18:01.360N 067:10.751W

We dropped anchor yesterday evening in Mayaguez on the south coast of Puerto Rico and have moved to the rather more charming Boqueron today.

We were very glad indeed to arrive.  The last ten days have been fairly unpleasant all told and we were lucky to have Brad with us, not only to share the watches and the work but because he is always cheerful and fun. 

In spite of our best efforts to catch favourable winds, and a forecast that looked promising to begin with, the weather stayed difficult for the entire time so it all ended up being rather more uncomfortable than intended mainly because it was completely unrelenting.  Every couple of days the sea would settle a bit and we’d think things were getting better but then, usually within a couple of hours, they were back up and we were rolling again.  It was never anything scary, just tediously difficult as every simple task became an effort of balance, co-ordination and patience.  All in all not our most favourite passage but on the bright side we soon got warm and started to shed the blankets, fleeces, woolly hats and gloves until finally we were in shorts and T-shirts.  Apart from a few squalls, which for the most part we managed to dodge, there was no rain.

We caught three fish but only managed to land two.  Still, we learnt a lot in the process and are refining our technique so they won’t get away many more times. 

The plan now is to spend a few days at anchor while we sort the boat out, relax a bit and catch up with ourselves.  We were unable to do anything other than sail the boat, eat and sleep in short stretches while we were crossing so there is quite a lot to be done.  We will then push on east by just doing a series of day sails and reach the USVIs when the wind allows. 

All well though; Tashi Delek powered on through and we are now looking forward to getting her back into island hopping mode.