February 17-26, 2012... Palm Beach and WPB

For over a week we have been anchored just south of Royal Park Bridge in Lake Worth, opposite the Town of Palm Beach marina with its mega yachts from the Cayman Navy, and just a short dinghy ride away from the docks at West Palm Beach (WPB). It's been nice to bob at anchor, feeling the rhythm of the water once again, joined by that of this urban oasis - church bells playing on the hour, mingling with warning horns for bridge openings and the Segway tourists that go up and down the esplanade.

Our first full day here we went to IndiaFest 2012, an annual festival sponsored by the Palm Beach India Association. Held at the outdoor amphitheater in WPB, we took in the sights, sounds, and smells, saw lots of traditional dancing and ate some fabulous samosas. A great way to spend a sunny afternoon.

We also played tourist, walking up and down Clematis St, the main street of WPB, rode the free trolley, and found the supermarket. As if there isn't enough beauty on this side of Lake Worth, we crossed the bridge to take in the sights in Palm Beach. Wow. A lot of money over there! Beautiful homes, all the shops you'd expect to see on Worth St., the Breakers resort hotel, and of course the wonderful beach on the Atlantic.

Naturally, we challenged ourselves to kayaking Lake Worth. Plotting out a course that would put the wind and current at our backs on the way home to Anhinga, we paddled a couple of miles up past Southern Bridge where we found some mangrove islands that are home to lots of birds, not just the herons and ospreys we expected, but also turkey vultures that roost in the higher branches. Not the most beautiful birds, and they are everywhere. Good to be paddling again.

West Palm Beach: +26° 42' 10.08", -80° 2' 53.58"

February 17, 2012... We're Back!!

Happy New Year! Well, a little late. After spending close to three months on land, we are back on Anhinga and starting our journey north on the U.S. East Coast. We had a great time living in Delray Beach with Patti's parents, Renee and Irwin. They gave us a home while we did some work on the boat, got new sails, bimini and dodger, and hauled out for bottom painting. They made us part of their Gleneagles community; with guest passes to the fitness center, dinner dances at the club, breakfasts with the gang at Bagel Tree, multiple trips to Costco, and unlimited hot showers and laundry. Thanks Renee and Irwin!

We'll be back with news and photos of our first stop in West Palm Beach - stay tuned.

November 15 - 22, 2011... Going Home

It was great returning to Boqueron; enjoying Chuck’s company (we had met Chuck 2 years ago waiting for a bridge on the ICW -- another long story of how cruisers meet and re-meet); and embracing life in Puerto Rico.  But Florida beckoned and we diligently studied weather and waited for the right time to go. 

We had a wonderful surprise when son Jay decided to come with us for the passage.  We flew him to Mayaguez, provisioned for an extra crew member, and left Boqueron on a calm, sunny Tuesday morning.  We were more than halfway across the Mona Passage before the winds came up and the seas started tossing us around.  Poor Jay suffered from a bout of seasickness that continued into the next day as we rounded the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.  By day three, all crew was healthy and we established a routine of watchstanding overnight that allowed us to each get sufficient sleep.  And John started an ambitious effort to provide real meals for dinner requiring great coordination and gymnastic ability.  But a well-fed crew is a happy crew, so it was worth the effort.

Anhinga sailed incredibly well -- liking the points of sail west and NW -- with the autopilot managing all but the most gusty of winds and breaking seas.  What a difference it makes to not have to steer all the time!  We all had time to enjoy the beautiful sunny days and watch the sea.  The extent of our wildlife encounters were flying fish and a few birds.  And every morning we did the deck check to see how many fish we caught -- at least 5 flying fish a day -- that got thrown on deck by waves or didn’t see us coming and leaped to their deaths on board.

Passing the Caicos Bank and the Great Bahamas Bank significantly smoothed the waters and traveling the Old Bahama Channel, a terrific ride.  Sailing north through the Santaren Channel we got a knot or two of lift from the current, but that was nothing compared to our ride on the Gulf Stream in the Straits of Florida.  There, we were suddenly traveling consistently over 8 knots, then 9 knots, and popping 10s and 11s, with 11.4 knots the highest speed we noticed.  Yee-hah!!!  

Then on our last day at sea, Poseidon decided to remind us of his power.  Patti went below to prepare and send an SSB sailmail message to our families to let them know we had Florida in our sights.  John and Jay were in the cockpit enjoying the ride, when suddenly Jay’s eyes went wide as he stared behind John’s head and yelled, “big wave, big wave!!”  The water suddenly crashed over the bimini knocking Anhinga about 60 degrees -- just for a few seconds -- before righting herself.  Not a knockdown, thankfully, but darn close.  No damage at all, even though all the glassware and pots and pans crashed around in the lockers.  Within a minute we had taken stock and were merrily rolling along again, but wow -- we knew how quickly our luck could have changed.

After a week at sea we had only seen one other sailboat, a handful of cargo ships, fishing boats, and many cruise ships.  Our favorite sightings were the US Coast Guard ships and helicopter.  Starting south of the Bahamas, we saw the USCG four times as they patrolled the waters between Florida and Puerto Rico.  The 270’ cutter Tahoma spent quality time tracking and talking with us as they turned our appearance in their operations area into an opportunity for some routine questioning.

By Monday evening we had rolled up the sails and were angling into the channel at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.  We felt like hicks come to the big city.  The lights!  The buildings!  We were a little overwhelmed.  We made it just in time through the first bridge opening at 17th Street and worked our way through the ICW up to Las Olas bridge.  Once there we decided to put the anchor down for the night and wait till daylight to continue up to Delray Beach.  Being in flat water for the first time in a week felt so strange.  Not having to brace ourselves to move about was a novelty.  All of us sleeping at the same time was also weird.  It was also bittersweet, leaving the freedom of the ocean, and our time with the wind and the water.

Tuesday with Jay at the wheel, we puttered the rest of the way to Delray up the ICW.  Our appreciation for the beauty of south Florida increased as we admired the mangroves, herons, pelicans, and iguanas as well as the incredible houses on the waterway.  Twelve bridge openings later, we headed for the Delray Harbor Club Marina.  It was so great to be back in Florida, our 1,000 mile journey ended.

October 30 - November 2, 2011... Passage to Puerto Rico

Change of plans. That's the way it is with cruising. We planned for months to go from Curacao to Aruba and on to Colombia and Panama. However, over recent weeks, we got a little homesick for the USA, and decided to head north instead of west. If things go as planned now, we will head back to Florida and spend 2012 cruising in the States.

The first leg of the journey was from Curacao north to Puerto Rico. After careful consideration, we went NNE to Boqueron on the SW coast of PR, rather than the easier NW to Haiti and the Windward Passage. We figured we knew the territory and would be able to rest and repair in PR and then get the next weather window for an onward voyage through the Old Bahama Channel to Miami.

OK, so the NNE course was a bit more difficult than we had planned. We did manage to make the easting we needed, but not without running into LOTS of squalls and buckets of rain. One memorable moment of the trip found Patti weeping at the helm as she got hit for the third time in one night by storms and was completely drenched, AGAIN!!! It is amazing what passes for tragedy when you are sleep deprived and aching. Oh, forgot to mention... the autopilot quit after the first day, so we were hand steering, 2 hours on, 2 hours off, for 3 days.

On the first day, we had some good sailing even though the water was a little rough. But for the first time, John got seasick. He looked a little green, and Patti was ready to divert to Bonaire, but he was fine after losing lunch over the side. Another milestone. Doesn't sailing sound fun?

We arrived in the beautiful wide bay of Boqueron on the morning of the 4th day. After dropping the anchor (as the only cruising boat there) we sat and marveled that Anhinga got us where we needed to go -- we had done it.

Boqueron, Puerto Rico: 18d01.425'N 67d10.682'W

Willemstad, Curaçao

Willemstad is a big town, but easily walkable.  The city is divided by Sint Annabaai channel, a waterway which leads to the largest natural harbor, now used primarily for petroleum refining and a large shipping port.  The oldest section of town, Punda, has buildings dating from the mid-1600s, including Fort Amsterdam which now houses the government.  The later buildings from the 1700s illustrate what has become known as the Dutch Caribbean style where the facades are painted pastel colors to eliminate glare from the sun.  The city really is an architectural historian’s paradise.  There is also a colorful floating market where Venezuelan merchants offer produce and souvenirs.  

The channel was spanned in the 19th century by a bridge built by an American entrepreneur.  It was replaced more recently with a pedestrian walkway that opens for transiting ship traffic.  We actually rode the bridge as it moved for a freighter.  (What cruisers will do for fun!)  The bridge allowed the development of Otrobanda, the other side of Annabaai, and became a middle-class residential area.  In the 1970s, the Queen Juliana bridge was built for vehicle traffic.  On this side of town a developer bought about 20 buildings to create the Kurá Hulanda museum and hotel.  The museum is dedicated to the history of the slave trade and African art.  The gardens were a welcome respite for us after we had traipsed all over town touring one day.  

In the heart of Punda is the synagogue, built in 1732.  It is the home of an active Sephardic congregation, Mikve Israel-Emanuel.  The temple is a large building within a walled courtyard and has a sand floor, the tradition recalling the days of the inquisition and the conversos.  We contacted the synagogue and were able to attend during Yom Kippur.  The services were mostly conducted in English and Hebrew, though during aliyahs, some of chanting was in Ladino, the language of the Sephardim.

On another foray into town we spent some time in the Maritime Museum, across the water from Punda in Scharloo.  This part of town, originally built by Sephardic Jews, had some large mansions.  One of these old mansions, was rebuilt for the museum.  The 500-year maritime history of Curaçao is fascinating, and the museum does a decent job of covering it.