Fish and Emerald Clouds.....

Here is Trudie and her dolphin fish (mahi-mahi)  Note the hook still in it's mouth:

This fish weighs about 12-15 pounds.  We filleted it  immediately and it provided several delicious meals.

We mentioned in a previous post that we sailed south from the Caicos Islands over the shallow banks which extend move than 20 miles south of the islands. There is an underwater wall where the banks plunge into the deep ocean waters dropping from 12 feet to several thousand feet.  The water on the banks is bright turquoise and on bright,  sunny days the water reflects on the clouds turning the clouds green i.e. "emerald clouds".  The emerald cloud phenomena occured where the banks water joined the deep ocean waters  in the following photo.  The clouds on the left are green as they are over the bank water, and the clouds on the right are white as they are situated over the cobalt ocean waters:

We are currently in Luperon, DR and I really don't know how to describe it...   It is VERY third world, dirty, dusty, smells good and bad, loud, busy, latin music, horns, rapid-fire spanish, motorcycles, raw sewerage in the streets, vendors, corn-cookers on the "sidewalks", goats roaming the city,  flys, chickens (running around and being grilled) dominoes, card games, x-pats, and of course yachties.  AND, there are pasty, american tourists from a local resort thrown into the mix....mouths open, cameras around the neck,  with of course their "cruise clothes" and their mouths wide open. We LOVE this place !!  As Mark on "Liahona" observed, "this place has a pulse"...and, boy, is he right "

We are working hard on our "Spanglish"...trying to talk like Tonto in the old Lone Ranger TV show..."Ugh, me need'em beer..."  We are histerical trying to order dinner, or buying something in a store....then there is the money exchange....dollores -> peso   "Cuanto cuesta?"  (how much does it cost ?)  Now try and bargain someone down.....keep the numbers straight, and do the currency conversion !  It's a blast....  Trudie and I were bargaining for a shell neckless for Trudie, when a Cuban-American tourist came to our rescue....we got the neckless for half the listed price.....

Only pictures can tell the story of Luperon....next time......

Trudie here.....

Hi all.this is Trudie

We arrived in Luperon, Dominican Republic Easter morning. We left Provo in the Turks & Caicos on Saturday morning around 9am, and sailed all night. After we left the harbor at Provo, we did not see another boat on the water until 2:00 in the morning. I was on watch, and saw some lights in the distance. After not seeing anything else around for hours, it certainly woke me up and caught my attention. David was sleeping, and I knew when I saw the second set of lights that the AIS would sound off and alert us that ships were close by. There were two large barges that were within ½ to one mile away from us, which is a small distance for ships so large. One can never tell if the crew on board are awake and can see our sailboat near them. Earlier in the evening when I was sleeping, David radioed a barge that came very close to us and made sure the captain of that ship was awake and saw us. All was well.

I had prepared food ahead of time so that we could grab something to eat without having to use the stove for cooking. The waves and swells were large, so it took our appetites away. We didn't eat very much, not even the package of cookies and bag of chips that we had bought for the trip.

As the sun was rising, David went back to sleep, and I was on watch. The landscape of the Dominican Republic was in the distance. Not used to seeing hills and mountains, it looked as though the hills were dark clouds in the distance. Not so. As we got closer, it became clear that the DR was very hilly and mountainous. The scenery looked ominous to me. Not being able to see any detail, the hills looked very dark and eerie, with dark clouds dropping rain on land in the distance. As the sun rose higher, I could see detail of the land, and the lush green of the hills and mountains, and waves breaking on shore. As David awoke, I told him it looked as though we were heading into a squall or storm, as it was dark ahead, and the clouds threatened to pass over the rising sun. But everything cleared, and we could feel the heat of the sun and more humidity in the air than we had felt for a long time.

I am now sitting outside on the boat this Monday morning in this serene anchorage in Luperon. There are probably 75 or so boats anchored here, but it is very quiet and everyone seems to be taking life very easy and relaxing. I feel more relaxed here and finally feel like we are cruisers.

There is internet available in Luperon and we plan to post some pictures on the blog. We will be telling you more about Luperon too, which is very third world. This place does not compare to anything else I have seen in my lifetime. One has to see it to believe it, and we intend to take pictures of the town and people living here to post.

We checked into immigration yesterday, and today we will be checking in with customs so that we can fly the DR flag.

All for now.. T&D

HOLA ! FROM HISPANIOIA

Buenos tardes from the Dominican Republic !! Persephone is in the Caribbean !! We arrived just as planned.at 9 AM we dropped the sails just outside the entrance to the harbor. The entrance to Luperon is notoriously difficult, threading through the reefs, with two dog leg turns. We negotiated the entrance without a problem (noting that the entrance to Rum Cay is far more difficult) and dropped the anchor at 10 AM. The first thing we noticed about the DR are the mountains. The Bahamas and Caicos are very flat, but the DR has high mountains you can see 15 miles out to sea. Second, is the humidity.you can immediately feel the change in climate from the arid atmosphere of the Bahamas and Caicos to the sultry, humid weather of the DR. The mountains are covered in a deep green fauna of the tropical rainforest reflecting the wetter, more humid environment.
Upon arrival, we had our Easter Sunday Brunch with a couple of Presendentes (the label says it's made with corn grits, so it MUST be a breakfast beer !!) Trudie is taking a nap, and I am puttering around transforming Persephone from sailboat, into raised ranch; as we plan on staying a "while" (whatever that is...just glad to be out of the T + Cs). Must say that Persephone came through the past two journeys is great shape..not a single thing broke, or needs repair (other than ordinary maintenance)..couldn't be happier with the quality Sabre built into this boat. (Also, thanks to Mike and Ian for all their help getting the boat ready to head south)
We are waiting for the customs, immigration, and of course the navy (the NAVY ???) to show up and process the paperwork granting us clearance into the DR. No one seems to know if they are working today. So, we must stay on the boat, flying our yellow Q flag, and wait for the officials to come out and do the paperwork and of course collect the fees. In the DR, representatives of the various agencies actually come out and inspect the boat..polished boots and all. (We haven't had this happen in the Bahamas or T +Cs). Will let you know how that goes...
Later...THE CREW
Bob and Lori....we are anchored in the middle of the bay in front of the yacht club...will certainly be having some libations there, will toast you, Lori, and of course "Pride"...BTW, forgot to mention, the "powers" on St. Croix put moorings all over Christensted Harbor, and have banned anchoring. Of course the local scooped all the moorings up, so there is no place for cruisers to go in the harbor. Additional moorings have been placed off St. Croix Marine, but due to the swell, they are untenable. Cruisers are now forced to bypass STX....Also, the Golden Rail has changed hands....gotten fancier, now serving upscale dinners in the evenings. Why can't STX leave well enough alone ?? First they drive away the cruise ships, and now the cruisers....go figure !! (Got info from northbound cruisers earlier this week) D + T

Easter Morning.....

Happy Easter to all.....

We are only 17 miles from Luperon harbor. We have slowed the boat considerably to make sure we don't arrive to early...i.e.. before the sun is high enough in the sky to pick out the reefs. It is our understanding the customs, immigration etc is a "big deal" in the DR with lots of pomp and circumstance. Only hope the officials are working on Easter morning (I'm thinking good luck !!)

All is well aboard, couldn't ask for a better sail. Put up the sails just after pulling up the anchor, and have been sailing since....haven't touched the engine.

We should be at the harbor entrance just before 9am. Will let you know when we arrive.

Position: 20 08.00N 07106.86W at 0540.

Sat Night

Underway to Luperon, DR. We have reduced sails to slow the boat down. We were doing 7.5 kts+ and if we kept up that speed, we would arrive Luperon at 5AM. So, we are sailing under just a reefed main. Wind is abeam at 19-20 kts with 6' seas. We were more comfortable with more sail, but don't want to arrive too early....

Position: 20 43.65N 071 37.94 @20:52 Sat night.

Boat rolling a lot ....gotta go !!

Underway (again)....

We left the Caicos Islands at 9 AM heading for Luperion in the Dominican Republic. We had to wait for 9 AM so we would have sufficient sunlight over the banks to spot the reefs, rocks and coral heads lurking just below the surface. Remember, NOTHING is marked in the islands....no bouys, no nav aids, no nothing....so, it is all eyeball navigation. If it is dark, you go around it (sort of like eating rice pudding in the school cafeteria). Some of the rocks and coral heads are very close together, (often 25') so you have to thread the keel between them.

We sailed south from Sappodilla Bay 15 to French Cay; a tiny, uninhabited island which sits on the edge of the banks. At French Cay the water drops from 12 feet deep to 3000+ feet in a matter of a boat length or so. There is a distinct line of color change in the water marking the drop off. On one side of the line the water is turquoise and the other cobalt blue. So, out came the trusty fishing pole at the drop off, to see if we can haul out dinner.

Perfect day for sailing...sunny, with a light breeze (10-14 kts) from the northeast. Persephone loves playing in the ocean, galloping along at 6.5-6.8 kts....As for the crew, we are getting more accustomed to over night passages in the ocean. If the wind speed and direction holds, we will be off of the DR by morning. We are watching our speed, as we don't want to arrive too early; as we can't enter Luperon until well after sunup, again so we can see the outlying reefs. (Usually, we are trying to make the best time possible, today we don't want to sail too fast and arrive too early !!)

All is well aboard, with everything functioning perfectly. Knock on wood it stays that way...

Our position at 12:10 is 21 266N 072 11.66 W Or 3.5 miles south of French Cay (18 kn miles south of Provo).

More later.....THE CREW)

Turks and Caicos Islands

Good morning from the Turks and Caicos Islands..

We are in the Caicos Island chain and specifically on the island of Providenciales. ("just call it 'Provo' mon, don't wanna hurt your tongue") Provo is where most tourists come when visiting from the states. The tourist areas are on the north coast of the island, and we are anchored in the "cheap seats" on the south side. The south side of Provo is a very busy, commercial/industrial and an EXPENSIVE region; a complete shock from the rural, lush, laid back Bahamas. In addition, Provo is very arid, so blowing dust is a significant issue. Simply, this is not a pretty place to hang out..it is a place to refuel, take on water, and move on. This, also, appears to be the attitude of the government as it relates to cruisers. Cruisers are given a visa for only seven days and if you want to stay longer, you have to apply for a cruising permit ($75.00) for an additional week...and then the prices go up steeply for each additional period. No thanks...

Yesterday, we spent the day straightening/cleaning up the boat, (we had no repairs from the overnite sail, thank god), clearing customs, and relaxing. Last night, South Side Marina hosted its weekly "bring your own barbeque". You bring your grill food (we brought the mahi-mahi we caught to share with the crew of Dancing Dolphin) a side dish to share, and the marina supplies the grill, condiments, and ICE CREAM SUNDAES. First time we have been able to get ice cream in months !! We had a blast with friends, got reacquainted with cruisers we met last fall on the waterway, and met cruisers sailing north who shared current info of places we are planning to visit.

We have decided not to spend time here..and immediately head for the Dominican Republic. We will finish our reprovisioning today, clear out of customs, and leave for the DR in the morning. We have an excellent forecast for the overnight hop to Luperon, DR. Luperon is approximately 125 miles south of us, so it will be an overnight sail; arriving in the DR on Sunday morning. (We probably will have difficulty clearing customs because of the Easter Weekend, which includes Monday in Spanish countries.

Lastly, our main computer on the boat died; and was replaced with a new laptop. However, our password for posting to our blog via ham radio got lost. That is why there were minimal postings during our last overnight sail, and the ones that got posted were out of order. (We have no internet, and, therefore, no ability to see the Blog itself.so we don't know if what we send from the boat via radio actually makes it on the Blog.) We think we have the password issue solved. Now, we have to address the issue of our position reports on ShipTrak...

Will let you know when we leave...THE CREW