We were ready to move on to the next anchorage and explore more of the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Our next stop was Cayos De Cana Gorda, aka Gilligan’s Island, which the locals renamed after the popular tv show in the 80s. So we woke up at o’dark thirty and left at first light. It was only another 15 miles east (a short 2 hour trip) and was a great little anchorage to visit as we make our way towards the Virgin Islands. The trade winds whip thru the southern coast of Puerto Rico during the day (dead on the [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in La Paguerra exhausted from all of our traveling and ready to take a break, rest, and recover. Now that we reached the Caribbean it was time to slow down our pace again and enjoy the islands we worked so hard to get to. Our first stop on the southern coast of Puerto Rico was a charming vacation town where the locals from PR come to relax, fish, snorkel, and play. The houses are bright and colorful and built right over the water on stilts throughout the mangrove system, making it feel like the Riviera. And every house has [View Full Entry]

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What a crazy week for us, the Rum Runner took advantage of this totally amazing weather window and booked it on down to Puerto Rico- holy cow! That is a 900 mile trip going from Georgetown in the Bahamas to Provo in the Turks and Caicos, to Puerto Plata in the Dominica Republic, and across the Mona Passage to Mayaguez in Puerto Rico. Just so that you can understand what we accomplished keep in mind that we can only travel at the pace of 8-10 miles an hour if conditions are good. And in order to make this distance we had [View Full Entry]

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Georgetown is often referred to as Chicken Harbor, seeing that it is the southernmost point that most cruisers travel. It is here that boats either turn back and return to the U.S. (the chickens) or continue south to the Caribbean Islands (the brave sailors). Last year we turned back but this year we are pushing on south, determined to bring the Rum Runner to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, as well as the Windward and Leeward Islands. Although this is an uphill battle, we have to wait for the right weather conditions to travel against the trade winds (25-30 knots dead [View Full Entry]

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We set sail for Georgetown, the southernmost port in the Exumas, and happened to arrive the week of the big cruising regatta. We couldn’t believe how many boats were anchored in the harbor, at least 400! But with the belief that there is always room for one more, we made our way in and set the hook. Now the cruising regatta is a week long event, with all kind of events like the coconut challenge, a pet parade, a scavenger hunt, a bake-off, golf and tennis and volleyball and bocce ball tournaments, and much, much more. Oh yeah… and 2 regattas, [View Full Entry]

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We loved our time in Cat Island but it was time to move on. The glorious weather we have enjoyed due to the high pressure ridge positioned just north of us was about to come to an end, with a big cold front predicted and thus gale force winds and big seas all the following week. So we set sail, taking advantage of the SE trade winds for once, and crossed the Exuma Sound to the Staniel Cay area. We have spent the last 3 weeks in this area, re-visiting our favorite sights and entertaining our family who came out for [View Full Entry]

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After spending the last 10 days exploring Cat Island and being at anchor, we were ready for a marina hit. So we headed down to Hawk’s Nest at the southern end of Cat Island. The entrance to this marina and resort was very tricky; so narrow that we had to work our way cautiously between a rock bar and coral heads with waves crashing on the stern and so shallow we had to wait for high tide to run the creek entrance. But we got in, tied up, and enjoyed all this marina had to offer. The resort was about a [View Full Entry]

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After a couple of wonderful days at Fernandez Bay we sailed on to New Bight, the capitol of Cat Island. As we approached the anchorage we caught our first glimpse of the Hermitage atop Mt. Alverna (the highest point in all the Bahamas at a whopping 206 feet above sea level- holy cow). We have read about the Hermitage in many cruising guides and were definitely looking forward to exploring this religious monument. So we traded in our flip-flops for tennis shoes and started the trek to the summit of Mt. Alverna the next day. It was hot thru the bush, [View Full Entry]

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We decided to sail to Fernandez Bay, about a 20 mile jaunt down Cat Island. We had read in the travel guide that Fernandez Bay has one of the most beautiful beaches on Cat Island and that the exclusive resort there has a great restaurant and tiki-bar right on the beach, just our style. So we went to check it out. As we approached the tricky entrance to this small bay, with coral heads and rocks to avoid on both sides, we admired this perfect anchorage. Not simply because we were the only boat there (good thing too because this small [View Full Entry]

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We had the song “Go down to Cat Island” stuck in our head as we sailed to Cat Island, go figure. And as land came into sight we were excited to be here at this quiet and remote out-island. Our first stop was an anchorage just north of Alligator Creek, which we looked forward to exploring the next day. So we set the hook and enjoyed a calm night of star-gazing. It was wonderfully dark and there was no other boat in sight, a perfect night on anchor. The wind picked up the next day to 20-25 knots so we decided [View Full Entry]

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