Man Returns !!

Mike from Dancing Dolphin popped to the surface, spit out his snorkel, and yelled: "Need a little help over here"!!! Mike had found a hole with FOUR BUGS in it. He had speared one, and the rest were on the run. ORKIN MAN (the "bug" killer) instantly leaped from the dinghy and instinctively swam to the rescue. His hand held spear was cocked, a deep breath, a free dive to 10-12 feet, ready for combat, heart pumping, eye to eye with the bug, a deadly stare-down, looking for a hand-hand hold to steady the shot....DAMN !!! The ORKIN MAN forgot his gloves....an unsteady shot...missed by 6 inches. The lobster flicked it's antenna and sauntered away to safety. Orkin Man bobbed to the surface humiliated and defeated. The Orkin Man retreated to the dinghy, head low, to retrieve his much needed gloves.

But, Orkin Man has the quite, self-assured confidence that sets him apart from other mere lobster hunters. He would return, head in the game, ready for a rematch. Orkin Man was immediately back on the hunt, properly attired. It didn't take long. The next bug was found in minutes, and this time OM didn't miss the shot (in reality, it took about 6 dives and as many shots to dispatch the lobster) ....That's why they whisper in awe behind his back....there goes OM, the infamous bug killer....(sort of like Quint from "Jaws"....)

At the end of the day, the crews had 5 lobsters in the dinghies....Last night there was a huge lobster feast aboard Dancing Dolphin with all the side dishes....we couldn't finish all the lobster, so Trudie made scrambled eggs with big chunks of lobster for breakfast. Delicious !! What a great day and evening !! We had so much fun, THE CREW decided to spend another day here at Encenada Honda, Viequez. Dancing Dolphin left this morning for Culebra, but Persephone will spend one more day here; lobster hunting and hanging...

Gotta go get suited up. That mild-mannered former lawyer will again transform himself today into THE super-hero i.e. ORKIN MAN !!

Trudie, where is my cape ?? Did Mike hide it ?? Damn !!!!!

THE CREW

Viequez, Spanish Virgins

THE CREW and Mike are enjoying our stint on Viequez. Yesterday morning, we move east from Sun Bay (which had a crescent mile long beach and a "block Island-ish" downtown) to a secluded harbor called Ensenada Honda. "Dancing Dolphin" and Persephone are the only two boats in this entire area. No houses, no town, no roads, no people, no lights....no nothing !! We are completely isolated and loving it....

We all jumped in the dinghies yesterday and headed out on a hunt for lobsters. SKUNKED....The crew from Dancing Dolphin, Mike and I each saw at least one lobster; but were unable to bring home dinner. The lobsters here really like to stay well inside their hidey-holes and are smart enough not to leave their antennae hanging out ....a sure give away. We will try again today....

Mike and Crystal from DD came over for sundowners and left around dark. As they were leaving they asked if we had seen the Southern Cross on the horizon....I immediately became my skeptical (obnoxious) self, and announced "no way, we are too far north, expletive deleted" BUT, there on the southern horizon was a very bright, distinct cross shaped arrangement of stars...could it be the Southern Cross ??? Sure looks like it could be....?? (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young singing in the background..."you'll always remember the first time you see the Southern Cross...")

Yikes, I need my morning coffee !!

THE CREW

Goodbye Puerto Rico

Adious, Puerto Rico.....

The license plates on the cars in PR call it the "Enchanted Island"....and they are right on. Puerto Rico is truly a bright star in the Caribbean. PR is the opposite of everything we expected. First, the place is amazingly clean, no trash, very little litter and trash barrels everywhere with signs asking to take pride in the island. Second, the Puerto Ricans would give you the proverbial shirt off their back. We couldn't walk down the street near the beach/marina without someone asking if we need a ride. (We sure took advantage of this hospitality) People regularly would ask "are you lost ?....can I help" ? "Need help with Spanish/English translation" ? (often followed by a good natured Spanish lesson). We would refer to ourselves as the "dos gringoes" which always got a big smile or an outright laugh !! Finally, we were told by other cruisers (and in our guidebooks) not to go to the malecon (boardwalk) in Ponce after dark....it is unsafe, as evidenced by the crowds and deafening music. What are they talking about ?? It was a real treat....It featured Puerto Rican food and beer at very reasonable prices, and the crowds are families....often 3 generations just hanging out enjoying the ambiance. As for the "dangerous" music...Puerto Ricans LOVE their loud salsa music...They dance the night away on the malecon....from little kids to the elderly; a street party. I am still trying to find the correlation between loud music, and danger....I remember when the Beatles were considered dangerous too.....go figure !! The stereotypes of the Sharks and Jets in West Side Story are long gone on PR !!

We left the Puerto Rican main island yesterday for a long 40 mile slog to the Spanish Virgin Islands, specifically Vieques. Vieques lies directly to the east of the main island forcing us to go directly into the full force of the trade winds...8+ foot seas with a large ocean swell; all with the wind blowing right on the nose. Regularly entire waves would break over the length of the boat. (Remember old war movies with allied ships crashing through waves in the Battle of the North Atlantic, i.e. "War at Sea" series....that was us) NASTY !!
But we arrived 11 hours later in Ensenada Sun Bay (aptly named); a protected anchorage ringed by a mile long beach....well worth the trip. After arrival, we just hung out for the rest of the afternoon and hit the sack exhausted.

Today, we will be exploring the beach, and dinghying into he little town to our west. We need to purchase a couple of new fishing lures to replace the ones lost to the fish that got away.

It is great to make it to the Virgin Islands !! Mike says "hi" to all....he is having a blast...

THE CREW

Goodbye Puerto Rico

Adious, Puerto Rico.....

The license plates on the cars in PR call it the "Enchanted Island"....and they are right on. Puerto Rico is truly a bright star in the Caribbean. PR is the opposite of everything we expected. First, the place is amazingly clean, no trash, very little litter and trash barrels everywhere with signs asking to take pride in the island. Second, the Puerto Ricans would give you the proverbial shirt off their back. We couldn't walk down the street near the beach/marina without someone asking if we need a ride. (We sure took advantage of this hospitality) People regularly would ask "are you lost ?....can I help" ? "Need help with Spanish/English translation" ? (often followed by a good natured Spanish lesson). We would refer to ourselves as the "dos gringoes" which always got a big smile or an outright laugh !! Finally, we were told by other cruisers (and in our guidebooks) not to go to the malecon (boardwalk) in Ponce after dark....it is unsafe, as evidenced by the crowds and deafening music. What are they talking about ?? It was a real treat....It featured Puerto Rican food and beer at very reasonable prices, and the crowds are families....often 3 generations just hanging out enjoying the ambiance. As for the "dangerous" music...Puerto Ricans LOVE their loud salsa music...They dance the night away on the malecon....from little kids to the elderly; a street party. I am still trying to find the correlation between loud music, and danger....I remember when the Beatles were considered dangerous too.....go figure !! The stereotypes of the Sharks and Jets in West Side Story are long gone on PR !!

We left the Puerto Rican main island yesterday for a long 40 mile slog to the Spanish Virgin Islands, specifically Vieques. Vieques lies directly to the east of the main island forcing us to go directly into the full force of the trade winds...8+ foot seas with a large ocean swell; all with the wind blowing right on the nose. Regularly entire waves would break over the length of the boat. (Remember old war movies with allied ships crashing through waves in the Battle of the North Atlantic, i.e. "War at Sea" series....that was us) NASTY !!
But we arrived 11 hours later in Ensenada Sun Bay (aptly named); a protected anchorage ringed by a mile long beach....well worth the trip. After arrival, we just hung out for the rest of the afternoon and hit the sack exhausted.

Today, we will be exploring the beach, and dinghying into he little town to our west. We need to purchase a couple of new fishing lures to replace the ones lost to the fish that got away.

It is great to make it to the Virgin Islands !! Mike says "hi" to all....he is having a blast...

THE CREW

Boca del Infierno....

Mike says "hi all" from Persephone.....

As we noted on our Position Report, we took an easy hop from Coffin Island over to Boca del Infierno. Coffin Island was magnificent !! Beautiful, spotless, and had a great beach which we fully enjoyed. But before beaching, THE CREW hiked up the "mountain" to view the lighthouse, and take in the scenery. We did the couple of mile hike between 11:30 am and 1 pm....NEW RULE...no hiking, especially up a mountain, in the middle of the day !!! We have some great pictures which we will post when we have internet. At the beach, we all jumped into the water to cool off....we soaked for nearly an hour. Afterwards, we enjoyed some coldies, hung out, and had a nice dinner as some cooling showers rolled through just around dinner time. This is a must stop place for cruisers.

As for B del Infierno, it is an area of mangrove covered barrier islands near Salinas, PR. We are tucked up behind one of the islands to get out of the trade winds which are really humming today. We left at 6 am and arrived here around 9:30 just as the winds started kicking in.....

We will spend the day here, and hopefully we can do some exploring in the dinghy. Right now, it is so breezy, we would get soaked riding around in the dinghy....if getting soaked in 88 degree water is all that bad !! We are hoping to get outta here around 3 am and head directly for the Spanish Virgin Islands. We all are really pumped up about getting to the Virgins, especially the Spanish Virgins as they are not "discovered" by cruise ships, tour operators, and the condo commando crowd (i.e. ugly American tourists with matching belts and shoes....) Our first stop will be the island of Viequez; which is about 10 miles east of Puerto Rico. Parts of Viequez have not been opened to the public for the past 100 years, as the Navy used it for practicing beach assaults, and ordinance training. The Navy is out (Thanks, Mr. Clinton) and it is now open; so, we will be spending the remaining time Mike has here exploring the south side of Viequez.....lobsters (nicknamed bugs) look out...the bug killer (Orkin Man Dave) is coming to town.....

Finally, Mike is re-spooling the fishing rod.... We got a hit this morning....and whatever it was, it was HUGE....the fish took all the line off of the reel in seconds, and then broke the line as the end was tied to the reel. Another dinner that got away.....next time. (Seriously, I have to get a short, sturdy pole with a very heavy duty reel for the size of the fish here....my Long Island Sound special is clearly not up to the task. And I thought I was getting a heavy duty rig when I purchased it in a specialty fishing shop in Connecticut. Maybe by New England standards what I was sold was "heavy duty", but NOT by Caribe standards...whimpy, whimpy, whimpy !! Trudie's Schmano reel (purchased at the same specialty shop) was already blown apart when we hooked the blue marlin....the bale just disintegrated. Getting sick of singing the blue marlin blues !! Hey, brother-in-law Greg...any suggestions on a Penn Reel ??

THE NOW HUNGRY CREW

Coffin Island

We arrived at Isla Casa de Muertos for breakfast. We are the only boat here. There is a ranger station, a large dock and free moorings; other than that, the island is in its natural state. There is a lighthouse high on a "mountain" in the middle of the island. The light was built by the Spanish before PR was taken over by the US....it is obviously turn of the century (19th) Spanish architecture. The three of us plan on hiking up the mountain to check it out....should provide great pictures.

Very warm morning....should be great swimming here, as the water is very clear...good to be away from the waters of Ponce and on the move again !! Mike is smiling ear to ear. Great first stop for his vacation....

THE CREW

Ponce, PR

It is getting to be about that time....time to move on from Ponce. We have been at Ponce for 10 days now getting a ton of work done on the boat, and reprovisioning. We are down on our waterline by about 2 inches from all the weight of the food we have loaded aboard....a dozen of this and 18 of that !! I think that we "singlehandedly" have ended the recession in Puerto Rico. (Seriously, the economy on PR is thriving. We went to a mall last week, and it was packed....10+ people deep at cash registers in most of the stores....it was amazing....looked like the week before Christmas. Everywhere we went people were spending money....no recession/money worries here; except for me :) )

Well, Mike arrives today. We will be going out to the airport to pick him up this afternoon. We will leave here first thing tomorrow morning for Isla Caja de Muertos (Island of the box of the dead, i.e. Coffin Island) Sounds like an upbeat spot !! We will let you know.....

Jose Almeida was a Portuguese pirate who was in love with a married woman from Curacao. After the woman's husband died, Joe married her, but she was killed in an attack shortly after the wedding. Joe had his wife embalmed and placed in a coffin with a glass door that he hid in a cave on Caja de Muertos. Joe would return to the island frequently to "visit" his wife. Joe was eventually caught and hanged as a pirate. His crew returned to Coffin Island to search for Joe's treasure. When they found the "treasure" a fight broke out, and the crew killed each other; leaving one survivor. When the survivor opened the box and discovered it's contents, he threw himself into the sea to his death. Gotta love how islands get their name....Rum Island is so simple !!

Will post from Isla Caja de Muertos.....I will keep Mike out of the caves !!

THE CREW

Puttering in Ponce.....

This is the lighthouse at Cabo Rojo ("Red Cape"---referring to the color of the cliffs surrounding the light).  Cobo Rojo is on the southwest corner of Puerto Rico.  We snapped this shot from Persephone as we turned the corner for our sail along the southern coast of PR.   As we mentioned, we are currently in Ponce; which is PR's second largest city.  We will be here for the rest of the week doing boring stuff:  oil changes, maintenance on the boat, and most of all reprovisioning.  We rented a car for a couple of days to haul supplies.  Picture this...Enterprise picks you up, right.... so they asked for our description.  The conversation is basically in Spanglish.  My Spanish is not nearly good enough to give a full physical description.....so I resorted to "dos gringoes"  OHHH!  Si Senor !! ...followed by uproarious laughter.  It worked,  as they pulled right up to us on the designated street corner. 

So T and I are in a grocery store (just like the states, only the produce is beautifully colorful....bright greens, yellows, reds etc....the fruits and veggies are truly outstanding.)  But I digress.....we needed some mint, so I saunter over to the guy stocking the shelves and ask for mint.  Well, he speaks no English and I don't know the Spanish word for mint...no problem....I launch into "Donde estra mojito....pequeno verde....."  Translation:  "Where is the small green stuff in a mojito ??"  We get a big smile and led to where the menthe (mint) was located.....we really ARE the "DOS GRINGOES" !!

Some blog readers have complained that there are not enough pictures of Trudie.  So here you go.  This was shot shortly after sunrise as we sailed along Puerto Rico's south coast to Ponce.....

If you look
carefully you
can see the
boat in T's
sunglasses...


THE CREW
a/k/a DOS GRINGOES