Puerto Rico.

3rd March 2014, Bahia La Maimon, Dominican Republic,  19:49.706 N  70:43.827 W  Distance sailed 410 miles

Sightings:   Whales feeding.

One of the very nice things about the USVI was that as people boarded a Safari most said good morning or good afternoon to everyone aboard.

Wednesday morning set sail from Crown Bay for the Spanish Virgin Islands to check into Puerto Rico at Culebra where Shelduck arrived just before sunset, As we approached the land I was surprised to see yachts moored in what looked like very dangerous positions out in the open sea. When we approached the very narrow harbor entrance between two coral reefs I discovered that the yachts were actually moored behind the reefs in flat water on moorings supplied by the authorities to help protect the coral. Shelduck carried on into the large harbor and anchored near many other yachts in 3 meters of water and raised the Q flag.

Thursday 20th motored in the punt to the nearby small pier where we met Annette as we walked up the hill to the village. She asked her husband Walter to drive us to the Airport for check in and said she thought we should have phoned in first. When we arrived at Customs and Homeland Security we had an unwelcome reception as they discovered we had not phoned head office on arrival on the 19th. They instructed us to phone immediately and I gave my age as my excuse for not phoning on arrival. They do have respect for age here. I had been informed of the phone in requirement by the nice lady in Charlotte Amalie on checkout but the significance of the instruction had not registered. Every time a boat arrives at about 8 listed ports around the coast you check in by phone. We were also sold a 12 month cruising permit for the US for $37.

Thursday 20th weighed anchor at 13.30 and it brought up a huge amount of seabed with it made up of fine gravel, mud and the grass turtles eat. Set sail for Sun Bay on the southern coast of Isla de Vieques arriving at 18.00, just before dark, after a lumpy passage. There were 5 other yachts anchored and after picking our place found that the anchor would not go down and then discovered that the batteries were not up to charge and so the alternator was probably in trouble..I decided to sail for the nearest boatyard at Palmas del Mar arriving there at 22.15, looked at the breaking waves at the entrance and turned back to sea and sailed up and down through the night,

Friday the 18th made our approach to the entrance again at 07.00 and tied up at the fuel berth. Noticed on the way through the very narrow entrance which faces east that one of the two transit lights was not working and was happy that I aborted the previous nights attempt. At 08.00 staff came and moved Shelduck to a berth nearby and we went to our berths to catch up on sleep. Phoned Volvo at their call center in Belgium for an dealer engineer in Puerto Rico to come to Shelduck and the marina contacted a local engineer for us.

Saturday 22nd engineer and New Yorker Steve Larosso arrived and had the batteries showing charging, quickly, so we cancelled the Volvo engineer. Steve also took the engine cable box to the boatyard to clean as it was caked with salt and very stiff. Next day, Sunday, we washed ourselves, Shelduck and our clothes and lunched at a local restaurant, Palmas del Mar is the site of an old sugar plantation on the edge of another beautiful beach. An upmarket development of 4000 dwellings with everything required for quality living. It is very mature now and must be about 20 years old. The marina is less than half full and has recently changed hands. Its difficulty is the entrance facing east with breaking seas at the narrow entry, lights not working and no buoys to guide you through the reefs.

Monday 24th tried and failed to get butane gas bottles filled and moved Shelduck back to the fuel berth so that we could leave at 06.00 for the planned 50 mile passage to Ponce on the south coast. Next morning shortly after departure the alternator failed. Again we were saved by having the fuel cell aboard which allowed us continued use of the chart plotter. We had another beautiful passage to Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club where on arrival we were instructed to tie up at the fuel berth for the night. Next morning filled with diesel, went to the allocated berth and reversed in. At low tide Shelduck's rudder touched bottom so I quickly pulled forward to deeper water. Someone had disposed of concrete blocks near the edge and we grounded on one of those. I had noticed it immediately and the rudder seemed OK. The club arranged for an engineer to come to Shelduck and he took the alternator away and had it refurbished. Five days later it is working better than ever. Volvo had arranged for an engineer in Cuba if Ponce had failed. I checked out of Puerto Rico on the phone from the club and Homeland Security emailed the papers me which the club printed. During the afternoon we took a taxi to the center of Ponce. Roads are excellent and the city is beautiful with interesting old buildings unusually interspersed with interesting modern buildings of the 50's and 60's. The city has a Museum of Architecture which sadly was closed when we got there.

Thursday the 27th left Ponce at daybreak for a 300 mile, two and a half day passage. Because I wanted to visit the Spanish Virgin Islands The obvious way was to sail west was to go to the South of Puerto Rico which, meant sailing through the Mona Passage. I had heard so much about the dangers of it that I was reminded of similar stories in the 40's from people, including my father, who had rounded Mizen Head going west from Cork cruising in a Cork Harbour One Design. We had another wonderful sail,in force 4 aft under mainsail. It bent around northwards as we sailed into the Passage which is 60 miles wide between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. It's most dangerous feature is the Hourglass Shoal. .It stretches out 23 miles from the DR eastern shore and is directly on the course from southern Puerto Rico to northern DR. Strong tide ripps and heavy swells caused by meeting of contrary currents are, in daylight, quite visible and mark the position of the bank well. We passed at night and it looked like a group of islands on the radar.

Friday 28th, while I was on watch, at 06.15 a split pin in the gooseneck sheared and a bolt fell to the deck freeing the boom from the mast. I started the engine, called Anne and we both went on deck to lower the mainsail and secure the boom with rope. It was difficult in the rough water. The remainder of the passage was motor sailing with the genoa only. At midday on Saturday Shelduck entered the Bahia La Maimon and a berth at the Ocean World Marina and booked for dinner and a dance show that we thought we deserved after a difficult week.