At sea again

Simanderal
Michael Hughes and Ger White
Mon 16 Feb 2009 13:05
Well, having spent since 3 January in the Dominican Republic, it was time to move on --so we set off yesterday on a 270 mile sail to Tortola in the BVIs. Our week's sailing in the DR with Eric and Rachel was followed by a week in London for Ger and I--all snow and recession--and we arrived back in the DR on the 10th. A bit of time on the beach and a day whale-watching on Samana, plus a bit of provisioning and passage planning--and we set off on 15th February. I had looked for a weather window--the passage is against wind and current--and found one--the bad news is it means motoring or motor-sailing in adverse, but light, winds. We set off about 1130 on 15th--it's now 0900 on 16th and we should reach halfway within the next hour--currently motoring off the coast of Puerto Rico--and will be most of today, before we head up past the Spanish and US Virgins to Tortola. We had originally intended to stop in Puerto Rico, but the visa arrangements (US rules) for yachties are difficult if you try to get a visa in DR--and arriving there without a visa seems to land you in Guantanamo--the land of the free!!!
So we look forward to a sunny day's motoring and expect to arrive in Tortola around lunchtime tomorrow.