We left Puerto Bahia Marina on April 24 as planned. Fortunately, we had a lovely window of light wind and, though the tight channel hadn’t gotten any wider during our stay, it was much easier to maneuver without wind gusts. There were high fives all around on Che Figata when we departed unscathed from the marina. We were somewhat sad to leave the marina because we had such a great experience there. We already wrote about our adventures in Samana but we also met some really great people. Right next to us at the marina were Jim and Paula Holland (he’s Australian and she’s British) on a beautiful Malo 46 sailing yacht. They are headed to New England (USA) for the summer and we hope to meet up with them there as we explore our former stomping grounds.
Though we weren’t quite ready to leave Puerto Bahia Marina we have to keep on our schedule because we are meeting friends in Turks and Caicos and spending some time in the National Park was a must do on our list. So we took off at around 9 AM and sailed across Samana Bay to the National Park. It was more spectacular that we imagined. As we mentioned in our last post, the National Park is know for its inlets replete with mangrove forests, small cays and caves. We picked a beautiful spot to anchor (though, honestly, you really couldn’t go wrong anywhere from a setting perspective) and almost had the entire National Park to ourselves. There were only two other sailboats anchored in the bay off the National Park.
Once securely anchored we wasted no time and lowered the dinghy so we could explore the inlets and do a bit of hiking. We were told that parts of Jurassic Park were filmed in the National Park and we could see why. If you could allow yourself to imagine that you were in a dugout canoe (rather than a motorized dinghy) you really did feel like you stepped back in time to early earth. We enjoyed motoring in and out of the inlets watching the birds fly, the fish splash and just listening to the sounds of the forest and ocean. In several places there were docks where we were able to tie up our dinghy to walk a trail. (Fun tangent: At one of the docks there was a small local tour boat and the skipper was waiting for the passengers to return with their guide so he walked over to help us tie up our dinghy. Before he could get to us Jill had already secured our dinghy with a bowline knot, really impressing the skipper if we correctly interpreted his Spanish and broad smile.)
We were so glad we decided to do some hiking. The trails were narrow and we enjoyed meandering around moss covered trees and vines. Two of the trails led to caves that we were able to enter for some exploration. (Jill got some great pictures of the mangrove forests and small cays which she posted on Instagram (@sailingchefigata) for those interested.) Though we are generally fairly intrepid, we were cautious with our climbing in and around the caves, very conscious of the fact that if either of us fell and got injured the other would have a very difficult time getting the other back to the dinghy and, even when back on the boat, we were far from medical care. Jill, who unfortunately suffers from vasovagal syncope at the sight of blood (our children got used to mom fainting at least once during our adventurous family vacations), kept reminding Zack that if he fell and cut himself he’d be on his own.
After 24 hours in the National Park which went much too quickly it was time to set sail for Ocean World Marina in Puerto Plata, DR. It was just about 150 nautical miles from where we were to Puerto Plata so it would be our second, solo, overnight passage. This passage was definitely less sporty than our passage to Samana Bay and the wind cooperated nicely allowing us to sail, alternating on a nice beam or broad reach. What was particularly auspicious was that though the winds were fairly constant at 18 – 20 knots during the day, they slowed down at night which made for less rocking and rolling (not going through the Mona passage also made a difference!) and allowed both of us to sleep better during our narrow 4 hour window when the other was on watch. In fact, the winds really died down while Jill was on the 2 AM – 6 AM watch — so much so that Jill let out the Genoa which we had reefed before sunset in preparation for the overnight sail and then adjusted the sail to account for a slight shift in wind direction. While she acknowledges that all of this is very (very, very) basic, for someone who despite the admiral title really serves as a first mate (with attitude), she was very proud that she is able to handle the sails and make decisions on her own. Though we are a long way from arguing who is captain, she’s come a long way!
We arrived — again safe but tired — at Ocean World Marina on April 26. Fortunately this marina was not the boat handling test that Puerto Bahia Marina was. Though the docks are also concrete (really????) the channels leading to the slips and the slips themselves are wide giving us plenty of room to safely maneuver. Still, it is always a relief when Che Figata is secure at the dock.
While our stay in Samana Bay was all about playing tourist and enjoying the beauty of the Dominican Republic our sailing life is not all waterfalls and mangrove forests. Our stay in Puerto Plata was marked by PCR COVID tests (required for entry into Turks & Caicos), provisioning for the next 4 weeks (to get us through Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas where prices are quite high) and the dreaded but necessary boat maintenance. This time that included changing out the engine oil, oil filter, fuel filter, racor filters (Zack thought overkill but the one in constant use was nasty!) and engine impeller. We could have waited to do these maintenance items, but the time and opportunity was there and better now at a secure dock than trying to do at anchorage. Also on the maintenance hit parade was Zack’s all time favorite task, installing a new joker value in the forward head. For those of you new to sailing, the joker valve on the head (toilet) prevents what you flush out from coming back into the head. When it fails, parts of the flush come back. Nasty, but not as nasty as having to disassemble the toilet plumbing to put in a new one. Rubber gloves, bleach and water clean up required. Sailing is such fun! We met a local, Jony, who works on boats and wanted a job. (COVID has hit the locals, dependent on tourism, very hard.) As tempting as it was for Zack to ask Jony to do the joker valve replacement, he kept that job for himself (earning lots of points with Jill) and had Jony wax the stainless we had just cleaned.
That is not to say that our stay at Puerto Plata was devoid of any adventure — just not the kind of adventure we experienced in Samana Bay. Because we needed to get our PCR COVID tests and also provision (likely requiring us to visit multiple markets) we decided to rent a car for the day. Driving in the Dominican Republic made driving on the left side of the road in the USVI seems like a cakewalk. The central rule of driving in the DR is that there are either no rules or rules that no one follows or enforces — we are not sure which! Think New York City but throw in hundreds of scooters — often carrying an entire family (complete with packages at times), none of whom have helmets on — that go with and against traffic, pedestrians crossing everywhere and the occasional dog and chicken! We felt like we were in a video game we called Scooter Cyclone as we did our best to avoid contact. It was exhausting and reminded Jill why she does not like video games — nothing relaxing about being bombarded by people, animals and things seemingly appearing from nowhere. Since we rented the car for an entire day we originally thought we might go back out into town, perhaps for a bite to eat, after delivering our provisions to Che Figata. After arriving back at the marina without having injured ourselves or others we decided the better part of valour was to not tempt fate and enjoy a quiet dinner — along with a particularly stiff Gin & Tonic — aboard our lovely boat.
We set sail for Turks and Caicos tomorrow (April 29) somewhere between 8 – 9 AM. With the predicted favorable winds, the 160 nautical mile journey should take us ~24 hours, give our take +2 on either side. As always, we will not have connectivity during our passage so our next post will be sometime during our stay on Turks and Caicos.
