Puerto Rico and Goodbye to Steve v1.1

Spectra
Paul & Norma Russell
Sun 1 Mar 2015 17:20

Puerto Rico and Goodbye to Steve

18:27.55N 66:05.64W

21st to 26th February 2015

6170 Miles from Ramsgate by log.

 

            Our first night in Puerto Rico was spent at anchor in San Juan just outside of the entrances to two marinas and alongside one of the main cruise liner docks.

 clip_image002

The fort at the entrance to San Juan Puerto Rico

 

clip_image004

Our very close neighbour in the anchorage, this one left in the night while we slept!!!

 

The next morning we were up and about early in order to move Spectra into the commercial marina and to do the obligatory customs clearance. The mooring in San Juan marina was stern too with two posts set out across the current into the river for you to lasso your bow lines to as you go by. When you factor in the 20 Knot cross wind it was not an easy moor by any means and ended up with a lot of last minute fendering, heavy use of the bow thruster and frantic pulling on ropes but we did get her in (just). The US customs require you to phone them as soon as you land and so I got on with that while Norma and Steve dealt with putting the boat to bed and sorting the marina office out. Customs were very friendly but wanted to visit the boat for an inspection and so we all had to wait on board for them to turn up. They said they would be 30 minutes and so it was no real surprise when 3 hours later two CBP officers turned up (with guns), looked at just the one passport and after exactly 5 minutes said thanks a lot without even stepping on board. They then added that we would all have to go to the cruise dock terminal to book in personally and pay for a cruising permit which would last for a year and be valid in all US waters, so that at least was worth getting. The afternoon was spent trooping up to the CBP office at the cruise dock terminal and getting our cruising permit, as I said all very friendly but we had just about kissed goodbye to the whole day by the time they had finished, hopefully in future with the cruising permit all we will have to do is the initial phone call and then we will be good to go, time will tell. At last we were free and celebrated by walking into the old town for a look around. San Juan old town is a real treat, beautiful Spanish architecture greets you at every turn and the atmosphere is both cosmopolitan and very friendly. We had a meal in town in a restaurant that had the coldest air con I have ever experienced, my hands were so numb by the time we had finished I was having trouble holding the knife and fork and Norma had to go outside to warm up between courses.  One highlight though was a large party (or party of large) American women who were having a meal in the same restaurant. At the end of their meal the leader of the pack stood up and in a very loud voice announced to the staff, to the restaurant in general and probably to a few startled passers by in the street outside, “Thank you very much, that was just Ab-So-Lutely Super, Duper, Duper, Duper…..Duper” I kid you not, you just have to love the enthusiasm don’t you?

 

clip_image006

In this restaurant the food is delivered by train.

 

That evening we returned to Spectra to find that one of the mooring posts on the dock had snapped off and was hanging down the side of the hull by the remains of the spring line. Luckily it only left a small scratch on the rail in passing but had it got caught up with the dockside it could have easily punched through the hull as Spectra was surging violently in a vicious cross current and strong gusting wind. So not impressed with the marina we re-secured the boat and went to bed after finding that all of the washrooms, showers and toilets in the marina were locked. In fact the only thing that wasn’t locked was the main gate which allowed anyone to wander the pontoons at their leisure.

            Next morning it was complain to the marina time. The nice lady in the office was very apologetic and seemed to quietly agree that the facilities were not good, especially as we had investigated the yacht club on the other bank of the river which was a much posher affair and for only $1.50 per foot per night with working showers a bar and 24 hour security, but her manager insisted that we should pay the full fee of $2 per foot per night. I then suggested that I get my boat repaired at their expense and they could then deduct the mooring fee from the bill, the manager suddenly thought £1.50 per foot per night was a very reasonable offer and so I paid up and we left. The rest of our stay was spent at the yacht club Club Nautica pontoons across on the other side of the river which as I have said before were excellent and what’s more the fuel worked out at only 44 pence per litre. I didn’t realise just how cheap it was at first because it is sold in Gallons, this being little America and all, but having brought 50 gallons just to keep us going and after sitting down with the bill to work it out I was galvanised into action. Calling the fuel attendant back over again, they have fuel hook up points at each berth, I squeezed another 40 gallons into our tanks which filled us to bursting. That is the first refuel since Mindelo in the Cape Verde islands back in December so not bad going at all really when you consider the mileage we have covered. Another thing I managed was with the help of the Danish owner of another yacht on our pontoon I wired a 4 pin American 120 volt, 50 Amp plug up to our European 16 Amp 220 volt lead. His wiring diagram was confusing to say the least but we ended up with 215 volts on the boat which will give us shore power throughout the states. Having said that I am not so sure it would pass any health and safety inspection and the washing machine doesn’t like the funny electricity and wont work with it but it is certainly better than the chock block lash up that the marina in Barbados did for us.

            And so onto Steve, we have finally said good bye to our long standing crew mate. Steve was with us when we left Ramsgate and helped us bring Spectra across Biscay along with Andy and Sarah including spending a day on the sands on the Somme etuary if you remember. After leaving us in Muxia, Spain he rejoined us in Tenerife back in November and has been with us across the Atlantic and right up through the Windward and Leeward islands. To say he has been a help would be the understatement of the year, he has lived and breathed this adventure providing great company and great support to me in particular in solving all of the niggling problems we have encountered on our travels. I will certainly miss him and so will the drinks cabinet which has had a vast array of rum cycled through its inventory along the way, Steve has promised to provide us with a list of all of the different brands sampled which I am sure will be extensive. We will meet up again at the end of May hopefully in Norfolk Virginia for the start of the return leg back home and I am sure we will have a beer or three in the islands as we hop back over, failing that a Guinness in the Royal Cork Yacht Club is a must. From Norma, Paul and Spectra, “thank you for sharing the dream”.

    clip_image008

Steve sweating in his big boy long trousers as Mike and Kate say goodbye to their boat tart.

 

            Right Turn arrived at the yacht club the day before Steve departed and so it was five for the leaving meal. We had a very nice meal out in San Juan which was only slightly marred by the 45 minute wait for Mikes fish to be prepared (I think they had to catch the thing) and the next morning Steve put on his big boy long legged trousers or the trip home, no more shorts for a month or two me thinks. That night we moved out to anchor again in the harbour with the expectation that we would be off early the following morning for the 345 mile trip over to Grand Turk but it was not to be. I had on the first day in San Juan left a stainless steel bar that is used to support my dinghy davits at the local chandlers in order to get some welding done. Unfortunately the welder had gone AWOL with my bar leaving us rather stuck until we or in truth the chandlers managed to track him down. Mike and Kate kindly agreed to stay for another day at anchor, a decision that was no doubt heavily influenced by the availability of free internet from the yacht club at the anchorage and Kate needing to rearrange a party date for later this summer. Early the next morning the chandler tracked down our errant welder and my bar was restored all fixed and so after clearing customs and buying a chart of the Turks and Caicos islands we were all ready for the off.

            Next time our trip over to Grand Turk, rough weather, a close encounter with hump back whales and an idyllic anchorage. Talk soon……………..

 

PS: we are still looking for some crew to come back across the Atlantic at the beginning of June. Three legs of about 2 weeks each, Norfolk Virginia to Bermuda, Bermuda to the Azores, Azores to Cork….anyone interested in all or part? Please drop us a line.

 

 

 

Spectra {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com

 

No attachment or pics please as this is a very low bandwidth satellite link and costs a small fortune per minute for downloads and they block up my weather reports.

 

If you want to send normal email pics attachment etc.

Paul {DOT} russell732 {CHANGE TO AT} hotmail {DOT} co {DOT} uk and I will pick it up when I am on WiFi